How We Got Our Sunday Schools

Sunday School has been an essential aspect of Christian education for centuries, and its impact through teaching the Bible and spreading the Gospel has been felt all over the world.

The First Sunday Schools
The first Sunday School began in 1780 and was led by Robert Raikes (1725-1811) and Mrs. Meredith (first name and dates unknown) of Gloucester, England. Raikes was the publisher of The Gloucester Journal. Mrs. Meredith was paid by Raikes to organize the first classes. Of course, instruction on Sunday was not new to the church, but the approach taken by these two leaders was revolutionary and became global in its impact.

The early Sunday Schools were developed in response to the needs of uneducated, urban, lower-class children working in factories for long hours, six days a week during the Industrial Revolution. Their behavior on Sundays was described by Raikes as “… the street is filled with multitudes of those wretches who come on release of the day of employment, spend their time in noise and riot… cursing and swearing in a manner so horrid as to convey to any serious-minded, an idea of hell rather than any other place.”

In response to the needs of these children, the first Sunday School classes taught reading, writing, basic Bible content, moral values, and discipline. By the mid-1800s, as the Movement had grown into the millions and the curriculum was expanded. It typically included the following:
• Bible: Bible stories and basic Christian concepts were the primary emphases.
• Reading: Children would learn to read using the Bible as the main textbook along with simple books and stories.
• Catechism: Questions and answers about basic Christian teachings were memorized.
• Music: Children’s songs were taught about God, Jesus, heaven, and the Christian faith and life.
• Prayer: Children learned to pray.
• Moral instruction: Christian values such as honesty, obedience, and respect for authority were taught.

A Brief History
This brief history of the development of the Sunday School includes the following selected dates:

1780: Robert Raikes starts the first Sunday School in Gloucester, England.

• 1803: The Sunday School Union formed in London to coordinate the work of Sunday Schools in England and beyond.
• 1824: The American Sunday School Union was one of the first publishers of curriculum materials.
• 1831: The National Sunday School Union was formed in New York City to promote Sunday schools in the United States.
• 1875: The World Sunday School Association was founded to bring together Sunday School associations from around the world (approximate attendance: England - 6 million, United States – 1 million).
• 1886: The Sunday School Companion was published by the Methodist Church. This was the first denominationally developed lesson manual. It was followed by other denominations producing their own materials.
• 1889: The International Sunday School Lessons series was developed to provide a standardized curriculum for Sunday schools worldwide.
• The lessons were designed to cover the entire Bible over a six-year cycle.
• Each year was divided into quarters with quarters focusing on different themes or topics such as the life of Christ, Old Testament prophets, and the early church. A quarter consisted of 13 weekly lessons.
• The lessons were written in a narrative format, with each lesson covering a specific Bible story or passage.
• The lessons included a set of questions that teachers could use to guide discussion and help students understand the meaning and relevance of the Bible passage.
• The curriculum was intended for use by Sunday schools of all denominations and was intended to promote a common understanding and interpretation of the Bible.
• 1866-1938: Private non-denominational publishers also began publishing materials. These include Standard (1866), David C. Cook (1875), Gospel Light (1933), and Scripture Press (1938).
  
  
• 1960- Present: A period of decline. Sunday School attendance declined from approximately 60 million to 10 million. The decline in Sunday School attendance seems consistent with the decline in church participation. Despite the decline, Sunday School continues to have a powerful influence on individuals, churches, and society.

Sunday School remains a dynamic means for people of all ages to increase their knowledge of the Bible, strengthen their faith, connect with God and others, and engage in service and outreach activities.

Sunday School classes can create communities characterized by Bible study, prayer, and fellowship. By attending Sunday School, participants are able to gain biblical literacy, come to faith in Christ, engage in spiritually meaningful conversations, develop healthy relationships, and receive support and encouragement.

Because Sunday Schools have served such a variety of purposes over the years, it is important for local church leaders to define and implement the intentions and strategies of their specific Sunday Schools. The following resources may be considered for additional support.

Resources
Faith Alive Christian Resources https://www.faithaliveresources.org/TabCenter/30/Children-And-Youth.aspx
Keffer. All-in-One Sunday School https://amzn.to/3KUXxn2
Towns. A History of Religious Educators https://amzn.to/3H8dCEK
Uniform Series, International Sunday School Lessons https://www.standardlesson.com/issl-uniform-series/
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/YCg1RCW_NXA

Supplementary online resources often include ChatGPT, Google Search, Google Bard, and Wikipedia

As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive compensation for purchases from their site.

End Notes
I am indebted to the Sunday School movement for my own spiritual growth and calling. The first Sunday School class that I taught was for third graders in an urban evangelistic setting when I was fifteen years old. For more than sixty years, I have been attending or teaching Sunday School classes and providing teacher training as a church staff member or college professor. During the 1990s, it was my privilege to be the Executive Director of the Midwest Sunday School Association.

While Robert Raikes is most commonly credited with the birth of the Sunday School movement, other early expressions of Sunday School-like ministry include classes by John Wesley (Savannah, Georgia, 1737), Joseph Bellamy (Bethlehem, Connecticut, 1740), Hannah Bell (Wycombe, England, 1769), and others.

From the outset, the purposes, content, and organizational structures of Sunday Schools have been fluid. Robert Raikes is said to have developed the first Sunday Schools in consultation with the Anglican pastors in his parish. In other situations, Sunday Schools began independently of organized churches. Early Sunday Schools were vehicles for planting churches in rural as well as urban areas. At times, Sunday Schools in organized churches were differentiated from catechetical instruction, with Sunday School being for Bible teaching and evangelism, while catechism was for doctrinal instruction.