cae wc fetecarecetns Seat : -¢ Sener at : 5 eatuaa da - ( I : bere J rs mi Fadi mine — tre k = ' 3 : - 7 bay iste > 2 i Sencar secu: Toasiteaie toa holes : : = : : f fares th Seen i ; sts: pase ai he itee ety 3 f Serene aie Baas oe AeSS one Caren rretes 4 4a SaeeS Se * a ee LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY PRINCETON, N. J. PRESENTED BY Division...-=8....... ae @ BVi 1520 UST Somerndike, John Mason, 18 -1939. The Sunday school in town and country SLAY OF Pine i. . , > WF as ing a> - , Sunday School in Town and Country By John M. Somerndike _ Philadelphia The Westminster Press 1924 Copyright, 1924 By F. M. BraseELMAN CONTENTS BEEN CLOT esd hate PEE Soke ee ardiete dee bie ie A dw cess d Mes I. The Development of the Sunday School Movement..... 9 II. Organizing and Grading the Sunday School........... 26 III. The Superintendent and the Pastor.................. 4] Rie EID A OUTSOS trea tre ure eh ane cu CLEP Us oir als} ioe 50 Pee RULING ANC. EXTUIDMEN ties. sca whens See Ge es a ped le 65 VI. Practical Plans for Building Up the Membership and POUMATICLA TICE Be eter aA Ratt ened A gate Rie ls ee ghia 93 Ber EPORCETROIT: A TAIN ce We te opus i le hs SMS Pi oa aie 109 VIII. Missionary Instruction and Offerings................. 119 oma er TUS 1 OF WDTist waels oh ie aly Geaiales viele Scala oe 133 APPENDICES Pe IIELE DELICE Uo57: o/s Pete oie ae. oe ene ay ook we a 141 SUE IIGLINAAON, DCT VIC’, {ag hie ea) cece bale CORRS Crees 142 C. Suggested Constitution for a ,Workers’ Conference or Bere OCHOOL ABSOCINUONG 9. os a ewin to vo nelned wae 144 . Sunday School Workers’ Library..................... 148 Pig: as ibe ; : as Kd es qi xe ly au : art w 7 My, ie ie ae Te INTRODUCTION One of the most encouraging indications of the growing appreciation, on the part of the entire Church, of the im- portance of the Christian nurture of children and youth is seen in the development of new agencies of religious educa- tion within the individual churches. The remarkable - growth of the Daily Vacation Bible School movement and ~ the nation-wide interest in various plans of week-day reli- gious instruction give unmistakable evidence of the deter- mination on the part of all the Protestant Churches that every child shall receive his full heritage of Christian knowledge and life. The development of these newer agencies, however, is not intended to supersede the Sunday school, nor are they to be considered as substitutes for it. With full recognition of the limitations of the Sunday school, we are confronted with the fact that it is still the chief agency of religious education for children and youth. It occupies a place, and wields an influence in the Church, which we should be very careful to conserve and enlarge. The Sunday school carries the entire responsibility for the Christian instruc- tion of the children and youth in nine tenths of the cities, towns, and rural communities throughout the United States. It enrolls some twenty million children, young people, and adults. The flexibility and adaptability of its organization enable it to do equally effective work in the stately temples of our large cities, in the small one-room 5 INTRODUCTION churches of the prairies, and in the little red schoolhouses in remote and unorganized regions. The Sunday school is constantly enlisting new workers. The roll of Sunday-school superintendents undergoes a complete change every five years. New departmental superintendents, secretaries, treasurers, and associate superintendents are constantly being inducted into office without any special preparation for their tasks. They are eager for information concerning the best plans and meth- ods of conducting their work, and for a guidebook of denominational ideals and policies. Nation-wide corre- spondence with these leaders in Sunday-school work, an- swering thousands of letters of inquiry concerning the various phases of Sunday-school activity, has demonstrated the necessity of a manual, containing plans and methods which are adaptable to the average Sunday school, which may be used as a handbook by Sunday-school superin- tendents and their associates, the departmental superin- tendents, and other officers. ¥ The task was undertaken with the full recognition of the wealth of material that is already available for Sunday- school workers in various books that have been published in recent years, and which every Sunday school should be encouraged to place in the workers’ library for reference and study. This manual is written primarily for our Presbyterian Sunday-school constituency of nearly ten thousand church schools and more than three thousand mission Sunday schools which are being maintained under Presbyterian auspices in neighborhoods and communities where there are no church organizations. However, the methods sug- gested are equally adaptable to Sunday schools of all 6 INTRODUCTION denominations. I have not hesitated to advocate the policy of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. A. with reference to lesson courses and other elements of the de- nominational program of religious education. Presby- terian Sunday-school workers are referred, throughout the book, to denominational standards and material for more detailed information regarding different aspects of the Sunday-school task. JoHN M. SOMERNDIKE Marcu, 1924 CHAPTER I THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT The Sunday school finds its origin far back in the days of antiquity. The Jewish historian, Josephus, has told us that, from the days of Moses, the Jews assembled every Sabbath to hear the law and learn it accurately, and that so thorough was the instruction of the young in the law that one ‘‘would more easily repeat all than his own name.” The children of Hezekiah attended Bible schools; the re- form under Jehoshaphat came through the teaching of the law; and in the time of Nehemiah, after the Captivity, we have a description of a complete Bible school, fully or- ganized and officered. Jewish schools for Bible study were eventually established throughout Palestine, and so far- reaching was the effect of this teaching upon the nation that it became a common saying: “If you would destroy the Jews you must destroy the schools.”” In New Testa- ment times, Bible schools were maintained in connection with the synagogues in every village and town. The primitive Church in the early centuries of the Christian era adopted the Jewish or catechetical method of religious instruction in spreading the gospel. The Apostolic Church made the school the connecting link between itself and the world. Classes for catechetical instruction were an integral part of every church group and into them were gathered the children of those who had adopted the Christian faith and as many of those outside as could be secured. ie THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Jesus Taught the Value of the Child.—Jesus himself set the example to his disciples in laying special emphasis upon the religious nurture of the child. Too frequently we fail to grasp the full import of his words: “Suffer the little chil- — dren to come unto me; forbid them not,” and again, ‘‘ Feed my lambs.” In the light of such a commission the apostles needed neither philosopher nor prophet to point out their task to them, nor to demonstrate to them that the progress of Christianity depended largely upon the inculcation of the principles of true religion in the child’s mind and heart. Christianity Spread by the Teaching Process.—That these efforts were effectual in winning and training new converts for the Christian faith is shown by the edict of Julian the Apostate, in the fourth century, barring all Christians from teaching in the schools of Rome. He realized that only by prohibiting the religious teaching of the young could he hope to restrict the progress of Chris- tianity. In his “History of the Christian Church,” Dr. Schaff says, ‘‘There were no missionary societies, no mis- sionary institutions, no organized efforts in the Anti- Nicene Age; and yet in less than three hundred years from the death of St. John the whole population of the Roman Empire, which then represented the civilized world, was nominally Christianized.” Catechetical Instruction.—It is of interest also to note that in these catechumen classes were included the adults as well as the children. Lay workers, both men and women, were pressed into service as teachers. Indeed, these early Bible schools were far nearer to the ideal in this respect than the twentieth century Sunday school, which, even — with its adult Bible classes, reaches only a small proportion 10 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT of the adult Church membership. Their course of instruc- tion was systematic, beginning with the story of the Crea- tion and covering the whole of the Old Testament Scrip- tures, the life of our Lord, and appropriate teachings con- cerning the application of the gospel to everyday life. The faithful reading of the Scriptures was considered an essen- tial part of the Christian’s daily habit and the children were not only encouraged but also obliged to learn and commit to memory large portions of it. Indeed, we are told that in those days many persons could be found who could recite the entire Old and New Testaments from memory. From these facts we see that the Bible-school idea is by no means of recent origin, but that it has come down to us through centuries of strife and bloodshed, surviving eccle- siastical conflicts and changes of religious ideals, yet re- maining true to its original, divinely appointed purpose to teach and train the child, and the adult as well, for the higher citizenship of the Kingdom of God. Reformation Leaders Emphasized the Instruction of the Children.—Coming to the days of the Reformation, we find the leaders of Protestantism emphasizing the impor- tance of Bible-school instruction. ‘‘ Young children and scholars are the need and the source of the Church,”’ said Luther; and again, ‘‘Is it not reasonable that every child | should know the Gospels at the age of nine or ten?” To. encourage such teaching, Luther prepared his Larger and Smaller Catechisms. John Calvin shared in these views and prepared Bible lessons in French and Latin which were translated into various other languages and widely used throughout all of Europe. 11 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY It was at this crisis that the Church of Rome, realizing the hopelessness of her defense against the rising tide of Reformation sentiment, began to organize her forces for the teaching of the children in the principles and precepts — of that faith. This led to the founding of the “Society of Jesus”? or ‘Company of Jesus” under Ignatius Loyola, whose chief aim was to establish schools for the religious teaching of the young. The Jesuits applied themselves vigorously and ably to their task and built up an elaborate and effective system of instruction that has survived until the present day. It is universally recognized that these schools were the most powerful factor in preserving the Roman Catholic faith out of the ruins of the Reformation days. Then it was that Francis Xavier, the disciple of Loyola, uttered that now famous saying: ‘“‘Give me the children until they are seven years old, and I care not who has them after.’”’ Never since the days of the Reformation has the Roman Church departed a hair’s breadth from the principle then so wisely established in giving the child the first place in its ministrations and in pastoral care and oversight. The Neglect of the Teaching Function. — Unfortunately, in spite of the emphasis of Luther and his contemporaries upon the Bible-school idea for the children, the Protestant Church suffered this phase of its activities to fall into decline in the years that followed. The use of catechisms soon became largely mechanical and the preaching function of the Church was more and more emphasized. Instead of using the catechism as a guide to the teaching of the Scriptures, it became in itself the object of study, and thus — the mere learning by rote the questions and answers to be 12 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT recited week after week soon devitalized the whole scheme of Bible-school instruction. In the beginning it was re- quired that the pupils should be able not only to recite the Scripture but also to explain the meaning of each verse according to their own conception of it. As the emphasis was placed upon the preaching service of the Church, more and more the teaching function fell into a decline among all Protestant peoples. With the work of Wesley the catechetical method was revived for a time through the well-known class-meeting system. Aside from Wesley’s work, the Church as a whole suffered its teaching function to lapse into disuse and in the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries practically no attention was given to the religious training of the young. The Sun- day-school idea, a heritage from Old Testament times, be- came a relic of the past. Robert Raikes.— As has been noted so frequently in reli- gious history, night was darkest just before the dawn. Toward the close of the eighteenth century, which wit- nessed so many events of world interest and far-reaching effect, Robert Raikes, a printer of Gloucester, England, was moved by the Spirit of God, as we believe, to do some- thing to improve the condition of the boys and girls of his city who were being neglected by the Church and by their parents. Raikes was reared in a Christian home by godly parents; his father was the town printer and proprietor of a newspaper. In his early manhood, he became interested in the work of prison reform, and by his writings and his visitation of penal institutions, he endeavored to introduce corrective measures. Robert Raikes was working to prevent the spread of 13 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY vicious practices. His work among prisoners was entirely in behalf of that principle, but he found that in his attempts to reform hardened criminals he was beginning at the wrong end. He soon began to realize that far more could © be accomplished by the proper training of the children, fortifying them against the inroads of temptation and the influence of their evil surroundings. When this idea had taken possession of him, Raikes lost no time in putting it into practice. He sought the assistance of a clergyman, Rev. Thomas Stock, to whom he unfolded his plans. The latter at once agreed to aid Raikes in carrying them out, and together they visited the homes of the poor, persuading the parents to permit the children to come on Sundays to a house in Sooty Alley, and engaging several women who had agreed to undertake the task of teaching them. The “Ragged School.’”?—Thus in 1780 in the ‘‘ Ragged School,” with its paid teachers receiving a compensation of a shilling a week, the foundation of the world-wide institu- tion of the Sunday school was laid. For three years Raikes carried on this work quietly but effectively, realizing that it was entirely an experiment and finding no end of diffi- culties and obstacles to be overcome. He persisted, how- ever, even in the face of the derision of his friends, and at the end of these first three years he had eight Sunday schools, of about thirty pupils each, meeting in different parts of the city of Gloucester. A change soon began to be seen throughout the city. Homes were transformed and even the parents were influenced toward better things. As Wesley remarked: “Is this not a new thing upon the earth? God begins his work in children. Thus the flame ~ spreads to those of riper years.” 14 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT A Successful Experiment.—In 1783, Raikes felt that the experiment was a success, and he announced his plan to the world. It met with an immediate response from all parts of the dominion and inquiries began to pour in upon him from those who desired to inaugurate the movement in other towns and cities. Raikes decided that the quickest and most effectual way of spreading the new movement would be to publish it in the lead- ing periodicals. Accordingly, in 1784, his plans were fully set forth in the ‘‘Gentleman’s Magazine,” of London, one of the most influential publications of that period. Again, he wrote for the magazine published by John Wesley, which was widely circulated among his followers and which led him to recommend the establishment of Sunday schools in connection with every Methodist Soci- ety. Sunday-school boards were organized and general Sunday-school societies for the promotion of the move- ment were brought into being through the efforts of leading men and women of:-England. It is said that even the queen was attracted by the wonderful possibilities of the plan and expressed her regret that her situation made it imprac- ticable for her to participate in it. The Rapid Growth of the Sunday-School Movement. — Lord Mahon said that the Sunday school organized by Robert Raikes was the beginning of a new era in the na- tional life of England. Green, the English historian, re- ferring to the work of Robert Raikes, wrote, ‘‘It was then that the moral, the philanthropic and religious ideas which have molded society into its present shape first broke the spiritual torpor of the eighteenth century.”’ Within four years from the time of the organization of his first school in 15 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Gloucester, the Sunday schools throughout England had more than a quarter of a million pupils enrolled. To be strictly accurate, the Sunday school, according to the Raikes idea, was entitled to the name mainly because it had its sessions on Sunday. It was a philanthropic move- ment in behalf of better citizenship. By some, the Raikes schools are looked upon rather as the foundation of the public-school system than as the revival of the Sunday- school idea. However this may be, the fact remains that the work of Raikes was the beginning of a definite move- ment for the Christian training of children, and that the progress and development of the Church Sunday-school movement through the labors of others was the outgrowth of the interest which he created in his efforts among the poor children of his own city. His work gave birth to a great ideal, placing the child at the center and building the institution to serve the needs of the child. ‘He did not foresee the graded organized pedagogical school of the twentieth century,” says Dr. Henry F. Cope; “he did not have love and faith enough to look forward in the direction of that school and to compel many others, his contem- poraries and successors, to take the forward look. His motives compelled the steps that have gradually brought us where we now are.’ Making the Sunday School a Bible School.— While Raikes was busily engaged in extending his schools, Wil- liam Fox, a Baptist layman, started a Bible school at Clapton, England, which met on week days, and which, like the Raikes schools, also had its paid teachers. In this school the Bible only was taught. Later as Fox was led to 1‘ Evolution of the Sunday School,” by Henry F. Cope. 16 . DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT investigate the plans of Raikes, he saw an advantage in changing the day of meeting to Sunday. This is thought by many to be the real beginning of the modern Sunday school. Through the efforts of Fox, the ‘‘Society for the Support and Encouragement of Sunday Schools” was or- ganized in 1785, consisting of representatives of all denomi- nations. This movement grew so rapidly that Fox soon found that it claimed his entire time and he abandoned his business, devoting himself exclusively for the remainder of his life to the Sunday-school cause. The present system of volunteer service in Sunday- school teaching had its beginning in the offer of one of his boys, who had become greatly interested in the new move- ment, to teach without pay. Stimulated by his example, others offered themselves for similar service and soon the system of paid teachers was entirely abandoned. Missionary Activities Stimulated by the Sunday School. —The course of lessons in these Sunday schools at first consisted of reading and the study of the Church of Eng- land Catechism. Later, Bible memory work was intro- duced, and from this developed a systematic plan of Bible study, adapted to pupils of varying ages. It was this use of the Bible, and the demand for copies of the Scriptures by the pupils, that led to the organization of the British and Foreign Bible Society, whose splendid work is known and appreciated throughout the world. The organization of the Religious Tract Society of London is also traced to the demand for suitable literature that was created by the Sunday school. As the work of the Sunday school grew, and as the people became more familiar with the teachings of the Word, their vision broadened and their sympathies 2 17 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY went out toward the neglected people of heathen lands. They began to realize their responsibility for the evangeli- zation of the world. Thus, twenty years after the first Sunday school was organized, the Church Missionary Soci- — ety was founded, which for more than a century has been faithfully spreading the good news of the gospel ‘‘to every creature.”’ From that day to this, the Sunday school has been the source and inspiration of every effective and suc- cessful movement for social and civic betterment. Out of its ranks have come the leaders of the Protestant body and under its instruction tens of thousands of men and women have consecrated their lives to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ in all parts of the civilized world. The Sunday School in America.—The introduction of the Sunday school into America necessitated a number of modifications in the plan conceived and inaugurated by Robert Raikes which had met with so much success in Eng- land. In America the Sunday school must, of a necessity, be an integral part of the Church. It was essentially a Church school. Aside from a few Sunday schools that met in the homes of Christian men and women who became interested in this work for the children, practically all of the early Sunday schools in America were organized by Churches and held their sessions in church buildings. The schools founded upon the Raikes plan were inde- pendent of the Church. They were the result of the work of an individual, and while they were founded for the pur- pose of developing a higher condition of morality among the young, the plan did not contemplate any definite results as far as the Church was concerned. Its program _ did not take the Church into account at all, although such 18 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT teaching as was given in these schools would naturally have a salutary effect upon the Church life and work of that period, as well as upon that of the succeeding genera- tion. In America the situation was quite different. Here the Sunday school was founded upon the principle that it is an adjunct to the Church, with a definite work to perform in the training of the children for Church membership. Instead of engaging paid teachers, it called for voluntary service on the part of older and experienced Christians who were well grounded in the faith and whose piety and Chris- tian character were beyond question. It will at once be seen that this plan was far in advance of the method under which the Raikes schools were founded and conducted. The First Sunday-School Agency.—The first general Sunday-school organization in America was the American Sunday School Union, which was organized in 1817 as the “Sunday and Adult School Union,” as the result of the visit of Rev. Robert May, a missionary of the London Missionary Society. On his way to India he stopped in Philadelphia, speaking with great enthusiasm of the good work of the Sunday schools in England. Other union or- ganizations sprang up in different cities and a few years later, in 1824, the American Sunday School Union was organized by delegates from each of these local unions, into which they were merged. Its object was to publish suitable literature for home study of the Scriptural lessons, to prepare courses of weekly lessons, and to establish new Sunday schools. Denominational Sunday-School Work Inaugurated.— In these early days when the denominations were too weak to undertake this work for themselves, and for many years 19 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY later, the American Sunday School Union rendered indis- pensable service in the promoting of Sunday-school inter- ests on American soil. It was not long, however, before the denominations began to realize the necessity of assuming © control of the Sunday schools in connection with their respective Churches. The first body to organize its own agency to direct this work was the Methodist, whose gen- eral Sunday-school society came into existence in 1827 under the name of the Sunday School Union of the Metho- dist Episcopal Church, with headquarters in New York. At about the same time the Unitarians organized a similar society, and three years later the Lutheran General Coun- cil organized a Sunday-school union for their denomina- tion. In 1832 the Congregationalists formed their Sunday- school and publication society. In the Baptist Church the interests of the Sunday schools were placed under the care of the American Baptist Publication Society and since 1840 Baptists have been actively at work in this direction. Presbyterian Sunday-School Work Begun.—In 1838 the Presbyterian Church (O.8.) organized a Board of Publica- tion, whose purpose, like that of the other Church publish- ing societies, was to prepare and publish literature of a doctrinal character, and at the same time to meet the increasing demand for lesson helps and papers which was heard on every side as the result of the rapid growth of Sunday schools throughout the Church. As the years passed, the necessity for doctrinal literature became less pronounced, while the demand for Sunday-school literature developed by leaps and bounds. In 1851 the first Sunday-school periodical was published. © It sprang into immediate popularity, the circulation reach- 20 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT ing 28,000 at the close of the first year and increasing to 40,000 during the second year. The Publication Committee (New School Branch) placed increasing emphasis upon the needs of its Sunday schools. In the issuing of new publications, books for youth held a very prominent place. Grants of its publica- tions were made to needy schools as liberally as the funds at its disposal allowed. The employment of synodical missionaries or missionaries at large for Sunday-school and colportage work was frequently considered. The General Assembly of 1869 went so far as to authorize the Publica- tion Committee “to employ a general agent to visit the churches and Sabbath schools and bring them into connec- tion with the Committee’s work, and to devote himself to the cause of Sabbath-school extension, and to the promo- tion of higher efficiency in our Sabbath schools generally.” In 1887 when the General Assembly urged upon the Church the importance of developing the Sunday school in its work of training the children for Christian life and service, it was stated that seventy-five per cent of the Board’s pub- - lications were for the use of Sunday schools. The General Assembly of 1871 also laid special emphasis upon Sunday- school work and directed the Board of Publication to develop this phase of its activities with all vigor. This re- port dealt with the question of proper literature and the necessity of a spiritual atmosphere in Sunday-school con- duct and teaching, and issued a call for a united effort on the part of the denomination itself to take control of its own Sunday-school work. From that day until the present, the Presbyterian Church has been a leader in every pro- gressive movement in behalf of Sunday-school work, encouraging its schools to attain the highest standards. 21 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Sunday-School Extension.—The work of the various denominational societies was gradually broadened to in- clude the extension of Sunday-school influence by planting mission Sunday schools wherever they were needed. The © Presbyterian Church, with characteristic missionary spirit, has developed this phase of its Sunday-school work zeal- ously and effectively. Its force of Sunday-school mission- aries is larger than that of any other denomination, and they have been instrumental in giving the Sunday school to more than two millions of America’s neglected children and youth. During recent years their activities have broad- ened to include the promotion of all phases of religious educational effort. Special emphasis has been placed by all denominational Sunday-school organizations upon the educational features of Sunday-school work, as exemplified in systems of grad- ing, training of teachers, study of child psychology and pedagogy, specialized work among different age groups, and in the promotion of plans for bringing the schools up to fixed standards of efficiency. Specialists in educational work are employed to promote the best plans and methods for the teaching and training of the children and youth in worship and service, and in recent years marvelous progress has been made. Daily Vacation Bible School.—Out of the increasing in- terest which has been developed in the work of Christian nurture through the earnest study and promotion of meth- ods for the Sunday school has come the demand for more hours of Bible teaching and training than the brief Sunday- school period can provide. This resulted in the develop- © ment of the Daily Vacation Bible School movement and its 22 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT adoption by the Churches as an indispensable part of the church-school plan. But as the Daily Vacation Bible School can be conducted only during the public-school vacation period, it places upon the Sunday school the entire burden of Christian nurture for the rising genera- tion during the remainder of the year. (See Bulletin No. 12.) The Week-Day Church School.—To meet this situation the plan for the week-day church school has been devel- oped, providing for a week-day gathering of the children for Christian instruction and expressional work, under competent teachers, and with a thoroughly graded curric- ulum arranged according to the most approved pedagog- ical ideals. The rapid growth of this movement, especially in the Presbyterian Church, developed the necessity of correlating the work of the week-day session with that of the Sunday school, out of which has grown the plan of the three-hour-a-week correlated school, which marks a dis- tinct advance in the program of Christian nurture, and which is being vigorously promoted throughout the entire Church. (See Bulletins Nos. 4 and 8.) Interdenominational Sunday-School Work.—Out of the first convention of Sunday-school leaders in 1832, the Inter- national Sunday School Association gradually developed, confining its work for many years to the holding of periodi- cal conventions which attracted national and world-wide interest in the promotion of the Sunday-school movement. It has been well said that the history of the International Sunday School Association until 1887 is written wholly in a series of conventions. 1See Appendix A, page 141. 23 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Since 1887 the work of the International Sunday School Association has broadened in many ways. Beginning with the employment of a general secretary, the Association added to its force of field workers specialists in each depart- ment. Under the growing conviction on the part of the denominations that the details of Sunday-school develop- ment should be worked out under their immediate super- vision, and in recognition of the fact that they were en- gaged in the promotion of common goals, the Sunday School Council of Evangelical Denominations was organ- ized, including in its membership the Sunday-school execu- tives and departmental directors of thirty-nine different denominations. For twelve years this organization carried on its work, holding annual meetings and developing improved plans and policies for all phases of Sunday-school activity. It is largely to the work of this organization that the Church in America owes its remarkable advance in teacher-training, grading, improved courses of study, Sun- day-school architecture and extension service. The necessity of relating the growing denominational activities to those of the International Association became increasingly apparent, and after several years of conference and careful negotiation, the Sunday School Council of Evangelical Denominations and the International Sunday School Association were officially merged, under the name of the International Council of Religious Education, the plan of the merger being formally adopted at the International Sunday School Convention in Kansas City in June, 1922. Every evangelical denomination may be represented in the new organization, through its Execu- tive Committee and its Committee on Education. The plans, methods, and curriculums for use in every depart- 24 DEVELOPMENT OF SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT ment of religious educational activity are being carefully studied, developed, and promoted. Thus the work of Christian nurture for America’s children and youth has been codrdinated and correlated for the building of a national program of interdenominational advance, to guar- antee to all the children of America their full heritage of Christian knowledge and life. 25 CHAPTER II ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL ‘With the abundance of information and literature avail- able dealing with every aspect of Sunday-school adminis- tration and management, and the adaptability of present- day methods to every variety of conditions, no excuse other than indifference or ignorance can be offered for con- ducting a Sunday school in a slipshod fashion. Since the Sunday school is not a separate organization, but an in- tegral part of the Church, engaged in fulfilling the Church’s teaching function, it is of supreme importance that it shall be organized in a manner that will enable it to do its work efficiently. Even the smallest Sunday schools can organize their work with a degree of thoroughness, and in con- formity with the most approved methods, if their leaders are intelligent, and if they have a proper appreciation of the serious import of their task, and of its opportunities for the building of Christian character. The Necessity of Grading.—For all practical purposes, the simplest plan of organization is usually the best. Un- necessary machinery occupies space that may be devoted to some useful purpose and retards efficiency in production. The object in organizing the school according to certain standards of recognized efficiency is to assure to every pupil the opportunity of receiving Bible instruction and training in the manner that is best adapted to his needs at each period of his development. It is perfectly obvious that this cannot be accomplished in a school where the chil- . 26 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL dren, young people, and adults are all assembled together in one room with no opportunity for teaching hymns, prayers, and Bible truth suitable to those of different ages. It is equally clear that the hymns, prayers, lessons, and instruction in worship which are adapted to the needs of young people or adults would be neither interesting nor helpful to the children. One of the most important ad- vances in Sunday-school progress during the past quarter of a century was the universal recognition of this principle, and its practical application among Sunday schools large and small and of all denominations. It is interesting, nevertheless, as an indication of the slow pace at which new methods are adopted in the operation of our Church machinery, that in spite of all the earnest, intelligent, and persistent promotion of modern Sunday- school ideals of organization and management, the results of a-recent survey indicate that more than fifty per cent of all the Sunday schools in America still gather in one room and are utterly unorganized and ungraded. More than seventy-five per cent of all the American Sunday schools have nothing more than a ‘‘main school” and a Primary Department. Adaptation of Modern Methods.—This condition can and must be remedied. The fact that many of the young people in the Sunday schools of to-day who are studying the teacher-training courses are being trained in the proper methods of Sunday-school organization and management, presents a hopeful outlook for the future; for as they come into positions as officers and teachers in the Sunday school, they will insist upon the adoption of efficient methods. Sunday-school leaders in all denominations have invented 27 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY many ingenious devices and have offered many valuable sug- gestions for the adaptation of improved methods of organ- ization, by rearrangement of the room used for Sunday- school purposes, and by the use of inexpensive contrivances, — providing opportunities for graded instruction where it was considered utterly impracticable. Even small rural Sunday schools meeting in schoolhouses, stores, or in one- room churches, have found, by a careful study of the litera- ture available on this subject, a way to overcome obstacles which many would consider insurmountable. The repeated demonstration of the truth of the old proverb, ‘‘ Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” should encourage the aggres- sive and forward-looking young people who are now being enlisted in Sunday-school service to investigate carefully the many plans that are offered. For the sake of the chil- dren and for the sake of our future citizenship, churches should earnestly set themselves the task of making such changes in their building and equipment as will provide adequately for the use of the best methods. : The Divisions of the Sunday School.—The modern Sun- day school is divided into the following graded Depart- ments: I. THe CHILDREN’s DIvISION Birth to 11 years Cradle Roll ase eee bee Birth to 3 years Beginners ; 082 Whats eee ae 4 and 5 years Primary .): eta a , .6, 7, and 8 years JUNIO? .'s eRe Puls ee a oe eee eee 9, 10, and 11 years II. Tue Youne Propte’s Division 12 to 23 years Intermediate | Gupta wee eta 12, 13, and 14 years Senior. 4"; ae BET Meh E Moe Tee aya o> 4 15, 16, and 17 years Young People’s). 227. cn eee 18 to 23 years III. Tse Apuut Division 24 years and upwards IV. THe Home DEPARTMENT 28 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL Tur CRADLE Rott DEPARTMENT! Every Sunday school can have a Cradle Roll Depart- ment, for in every community in which there is a Sunday school, babies may be found and enrolled. One of the most effective ways of reaching the heart of the mother or father is to show an interest in the new baby. Thousands of men and women whose names are on our church rolls, and who are found regularly in their places in the Sunday school, were won through the enrollment of their baby on the Cradle Roll. But, of course, the proper conduct of the Cradle Roll Department involves more than the purchase of an elaborate wall chart and filling the spaces with the names of the babies who are enrolled. It is a declaration, first of all, of the principle that every child should be given the opportunity of Christian instruction from its earliest years. Christian nurture must begin when life begins, and if our boys and girls are to be led naturally and unemotion- ally into an acceptance of Christ as their Saviour and Friend, it must come through a course of training which begins when the child is born, and continues faithfully and persistently until the roots of character are firmly im- planted. Again, the Cradle Roll furnishes opportunities for pas- toral visitation of homes which might otherwise be difficult to reach. It enables the Sunday school to claim the chil- 1 It is not the purpose of this chapter to give detailed suggestions with reference to the organization of each department of the Sunday school. There is an abun- dance of excellent material available containing the best methods for use in con- ducting the work of these departments, prepared ‘by specialists, for each age group, which should be obtained by every Sunday school as a part of its equipment. The author recommends ‘“‘The Westminster Series of Graded Guide Books’’ (eleven volumes) for the best plans and methods. These handbooks are indispensable to the departmental superintendents and teachers. The set may be obtained for $5.00, Westminster Press, Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 29 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY dren of the community from their infancy. It opens the way for parental instruction in the proper methods of teaching and training little children. In many cases help- ful service is being rendered in promoting the health and — care of infants by arranging meetings for mothers for the discussion of these subjects, and by the visitation of homes and the distribution of suitable literature which is available to everyone. A Cradle Roll superintendent should be appointed as one of the officers of the school. In many cases it would be wise to place this responsibility upon the superintendent of the Beginners Department. THE BEGINNERS DEPARTMENT The children are promoted to the Beginners Department upon arriving at the age of four. Some of the Cradle Roll members, children under four years, will frequently be brought to the sessions of the school, and they should al- ways be cordially welcomed, but they should be recorded and reported as members of the Cradle Roll, until, upon arriving at the proper age, they become members of the Beginners Department. In many of our smaller Sunday schools the Beginners and Primary Departments are com- bined, and in some cases it may be necessary to follow this — plan temporarily, but the further the teacher advances in the use of graded lesson material, the more clearly it will be seen that the children of four and five years of age have special needs which must be met and which are different from those of the period of middle childhood. Every school should endeavor to have in training one or more young women who specialize in the work of the Beginners Depart- ment. 30 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL The Beginners Department should have a superintend- ent, with as many assistants as may be required. In a small school all the Beginners may be taught as one class, but in larger 'schools it will be found advisable to divide the children into classes with a teacher for each class. (For the proper equipment of the Beginners Department see Chapter V.) THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT In this Department should be grouped all the children six, seven, and eight years of age. On the annual promo- tion day the children of the Beginners Department who have arrived at the age of six years should be promoted to the Primary Department where they will spend the next three years. Here they will have Bible lessons, memory work, and instruction in worship, with expressional activi- ties adapted to their developing capabilities. It is impor- tant that the children of this age should have their own room, not only for the teaching of the lesson but also for the entire Sunday-school session. If this is impossible, they may be grouped with the Beginners, but never with the older children. But even where it is found necessary to assemble them together for the service of worship, the Primary children should be separated by curtains or ‘screens during the teaching of the lesson. A superinten- dent, with competent helpers, should be appointed for this Department. (Equipment for the Primary Department is described in Chapter V.) THE JUNIOR DEPARTMENT Into this Department should be gathered the children nine, ten, and eleven years of age. Even in small schools 31 \e THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY there will be enough children of this age to form at least one class. It is preferable, however, to separate the boys | and girls of this age, having a class or classes for each sex, according to the number enrolled. This Department also should have a separate room, but if, after carefully testing every possible plan, this is found to be impracticable, the Juniors may be assembled with the older pupils for their opening service of worship and separated by curtains or screens for their Bible lesson and memory work. Where there is more than one class of the Junior age and where a separate room is available, a superintendent should be ap- pointed to conduct the work, with such assistants as may be necessary. (For equipment of the Junior Department see Chapter V.) | Tuer INTERMEDIATE-SENIOR DEPARTMENT! | Children of twelve, thirteen, and fourteen years of age comprise the Intermediate Department or class. The Seniors are the classes containing pupils of fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen years.. In many small schools there will be enough pupils of the Intermediate age to form at least one or two classes for this group. The boys and girls should be placed in separate classes, with men as teachers for the boys, if possible, and with women teaching the girls. If arrangements can be made to give each group its own room, its work can be carried on far more effectively, but if this cannot be done, the Intermediates may join with the pupils of the next older group, the Seniors, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen years of age, for the service of worship, but they should have their own special Bible lessons and 1 Where practicable, Intermediates and Seniors should have separate Depart~’ ments. Because this book is prepared especially for smaller schools, the combined Department heading is used here. 32 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL activities. Classes in this Department should be organized according to the denominational plans, with officers and committees. Special programs for boys’ and girls’ through- the-week activities may be obtained at the denominational headquarters. Organizations for boys and girls such as Boy Scouts, Pioneers, Camp Fire Girls, and other similar societies connected with the Church, appealing to the pupils of this age, should be closely correlated with the work which the Sunday school is doing among them. THE YOUNG PEOPLE’s DEPARTMENT The years from eighteen to twenty-three the pupils spend in the Young People’s Department. It is not practicable to group them either with the next younger grade or with the adult members of the school. They have needs which should be met by special adaptation of Biblical material and by instruction in worship and service quite different from that which is prepared for either the younger or older pupils. They should be divided into classes for young men and for young women and should be separated from the other grades if possible. Then there should be adequate re- cognition of the fact that the young people themselves should have some part in the administration of the Department. Special lesson courses adapted to pupils of this age contain suggestions for expressional work and will be found exceed- ingly helpful. For service activities the plan of class organization or a Young People’s society, with or without the Christian Endeavor pledge, will be found adaptable to meet: a variety of conditions. The most flexible form of organization for this group is always the most successful. In small schools there should be one or more classes of pupils of this age. 3 33 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Tue ADULT DEPARTMENT This Department includes all the active members of the school above twenty-three years of age. Every school should have at least one Adult class for men and women, or two classes, one for men and the other for women. Each Adult class should be organized according to the denomina- tional plans, and should engage in certain definite forms of Christian service in the church and in the community. The Adult classes should have separate rooms if this is at all possible. Portable partitions such as screens or curtains may be used where separate rooms are not available. Men’s and women’s classes are more successful in retaining their membership and enthusiasm where they are able to have a room of their own with their own special program for the entire Sunday-school hour, meeting in general ses- sion with the other pupils only on special days and anni- versaries. Particular attention should be devoted in every school to the development of the Adult Department. We cannot expect to hold the boys and girls in the Sunday school if the men and women of the Church are not inter- ested enough to attend, and to engage actively in its work. The Adult Department should be fully organized, with a superintendent who will be responsible for the programs of worship, instruction, and service, and who will direct the. activities. — THE TEACHER TRAINING DEPARTMENT The future of the Sunday school depends largely upon the development of competent teachers and leaders to carry on its work. No Sunday school can hope to do efficient work in teaching and training the rising generation so long ° as it depends upon a haphazard method of securing officers 34 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL and teachers, pressing into the service those who may yield to the persuasions of the pastor or superintendent to accept positions of responsibility in the Sunday school “‘for_ the sake of the boys and girls.” The solution of the prob- lem of securing capable officers and teachers is to train - them; every Sunday school should select out of the ranks each year those who should become leaders, and should pro- vide the means for their proper training. The Teacher- Training Department, therefore, becomes an indispensable part of the organization of every Sunday school. Out of the Young People’s class or classes, young men and women, selected each year, should be placed in a teacher-training class, for a three-year course of study and training, follow- ing the Standard Course which has been commonly adopted by all the denominations. There should be three classes in the Teacher-Training Department, one class graduating each year. In many small schools, the plan of a Teacher- Training Department with three classes may not be prac- ticable and the three-year course may be considered too difficult. To meet such cases, shorter courses of forty or sixty lessons are available and will be found very helpful. Of course, only one class in teacher-training is necessary if the shorter course is used. With the material now available for the training of teachers, adaptable to even the most backward conditions, there is little excuse for any Sunday school to be without at least one teacher-training class, unless the pastor and superintendent are utterly indifferent . regarding this important matter. i Tue Home DEPARTMENT The Home Department idea was developed as a means of enabling men and women who could not attend the regu- 35 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY lar sessions of the Sunday school to participate in its work by studying the lessons at home and contributing toward its activities, missionary and otherwise. Every Sunday school can and should maintain a Home Department, en- 7 rolling all the men and women of the church and com- munity who are willing to study the Bible lesson each week, follow the daily Bible readings, and contribute regu- larly. A Home Department superintendent should be ap- pointed, and as many visitors as may be required to call upon the members at least once every three months. The Home Departments in many churches have enlarged their activities far beyond the original idea of the founder of this movement which aimed to enlist the shut-ins, the aged, and those who are detained from attending the sessions of the school because of household cares and other responsi- bilities. It has developed the formation of parent-teacher associations holding regular meetings at which matters which are of mutual interest to parents and teachers are freely discussed. In many cases mothers and fathers have become so interested in Bible study through their connec- tion with the Home Department that they have found a way of attending the regular sessions of the school, joining parents’ classes and following special courses of study adapted to their needs and problems. Officers for the Sunday-School Organization.'—No plan of organization, however simple in itself, can work effect- ually without competent leaders to direct its constituent parts. In order to make the foregoing plan function prop- erly, departmental officers or superintendents are necessary _ for each Department. But the school requires certain gen- 1 See Appendix C, page 144. ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL eral officers to give unity and cohesion to the work as a whole: The pastor, who is responsible for all the activities of the church, worship, instruction, and service. Wherever practicable there should be a superintendent (or director) of religious education, who shall be responsible for the educational program of the entire school. This officer should be familiar with the lesson courses for each Department, and should guide the departmental superin- tendents in the conduct of their work, supervise the teach- ing, and assist in the formulation of plans and programs of worship, instruction, and expression. The superintendent, who should be elected annually and who is the active responsible officer in charge of all the work of the school. The superintendents of the various Depart- ments are responsible to him and should seek his counsel in all matters pertaining to the conduct of their work. One or more associate superintendents to assist the superintendent in his work by assuming such special re- sponsibilities as may be assigned to them by the superin- tendent. The secretary, who keeps the statistical and other records of the school. He should keep not only the attendance record but also a full record concerning each child who is enrolled, including the date of birth, the names of the parents, residence, Church connection, and other details. When promotions are made from one Department to another, this should be carefully noted on the records. The secretary should receive all moneys and turn them 37 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY over to the treasurer of the school, for which he should be given a formal receipt by the treasurer. He should keep a full and complete record of all amounts received and ex- | pended, and no money should be paid by the treasurer. out of the funds of the Sunday school except upon an order signed by the secretary after being authorized by the Sun- day-school teachers’ association or workers’ conference. The treasurer should keep careful accounts of all money passing through his hands and should be prepared at any time to present a clear statement of the financial condition of the school. The chorister should be elected to have charge of the music, and a pianist or organist will be necessary to assist him. A librarian should be elected as the officer who is respon- sible for the Sunday-school library and the workers’ library, keeping careful records of all books lent and keep- ing them in proper condition. The election of the superintendent and his associates each year is the responsibility of the governing body of the local church (such as the session in the Presbyterian Church). This is not necessary in the case of the other officers. ‘Teachers should be chosen by the pastor and superintendent and recommended to the session for elec- tion. Teachers should not be promoted with their classes, but should remain in the Department in which they are spe- cializing, receiving a new class every three years. Thus , they become proficient in the particular methods pursued for the training of the children of their special age group, 38 ORGANIZING AND GRADING THE SUNDAY SCHOOL besides becoming familiar with the course of lessons pre- pared for that Department. A missionary superintendent is one of the regular officers in many Sunday schools. His special duty is to devise plans and programs for the teaching and training of the pupilsin | missionary service, imparting information concerning the missionary need of the world, and developing the spirit of missions throughout the entire school. In many other schools these duties are assigned to a Missionary Commit- tee. (See Chapter VIII for further suggestions under ‘Missionary Instruction.’’) The full list of officers therefore in the well-organized school should be as follows: Pastor Superintendent Associate superintendents Secretary Treasurer Chorister Pianist or organist Librarian Departmental superintendents for: Cradle Roll Beginners Department Primary Department Junior Department Intermediate-Senior Depart- ment Young People’s Department Teacher-Training Depart- ment . Home Department Missionary superintendent Where the school is not large enough to require depart- mental superintendents, they may be omitted, and a 39 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Children’s Division superintendent may be appointed, to be responsible for all methods used among the Cradle Roll, Beginners, Primary, and Junior pupils. The superintendent of the Sunday school and his asso- ciates should then assume the special responsibility for the Senior, Intermediate, Young People’s, Adult, and Teacher- Training problems, with a Home Department superinten- dent to care for that special phase of the work. Installation of Officers and Teachers.—It will serve to magnify the importance and dignity of service in the Sun- day school if the officers and teachers are formally installed in a brief service conducted by the pastor of the church. For a suitable form for the installation service, which may be adapted to meet the local situation, see Appendix B, page 142. 40 CHAPTER III THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR Tur SUPERINTENDENT The chief administrative officer of the Sunday school is the superintendent. He derives his authority from the governing body of the church, such as the session in the Presbyterian Church. Since the Constitution of the Pres- byterian Church places the responsibility for the proper conduct of the Sunday school upon the session, regular reports should be presented to the session by the Sunday school through the superintendent. Formal action should be taken upon these reports and recorded in the minutes of the session. Likewise the election of the superintendent should be submitted to the session for action. The superin- tendent should be elected annually, at the time when the other officers of the school are elected. The efficient Sunday-school superintendent will not find it necessary to devote much time to maintaining discipline. If the teachers are carefully chosen, and properly qualified, there will rarely be any problems of discipline to divert him from the main task of setting up ideals and promoting plans and policies looking toward the realization of those ideals. The superintendent must be a man or woman of prayer and spiritual power, with broad vision, without prejudice, un- selfish in service, with an adequate general knowledge of Sunday-school ideals and methods, powers of adaptation, and common sense, tactful, resourceful, loyal to the church -dtaeg 41 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY and its pastor, and with a personality that wins the respect and affection of his fellow officers and of the pupils. The educational aspect of the Sunday-school task must. _ not be overlooked. It should receive increasing emphasis. The progressive Sunday school finds it necessary, in order to obtain efficiency, to have a superintendent, or director of religious education, whose particular function is to super- vise the teaching in all the Departments, and assist in arranging programs of worship and plans for expressional activities. The superintendent of the school is the execu- tive officer, but the director of religious education is the one who studies the situation from the standpoint of educa- tional ideals and plans the work, instruction, and training in accordance therewith. Maintaining a High Ideal.—Have we set up too high an ideal for this office? Is it possible to find men and women in our churches who can measure up to these requirements? While it is frequently impossible to find one who can qualify on all counts, it is quite possible to find a consecrated per- son who possesses an attractive personality, and who has had sufficient Sunday-school experience to make a fair beginning. By careful reading and study of the current books and magazines devoted to the interests of the Sunday school, such a person may gradually acquire a knowledge and training which will develop resourcefulness in the adaptation of improved methods to the local needs and conditions. It is impossible to be a successful Sunday-school super- intendent without carefully studying the literature of the . denomination on Sunday-school plans and methods. A wealth of new ideas drawn from the experience of other 42 THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR superintendents will be found in these books and maga- zines, and the wise superintendent, immediately upon assuming the office, will write to the denominational Sun- day-school headquarters for advice regarding the books and other literature which are recommended as containing the most helpful material. Planning Ahead.—The successful superintendent will carefully plan the work of the school several weeks in ad- vance, taking into account the special days to be observed, missionary instruction, activities for community welfare and for missionary promotion, social gatherings, and evan- gelistic efforts. The careful preparation of programs for the opening service of worship is most important, for the man- ner in which this period is conducted largely determines the atmosphere and spirit of the school in all its work. This is the point at which many superintendents stumble and fall. In many cases, their failure results not so much from in- ability or inefficiency as from the impossibility of finding sufficient time in the busy rush of week-day interests, with committee meetings and other gatherings claiming the evenings, to prepare thoughtfully and prayerfully the program for each Sunday’s session. Most superintendents recognize the supreme importance of this opening period and its wonderful opportunities, if rightly used, for making spiritual impressions and vitally influencing the ideals of worship among the pupils. It is a good plan for the super- intendent to train the pupils to participate in this service of worship. Some of the older classes may occasionally be intrusted with the responsibility of preparing the program and conducting this period of the Sunday-school session under the superintendent’s guidance. Programs should 43 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY always be prepared with due regard for special days and seasons, such as Easter, Christmas, Independence Day, Memorial Day, and similar celebrations, the hymns and Scripture selections being appropriate to the occasion. The Superintendent a Leader.—Again, the superinten- dent should be the recognized leader in all matters pertain- ing to the interests of the Sunday school. He should be the presiding officer at all meetings of the Sunday-school work- ers and should be, ex officio, a member of every committee. All general and special committees should be appointed by him. He should represent the school in all interchurch community gatherings, or delegate some one to act in his place. That the superintendent should set an example of | promptness, courtesy, and patience is so obviously a funda- mental requirement that it may be taken for granted. If the church has a council of religious education, the superin- tendent, by virtue of his office, should be the representative of the Sunday school in that body. Promoting General Sunday-School Agencies. — All inter- denominational organizations and agencies for the promo- tion of Sunday-school methods and for elevating the stand- ards of Sunday-school efficiency should receive his sym- pathetic and active support. District, county, and state Sunday-school organizations and gatherings, when prop- erly planned, offer opportunities for fellowship and ex- change of ideas which the alert superintendent cannot afford to neglect. Such organizations should not be criti- cized for ineffectiveness by those whose interest and sup- port is withheld. If we do not contribute our energies , toward the success of a movement, we should not criticize its weaknesses. 44 THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR Finally, every superintendent must study his own situa- tion and find the solution of his own problems in careful study, wise judgment, and the advice of his counselors, relying upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit without whose help all his efforts will fail. THE PASTOR The superintendent’s chief counselor is the pastor.» The minister of the church has a distinct position in, and re- sponsibility for, the Sunday school. While the superin- tendent is the executive officer in charge of the Sunday school, the pastor’s function of general supervision of the work of the school should not be minimized. The success- ful pastor knows the pupils of the Sunday school as a good shepherd knows his own sheep. He should know the homes from which they come, and the conditions under which they are being reared. He should be just as truly the pastor of the Sunday school as of the congregation. He should never be absent from the Sunday-school sessions, except in case of necessity, and he should be thoroughly familiar with all aspects of the work. He should have the privilege of the platform at every session, and at the proper time in the program he should be given an opportunity to speak to the school upon any matters which he may desire to bring to the attention of the pupils. He should have a special care for the spiritual interests of each pupil, and should work and pray with the teachers in behalf of pupils who should be brought to a decision to accept Christ as their personal Saviour. He should be the leader in all Decision-Day exercises, gathering the pupils who should be trained for Church membership into communicant classes for instruc- tion in the duties, privileges, and obligations of the Chris- 45 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY tian life. The pastor who thus comes into intimate per- sonal contact with the pupils will find it one of the happiest and most inspiring features of his ministry to lead them into Church membership; and to the faithful teacher, he will be a constant source of strength and encouragement in reaching the goal toward which every true teacher strives —the winning of the pupils to an open declaration of alle- giance to Jesus. Working Together.—There should be perfect accord be- tween the pastor and the superintendent in planning for the best interests of the school, each having proper regard for the position and authority of the other. The pastor is sel- dom justified in overruling the decisions of the superin- tendent, but he should always feel at liberty to suggest new and helpful plans which the superintendent should give careful consideration. The relation between them should be that of friendly counsel and codperation, never losing sight of the fact that each is studying the highest welfare and prosperity of the school. While they may ap- proach their common problems in different ways, and while they may occasionally differ in their viewpoint, they should maintain an attitude of mutual consideration and good will which will lead to the wisest solution of every troublesome question. Ideally, the pastor can be more helpful in the Sunday school if he is not charged with any specific responsibility as an Officer or teacher, although in many schools the lack of a capable man or woman to fill the office of superinten- dent or teacher of an adult Bible class or a teacher-training _ class frequently makes it necessary for him to assume the reins of leadership, or to conduct such classes. In a great 46 THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR many schools the adult Bible class could not be main- tained without the services of the pastor as its teacher, and likewise the teacher-training class would be impossible in many schools if the pastor were unwilling to become its leader. While these situations must be recognized, and while the pastor, in most cases, will cheerfully respond to the request of the superintendent to serve in such a man- ner, it should be regarded as a temporary rather than a permanent arrangement, and constant effort should be made to train others for these tasks. RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO THE CHURCH In this connection, consideration should be given to the relation of the Sunday school to the church. Too many churches look upon the Sunday school as an institution apart from the church itself , and give it little or no support. It is merely a tenant of the church property; it is expected to provide for its own needs in the matter of equipment, and even the officeholders of the church are not actively engaged in its work. The great need of the hour is not merely to establish a closer bond between the Sunday school and the church, but also to bring to the conscious- ness of the entire Church the fact that its chief task is to teach and train its children and youth for Christian life and service and that the Sunday school should be regarded as the indispensable means for the accomplishment of this purpose. Accepting this ideal, the church must accept also the responsibility, financial and otherwise, for the work of the Sunday school, providing the necessary equipment, the funds for its support, and enlisting Church members actively in its service. The Sunday school is not “the 47 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY nursery of the church’’; it is not merely for the children; it is the Bible teaching service of the church, for the whole church, in which the entire Church membership should be enrolled. The modern Sunday-school organization pro- vides for all ages, from children in their earliest infancy to adult men and women. It should be the aim of every church, and especially of its pastor and session, to see that the Sunday school is organized in such a way as to provide a suitable and congenial place for every member of “‘the household of faith.” Supporting the Sunday School.—The expenses of the Sunday school should be included in the budget of con- gregational expenses. This does not mean that the Sunday- school pupils are relieved of the necessity of contributing according to their means; but instead of giving their offer- ings to pay bills for lesson helps and other necessary ex- penses, they will now contribute toward the support of the church which provides for their needs. Thus the pupils will be trained to understand that the Sunday school, in- stead of being thrust upon its own resources, is such an integral and necessary part of the church’s life and work that it must be maintained out of the common treasury. In this way the pupils may be trained in systematic and proportionate giving from their earliest years, eliminating much of the difficulty which is now experienced in enlisting the entire Church membership in the practice of the prin- ciples of Christian stewardship. But the Sunday school must also train the pupils to give for the support of the missionary and benevolent enterprises of the church, and it would obviously be a wrong principle to place all their offerings in the church treasury to be used for local ex- 48 2 een THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE PASTOR penses. They must be given an opportunity to share in the extension of the gospel into the dark places of the world, and it is an important part of their training as Christians. Therefore, just as the congregational offerings are divided between the work of the church at home and the larger work abroad, so the offerings of the Sunday school should be distributed. In many Sunday schools the duplex-envelope method has been introduced with very satisfactory results. Each Sunday school should adopt the method which seems best adapted to its local situation, always keeping in mind, however, the principle that the Sunday school as an integral part of the church should be regarded as a prior lien upon the church’s funds; and that, as the training school for church life and service, its mem- bers should be taught to give in accordance with the plan of giving which the church has found the most practicable. Some E CHAPTER IV LESSON COURSES The words of Jesus, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me; forbid them not: for to such belongeth the king- dom of God,” furnish all the authority we need for insist- ing that the Sunday school adhere in fact, as well as in theory, to its specific function as a Bible-teaching and - character-building agency. The Bible must ever hold first _ place as the textbook of the Sunday school. While we believe that the Sunday school must take into considera- tion the fourfold life of the child, to provide for his moral, spiritual, social, and physical development, it is important that we should put first things first, remembering that out of the heart are ‘‘the issues of life.’”’ Christian character ean be built only upon the foundation of Christian knowl- edge, which in turn can be obtained only by careful, persistent, and wisely directed study of the Bible. ‘Thy Word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against thee,”’ sang the psalmist. Jesus found the Word an armory of defense against the powers of evil, because he had been trained to repeat it and to memorize it from early childhood. Likewise the knowledge of the Word stored in the heart of the children and youth of to-day is thei! strongest safeguard against temptation. But the Word not only provides a weapon of defense; it also gives light and power; it illuminates the pathways of . service; it finds opportunities for expression in all the rela- tionships of life, sending its rays with purifying and healing 50 LESSON COURSES power into the farthest and darkest corners. The Sunday school needs no other textbook than the Bible; its brief session affords too little opportunity to teach it adequately even in a lifetime of faithful attendance. Much less, there- fore, should we consider the introduction of anything that would take a single moment from the time which is now devoted to the study of the Bible. It should be an almost inflexible rule in every Sunday school that the Bible-study period must be sacredly guarded against intrusions of any kind. While the Bible is the textbook of the Sunday school, it is obvious that each school should not be left to select its own subjects and outlines. The earliest leaders in organizing Sunday-school work recognized the advantage of having definite selected lessons, arranged in series and with some degree of continuity and progress in giving the pupils a knowledge of the contents of the entire Book. They rec- ognized, also, that such a course of lessons would be adapt- able to all schools, large and small, and that suitable mate- rial in the form of comments could be prepared by the re- spective denominational publishing houses, for the use of teachers and pupils. For many years the Sunday schools confined their work to the gathering of the pupils for memorizing of Bible verses and passages and for catechet- ical instruction; but when the idea of a single lesson for all Sunday schools and for all pupils, prepared in series by a competent and representative committee, was advanced, it met with widespread and unanimous approval. Uniform Lessons.—The father of the Uniform Lesson System was B. F. Jacobs who for many years was the leader of the Sunday-school forces in the Middle West. 51 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY For years he labored and argued for the adoption of a single lesson to be studied simultaneously by all the schools of every denomination. In 1869 the plan was presented to the National Convention and two years later it was en- dorsed by the representatives of the various Sunday-school publications. A committee of five ministers and five lay- men was appointed to select a series of lessons to cover a period of seven years, and in spite of the various other courses that have been developed in recent years, this plan is still followed in many of the Sunday schools. The Uni- form Lesson System brought to the Sunday-school cause the aid of the best Biblical scholars and it promoted a spirit of unity which otherwise would not have been realized. ‘The Uniform Lesson System has served its purpose effec- tively. Advantages of Graded Lessons.—The Uniform Lesson System, however, while it has had many enthusiastic sup- porters, has likewise had its opponents. Some have thought that the plan of uniformity restricted the larger educational development of the Sunday school. During recent years graded Sunday-school lessons have come to the front with a large and zealous following. Beginning with a series of special lessons for the youngest children in the Beginners Department, the advocates of the graded system developed other separate courses for Primary, Junior, Intermediate and Senior grades. They marked a new era in Sunday- school teaching. A distinct advantage of the graded lesson system is found in the principle upon which it is based, placing the child at the center and planning a course of « lessons adapted to growing and developing life, instead of sacrificing the interests of the child as often appeared to be 52 LESSON COURSES necessary under the uniform lesson plan in order to pre- serve the idea of uniformity and so-called unity within the school itself. The first course of graded lessons which was offered by the International Lesson Committee was a radical depar- ture from the uniform lesson plan. It was called the Inter- national Graded Series. Instead of basing the lessons for the pupils of all ages upon one Scripture passage, different passages for each year or grade (each grade representing one year) were selected with the special regard to the mentality, age, and particular needs of the pupils, as they developed year by year. This course, which is now known as the ‘‘Closely Graded Course,” covers two years in the Beginners Department, three years in the Primary Depart- ment, four years in the Junior Department, and continues through the Intermediate and Senior Department, the en- tire course covering seventeen years, with a separate lesson for the pupils each year. It will be seen, therefore, that a Sunday school using the Closely Graded Lessons must be carefully graded by departments and the pupils within each department graded according to their age in separate classes. For example, the Junior Department would have one class studying the first-year lesson, another studying the second-year lesson, another the third-year lesson, and another the fourth-year lesson. The purpose of these Graded Lessons is to meet the spiritual needs of the pupils at each stage of their development. Beginning with lessons teaching the child to know God as the Father of all, they aim to develop in the heart of the child the spirit of love, trust, obedience, and worship. Upon this foundation are built lessons teaching our duty toward others and toward ourselves, all based upon appropriate Biblical passages. 53 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Closely Graded Lessons Not Found Adaptable by Many small Schools.—These lessons were found to be imprac- ticable in many smaller schools, and it became evident to — some Sunday-school leaders that for the majority of Sun- day schools, and in view of their limited facilities and in- adequate leadership, a simpler course must be devised, based upon the graded ideal, but more readily adaptable to the conditions under which the work of the Sunday school must be carried on. The Departmental Graded Lessons.—After careful thought and study, the plan of the Departmental Graded Lessons was developed by the Presbyterian Church, U.S. A., i codperation with other denominations, as the most practical course for the teaching of the Bible to chil- dren and youth of all ages. For the most part, they are based upon the same outlines as the International Graded Series, but, instead of having a different lesson for each year within each department, they provide one lesson for all of the classes within each department. Thus the depart- ment, rather than the class, is kept in mind. The Departmental Graded Lessons were first issued in January, 1915. They attracted widespread attention, and they were immediately adopted by a large number of Presbyterian Sunday schools. Soon other denominations adopted them, and later the International Lesson Commit- tee, after careful study, gave them its endorsement. Year by year, these lessons are being introduced into more Sun- day schools in city, town, and rural churches, and they are being used with satisfaction. Thus the problem of a suit- ° able graded course for many Sunday schools has been satis- factorily solved by a course which maintains the highest 54 LESSON COURSES pedagogical ideals and is in accordance with recognized and approved psychological principles. The Plan of the Departmental Graded Lesson System. — Under the Departmental Graded System, the lessons are used in the following manner: Beginners Departmental Lessons, for pupils under six years of age. Primary Departmental Lessons, for pupils six, seven, and eight years of age. Junior Departmental Lessons, for pupils nine, ten, and eleven years of age. Intermediate Departmental Lessons, for pupils twelve, thirteen, and fourteen years of age. Senior Departmental Lessons, for pupils fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen years of age. Young People’s Departmental Lessons, for pupils from eighteen to twenty-three years of age. For the Adult Division (from twenty-four years up- wards) special elective courses are provided. Schools that are not large enough to have more than one class of each of the age groups listed above may use the Departmental Graded Lessons in each of these classes. Where the school is large enough to have more than one class in each age group, the classes should be organized into departments. The Departmental Graded Lessons are issued in the form of quarterly periodicals for teachers and for pupils, the Teacher’s Quarterly being prepared for the teacher only and the Pupil’s Quarterly containing material for the pupil. Introducing the Departmental Lessons.—In facing the 55 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY problems incident to introducing the Departmental Graded Lessons into the Sunday school, it must be remembered that the lessons are projected according to the age, needs, and interests of pupils. Hence, they are usable in any school in which are enrolled pupils of the ages indicated in the course, whether the school be large or small. The most effective use of the Departmental Lessons in any school can be secured, however, only when the school has been prepared for their introduction, the teachers trained for service, and the homes pledged to coédperation. The preparation of the school should include: 1. Creat- ing sentiment in favor of the new lessons. 2. Grading the school. 3. Classification of teachers. 4. Provision of es- sential equipment. 5. Regular promotion each year from grade to grade, and from department to department. 6. A monthly meeting of the teachers and officers of the school. Promotions.—To keep the school permanently graded, it will be found necessary to plan for regular annual pro- motions from department to department. The pupils of each department who have reached the required age and completed the assigned work should be awarded certificates _ with special recognition of any additional work performed, such as handwork, and so forth. Pupils who have been irregular in attendance and who, in the judgment of the teacher or superintendent, have not done the required work in studying the lessons, should be promoted when they have arrived at the required age, but they should not be awarded the certificate. Promotions should be made once a year. The best time for promotion exercises is the last Sunday of September (usually observed as Rally Day). This date is preferred 56 ‘dnoid yNpy 84} 0} poisejsuvs} oq plnoys A[qeqoid ‘ajdurexe Jo} ‘ajdosd Sunod powseul ‘oqirxop 18 EZ 0} QT S9Be OUT, » 98INOD 9ATJOIII PojO9T9B JO YOoIxIT, yove syoog INOJ JO S9sIN09 9ATIOIIO BOI], sosed Aqyste ‘AjI0jIeNyH Sjuepnig s,e[doeg ZunoX eq], Aj[iez1enb wossey] peyerjsny[t ‘esed moj-Aqx1s W —A]iojIVNY 8, Jtdng 1otuseg Ajioq1enb uossey] pozerysnyt ‘eased moj-A4xts VY —A19qIVN® §,[1dng o}BIpseuli9jUy yooqa,oN rorune Ajiey1enb wossey poyerjsny[t ‘eded xis-AqI1y3 VW —suosseyT Apnig pus y1oM JOTUNS YooM YORE IO] SyUSUUTZISSB yiompuvy poivdeid yjo—odoyjoa -uq yIompuvy, *(ApyeeM) Iopjoy UOssSe] P9}BIYSNIIE ‘osvd-Ino0jy VW —suosse’] o[qiq Areulig (Apjeeat) Iappoy UOssgI POPBIYSNI]I ‘osed-inoj VW —fd9l10}9 9[qIg S1ouUuIsog STVIGHLVN 8. TIiddnd IaqoVa], 1oySUTUTISA AA ey,L PABY OS] P[Noys 1Jeyovs} oT, IGBIIVAG oIOM yoog s§,1eyovey, pu’ osin0d 9ATJOVI9 P9qDoTes8 JO YOOIXayT, I9YOVaT, 199SUrIUIsSO AMA ey, eAvy OS[B p[Noys Joyove} OUT, yova syoog INO} JO S9sINOD 9ATIOITO 9OIT,T, A[i1ayeN? §,19yoVa Ty 8,9[doag 3uno X vy, IayoVaT, 19}SUTUTASI AA oU.L PABY OS[B P[Noys IoyoVe} oY TL, A[19}IVNY 8,19yoVa Ty, IOIUaG IaYOVaT, 1dySuUIUIysSa AA oy. eABY OS[G PlNoys Ioyove} OJ, AjIoPIVNA) § JoyIVa], oyVtpouls194uy I9YORVIT, 1d}SUTUTISI AA ey, eAvy OS[B plnoys Jeyove} oy J, A[1o}IVNY 8,19y9va J, 1oruns IOYIVIT, 19YSUTUTISO AA oUL VABY OS[TS plnoys 19y9ve} OTT, TOY Pmnjotg A[I9jICNH 8,19yovay, AIVUITIG IayoVaT, 19}SUTUTYSI AA ayL eAVY OS[e prnoys 19yoVe, OUT, TOW Smngotg ATIOWIVNA) §,1oyoVs F, s1ouutsog (s7eteyey 8,[1dng 0} UoTyTppe UT) INSWLYvaada STVIYALVIN SS YHHOVAL S9AT}09TO qyuouljisdeg ynpy S180A XIS Ul peqelduros esinod e[2A0 IBeA-xIg SuUOssa'T 8,a]doog sunox s1v0A 9919} UI peze[duroo esinoy g[oAo Ivo9A-901, J, suOsseT IOTUSG sivoA 9014} UT peye[duroo esino0d ajaAo Iv9A-991Y J, SUOSSO'T OUVIPOULIOYUT SIB9A 90149 UL pe ze[dur0os esinoD g[DAD IB9A-901T, [, suosse'y roluns —_————— | sivoA 9914} UT pezve[duroo esin0g a[oAo IweA-901U J, suossey AIBUILIG s1B0Ah OA UT pejetduroo esinoy a[oAO IBaA-OM J, suossey SIOUUISOg, duasn SNOSSHT dn put $z *€Z 07 ST LI ‘QT ‘ST FI ‘ST ‘ZT LIZOLSG SHDV ‘stidnd Aq puke sisyove} Aq jusW}IedOp YoLe UT PsN 3q 0} S[RII9}EUI UOSSO] pus suossa] 94} Pues ‘AZurlpeis Jo wiojshs MOU 9Y} 07 ZuIpso0s0"N ‘YvO UI pepNy]oUT sjidnd Jo soZe oy} ‘sjusWjzIEdep 9Y4) So}edIPUT Jey SIL, STVIVALVW GNV ONIGVYS TWINKDNLYVdad AHL Linay § a1doag DNNOX HOINDG GLVIGAWUALNT HOINoe AUVAIUT SUANNIDAG Ig W!py WOIsIAI uosAlg 8,o[doag Sunox d §,4e1PID UOISIAT 57 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY because the plan of the graded lessons provides for the beginning of a new year on the first Sunday in October. It should be kept clearly in mind that pupils only are pro-- moted. The teachers remain in the department, to receive new classes of the pupils who are promoted from the lower grade. By following this plan, teachers become very pro- ficient in working among pupils of a certain age group, besides becoming familiar with the course of lessons, hand- work, and supplemental instruction. Some General Suggestions.!—1. Since the first lesson of all the series of lessons falls on the first Sunday in October, the last Sunday in September is the best day for Promotion or Recognition Day. 2. A public service to which parents and teachers are invited should be arranged. 3. There should be special decorations ‘ied and special advertising of the event. 4. The exercises should consist of selected Sateen from the courses of the several departments. 5. Age, ability, and a reasonable knowledge of the grade work should be considered in promoting the pupils. 6. The pupils should be promoted but the teachers should remain in their department. 7. Certificates should be given to the pupils upon the completion of the grade work. 8. It is sometimes necessary to promote some pupils without the certificates of honor. This occurs when pupils willfully neglect the work. 9. An exhibit of the pupil’s handwork and notebooks should be arranged for the inspection of parents and visitors. 1 Leaflet, ‘‘The Departmental Graded Lessons.” 58 LESSON COURSES 10. Write to your denominational Sunday-school head- quarters for samples of promotion exercises. Several dif- ferent exercises for use on Promotion Day have been pub- lished, and they will be found adaptable to both large and small schools. The Improved Uniform Lessons.—An effort was made by the International Lesson Committee to introduce cer- tain improvements in the Uniform Lesson System for such schools as may prefer to maintain the idea of uniformity, especially in small schools situated in localities where the building, equipment, and leadership are not adapted to the use of the graded course. The improvement consisted of a special adaptation of the same or kindred Biblical passages to pupils of each department. Recently special Group Graded Lessons have been offered in connection with the Uniform Lessons, for Primary, Junior, and Intermediate Departments. At the same time the departmental adapta- tion, which was a feature of the Improved Uniform Les- sons, were omitted. The Uniform Lessons are still available for schools which prefer them, adaptation to the depart- ment being made by many of the publishing houses which prepare material on these lessons. The Uniform Lesson System has not been abandoned because of the introduc- tion of the Departmental Graded Lessons. Many feel that the Departmental Graded Lessons are the best and most practical Sunday-school lessons available. Even in the smallest rural schools the building may be adapted, by the use of curtains and screens, to their use at least for the Beginners, Primary, and Junior pupils. (See Chap- ter V on “Building and Equipment,’ for suggestions.) The growing interest on the part of the Church in the 59 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Christian nurture of the children and youth will gradually bring us to the day when all our church buildings will be planned in such a way as to provide adequate facilities for - the Christian training and teaching of the rising generation in accordance with the best educational ideals and meth- ods. Until that time arrives, we must find ways of adapt- ing our present inadequate equipment in a manner that will enable our schools to progress as far as possible toward the attainment of the standard of a fully graded school. Objections to Graded Lessons Answered.—Some super- intendents have hesitated to introduce Graded Lessons, upon the ground that with each department of the school studying a different lesson, the unity of the Sunday school is destroyed. Experience shows, however, that this diffi- culty does not exist necessarily. Many teachers, too, have felt it impossible to use these lessons because they are unfamiliar with the pedagogical principles on which they are based. But with the increased emphasis upon teacher- training and the ever-growing number of those who are pursuing courses of study in preparation for Sunday-school teaching, the appreciation of educational methods is in- creasing. The plan of properly graded courses has come to stay and the coming years doubtless will witness a wise and practical adaptation of the idea by each denomination. Others have objected to the Graded Lessons because they feel that they obscure the evangelistic aim of the Sun- day school and do not offer the same opportunities for leading the pupils to an acceptance of Christ. Users of these lessons, however, are convinced that this objection is * groundless. The teacher is no less responsible for applying the truths of the Graded Lesson in a way that will bring 60 LESSON COURSES conviction, repentance, and an acceptance of Christ, than when using the Uniform Lesson. Both courses are Bible lessons, both carry the great evangelistic and missionary message, and both courses offer the same opportunity to the spirit-filled teacher, praying and laboring for the souls of the pupils, to lead them to the Saviour. In fact, the experi- ence of those who have used the Graded Lessons has been that boys and girls have moved in a constant stream from the classroom, where the lessons are taught, into the church, where they confess Christ as Saviour. Lesson Courses for the Three-Hour-a-Week Church School. —The rapid growth of the week-day church school with its wide variety of adaptations developed the neces- sity of providing an additional and suitable course of study for its use. At the same time, it was obvious to the leaders in this movement that in order to make the work of the week-day church school most effective, due recogni- tion should be given to the Sunday school and to other agencies within the individual church which are engaged in teaching and training the same children whom the week- day church school enrolls. Conflict between these agencies should be avoided. There must be a mutual understanding of the common objective for each age group on the part of teachers in the Sunday school, teachers in the week-day church school, and leaders of the various societies of a mis- sionary, expressional, devotional, and social character, who appeal to these same groups. Close correlation of the material for instruction and expressional activities in all of these organizations is the only principle upon which the pupils’ needs can adequately be met. The solution of this problem is found in the correlated 61 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY course of lessons offered in The Westminster Textbooks of Religious Education. The textbooks cover the work of the Primary, Junior, — and Intermediate Departments. They contain’ lesson materials suitable for use in all phases of the educative process. That is, they make possible a program of religious education where worship, instruction, and expression are given due and proportionate attention. There are forty- two lessons for each year and each lesson is threefold in the Junior and Intermediate grades, and twofold in the Primary grade. In all three grades there is one section intended for use in a week-day church-school class and this section of the lesson is largely informational. There is also a section intended primarily for use on Sunday and this section aims to cultivate the spirit of worship as its primary objective. There is informational material, as a matter of course, but the material is chosen whenever possible with a view to the development of a spirit of devotion during the lesson period. A third section is included in the Inter- mediate and Junior lessons. This section is for use in an expressional meeting to be held either on Sunday, at some time other than the Sunday-school hour, or on some other day in the week. All these sections are so related to one another as to make a unified course of Bible study. How a Church Could Inaugurate the Plan in Its Entirety. —A church wishing to carry out the proposed plan in its entirety would need to provide, in addition to its Sunday- school and expressional organization, week-day classes for all its Primary, Junior, and Intermediate pupils. These’ classes would meet for one hour once a week and receive instruction based on the sections of the course intended 62 LESSON COURSES for week-day religious instruction. Instead of the usual quarterlies, pupils of the Junior and Intermediate Depart- ments would have in their hands the Westminster Text- books intended for use in their own department or class. Teachers would use the same texts as the pupils. In the Primary grades “Pupil’s Stories” and “Supplemental Activities” are provided for the pupils. The textbook is for the teachers. Possible Adaptations When the Plan Is Not Adopted in Its Entirety.—‘‘Complete correlation of the educational agencies of the Church is impossible unless the plan is put on in its entirety. Hence, churches should not modify the plan unless there are difficulties in the way which seem insurmountable. However, where such conditions exist the introduction of the lessons in a modified form ought to be productive of distinct improvement in the educational pro- gram of the Church.’”! The plan of the three-hour-a-week church school should be carefully studied by all Sunday-school officers and teachers and by pastors and church officers. However efficient we may make the Sunday school, it is obvious that its various limitations, which are apparent to all who have had any experience in its work, make it impossible for it to carry the entire responsibility for the Christian nurture of the Church’s children. Time must be found during the week for additional instruction in the things that contri- bute to the development of Christian life and character. Splendid pioneer work in this direction is being done by the Presbyterian Church and by other denominations. 1See ‘“‘A Three Hour A Week Church School,” Bulletin No. 8, issued by The Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. A. 63 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Improvements and variations will be made in these plans as the experience of different schools, working under dif- erent conditions, suggests the advisability of offering such adaptations as will enable every community where there is a Protestant Church to introduce some form of week- day religious instruction. The week-day church school is not intended to supplant the Sunday school or to relegate it to a subordinate place. The Sunday school furnishes the constituency for the week- day church school, besides the encouragement, through the teachers’ influence and coéperation, to attend its sessions both for instruction and expressional work. The week-day church-school movement needs the Sunday school, not only for its influence, but also because the type of instruc- tion which the Sunday school gives is necessary in the development of Christian manhood and womanhood. Both are a necessary part of the whole church-school plan of organization. ye 64 CHAPTER V BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT The emphasis which is being placed upon religious edu- cation by all denominations and the promotion of plans for organizing the educational work of the individual churches in accordance with approved standards and denomina- tional policies have brought us face to face with the prob- lems of suitable buildings and equipment. Comparatively few church buildings, except those re- cently constructed with a special view to provide for the instruction and training of the children and youth, are adapted to meet the present requirements of our Presby- terian educational program. Indeed, the proportion of church buildings that are so constructed as to provide properly for even a departmentally graded Sunday school is pitifully small. This situation has developed because most of the church buildings have been planned primarily for the purpose of providing for the services of worship, to the neglect of the Sunday school which is thus required to carry on its work under great disadvantages. In view of ‘the important place which the Sunday school occupies in determining the future of the church, it is the manifest duty of every congregation to make the best possible provision for its work. We must consider also the recreational life of the church’s children and youth. Facilities should be in- troduced in every church edifice for social gatherings.. Through careful study of the situation and wise planning, the chureh building may be so arranged as to meet these 5 65 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY demands in a satisfactory manner without sacrificing the requirements of public worship. The Graded School.—The efforts of leaders in religious education during the past quarter of a century, in devising and promoting graded courses for the Sunday school, and the instruction that has been imparted through teacher- training classes, schools of method, and conventions, have borne fruit in an almost universal acceptance of the ad- vantages of adapting the teaching of the Bible to the capabilities and needs of children of different ages. It is no longer necessary to convince Sunday-school workers that the children of the Beginners and Primary ages (from four to eight years inclusive) ought each to have their own open- ing and closing exercises, with songs which they can under- stand and with memory work different from that which is provided for Juniors and Seniors. Correspondingly, the Juniors should have their own exercises apart from the adults. In brief, it has become clearly evident that the Sunday-school building that is fully adapted to the present needs should provide at least a separate assembly room for each department. The difficulty of arranging the available space in the average church of one or two rooms has been the greatest obstacle in the way of introducing the departmentally graded organization. Finding it thus impossible to carry out all the features of a graded school, and ofttimes equally impracticable to obtain a new building constructed for the purposes of educational work, many Sunday schools have , made no effort in this direction, and may still be found conducting their work after the primitive manner of the Sunday school of a century ago. 66 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT Ingenious plans, however, have been devised and suc- cessfully used by Sunday schools in which the leaders have thoughtfully studied the problem, with a determination to effect at least a partial grading of the pupils. Obstacles that seemed insurmountable have been overcome by per- sistent, patient, and devoted effort. THE BUILDING The Ideal Plan.—The ideal plan for a church building should provide first of all for the departmentally graded Sunday school. The requirements are as follows: i An auditorium for public worship, for the assembling of adult classes, and for general Sunday-school gather- ings such as Children’s Day, Rally Day, and so forth. - A separate room for the Cradle Roll members (ages two and three years) and visiting mothers. . A separate room containing space for assembly and classrooms for the Beginners Department (ages four and five years). . A separate room containing space for assembly and classrooms for the Primary Department (ages six, seven, and eight years). . A separate room containing space for assembly and classrooms for the Junior Department (ages nine, ten, and eleven years). . A separate room containing space for assembly and classrooms for the Intermediate Department (ages twelve, thirteen, and fourteen years). . A separate room containing space for assembly and classrooms for the Senior Department (ages fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen years). . A separate room containing space for assembly and 67 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY classrooms for the Young People’s Department (ages eighteen to twenty-three, inclusive). | 9. Separate rooms for Adult classes (ages twenty-four years and upwards) and for teacher-training class or classes. It will be seen that this plan requires several separate rooms in addition to the church auditorium, which at first glance makes it appear impossible of attainment by the average small church. The small, one-room or two-room church building cannot possibly be adapted in such a way as to provide such facilities without building an addition to the present structure. But let us see what can be done. We may begin by mak- ing provision for the Beginners Department. If the church has a room in addition to the church auditorium, it should be assigned to the Beginners Department. If it is large enough to accommodate the Primary Department also, it may be divided by rolling doors or, more inexpensively, by a curtain hung on an iron pipe, with pulleys so that it may be drawn close to the wall on either side when the entire room is used for other gatherings. The two Departments may have a few moments of opening exercises with songs familiar to both grades, and then the curtains or doors should be closed for the teaching period, opening the cur- tains again for the closing hymn, so that each Department may carry on its own special study and work. (See “The Beginners Department,’ Oglevee.) The remaining Departments, will be obliged to assemble in the church auditorium for the exercises of worship at the ° opening of the school, but for the teaching period the classes may each be separated by curtains made of light, inexpensive material hung upon arms attached to the side 68 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT walls. These curtains may be drawn during the lesson period and pushed back against the wall during assembly. Some churches have used ordinary window shades with rollers fastened perpendicularly against the wall, the cur- tain being drawn out and fastened to the ends of a pew during the lesson period, thus providing each class with a separate compartment. The choir platform also may be curtained off for use as a classroom. Before the closing hymn and prayer, the curtains are rolled back at a signal from the pianist. Remodeling the Church.—Another plan, which is very simple but practical, is suggested by which provision can be made for separate classrooms. It requires, however, a remodeling of the building. The following diagrams are reproduced from a pamphlet on Sunday-school architec- ture by Rev. P. E. Burroughs, of Nashville, Tennessee, author of “Church and Sunday-School Buildings” and ‘“‘A Complete Guide to Church Building,” and are used by permission. He shows how the side wall may be cut off the first ten or twelve feet of the length of the building, providing a vestibule with classrooms on either side. (See Figures 1 and 2.) He suggests further: “1. If the ceiling is high, this space may be duplicated above, thus securing two or three classrooms on the upper floor. Or the pulpit may be moved up a few feet from the rear of the building and rooms built on either side. “2. Addition may be made to the rear of the building. Such addition may vary from the inexpensive ‘lean-to’ to the elegant two-story structure. “*3. Additions may be made to one or both sides of the building. The writer has seen such remodelings ranging 69 P THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY from the simplest addition of two rooms to the imposing structure which more than doubled the original building. - ‘4, Additions may be made on both the sides and rear of the one-room building. “5. A ground floor may be provided under the present one-room building, thus doubling its floor space. “6. Changes and additions may be made at the front of the building. A wide colonial porch may be added at com- paratively small expense. A tower may be erected, pro- viding for a vestibule and offering classrooms on either side. “7. The above-named methods may be combined in various ways. The two buildings shown in Figures 1-4, illustrate several of the methods of remodeling suggested above. These successful remodelings indicate somewhat the range of possibility in this line. | “The Enon Church, near Hollins, Virginia, has been completely transformed. The old square tower has given way to a beautiful circular belfry. A spacious and inviting colonial porch adds beauty to the front. At the rear a two- story addition offers ample provision for all types of social and educational service. This remodeled building known as ‘The White Church Among the Oaks,’ is a model of elegant design and offers admirable facilities for modern church and community service. “The remodeled community church, Badger Grove, Indiana, constitutes the most striking transformation of a one-room building of which the writer knows. The exte- rior and floor plans of the remodeled building may well « be studied even by those who are planning a new building. “The point on which the writer would insist is that the 70 | ' BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT one-room building can almost always be so remodeled as to offer fairly satisfactory equipment. It is really wonder- ful what a skilled architect can accomplish in the way of remodeling present buildings, small or large. Furnish such an architect with these items of information and he will do | the rest: (1) Size and location of lot, (2) kodak pictures of » ra present building from two or three viewpoints, (3) dimen- | sions of building, height of wall, and pitch of roof, (4) pen- ciled sketch of floor plan, (5) additional needs which ought to be supplied, (6) amount of money which is to be ex- pended. This is an important item. “Tt is often difficult to determine whether the old build- ing should be remodeled or whether it is wiser to pull down the old building and erect a new one. When serious doubt exists, the question may well be referred to the architect for his advice. Generally speaking, if the present building is well preserved, it can be used to advantage in the new order and at considerable saving in expense.”’ The building (Figure 1) was originally one large room with a vestibule extending across the front. By means of inexpensive partitions, rooms were obtained for the Be- ginners and Primary Departments on each side of the vesti- bule. The auditorium was divided into classrooms by cur- tains, as indicated by dotted lines, and the organized classes were assigned to separate rooms on either side of the pulpit, which were made possible by light wall-board partitions. This building provides for a Sunday school of about one hundred members. Another plan of remodeling is suggested by an addition to the rear of the building. Figure 2 shows how an inex- pensive addition may be made to almost any one-room church. Suppose the present building is forty feet wide, 71 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY the addition here suggested would be 15 x 40 feet. Pro- visions would then be made for about forty pupils. The ~ drawing shows three separate department rooms and indi- O/ CLALI EM Aes ae 10°.X15"' ; PULS YF MOULT CLBISLES AUDITOLIUIA Ficure 1 cates tables with chairs in accordance with the best modern usage. Figure 3 shows a yet larger and more desirable addition. If the present building is forty feet wide, the proposed addi- 72 aero ree PULLUT, | oreo cS OM} om Me A | OE SS scede PSS li foe eee (OMI B ERE Ea SD ee oa | Gao rp COLRL/MPOL | har FIGURE 4 73 OONCYS : PBEGII1/Y Ee DEFARTAN ED y YY €): SH PRIMARY, Sse Ce OR L/POR g a eH | —- ea EX at CIR ST FLOOR PRLESEITT ST4lY AYLDITOR UPA Figure 5 GANGA NGS NGI GZ. Ne 70 Gi lez. G12.) 73. 1 I | hee if (| B. /3 g ‘fB.10 {| UNTERMEIHATEN S C108 PEPORTITE 7s : Page LEARTIILSST OS SJEQ7r5 a ! re BUS £ COLL/IDOL ; | SPANO 5 —— a SECON) FLOOR Figure 6 74 a BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT tion would be 20 x 65 feet and would accommodate about eighty pupils. Figure 4 shows how a two-story Sunday-school house may be added to the rear of a one-story building. Floor plans of this addition are presented in the following draw- ings, Figures 5 and 6, which show complete arrangements for a larger school. Addition may be made both to the sides and rear of the building as shown in the following diagram: Pz lee Ger Gn G3 coon £8 BS OR EPARISS/ TENT EES: eR GR RI || eezeet CORR/I DOL alll WII a , ; oat \ S SLZZZZELL A LLLZI AIELLO, ‘ PULPIT 8 6 erie} | . N ) sy 8 N wees 72 9 NS PRESENT Uh? AUDITORUIT g§ © x x x ROULT I3/BLE CLASSES My “3 Naas N 20743 \ . | S pau - BOYS 16% | > > SSS FIGURE 7 Figure 7 is the same as Figure 3 with side wings added, thus enlarging the seating capacity of the auditorium. By 75 AUIITOR1U 17 as a FA Bere Pian II 76 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT this plan provision would be made for about one hundred and fifty pupils. Many small churches can take only one step beyond the Ju NsORS fl ery 00: = ees. | eS oe " : DULTS ADULTS §& [_—__—___—__} CHAT TANO0GA, TENM, Puan III old-type, one-room church building. For such churches we propose the plan given in Plan I. (See page 76.) The design is neat and attractive in appearance, and because long, unsupported reaches and expensive trussings are “ie THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY avoided, the building can be erected at less cost than the old-type one-room building which incloses the same space. This building can be erected for a very modest sum.. Plan II has met with much favor and has been used in any SLY? PRIMALY PEFPARIMENT (v¥V a: BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT the erection of buildings in several states. Before the war these buildings were in some cases erected in wood frame for $1,500, and in one instance (Estill Springs, Tennessee) the building was erected in cement blocks for $2,000. Auditorium seats 150. Adjoining rooms seat 80. Total in sight of pulpit, 230. S LIAO DEPORT T M9 X19" Plan III is an exceptionally good small church design. It follows somewhat the lines on which we are accustomed to see church buildings erected. This is regarded as one of the choicest and most practical of the small designs for country churches. 79 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY In Plan IV we have a practical building which would lend itself to the various needs of a country or village church. This building will approve itself especially to those who may want modern equipment without radical depart- ure from traditional forms. The architect, Mr. Frank L. Smith, Lexington, Kentucky, developed this design with a THe New Tyre Country Cuurca view “to get practical modern equipment at the lowest possible cost.” Plan V is a type of building which, like those already presented, admits of expansion in dimensions without affecting the design. The architects who designed the building offer plans with auditorium 30 x 30, 35 x 35, and 40 x 40 feet. 80 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT Building a New Church. — Various plans are available for church buildings which will adequately provide for the Sunday school, for the various societies of the church, and | | = ——= Nl PuLey7 || i | \ a ) | i | \ aL \ ll THe Oup Tyre Country CuurcH for recreational and social purposes at a moderate cost. It will be found, upon consulting an architect or builder, that the expense of the building arranged in this manner is but little more than the cost of the one-room building. The 6 81 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY figures on pages 80 and 81 show the one and the new-style country church buildings. The size of the building can readily be determined by the number of pupils to be provided for. A Beginners Depart- ment, for example, with an enrollment of thirty-five pupils, should have a floor space of about seven hundred ‘square feet, or an average of twenty square feet for each pupil, in order to allow for a circle of about seventeen feet in diam- eter and for four classes, each with a table, and chairs for nine pupils. Separate classrooms in other grades above the Primary should measure not less than 9x 10 feet. The young people’s and adult classes will probably require larger rooms. | A neat and inexpensive building is shown in diagram on the next page. It may be either of frame or brick. The floor plan shows an auditorium 31 x 35 feet, seating two hundred. There are two classrooms on either side, 10 x 12 feet, two on either side of the front entrance, 10 x 10 feet, and three rooms at the rear. The two rooms at the sides and the two in front are separated by folding doors from the auditorium and can be thrown open, adding one hun- dred seats to the auditorium. A basement for furnace and fuel is a part of this plan. Another plan of a somewhat different type of building retains an attractive style of architecture, and provides in a very effective manner for Sunday-school work. The rooms may be made larger or smaller as desired, or the building may be raised three feet or more and a basement with ample windows secured, which would provide separate rooms for the Beginners, Primary, and Junior grades. This is the goal of organization toward which to aim. (See page 84.) 82 F BEGINNERS: © B PASTORS STUDY -4¢ (240° K16z0° PRIMARY DEPT: Ya '4-0" % IB‘o~ 14-0" 18-0” Soto" ’ 16-0” a a =) cilass Roo » JUNIOR DEPT « 18-6" KX 32-0" Fioor Puan! ? This plan and the two following diagrams are used by courtesy of J. A. Baylor, D.D., Architectural Secretary of the Board of Church Extension of the Methodist Episcopal Church (South), Louisville, Kentucky. 83 ig RN Ry ‘iar } Pure titaaags tiiinttag Ain fie le an if if it : | , an hl AAglP Wat : il Beata ee : ‘ : we Ane sett! we ——— S¥e are ose pat ae P : : 12a. Lig Sore + Twente. “Ee iV | 1 CLASS 2A Sass sé Coming PARTITFIO j SEATS 1S EIST OvLe TK o——= 9.0" 7 g- 6 ALTAR o & 5 & ~ 9 x a x y. DB x ~ & x “i t, N 3 NK Crass Rx SBAT3S IS ¢ PARTITION 8-0 279+ 9° Chass Pat 3 SEATS 1S NVesrisvce | BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT Other plans are suggested for schools with an attendance of about two hundred, as follows: Plans VI and VII.—For schools numbering about two hundred. (Light and ventilation are assured by clear story windows over department rooms.) STALL ASSEMBLY Anis YOUNG PEOPLE Puan VI Plan VIII.— Providing generously for schools numbering about two hundred. (Printed by courtesy of the Church Extension Board, Methodist Episcopal Church; South, J. A. Baylor, Architectural Secretary, Louisville, Kentucky.) These plans can be adapted to smaller churches and schools by the local architect. Other plans may be obtained by addressing the Board of National Missions, 156 Fifth Ave., New York City. ne 5) THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY “MOR FOOTY OMIOT I @ ER HE agai SAUNA" WRLOISTMOPLA --—-4 a-——— Fels PIOKMAAIOD Oe X ze MOOT 70/D0S a « 0% Et | es FET 1 60 F ES SSe72 | £5a72 | SLOT? IIA NVId MOMS 200 LEAS * won 4 AOS/Z2AO?P 86 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT Costs We have made no attempt to estimate the cost of the buildings for which plans have been suggested because of the fluctuating price of building material of all kinds. The best way to proceed is to place the matter in the hands of a competent committee consisting of the superin- tendent of the Sunday school, the pastor, and representa- muaat ound § coll A f —e t | t | it il { ! CLASS i | 1064/2" eben CORL/ PO TT’ wIDe ! CLASS CLASS AT : * te SECOND FLOOR FLAN. Puan VIII tives of the congregation. After they have decided upon their plans for remodeling, additions, or a new building, an architect should be consulted and working plans drawn. These may then be submitted to a builder to estimate the cost of construction. Correspondence should be had with Divisions of Buildings and Property, The Board of Na- tional Missions, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York City, for additional plans and suggestions, or if financial aid is required. 87 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY EQUIPMENT The best musical instrument for the Sunday school is the piano. In the thoroughly graded school each department should have a piano, if it is financially possible, but where this is impossible, the Beginners and Primary Depart- ments may use a small organ of the folding type which is inexpensive. In many cases excellent work is done even without a musical instrument. Songbooks suitable for each department should be ob- tained. In the Beginners and Primary Departments it is not necessary to provide songbooks for the pupils, as their songs are usually learned by memorizing the words. The best books containing suitable songs for these Departments are: “Carols”’; ‘Songs for Little People”; “Song Stories for the Sunday School.” The Westminster Press, Wither- spoon Building, Philadelphia, has published a very helpful assortment of programs for conducting the Beginners and Primary Departments. Every Beginners and Primary superintendent should possess a copy, for suggestions as to suitable hymns, prayers, and so forth. For the Junior, Intermediate, Senior, Young People’s, and Adult Departments, the songbook “ Alleluia,” pub- lished by the Board of Christian Education of the Presby- terian Church in the U. 8. A. is recommended. Many feel that it contains the best collection of hymns for worship and for special occasions that has yet been offered for the use of Sunday schools and it is universally recognized as the standard for Sunday-school music. Each department, or class, should be provided with a blackboard for illustrations, memory work, announce- ey 88 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT ments, reports, and the like. Teaching through the eye gate is one of the most effective methods of impressing truth permanently upon the minds of the pupils. The resourceful teacher and superintendent will find the black- board an indispensable part of the equipment for efficient work. . Wherever possible, tables should be provided for the classes. Especially in the Beginners, Primary, and Junior grades, the teacher’s work will be facilitated by having a table around which the pupils may be gathered, thus en- abling them to do handwork and to display objects illus- trating the lesson. The secretary and treasurer should be provided with a table or desk for their joint use. Class books, collection envelopes, and record books for the secretary and treasurer are indispensable. Various methods for recording attend- ance and offerings are used, and your denominational publishing house will cheerfully suggest the most practical systems at prices within the reach of every school. Lesson helps for each department should be kept in a plain cabinet, with which each department should be pro- vided, together with blank paper, pencils, crayons, pic- tures, and so forth, for handwork. Every Sunday school should possess a workers’ library, containing the best books on Sunday-school work. A begin- ning may be made with a few books, carefully selected, con- sidering first the needs of the teachers in the Beginners, Primary, and Junior Departments and of the superinten- dent of the Cradle Roll. An excellent set of books contain- ing eleven volumes, full of information concerning the best methods of conducting every department of the Sunday 89 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY school, written by nationally recognized leaders, may be obtained, packed in a neat case, for five dollars (twenty-_ five cents extra for postage). (‘‘The Westminster Guide Books,” published by the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa.). A free catalogue including other books which will be of value to officers and teachers may be obtained at the same headquarters, and suggestions will cheerfully be given concerning the best books to be purchased for the amount of money the school desires to appropriate for this purpose. These books should be in charge of the librarian and careful records should be kept. (See Appendix D for list of the best books for workers’ libraries. ) | A Sunday-school library containing the best storybooks suitable for children and young people should be main- tained and placed at the disposal of the pupils. Stories of great national characters and events, hero tales from the history of our own and other countries, and stories of mis- sionary lands and missionary heroes, never fail to interest the boys and girls, and they are valuable aids in the pro- motion of the missionary spirit. The library should be renewed from time to time by the addition of new books. The alert and efficient librarian will learn how to popu- larize the Sunday-school library, recommending the books which are especially suitable for boys and girls of different ages, and encouraging them to read them. The best story papers for boys and girls and young peo- . ple are those published by our own denominational publish- ing house: “The Pioneer” for boys, ‘Queens Gardens” for girls of the Junior and Intermediate age, and “ For- 90 BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT ward” for Seniors, Young People, and Adults. We cannot afford to give our pupils anything but the best periodical literature. Cheapness should not be considered in the selection of the papers offered to our children and young people. Insubscribing for the papers prepared by their own denominational publishing agency the Sunday-school offi- cers and teachers may feel perfectly satisfied that the pupils are receiving literature of an uplifting and whole- some character. Charts containing The Lord’s Prayer, Ten Command- ments, Beatitudes, Twenty-third Psalm, Apostles’ Creed, and books of the Bible should be included in the Sunday- school equipment. These charts printed in colors on mus- lin may be obtained at a nominal price. Pictures of Bible scenes and events, copies from the works of the great artists, may be obtained for a small sum, and framed, for decorating the walls of the rooms in which the Beginners, Primary, and Junior classes hold their ses- sions. They should be hung low enough for the children to examine and study them, as they will undoubtedly do if the pictures are within reach. A set of Bible maps should be secured for the use of the Junior, Intermediate, and Young People’s classes, and especially for the teacher-training class. Consult your denominational publishing house for the best maps and prices. Remember that your denominational Sunday-school headquarters is a service bureau for all the educational agencies of the Church: viz., the Sunday school, Daily Vacation Bible School, week-day church school, Young 91 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY People’s organizations, missionary societies, and so forth. Leaders in the Sunday school and other departments of the © church activities should not hesitate to write for sugges- tions concerning any phase of their work or for the solution of their local problems. This service is free and it rep- resents the most competent leadership in educational work. Denominational loyalty, as well as the best interests of the pupils, demand that all the lesson material and equipment for the Sunday school be purchased at the denominational publishing house. Recreational Equipment.—In order to hold the interest of the boys and girls, plans should be made for recreational activities, and, whenever necessary, the Sunday school should provide the necessary supplies. Games, equipment for basketball, volley ball, baseball, and other healthful sports should be provided. Capable leaders for boys and girls in developing their recreational life should be ap- pointed and given the hearty support of the school in pro- moting their plans. This is a phase of work which is too often neglected, especially in the smaller, rural Sunday schools, but it is sufficiently important to be given a prominent place in the program of every Sunday school. If desirable, organizations for boys and girls may be formed with this special purpose in view, such as “The Presbyterian Pioneers”’ for boys, and “Camp Fire Girls” for the girls. The Pioneers is an organization especially recommended for Presbyterian boys. Write to the denomi- national headquarters for bulletins containing suggestions ° for work among boys and girls, and for the “Handbook for Presbyterian Pioneers.” 92 CHAPTER VI PRACTICAL PLANS FOR BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE The Sunday school should constantly be recruiting new members. In every community boys and girls will be found who do not attend any Sunday school and who will readily respond to an invitation from their companions to accompany them to their school. Every Sunday-school pupil should be a recruiting officer for the school. The object of such efforts is not merely to add new members for the sake of boasting of numerical strength, but because the Sunday school offers opportunities for Christian nurture which no other institution can provide. The pupils should be trained to understand that the Sunday school is an en- terprise for community uplift and citizen-training in which every boy and girl should be enlisted. Study your field. Every officer, teacher, and pupil in the school ought to know exactly what the boundaries of the school’s parish are. It would be a good idea to have a map drawn and hung in a prominent place, showing the district for which the school is responsible, and locating, by the use of pins, the homes in each block that are represented in the membership of the school. Stopping the Leaks.—It is of first importance to check the outflow. This cannot be done without very persist- ent effort on the part of officers, teachers, and pupils to keep in close touch with absentees, especially in behalf of those 93 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY whose attendance is so intermittent as to indicate that the school does not have a very strong hold upon them. This may be done by the use of special post cards. A variety of such cards is available, avoiding the necessity of using the same card twice; or if preferred, each school may print its own forms for this purpose. Sometimes a personal letter is more effective. Best of all, the teachers should visit the homes of the absentees and cultivate a closer and more friendly interest in them. Recognition of Attendance. —This may take the form of a recognition of perfect attendance of class groups, or of individuals, or both. It is probably well, however, to emphasize group loyalties, although there is much to be said in favor of individual records. This recognition is quite general in the larger Sunday schools, and: in many cases in the smaller schools. Sometimes a banner is pre- sented to the class on the day on which it has a perfect record in the matter of attendance. At the end of the month another banner, or another recognition, is planned, if the class has been perfect in attendance during the month. At the end of the year a permanent trophy is ap- propriate. There are many button systems, such as the cross and crown system, with recognition for individuals who have a perfect attendance record for periods of from one month to five or six or even ten years. No one of these methods will hold the interest of the school continu- ously, but they may be used for considerable periods with success. The Honor Roll.—An honor roll is one of the very best ways of recognizing regular attendance on the part of the pupils, and many Sunday-school members point with pride 94 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE to their names on the permanent ‘Honor Roll” of the school. These rolls are of many kinds. They may be secured from various publishing houses or prepared locally. Attendance Roll.—The attendance roll is made in two sizes with thirteen squares Oppo- site each name, representing the thirteen weeks of the quarter. Enter the names of the members of the class at the left and each Sunday put on stickers as fol- lows: A gold star for attendance with lesson; a red star for ab- sence without excuse; a green star for out of town; a flag seal for sick and excused. The above are merely suggested. Any sys- tem may be adopted as desired. Stars may be obtained in gold, red, green, blue, and silver, besides the colored flag seals. The roll when completed is strikingly picturesque and is an incentive to better work. Class Organization. —An effective method of holding the pupils of the Young People’s Department is to organize the classes according to the plan recommended by Sunday- school leaders of all denominations. Classes thus organized are in the best position to secure new recruits, and their social and church activities serve to retain and develop their interest. Teachers of Young People’s classes should study with the superintendent of the Young People’s De- partment the various plans that have been found helpful and effective. (Write to the Board of Christian Educa- 95 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY tion of the Presbyterian Church in the UMS: A. for free bulletins.) Organized Adult Bible Classes.—All Bible classes of adults should be organized in accordance with the standard adopted by all denominations. (Send for free leaflet, ‘The Organized Adult Bible Class.’’) Regular attendance is secured through the work of Visiting and Follow-Up Com- mittees, and new members are constantly being added by the systematic and continuous effort of Membership Com- mittees. Social gatherings are held at frequent intervals and various forms of church activity are definitely pro- moted. (Send for free leaflet, “The Adult Class Serv- ing.’’) Have a chart in each department showing the growth or decline in attendance. Mount this upon heavy cardboard. The attention of the school should frequently be called to note the upward or downward direction of the line indicat- ing attendance. Sunday-School Register Boards, Oak Register Boards with Cardboard Slides and Numerals. —Every school should have a register board showing a comparison each Sun- day with the corresponding Sunday of the previous year. These register boards are made of oak, light and dark wood. They include cards containing the words: Register; Attendance and Offermg; Number on the Roll ; At-" tendance To-Day; Attendance a Year Ago To-Day; Offering To-Day; Offering a Year Ago 'To- Day; Offering Last Sunday; Attendance Last Sunday; 96 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE Record of Attendance; Record of Offering; Hymns; Psalms; and six sets of numerals. Community Canvass.—Do not be satisfied until you know what are the numerical possibilities of the school. This can be determined only by making a community can- vass or survey. This survey must be conducted wisely, tactfully, and thoroughly, in order to be of real value. It should be intrusted to a committee of adults, with power to enlist as many others as may be needed. Visitor’s Card.—Curious things have been revealed by surveys. In a few cases schools have discovered that they did not have so large a field, especially among the children, as they had supposed, but in most cases the op- posite is true, and it has been found that there were far more individuals unreached than anyone had imagined. In any case the setting of definite limits to the field, and the making of a survey to discover the number of individ- uals living within them, the number attending Sunday schools or connected with other religious schools, the num- ber of children of school age, and the number unreached by any Sunday school, will show the task of the school so clearly that nothing but good can result. The survey itself will, of course, accomplish little. It must be followed by personal work. One Sunday school in Chicago organized a Promotion and Pub- licity Department, with most sat- isfactory results. A very marked increase in membership and attendance followed the work of this Department. The plan was to keep in touch with the entire district and to 7 97 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY know what was happening. Vacant houses and moving vans were watched, and as soon as a new family came into the community, it was visited by some member of the school. Children were at once invited to attend the Sunday school, if they were not already members of some other school. Membership Contests.—Friendly contests between classes within each department, and between departments also, are helpful in reaching the goal set for enlarged mem- bership. Each department and each class is assigned its quota of new members to be obtained. It is expected to go beyond the quota if possible. Color Contests.—The Red and Blue Celluloid Contest Buttons. For use in connection with all red and blue contests. Celluloid buttons or pins, with metal backs and approved fastenings for attaching to the clothing. The lettering, “S.S. R. & B. Contest,” on each button, arouses just enough curiosity to secure interest, and thus adds to the enthusiasm. Bring One and Brought One Buttons. The plan is to have two captains who will choose sides, one for red, one for blue; everybody to wear a Bring One button. Outsiders will ask what it means, and members must. necessarily give the invitation. The Brought One button is given for new members. Celluloid Buttons for Contests.—These buttons are one half or seven eighths of an inch in diameter with pix backs. They are all solid colors, red, blue, green, purple, white, and gold. These buttons are very suitable for friendly contests for 98 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE attendance or offering in the school where more than two or three sides are desired. Color contests, as they are called, have become very popular for such purposes. SS R&B ‘@) A Onte? Worker’s Button Neutral’s Button Captain’s Button (Red and Blue) (White) (Red and Blue) The Reds’ and Blues’ Buttons : (Red and Blue) Dial of Progress.—The “Dial of Progress” is the very latest device on the market designed for contests in secur- 99 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY ing new members and increasing the efficiency of Sunday schools, Young People’s societies, Brotherhoods, and or- ganized classes. The Dial of Progress is the invention of a practical Sun- day-school man, and is the outgrowth of plans to increase the membership of the Sunday school. It keeps the attendance up to the top notch; and helps to increase the membership, besides developing a strong Sunday-school spirit. Publicity.—This is one of the most important features of an attendance and membership campaign. The interest should be maintained by detailed announcements from the pulpit and from the superintendent’s desk of plans, prog- ress that is being made, besides other matters of interest, experiences of canvassers, and so forth. The town paper should be used; also leaflets should be distributed. Many achoas print leaflets describing their organization, their curriculum, the dates of the school year, special occa- sions, plans for the school worship, and other items of interest. These give dignity to all the Sunday-school functions and call attention to unrecognized values in the Sunday school. Church bulletins may also be used for a similar purpose. A Sunday-school bulletin, containing notes from the librarian, secretary, and other officers of the school, together with items of interest about individual pupils, and the school in general may be used to good advantage. In some cases the pupils themselves could prepare and print this bulletin. Be sure to have a strong * Publicity Committee. Church Members Enlisted.—A large proportion of our adult Church members should be enlisted in Sunday-school 100 ee BUILDING UP THE MEMEERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE service. Systematic effort should be made to ing the matter before them by am annual canvass or by amy other fective meas. Many schools have used enlistment Gienks Ge dlusiratiom) with mod results, dstributmg them among the members of the comgregstion who ze net actively engaged im the work of the sxxhool 4 special Sunday should be devoted to this and 2 ser- mom should be deltvered upon the importance and value of the work of the Sunday school. Parents’ meetings should be held 2 least twice 2 year, to which all the members of the comgresstiom should be mvited. After 2 few Oref adidremes describing the aims of cach department, the lessons studied_ and => forth, there should be am hour of Adopt the degen. “Every Member of the Church 2 Member of the Sunday School.” Print i om all the charch Itersture and keep ii comstantiy before the comgresstion The membership of the Home Department and Cradle Boll is usually neinded in the Sumdsy-school enrollment. New members should constantiy be enrolled m the Home Department by the Home Department Visitors, calimg upem tiese who should be interested and endeavoring to enlist them im the work of the Sumday school Every Sa day school having s Home Department should aim to enroll every adult member of the church who does not attend the Sumday—cheel sessions. ~The Cradle Roll may be enlarged by the activity of the alert Cradle Rail superimtendent, who calls st every home where there is a new baby and asks the permission of the parents te enroll the infant ac a member of the Sumday- seheol Cradle Roll A beautifully engraved certificate. im eolors, bearing the name of the baby, the date of its birth. 101 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY and the name of the Sunday school i is presented to the parents. Social Gatherings.—New enthusiasm and loyalty may be developed among Sunday-school pupils by placing greater emphasis upon cultivating the social spirit, espe- cially among the young people. A social evening every two or three months, with an attractive program arranged by a committee upon which the young people themselves are represented, is one of the most effective methods of popularizing the school in the community besides devel- oping a strong Sunday-school spirit. Games, contests, pageants, and dramatizations in great variety may be used for this purpose. Light refreshments should be served dur- ing the period reserved for social fellowship. Caring for New Recruits.—It is quite as important to provide properly for the care of new pupils as it is to enlist them. Arrangement should be made for new classes, and for teachers trained and prepared to take charge of them. Avoid overcrowding your classes. Smaller classes can be taught more effectively, and there will be fewer losses. If you are going “‘out into the highways and hedges,”’ be sure to have places provided for those who respond to your invitation. Receiving New Members.—Adopt some satisfactory method of recognizing new members and introducing them to the school. Marion Lawrance in “How to Conduct a Sunday School” suggests the following as a tried and effec-' tive plan: “At the opening of the school, during the playing of an instrumental number by the orchestra or pianist, a suffi- ? 102 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE cient number of front seats are vacated to accommodate the new members. The new pupils then take these seats, the younger pupils in the front and the older pupils in the rear. The row of seats or chairs just behind these new members is then occupied by those teachers into whose classes new members have entered during the quarter. When the time comes to form the ‘Love Circle,’ to which reference is made in the exercise below, the officers of the school take their places at the sides and in front of the seats occupied by the new members, and join hands with one another and with the teachers seated behind the new mem- bers. Within this Love Circle are the new members, also the pastor and superintendent. While these officers and teachers are standing with their hands clasped, the pastor leads in the prayer of consecration and thanksgiving, and then the greeting hymn is sung. “Tt would be difficult to overestimate the benefit accruing to the school from such a service as this, when it is entered into with heartiness. It does much to cultivate the school spirit and it dignifies the school itself.’ Then the following exercise is presented as a suggestion: Superintendent: The following have been enrolled as mem- bers of our Sunday school during the first three months of ———-——, and it is our pleasure to-day to extend to them all a most cordial and hearty wel- come. What is our aim as a school? School: ‘Every member present every Sunday, on time, with his Bible, a liberal offering, a studied lesson, and a mind to learn.” Superintendent: What is our watchword? School: ‘‘What would Jesus do?”’ 103 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Superintendent: What is our motto? School: ‘‘Remember Jesus Christ.” Pastor: Words of greeting. Superintendent (To the new members): You have heard our words of welcome. You have heard the school repeat our aim, our watchword, and our motto. You have heard from our pastor the meaning of Sunday-school membership. Will you promise to try, as far as you possibly can, to join with us in carrying out the high ideals of our school? New Members: I will. School: We gladly receive you. In the name of our com- mon Lord we bid you welcome. Our work is | worthy of our best endeavor. We promise to help you. We expect you to help us. Let us labor together to build one another up in every Christian grace, and to make our beloved Sunday school a strength and credit to the Church, and a power‘for God in our city and in the world. Superintendent: In the name of Jesus Christ. School: Amen. Our Love Circle.—““The Love Circle will be formed by all the officers, and the teachers of classes in which are new members, joining hands, within which will be the new members.” ; While the circle is formed, a reception hymn should be sung, followed by a prayer of consecration and thanksgiv- ing by the pastor. : The benediction is then pronounced and the different departments return to their places. The value of such an exercise is obvious. 104 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE This is given by way of suggestion and it is capable of adaptation to the conditions prevailing in each school. Follow Up Absentees.— Many Sunday schools make the mistake of failing to exact from the pupils a good reason for their absence. It is certain that if we allow their re- peated absences to go unnoticed, they will soon lose interest entirely and it will be exceedingly difficult to reclaim them. The results of careful follow-up work are seen immediately in increased regularity on the part of the pupils, and the cultivation of a closer contact between the teacher and the pupil. The follow-up work may be done in a variety of ways. The use of post cards is usually found to be effective. A variety of post cards for use in this manner may be obtained at the denominational Sunday-school publishing house. If the post card does not produce the required result, the pupil should be visited until reclaimed or until every pos- sibility of reclaiming is exhausted. Coéperation of the Home.—The Sunday school has lost immeasurably by the gradual abandonment of the visita- tion of the pupils in their homes. We cannot do Sunday- school work successfully on a professional or semiprofes- sional basis. | It is a frequent subject of remark among Sunday-school workers that much of the effectiveness of Sunday-school effort is lost because of the lack of codperation of the home. But is the home altogether to be blamed for the apparent indifference of the parents to the work which the Sunday school is endeavoring to do, and for its failure, which many of our conscientious teachers feel most keenly, to extend 105 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY their active support in their labors? How can the parents intelligently codperate with those who are instructing their children in religion unless they know what the teacher is teaching and what is required of the pupil? Unfortunately many of the parents have little more than a. speaking acquaintance with those who are teaching their children in the Sunday school, and in many cases the teachers make no more effort than the parents to cultivate a closer intimacy. Where teachers in the Primary and Junior Department find it difficult to interest the children in doing the hand- work suggested in connection with the Departmental Graded Lessons, it is usually because the parents are not informed of the plans of the Sunday school with regard to such matters. Again, we find it difficult to get the children to study the Sunday-school lessons at home. Is not this also largely due to the failure of the Sunday school to enlist the active co- operation of the parents? Parents’ meetings may help- fully be used for the purpose of informing the parents con- cerning these things, and the codperation of many parents may thus be secured. Such meetings should be included in the Sunday school’s yearly program, but they are not a satisfactory substitute for the personal presence of the teacher in the home. How can the teacher lead the children aright unless he knows something of their home environment? How can he properly adapt the lessons to their individual needs without knowing the quality of the influences that are shaping their lives in the home, and the handicaps, if any,’ which they must overcome in order to develop characters that are truly Christian? The problem of irregular attendance would largely be 106 BUILDING UP THE MEMBERSHIP AND ATTENDANCE solved if the custom of visiting the pupils were revived. Parents would not find it so easy to plan for Sunday joy rides and excursions if they felt the sense of responsibility to uphold the hands of the faithful Sunday-school teacher who, they are assured, will be in his place and who will be expecting their boy or girl. Absences without adequate excuse might not be so frequent if the pupils knew that irregularity of attendance would be a matter of serious conference between the Sunday-school teacher and their parents. The heart of every parent is touched by any demonstra- tion of unselfish interest in the welfare of the children and the response invariably will be prompt and whole-hearted. We must cultivate their codperation. Special Days.—The observance of special days should be used as effectively as possible to attract new members to the Sunday school and to rally the delinquent members to renewed interest. Local newspaper publicity, the use of advertising cards, post-card invitations, developing a mes- senger service by enlisting the boys of the Sunday school to call from house to house with personal invitations, and various other publicity plans which the ingenuity and en- thusiasm of the superintendent and pastor may suggest, should be put into operation to attract the unreached people of the community to the Sunday school. Children’s Day, Rally Day, Christmas, and Easter are days for which special programs may be arranged, with musical numbers and dramatization, for which the school can make careful preparation and which may be made interesting to the entire community. On such occasions, however, the opportunity should be used to the fullest 107 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY advantage, to enroll all who are not members of the school and, if possible, they should be personally solicited. © Persistent Work.—Persistent work throughout the year to win new recruits and to develop regularity of attendance will yield larger results in the long run than all the spas- modic efforts that may be made. If every Sunday-school pupil will be a ‘“‘booster”’ for the Sunday school, proud of the Sunday school and enthusiastic in recruiting others, the membership will grow steadily and permanently. If the Sunday school is made attractive and interesting to the pupils, and if the officers and teachers show a personal in- terest in the life of the pupils outside the narrow limits of | the Sunday-school session, the difficulty of securing regular attendance will disappear. Earnest, faithful, consecrated, and persistent effort, supported by a strong Sunday-school spirit cannot fail to produce the desired results. 108 CHAPTER VII LEADERSHIP TRAINING In view of all that has been said and written concerning the importance of proper preparation for the task of teach- ing religion to children and youth, it would seem to be a fruitless repetition of well-established and accepted prin- ciples to discuss reasons why prospective teachers for the Sunday school should pursue a special course of study before entering active service. But, strange as it may seem to some of the more progressive Sunday-school workers, the proportion of Sunday schools in which teacher-training classes are to be found is still comparatively small. Latest statistics of the various denominations show a very small percentage of the Sunday-school membership enrolled in teacher-training classes. At least four fifths of the Sunday schools are still without such classes. In spite of all the opportunities and advantages within the reach of the city schools, where the importance of teacher-training is urged in conventions, conferences, and other gatherings of Sunday-school workers, many of their superintendents will be found relying upon the unsatisfactory method of searching frantically about for teachers to fill vacancies or to take charge of new classes. In this respect many of the smaller schools have made better progress toward securing a trained leadership than the city schools. Indeed, some of the best teacher-training work is being done in so-called “small-town”’ schools. 109 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Teachers Both Born and Made.—In his book, “‘Talks to Sunday School Teachers,’ Dr. Luther A. Weigle pointedly remarks: ‘‘We hear it said sometimes that teachers are born not made. This aphorism has about as much truth when affirmed of teachers as it has when affirmed of busi- ness men, physicians, ministers, or any other class of workers who have much to do with people and with human values. There are born business men, born doctors—yes, born engineers and born farmers—in much the same sense as there are born musicians, born poets,.born teachers. For each of these vocations calls for certain qualifications of capacity and temperament which are matters of original endowment. Yet in each case success depends, not simply on the indispensable original ability or aptitude, but upon training and opportunity. The work of the teacher is no exception to the rule. It would be a strange paradox if teachers, whose work is education, could not themselves be educated for that work. It is doubtless true that teach- ers are ‘born’; it does not follow that they are ‘not made.’ “Here and there, indeed, we do find some engaged in the work of teaching who imagine themselves to be teachers by the grace of God, born, not made, and excused by birth- right from some of the pains and cares which necessity lays on others. These good folk loftily sneer at ‘pedagogy’ and seem to believe it their duty to present their subject in as difficult and uninteresting a fashion as they can, in order that their pupils may gain more mental ‘discipline’ by conquering it. “But the world is going by these folk. . . . Teach-’* ing is no longer a job for old women and incompetent men, and it is becoming less and less a stop-gap or stepping- stone for youngsters who are looking forward to other 110 | LEADERSHIP TRAINING things. It has become a profession, conscious of its aims, intelligent in its methods, and possessed of a growing tech- nique.” Only the Highest Standards Satisfactory.—We should be satisfied only with the highest standard of teaching values in the profoundly important task of giving to the rising generation its full heritage of Christian knowledge and training. But while we strive toward greater efficiency, we should be careful to avoid passing hasty judgment upon the work of tens of thousands of Sunday-school teachers who have labored consecratedly and faithfully in this field of Christian service, without such training in the principles of psychology and pedagogy as is now offered to those who are willing to enlist in this work. Despite their ignorance of technical definitions of psychology and pedagogy, they practised the principles of the best psychology, as they studied and learned to know their pupils, finding the most effective avenue of approach to the pupils’ hearts and winning young and old to the Christ whose love and good- ness they exemplified. While they had not the advantage of courses in the art of teaching, they were equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit; and by the strength derived from seasons of intercessory prayer, they were able to make the truth plain. Out of their own experience of victory over temptation and sin, and fellowship with Christ, they were able to apply the precious truths of the Word to the everyday problems of the developing young lives com- mitted to their care. They lacked the advantage and opportunity, which are offered to every teacher to-day, of special courses of training, schools of method, training con- ferences and institutes but they believed most earnestly 111 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY that the work of the Sunday school should be improved and they codperated cheerfully in all plans to make it better. Trained Teachers Necessary.— With all the effort that is being expended by every denomination to elevate the standard of Sunday-school teaching, by persistent em- phasis upon the necessity of proper training, by the pre- paration and promotion of special courses for training classes, and by the training schools, there is really no excuse, except neglect or indifference, for the failure of any Sunday school to be without some means of training its own leaders. | In many cases, the excuse is offered that no competent person is available to teach a training class. This difficulty has been overcome in many schools by. selecting some one who is willing to conduct such a class, and who will study the course with the other members of the class, taking the examinations with them. After one group has completed the course, a teacher for the class should readily be found among their number, thus making the teacher-training class a permanent part of the Sunday-school organization. In some instances the pastor has undertaken the task of © teaching the first group, transferring work to one of the graduates when the course has been completed. Teacher-Training Practicable in the Smallest Schools. — Some have objected on the ground that the course is too difficult. This also has been met by the preparation of introductory courses of forty or sixty lessons which may be completed in a year or more. Pupils taking the intro- ductory course will usually want to go on with the full three-year standard course. Probably the greatest difficulty that superintendents 112 LEADERSHIP TRAINING have experienced in starting a teacher-training class has been to enlist members for it. They ask for volunteers but no one responds, and they abandon the project. The reluctance of older pupils to join such a class is usually due to the fact that they receive the impression that in joining a teacher-training class they are pledging themselves to become Sunday-school teachers, and they hesitate to make the decision to dedicate their lives to that form of Christian service. If itis clearly understood that no pledge of service is required in joining the class, the response would un- doubtedly be larger. If the decision to become a teacher is deferred until the pupil has completed the first or second year of the course, it will be found that such an interest has been developed, that most of those who join the class will be glad of an opportunity to teach when they have com- pleted their training. Introducing the Teacher-Training Course.—A plan that has been found very effective is to offer to the entire Inter- mediate Department, or to certain classes of the Inter- mediate group upon entering the Senior Department (fif- teen to eighteen years of age), the teacher-training course instead of the Departmental Graded Lessons for that age, or the Uniform Lessons. In this manner they will not be confronted with the necessity of making a choice with reference to joining a teacher-training class, but they will nevertheless receive the necessary training by their study of this course during their three years in the Senior grade. If this becomes the rule and practice of the Sunday school, no objection will be heard, the teachers of the Senior classes will soon become quite proficient as teachers of the training course, and the ideal of a Teacher-Training Department 8 113 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY will be realized without any apparent change in the organization of the school. | The training class for prospective teachers enaale meet, of course, at the Sunday-school hour and conduct its work as one of the regular classes of the school. If possible, it should have a separate room equipped with maps and blackboard, but if this is impracticable a corner of the room enclosed by one or more folding screens may be set aside for this use, with a stand for maps and a wall blackboard of such size as the space will permit. Classes for Present Teachers.— Many of those who are already engaged in the work of Sunday-school teaching would welcome an opportunity to become more efficient by studying one of the teacher-training courses. To meet this need, a class may be formed under the leadership of the pastor, or one of the teachers, to meet during the week, or on Sunday after the Sunday school adjourns. In some cases, the workers’ conference devotes half an hour of each session to a training-course lesson. There are a number of such classes and in every case excellent work is being done. If it is not practicable to form a class, teachers may study the course individually, enrolling their names with the Teacher-Training Department at their denominational headquarters, and taking the examinations upon the com- pletion of each section, receiving the diploma when the entire three years’ work has been accomplished. TEXTBOOKS RECOMMENDED FOR USE IN A TEACHER- TRAINING DEPARTMENT 1. “Teaching the Teacher’”’—Introductory Course, 60: lessons. 2. ‘Thoroughly Furnished’’—Standard Course, three years; 120 lessons. 114 LEADERSHIP TRAINING First Year: 40 lessons. Part I. ‘The Pupil,’ Weigle. Part II. ‘‘The Teacher,” Weigle. Part III. ‘‘How to Teach the Life of Christ,’”’ Kerr. Part IV. “The Organization and Administration of the Church School,”’ Athearn. Second Year: 40 lessons. Part I. ‘Teaching Values of the Old Testament,” Moore, Mack. Part II. “Teaching Values of the New Testa- ment Other Than the Life of Christ,” Kerr. Part III. “Program of Christianity,’ Sanders. Part IV. ‘How to Train the Devotional Life,” Work. Third Year: Specialization Year. Each pupil to select a department and specialize in its study. Community Training Schools.—In all parts of the coun- try the plan of the community training school for workers is being vigorously promoted. Such schools offer elemen- tary and advanced courses in teacher-training, besides special methods courses for leaders and teachers in the different departments of the school. In small towns com- munity training schools may be formed, to meet one evening a week during the fall and winter, composed of those who are now teaching in the Sunday school and others who would like to prepare for such work. Such schools should be under the supervision of a governing board or committee, representing the different churches coéperating in the movement. Excellent work is being 115 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY done through these schools in many places. Write to your denominational headquarters for information concerning the best plans for organizing and conducting a community training school, and for outlines of the courses of study. The Workers’ Conference.—The ‘“‘teachers’ meeting” of a generation ago has given place to the workers’ con- ference in present-day Sunday-school practice. This con- ference is composed of the officers and teachers of the Sunday school, the pastor, and the presidents of organized Bible classes. Meetings should be held monthly, and a program should be prepared for each meeting. The super- intendent of the Sunday school should be the presiding officer. (See Appendix C, page 144, for suggested constitu- tion for workers’ conference or Sunday-school association.) The purpose of this conference is to discuss the various problems of the Sunday school, and to plan for such im- provements as may be practicable. All changes in the organization of the school should be presented to the work- ers’ conference for consideration and should be formally authorized. In fact, all matters affecting the life and work of the school should be brought to the conference by the superintendent, for free discussion. A docket should be prepared, setting apart a period for a devotional service, followed by the presentation of matters which the super- intendent may desire the conference to consider, the dis- cussion of new plans, reports of the secretary and treasurer, the study of a training lesson or the review of a new book on some phase of Sunday-school work, and social fellow-’ ship. Occasionally, a speaker may be invited to present some aspect of Sunday-school work in which he or she has specialized. 116 LEADERSHIP TRAINING In some Sunday schools the workers’ conference meets for supper, following this program: | 6.30-7.00: Supper 7.00-7.10: Devotional service 7.10-7.30: Business and reports 7.30-8.30: Discussion and study 8.30-9.15: Conferences of departmental workers or social period At the denominational headquarters, leaflets may be obtained containing detailed suggestions for the workers’ conference. Such an organization as the workers’ conference is essen- tial to the proper conduct of the Sunday school, and to the development of the spirit of unity and codperation among the workers. Such an important and sacred task as the Sunday school represents, so far-reaching in its influence upon the future, demands codéperative effort and serious consideration of all matters pertaining to its interests. The Council of Religious Education.—For the further development of codperative effort, and to promote the unity of all educational work of the Church, not only in the Sunday school, but in all the organizations of the Church which are working among the children and youth, a council of religious education should be organized. The members of this council should be the pastor, the superintendent of the Sunday school, the departmental superintendents, the president, or other representative, of each society or or- ganization, such as Senior Christian Endeavor, Junior Christian Endeavor, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, mis- sionary societies, the principal of the Daily Vacation Bible School, the principal of the week-day church school (if such 117 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY organizations are being maintained). Detailed informa- tion concerning the council of religious education with sug- gested adaptations of the plan to meet varying conditions, may be obtained freely, upon application to the denomina- tional headquarters. (Write for Bulletin No. 2.) An Annual Institute of Religious Education.—One of the most effective means of developing the interest of the entire church in the work of the Sunday school and of the other organizations that are teaching and training the rising generation, is to hold an annual institute of religious educa- tion. The program of this institute should include all the work that is being done, with exhibits of pupils’ work in the Sunday school, Daily Vacation Bible School, and other organizations. It should continue for at least two after- noons and evenings, with supper conferences, meetings for the representatives of different age groups, and inspira- tional addresses. Interdenominational Codperation. — Every Sunday school should take a lively interest in the district, township, county, and state Sunday-school council of religious educa- tion (formerly the county and state Sunday-school associa- tions). There is a decided advantage to every Sunday school in the interdenominational fellowship which the institutes and conventions offer, besides the instruction and inspiration received. Each Sunday school should bear its proportionate share of the expenses of this work, contrib- uting in the manner prescribed by the district, township, county, or state organization. Every Sunday school should have one or more representatives at the annual conventions. 118 CHAPTER VIII MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS The possibilities of missionary instruction in the Sunday school have never really been tested. Indeed, compara- tively little has been done to seize the greatest opportunity that could be presented for the promotion of intelligent in- terest In and support of the missionary enterprise. When we consider that three fourths of the Church membership, to whom we look to provide the means for the support of the various missionary boards and agencies, are recruited from the ranks of Sunday-school pupils, it becomes imme- diately apparent that if our churches could do nothing more in the direction of missionary education than to teach and train the multitude of children and youth of the present generation who are enrolled in our Sunday schools, the missionary cause in the future would not be lacking either in means or in workers. It has been said that the business of the Sunday school is to study the Bible, and through the knowledge of the Word to lead souls to know God and to accept his Son, Jesus Christ, as Saviour. But to be a follower of Jesus involves serious obligations and responsibilities. It is remarkable how little interest we have taken in the training of the young people of our Sunday schools in the duties and privileges of Church membership after they have joined the Church. They should be taught that uniting with the Church is merely an enlistment in the great enterprise to 119 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY which all Christians are definitely committed, namely, to make Christ’s gospel known to all mankind and to bring all people under his leadership. As earnest and faithful workers with Christ, they must have an understanding of the character of the campaign in which his followers are engaged to conquer sin and to exalt Christ. Lessons of stewardship, consecration, and personal service, together with a knowledge of the field and its needs, are necessary before the young people can be expected to meet fully their obligations as Christians. The Missionary Application of the Lesson.—In recogni- tion of these facts, lesson writers are more particular and more diligent than ever before in bringing out the mis- sionary application of the Bible lesson, wherever possible, in both the Graded and Uniform series. It is surprising to note the number of lessons that lend themselves to mis- sionary treatment, especially if the teacher has the real spirit of missions. There are scores of ways which the ingenuity of the teacher will suggest by which to interest the members of the class in the missionary activities of our own denomination, or of the evangelical Churches as a whole. The occasional reading of a missionary book, by the teacher who is interested in the progress of missions, will provide a storehouse of illustrative material for use in class study. Unfortunately, not many of our Sunday- school teachers are familiar with current missionary litera- ture. Hundreds of books of missionary stories are of thrilling interest and would be read eagerly by the boys and girls in the Sunday school if they were tactfully and attractively recommended and placed within the young people’s reach. 120 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS Creating a Missionary Spirit.—The teaching of missions in many Sunday schools fails in effectiveness because in many instances it goes no further than the description of peculiar manners and customs of strange peoples or a very superficial attempt to teach geography. Such information, while interesting and frequently entertaining, can hardly be relied upon to establish attitudes that will lead our young people to active service, or even to a consecration of their possessions to the missionary cause. Special mis- sionary programs, if well prepared and intelligently carried out, may be made very helpful in developing the missionary spirit, but general presentations can never be depended upon to accomplish the results that are possible of attain- ment by the teacher whose own heart has been stirred by the missionary impulse, and. who longs to bring each pupil into the same fellowship of service with Christ. “Tn the Sunday-schools of to-day there are youths, ‘nu- merous and fresh as the morning dew,’” writes William A. Brown, in “The Why and How of Missions in the Sunday School,” “who are eager to go as heralds of the cross of Christ. Many of them now walk with leaden feet on spiritless errands, whereas they would gladly fly with winged feet to fulfill the Great Commission of their Lord. They do not lack devotion: they are as devoted as the best. They lack knowledge—the definite knowledge of the world and its needs. The first foreign missionaries—‘ being sent forth by the Holy Spirit’— sailed to Cyprus—for Barna- bas . . . was aman of Cyprus, and so knew the needs of the people of his island home. The evangelization of Europe began with the call to Paul from one man in Macedonia, who bade him to come over and help. The sight of the fair-featured among the slaves in Rome, and 121 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY the inquiry as to who they were and whence they came, led to the sending of the first missionaries to England. . As it was in the beginning of the foreign missionary enter- prise, and is now, so it ever shall be: the missionary de- partures of the evangels of the Christ have always come from the visioned call of some known need.” | How to Begin. —Begin by enlisting the codperation of the officers and teachers. Get them to realize the importance of training the boys and girls in a knowledge of the great missionary enterprises which the Church of Christ is en- gaged in promoting. Show them how necessary it is that the pupils should contribute intelligently, and as an ex- pression of vital interest, rather than ane from a sense of duty or habit. The appointment of a competent Missionary Committee is essential. Select officers, teachers, or adult pupils who have shown an interest in missions and require a report at every meeting of your Sunday-school teachers’ association or workers’ conference. It may be necessary to urge them a little at first until they realize the importance of their work; but when they get into correspondence with the headquarters of the missionary boards, either through the chairman or through a secretary appointed for that pur- pose, they will furnish the school with an amount of mis- sionary information that will develop interest far beyond expectation. This committee should codperate with the Church Missionary Committee and with the various mis- sionary organizations in the local church, in the prepara-. tion of suitable plans and programs. The Missionary Committee.—The Sunday-school Mis- sionary Committee should assign certain definite responsi- 122 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS bilities to its members, one person being responsible for the making of maps, posters, and charts, and another having charge of the missionary bulletin board. Photographs from various missionary magazines may be used with good effect. By corresponding with missionaries in the home and foreign fields, other special items of missionary infor- mation may be obtained, which may be displayed in large letters. Missionaries are glad to furnish photographs occasionally, illustrating their work and showing the type of people among whom they are laboring. A wealth of material is available for the bulletin board, if the one to whom this responsibility is assigned will take the task seriously and become enthusiastic about it. Posters also have been found effective. Still another member of the committee should be re- sponsible for securing good missionary books to be added to the Sunday-school library. The attention of the pupils should be directed to these books at frequent intervals. Often the reading of a striking paragraph or portion of a chapter in a missionary story will create the desire on the part of the pupils to read the entire book. The life stories of great missionaries are full of thrilling adventure and tales of heroic deeds. Our children and young people should be familiar with these stories. It would be difficult to find a boy who will not be thrilled to the depths of his being as he reads the stories of Carey, Moffatt, John G. Paton, or David Livingstone, who gave his life in willing sacrifice for the missionary cause. It is impossible to read the record of the closing days of Livingstone’s life, the story of his death upon his knees in the attitude of prayer, and the long perilous journey of hundreds of miles over which his body was carried by two faithful Africans, without 123 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY vivid impressions of the heroism of pate who ay forth to do Christ’s service. ; The chairman of the Missionary Committee in confer- ence with the other members of the committee and the superintendent, should be responsible for the preparation of special missionary programs for platform presentation. When?—Missionary instruction should be given from the platform at frequent intervals, besides the direct mis- sionary application of the lessons in class study whenever and however the opportunity may occur. The best time for missionary instruction from the plat- form is in the opening or worship period. This plan en-— ables the teachers to develop the subject still further in class discussion of the lesson for the day. In every session of the school, reference should be made in some way to the missionary cause. A news item from the field, clipped from a missionary magazine or leaflet, a missionary prayer or hymn, an incident describing a missionary’s experience, or the reading of a missionary letter may be the means of de- veloping a deeper and more intelligent interest in the causes which appeal to us for support. Once a month it would be well to devote ten or fifteen minutes to the presentation of a special missionary program, exercise, or tableau. This may be done by a rearrangement of the regular program of the worship period in such a way that it will not be neces- sary to take any time from the class study period. Missionary Material in the Lesson Courses.—Full pro-' vision is made in the Departmental Graded Lessons for missionary instruction. Many of the lessons in the course for each grade lend themselves very readily to missionary 124 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS treatment, and the teacher who is informed, as every fol- lower of Christ should be, concerning the progress of the great missionary enterprises of Christendom, will experi- ence a sense of joy and satisfaction in directing the minds of the pupils to the wonders of God’s providence in the on- ward march of the gospel as it penetrates the darkest and remotest corners of the world. The Uniform Lesson periodicals for teachers contain special material for their use in the form of missionary illustrations or of stories for at least one lesson in each month. Other Material.—Copies of missionary letters may be obtained without expense at the headquarters of the denominational missionary boards. These letters may be read from the platform or passed around among the classes. Curios and various other objects illustrating the manners and customs of people among whom missionaries are work- ing never fail to excite interest and open the way for the missionary appeal. Stereopticon slides are available in many different sets, each accompanied by a lecture, at the denominational board headquarters. These slides are lent at a nominal rental fee, plus the parcel-post charges. Occasionally dramatic presentations and pageants may be introduced with appropriate costumes. Suitable mate- rial has been prepared and adapted to both large and small Sunday schools for such programs, and may be obtained upon application to the missionary boards, at the cost of a few cents. Whenever it is possible to secure a returned missionary to speak to the school, the opportunity should be em- braced. The personal contacts thus established will have a helpful influence in developing the missionary spirit and 125 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY in leading pupils to a decision to Soler their lives to missionary endeavor. Praying for Missions.—Jesus put prayer and missions together when he taught us to say, ‘‘Thy kingdom come.” When William Carey volunteered to go to India, he said to his friends who were interested in the needs of that vast field, “‘I will go, but remember that you must hold the ropes.’ The heaviest strand in the rope that the people at home are holding is prayer. | If we knew how much the missionaries who have gone out into the hard places to proclaim the gospel depend upon the prayers of those ‘‘back home,” we would never forget. them, but we would mention them by name in our inter- cessions. The “‘ Year Book of Prayer for Missions”’ will be found a very useful guide in praying for the missionaries and missions. “Pray ye,’’ said Jesus, as he looked out in compassionate longing upon the multitudes, struggling and groping in darkness. The missionary enterprise in America was born in a prayer meeting of five students of Williams College who were storm-bound, under a haystack. The Student Volunteer Movement, the Laymen’s Missionary Movement, student missionary campaigns, and all the other influences that have given an impetus to the mission- ary cause have grown out of the earnest and faithful inter- cession of spirit-filled individuals who were zealous for the extension of Christ’s Kingdom. Prayer is the golden link which binds the missionary on the field to the church at the home base, and gives him added power in service. Missionary Giving.— Adopt a plan of systematic giving to the various missionary causes of the Church. Use the duplex envelope for class or individual offerings, thus giving 126 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS the pupils an opportunity to contribute something every week in addition to their regular offerings, or some other plan by which the habit of giving systematically to missions may be cultivated. Contributions obtained in this man- ner should be apportioned, after consultation with the church session, among the various boards. Sunday-school pupils should be encouraged to contrib- ute out of their own money, earned or given to them as an allowance for their personal needs. The giving of money which is handed to the children by the parents “for the Sunday-school collection” is meaningless to the child, and the development of the ideals of responsibility and steward- ship can make no progress under such improper training. It should be made perfectly clear to the children that they are asked to give out of their own possessions, in order that they may feel that they are sharing the gifts and blessings which God has bestowed upon them with those who have not been similarly favored. One of the most important factors in the training of every child is to teach him to share his possessions generously with others. These lessons of gratitude and unselfishness may be taught from the earliest years of the child’s life in relation to his playmates, and the application of the principle may readily be broad- ened to include all of God’s creatures who may be in need of any of the things which he possesses. The principles of stewardship should be emphasized in the teaching of missions in the Sunday school. We cannot expect to develop a praying, giving, and working Church in the future unless the rising generation is thoroughly trained in the habit of setting aside a definite portion of their possessions, systematically and with willing sacrifice, for Christ’s sake. 127 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY Special Missionary Days.—Whatever plan may be adopted for systematic contributing, the special missionary days recommended by the denomination should be faith- fully observed, and special offerings taken for the particular causes whose needs are being presented, in addition to the weekly envelope offerings. No mechanical plan of sys- tematic giving should displace the taking of special offer- ings by the Sunday schools on special days for which special missionary programs are provided. These days have been recognized and set apart by the governing bodies of the Church, and the Sunday schools have been urged year by year to observe them. Children’s Day, for example, has become an institution in our Church life. It is the one day in the year when we bring the Church and Sunday school together, impressing upon the Church its responsi- bility for the Christian education of the youth, and placing the Sunday school in its proper relation as an integral part of the Church. For more than thirty-five years Presby- terian Sunday schools have been contributing their Chil- | dren’s Day offerings to the work of Sunday-school missions. The appropriateness of the appeal, coming as it does on an occasion when they are rejoicing in the Sunday school and the influence which it is bringing to bear upon the shaping of Christian character among the boys and girls of our land, has made the Sunday-school pupils peculiarly sym- pathetic toward it and they have contributed with increas- ing generosity toward its support. Not only is it a correct educational principle that the Sunday-school interest and sentiment which is thus devel- oped should be given an opportunity for expression in the form of a gift to help promote the Sunday-school cause, but the very thought that these gifts are making it possible for 128 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS the boys and girls who are living in neglected parts of America to have the Bible and the Sunday school taken to them also, develops a missionary vision and interest which may bear rich fruitage years hence. The same principle applies to other special-day missionary appeals, such as Christmas, Easter, Rally Day, Lincoln’s_ Birthday, Thanksgiving, and so on. We should be careful not to make the giving, especially in the Sunday school, merely perfunctory. The appeal should be made at proper seasons, and an opportunity given to participate in the work. Let us remember, therefore, that the introduction of more efficient methods of systematic weekly giving in the Church and Sunday school was never intended to displace the contributions which the Sunday schools have been accustomed to give on special days. Nothing could com- pensate for the loss which would be sustained, not only to the missionary cause, but also to the Sunday-school pupils themselves, if this opportunity to show their interest in others and to express their appreciation of their own Chris- tian privileges were removed. Special programs are prepared by the various missionary boards for each of these days and they are furnished free of charge in such quantities as may be required, together with missionary information for use in instructing the pupils regarding the purpose to which the special offering is applied. Special Objects.—A most effective method of promoting the missionary spirit among the Sunday-school pupils is to adopt some special object in connection with the various denominational missionary enterprises which will enable the pupils to visualize the needs and the character of the 9 129 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY work in different fields. Shares may be taken in the sup- port of missionaries at home and abroad; a mission Sunday school may be adopted, traveling outfit for a missionary may be provided; a mission Sunday school may be equipped with a library or with Bibles; hospital or dispen- sary equipment may be bought for a medical missionary abroad; scholarships may be provided for Negro boys and girls, for the children of the southern mountains, for Mexican and Indian children. There are scores of ways by which Sunday schools may be brought into direct con- tact with the actual work on the field, accepting a definite responsibility for some special phase of it. The missionary boards are always prepared to suggest definite objects for Sunday-school support. In making this plan effective, much depends upon the faithfulness of the Sunday-school correspondent (usually the chairman of the Missionary Committee) in keeping open the channels of information from the field and in furnishing the school with fresh information. It is hardly fair to expect the missionary to continue to write letters to Sunday schools from which he receives no acknowledgment of his letters or personal word of encour- agement. On the other hand, a frequent letter to the mis- sionary relating interesting facts about the Sunday school and its work, and assuring him of the prayers and interest of the people at home, will bring a response that will develop a close personal relationship besides much valuable information. Missionary Recruits.—Some one has well said that “giving cannot be made a substitute for going.” Streams of gold poured from the pockets of Church members cannot 130 MISSIONARY INSTRUCTION AND OFFERINGS silence the call, “Go ye,’ ’ which should sound unceasingly in the ears of every Christian. The call must be answered either by the offering of our lives in sacrificial full-time ser- vice or by the service of prayer, promotion of missionary interest, or in whatever manner the Holy Spirit may direct us to serve. Giving is not a substitute for service, but it must be added to service. The great apostle commended the missionary spirit of the Macedonian converts because “first they gave their own selves.” It is obvious that everyone is not qualified either by temperament or by mental and physical capability to go forth as a missionary. Nevertheless, the hope should con- stantly be expressed, and prayer fervently offered, that the Holy Spirit may set apart those whom he would choose for missionary service. The missionary call should he held before the youth as the highest honor that God can bestow, and to be chosen as his ambassador should be regarded as a privilege in which one should rejoice, and for which sacrifices should cheerfully be made. James Chalmers declared that he was led to dedicate his life to missionary endeavor, when, as a lad in the Sunday school, the earnest hope was expressed that some day one of the pupils of that school might give his life to the service of taking the gospel to the heathen. ‘‘The answer of my heart,’ he said, “‘ was, ‘God helping me, I will.’ ’’ God had called him, his heart responded, and the whole course of his future life was directed toward his preparation for missionary service. The Sunday school must furnish the recruits to fill up the ranks of the missionary forces and to furnish reénforce- ments, but we cannot expect the youth in our Sunday schools to enlist in a cause which they do not understand and in which the needs, the opportunities, and the glory of 131 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY service have never been adequately presented. What a marvelous acceleration would be experienced by every phase of missionary endeavor if every Sunday school were filled with the missionary spirit, giving missionary educa- tion the prominent place to which it is entitled! 132 CHAPTER IX OUR PUPILS FOR CHRIST In all our consideration of the various plans of organiza- tion and grading and the methods of conducting the work of the Sunday school, we need to remind ourselves re- peatedly of the supreme purpose of our task. We have a goal—a very definite goal—but we are in danger of losing sight of it in our zeal for efficiency. We must guard against the tendency to become too deeply concerned with the task of keeping Sunday-school machinery operating effi- ciently and depending largely upon mechanical processes. The Evangelistic Emphasis.—Whatever may be the method under which we operate, it is fundamentally true that the Sunday school is a great spiritual enterprise. A movement whose membership in America alone is nearly twenty million individuals, meeting regularly, in groups large and small, under widely varying conditions, but with one common textbook, the Bible, could not maintain itself without a deep spiritual purpose, clearly defined and un- derstood. It is frequently stated that the aim of the Sun- day school is to develop Christian character; but upon what foundation is Christian character to rest? It is mockery to teach the rising generation to be kind, honest, virtuous, and to practice the principles of brotherhood, without directing them to the great Source of all goodness and purity and uniting them to Christ, whose indwelling presence will transform their natures and by the power of 133 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY whose Spirit they shall be enabled to > prevail against the onslaughts of evil. Bringing Pupils to a Decision.—Any Sunday school, no matter how perfect its organization, is a failure if its pupils receive no impulse to make an open declaration of their faith in Christ, accepting him as their only hope of salva- tion, giving themselves to him in loyal service, and glorify- ing him in their daily lives. That the Sunday school is not measuring up to its re- sponsibility in evangelistic emphasis is apparent from the , fact that out of every five Sunday-school pupils only two ' are led to accept Christ and unite with the Church, while ' three pass out beyond the influence of Sunday-school teach- ing into lives of indifference and neglect. The Sunday School’s Opportunity.—It is a well-attested fact that the majority of conversions take place in youth. The age of conversion has gradually moved backward until we can say that at least five sixths of those who are re- ceived into our Churches upon profession of their faith are — under twenty years of age. This is due largely to the work of the Sunday school, and to the wise and tactful codpera- tion of pastors and teachers in bringing the boys and girls of the adolescent age into a living faith in Christ as their Saviour and Friend. No form of evangelism offers greater opportunities or greater rewards than that of awakening within the souls of eager boys and girls a consciousness of the love of God. Under proper guidance, it is not difficult to bring them to the point of accepting Christ as their Saviour and surrendering their lives to him, and then to teach them to rely upon the power of the Holy Spirit to 134 OUR PUPILS FOR CHRIST guide their footsteps in paths that will lead them to the Father’s house. The Teacher’s Example.—There can be no set rule for the work of soul-winning. The character and the per- sonality of the teacher, as well as the quality and method of the teaching, are important factors, but above all the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirit must constantly be sought and recognized. It is undoubtedly true that the success or failure of any Sunday school in bringing the pupils into Church fellowship largely depends, so far as human instrumentalities are concerned, on the Sunday- school teachers. Their intimate and confidential approach, their knowledge of the individual dispositions and tem- peraments, and their sympathetic consideration of the en- vironment of their pupils, afford opportunities which are given to no other person for reaching their hearts, winning their love and confidence, and leading them into a joyful acceptance of Christ. Unless the teacher cultivates a spirit of comradeship with the pupils through these chan- nels, little can be expected in gaining the goal toward which all our work should be directed. Personal Work.—Much personal work must be done. Constant nagging about “joining the Church” will never appeal to the boys and girls in a way that will bring a satis- factory response. We should rather seek to awaken within their hearts a consciousness of God, and help them to realize the real presence of Christ in the heart, as the essential factors in the consecration of life to him. The teacher who deals with young people of the normal type, coming from Christian homes and surrounded by influ- ences that are pure and holy, will find that they are very 135 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY near to God and that they are ready to heed his call and to recognize his claim upon their lives. | In this connection, Professor Fiske, in speaking of the boy’s religion, bids us remember: “ Notable is the boy’s inherent faith in God and simple trust in God; his clear acceptance of immortality as an axiom; his faith in the goodness of God and his instinctive dependence upon it; his intuitive knowledge that God is a loving, personal Spirit, the causal Agentand Source of life, at the heart of things; and also his honest conscientiousness. These are among the fundamental religious instincts of the human race. In their purest, simplest form the child possesses — them.” Other types must be treated in a different manner, and it is the supreme task of the teacher to find the avenue of approach through which the strongest appeal can be made, not with wordy arguments, but with the wise and intelli- gent use of the Word, and with reliance upon the aid of the Holy Spirit. Decision Days.—Decision days are useful for the in- fluence which the decision of one pupil may have on another, but decision should not be considered a public profession. If properly followed up, decision day services are frequently found to be effective, but careful and tactful personal work should be done. The best results are ob- tained by a wise selective process by which, under the advice of the teacher, the pupils who have expressed a desire to follow Jesus may be gathered into a pastor’s com- municant class, where they may be instructed with refer- ence to the Christian life and the meaning of Church membership. 136 OUR PUPILS FOR CHRIST The ideal method is to have such a class meeting regu- larly for several weeks prior to every communion service, into which the teachers will bring those who have been led to express a desire to become affiliated with the Church, placing them under the pastor’s guidance in preparation for taking that important step with full knowledge of all that it involves. The silent influence of the knowledge that their companions are attending such a class will be a strong attraction to those who are hesitating. Codperation with the Pastor.—In these efforts there should be the closest codperation between the teacher and the pastor. The teacher should seek the advice and coun- sel, as well as the prayers, of the pastor in behalf of pupils who hesitate to come to a decision. It may be helpful occasionally to have the pastor sit with the class and frankly discuss the subject with the pupils. Nothing in all the work of the pastor is more encouraging and inspiring than, at each communion season, to see his teachers bring- | ing their pupils to him for a public profession of faith in | uniting with the Church. This should likewise be the teacher’s highest reward. It should be the aim of every Sunday school to have every member in the grades above the Junior Department a member of the Church, and teachers of pupils above twelve years of age should labor with unremitting energy toward this end. This is the age when the pupils are more in danger of dropping away from the Sunday school than at any other time. Thousands could be saved to the Church and the Sunday school if all the pupils, upon pro- motion from the Junior Department, should look forward to an acceptance of Christ and joining the Church as the 137 THE SUNDAY SCHOOL IN TOWN AND COUNTRY natural step which they are expected to take as members of the Intermediate and Senior Departments. Training for Christian Living.— Again, we should remem- ber that this is the age when the pupils should receive their training for Christian living and service. The Graded Lesson courses for Intermediate and Senior pupils are pre- pared with this purpose in view. It is obvious, therefore, that the teacher labors under a great disadvantage in teaching these important lessons if the pupils have not definitely committed themselves as followers of Christ. It has been said that “if the pastor does not look after the Sunday school of to-day, there will be no church of to-morrow; and if the Sunday-school superintendent does not look after the church to-day, there will be no Sunday school to-morrow. The church creates the Sunday school and the Sunday school creates the church.” Let us therefore keep this goal clearly before us. Let us regard every new method and plan as of any value only as it contributes more efficiently toward the accomplish- ment of our great purpose to bring in the Kingdom of our — Lord by enlisting the rising generation of boys and girls as his earnest and loyal followers. Two pictures hung upon the walls of Mr. Moody’s din- ing room. One was a picture of his first Sunday-school class in Chicago, a group of ill-dressed, unkempt waifs from the street. Under this picture was the inscription: ‘‘ Does It Pay?” The other picture was of the same group when grown to manhood. But it was a group of well-dressed, prosperous, and contented Christian gentlemen. Under this picture was the inscription: “It Does Pay.”’ It is not the “unkempt waifs” alone, but the boys and 138 OUR PUPILS FOR CHRIST girls of so-called ‘Christian homes,” the children of the household of faith, whose eternal destiny depends largely upon the work of the Sunday-school teacher. If Christian parents are neglecting their duty in training their children for Christ, the task of the Sunday-school teacher is all the more difficult. However, the codperation of the parents should be cultivated by the teacher, and in most cases they will respond in an appreciative manner. The Kingdom of God will come only when Christ’s fol- lowers fully realize that their greatest opportunity lies in the Christian nurture of the rising generation. We should cease to complain about our losses and expend our energies upon the conservation of the boundless potentialities of the childhood of to-day. The Sunday school has proved its adaptation to this task. With the practical methods now available, and with the codperation of the other agencies for Christian instruction and training which are of more recent origin, we may confidently expect still greater re- sults from its work in the years that are before us. 139 APPENDIX A BULLETIN SERIES The series of educational pamphlets issued by the Department of Home and Church of the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church in the U. 8. A. should be obtained by every pastor and Sunday-school superintendent. Single copies will be mailed free of charge upon application to the Department above mentioned, 423 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. No. . No. No. No. ‘No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. 1 2 3. “Christian Education in the Family.” (For the Use of “Religious Education for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. A.” “The Church Council of Religious Education.” Parents in the Religious Education of the Younger Children, Birth to Eight Years.) . “Two Types of Week-Day Church Schools.” . “Adapting the Church Building for the Purposes of Religious Education.” “Christian Education in the Family.”’ (For the Use of Parents in the Christian Education of the Older Chil- dren, Nine to Seventeen Years.) . “Correlating the Young People’s Work of the Church.” . “A Three Hour a Week School for the Individual Church.” . “A Boys’ Work Program for the Individual Church.” . “A Girls’ Work Program for the Individual Church.”’ (To be issued later.) . “A Church Program for Promoting Family Religion.” “Daily Vacation Bible School.” . “Correlating the Junior Work of the Church.” 141 APPENDIX B INSTALLATION SERVICE Pastor: ‘Son, go work to-day in the vineyard.” | ScHoo.: ‘My Father worketh even until now, and I work.” Pastor: “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, according to thy tribes; and they shall judge the people with righteous judgment.” ScHoou: ‘Here, moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” SUPERINTENDENT: ‘‘Whosoever would become great among you shall be your minister; and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant: even as the Son of Man came not. to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” ScHoou: ‘Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath set over his household, to give them their food in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his Jord when he cometh shall find so doing.” Sinerna: ‘ Work, for the night is coming,” first stanza. (Play chord only.) Pastor: The following persons, having been duly elected and ap- pointed officers in this Sunday school for the year that is before us, will, as their names and offices are read, present themselves before the desk for installation. (Here the pastor, or some one appointed, shall read the names of the new officers, with the office to which each person has been elected or appointed.) BRIEF PRAYER Pastor: Beloved fellow workers in the Lord, do you now accept the offices in this Sunday school to which you have each been chosen? (The officers shall answer, ‘‘I do.’’) Pastor: Relying on God’s help, will you do your utmost to discharge the trust which this church and your fellow servants of Christ in this Sunday school have thus placed in your keeping? Answer: I will. 142 APPENDIX Pastor: Will you endeavor to be regular in attendance upon all appointments, diligent in the performance of every duty, loyal in service to them that are over you in the Lord, kindly and considerate in every relationship, and fit examples of Christian conduct before our children and youth? ANSWER: I will. ScHoot: “Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed.” Tue Orricers Extect: ‘Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God.” Sinaina: “Work, for the night is coming,’ second stanza. Pastor: The teachers in this Sunday school for the coming year will rise. Scoot: “And they read in the book, in the law of God, distinctly; and gave the sense, so that they understood the reading.” Pastor: ‘And the things which thou hast heard from me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.” Scnoou: ‘And they that are wise [or, the teachers] shall shine as the - brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.” Pastor: Do you accept the classes to which you have been appointed for the coming year? Tracers: I do. Pastor: Will you be regular, diligent, studious, prayerful, and _ watchful for souls, as God shall strengthen you? Answer: I will. Pastor: Will you give faithful and loyal support to this your super- intendent? to these officers in their several positions, and to the church whose children are intrusted to your teaching? Answer: I will. Scuoot: ‘Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it.’’ Pastor: “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus unto all generations for ever and ever. Amen.” 143 APPENDIX C SUGGESTED CONSTITUTION FOR A WORKERS’ CON- FERENCE OR SUNDAY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION Where it is deemed advisable to adopt a formal plan of organiza- tion for the monthly workers’ conference (or Sunday-school associa- tion as it is frequently called), the following may be used as a basis, with such changes or additions as may be found necessary to meet the local conditions: PREAMBLE We, the officers and teachers of the Bundy school, recognize the Church of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ as the divinely ordained preacher and teacher of the Word. We also recognize the Sunday school as the Church studying and teaching the Bible, and therefore subject to the authority of pastor and session. We also recognize our obligation to carry on this work in an orderly and effective manner; therefore we adopt the following as the constitution of this workers’ conference (or association) and after it has been approved by the session it shall become binding upon _ all its members: CONSTITUTION Article I NAME The name of this organization shall be ‘‘The Workers’ Conference”’ (or The Sunday School Association) of ——-——-—— Church which shall be composed of the pastor and the duly elected officers and teachers of the Sunday school. Article II OFFICERS The officers of this workers’ conference (or association) shall be the pastor, a superintendent or director of religious education, the super- intendent (who shall be a member of this church), one or more associate superintendents, the departmental superintendents, the secretary, the treasurer, the librarian, and the chorister, whe shall be elected annually. 144 APPENDIX Article III DuTIES OF OFFICERS 1. It shall be the duty of the superintendent to preside at all the meetings of the school and of this conference (or association). He shall be responsible for the conduct and management of the school, under the rules of this conference (or association). 2. The associate superintendents shall perform all the duties of the superintendent in his absence. 3. It shall be the duty of the superintendent (or director) of reli- gious education to supervise the educational work of the Sunday school. All matters pertaining to the teaching and curriculum should be referred to this officer for such recommendations as it may be found desirable to make to the conference (or association). 4. It shall be the duty of the secretary to keep the minutes of this conference (or association), conduct the correspondence, and issue all notices. He shall make and keep an accurate enrollment of the offi- cers, teachers, and scholars, and record the attendance each Sunday, making regular reports to the school and to this conference (or association) at the appointed time. He shall see that the teachers are supplied with necessary lesson helps, class books, and other material. 5. It shall be the duty of the treasurer to receive all moneys con- tributed to the school and by the school, and to keep an accurate account of all receipts and disbursements. He shall make a monthly report to the school of class collections, and to the conference (or association) at each monthly meeting, of all receipts and expendi- tures. He shall pay out no money except on orders drawn on him by the superintendent and attested by the secretary. 6. It shall be the duty of the librarian to have charge of the Sun- day-school library. He shall distribute the books according to regulations approved by the conference (or association). He shall make regular reports of the condition of the library. He shall appoint assistants, subject to the approval of the superintendent. 7. It shall be the duty of the chorister to have charge of the music of the school, under the direction of the superintendent and subject to his control. 8. The departmental superintendents, in codperation with the “superintendent of the school and the superintendent of religious education, shall be responsible for the conduct of their respective departments in conformity with such plans and policies as may be adopted from time to time by this conference (or association). 10 145 APPENDIX Article IV MEETINGS 1. The regular meetings of this conference (or association) shall be held on the last evening of each month. The annual meeting shall be held upon the last evening of March of each year, so that all accounts shall correspond with the Church year. 2. At the annual meeting the election of officers shall take place, and shall be by ballot. A majority of the whole number of votes cast shall be necessary to a choice. 3. The name of the superintendent elected shall be submitted to the session of the church for its approval. If the session disapproves, a new election shall be held as soon as practicable. 4. At this meeting annual written reports shall be presented by the officers. Article V STANDING COMMITTEES The standing committees shall consist of the following: Finance, Supplies, Library, Music, Visiting, and Missionary. 1. The Committee on Finance shall consist of three members, whose duty it shall be to submit plans for raising money necessary for the support of the school, and, upon the approval of the conference (or association) to carry them into effect. 2. The Committee on Supplies shall consist of three members, who shall have charge in coéperation with the secretary of the furnishing of books, papers, and all other materials for the use of the school. 3. The Committee on Library shall consist of three members, whose duty it shall be to purchase books for the library when so ~ ordered by the conference (or association). The librarian shall be ex officio a member. 4. The Committee on Music shall consist of three members who shall codperate with the chorister in all plans with reference to the music of the school and of all anniversaries and entertainments hg under the auspices of the school. 5. The Committee on Visitation shall consist of —-——————-mem- bers, whose duty it shall be to arrange carefully for an annual canvass, for new scholars, of the entire district naturally belonging to the school, to secure visitors to make such canvass and to report the results to the conference (or association) at the annual meeting. 6. The Missionary Committee shall consist of three members whose duty it shall be to devise plans for missionary instruction and to recommend various forms of missionary work in which the school 146 APPENDIX may engage. All missionary contributions should be appropriated by vote of the association, excepting the contributions given on spe- cial days such as Children’s Day, and so forth, which must be sent in their entirety to the cause for which the offering of that day has been requested. Article VI MEMBERSHIP Any person who has taught in the school four Sundays in succes- sion, by the invitation of the superintendent, may, upon nomination by the pastor and superintendent, be elected a member of the associa- tion and a teacher in the Sunday school. Article VII ORGANIZATION STANDARD The organization of the Sunday school shall conform as closely as conditions and equipment will permit to the Interdenominational Ten Point Sunday School Standard. Article VIII AMENDMENTS Amendments to this constitution may be made only at the regular monthly meetings, with the consent of three fourths of all the mem- bers present; provided, that notice of the same shall have been given at the previous meeting; provided, also, that such amendments shall be approved by the session of the church. Article IX Srssion’s APPROVAL This constitution, after its adoption by the association, shall be submitted to the session of the church for its approval, and thereupon shall become the law of the school. 147 APPENDIX D SUNDAY SCHOOL WORKERS’ LIBRARY CHILDREN’S DIVISION “The Cradle Roll Department,” by Elizabeth W. Sudlow. “Object Lessons for the Cradle Roll,” by Frances Weld Danielson. “The Beginners Department,” by Louise M. Oglevee. “How to Conduct a Beginners Department,” by Hazel A. Lewis. “Study of the Little Child for Teachers of Beginners,” by Mary T. Whitley. | “‘Lessons for Teachers of Beginners,” by Frances Weld Danielson. “The Primary Department,’’ by Phebe A. Curtiss. “Order of Service for the Primary Department,’’ by Mary E. Priest. “Methods for Primary Teachers,” by Hazel A. Lewis: “Primary Methods in the Church School,” by Alberta Munkres. “A Study of the Primary Child,” by Mary T. Whitley. “The Children’s Division of the Little Sunday School,” by Maud Junkin Baldwin. “The Juniors: How to Teach and Train Them,” by Maud Junkin Baldwin. “How to Conduct the Junior Department,” by Mrs. W. D. Van Voorhis. “A Study of the Junior Child,’ by Mary T. Whitley. “The Dawn of Religion in the Mind of the Child,’ by Edith E. R. Mumford. “The Dawn of Character,” by Edith E. R. Mumford. “The Unfolding Life,” by A. A. Lamoreaux. “A Study of Child Nature,” by Elizabeth Harrison. “Children’s Devotions,” by Gerrit Verkuyl. “Child Nature and Child Nurture,’”’ by Edward Porter St. John. YounaG PEOPLE’s Division “The Intermediate Department,”’ by Eugene C. Foster. “Problems of the Intermediate and Senior Teacher,” by Eugene C. Foster. “The Senior Boy,” by Eugene C. Foster. 148 APPENDIX “The Secondary Division Organized for Service,” by John L. Alexander. “Sunday School and the Teens,” edited by John L. Alexander. “The Religious Education of Adolescents,’ by Norman E. Richard- son. “The Boy Problem,” by William Byron Forbush. “The Girl in Her Teens,”’ by Margaret Slattery. “Girlhood and Character,”’ by Mary E. Moxcey. “Boy Life and Self-Government,” by George W. Fiske. “Psychology of Adolescence,” by Frederick Tracy. “Youth and the Churth,” by Cynthia P. Maus. ApuLT DIVISION “The Adult Bible Class,” by W. C. Pearce. “The Adult Department: Its Scope and Opportunity,” by Ida 5. Blick. “The Adult Division in the Church School,” by E. W. Halpenny. “Principles of Christian Service,” by Henry F. Cope. “The Ideal Adult Class,’’ by Amos R. Wells. ‘‘ Adults in the Sunday School,” by Wm. S. Bovard. “The Home Department,” by Minnie K. L. Karnell. . TEACHER TRAINING METHODS “Talks with the Training Class,” by Margaret Slattery. “The Teacher Training Class,”’ by Emilie F. Kearney. ‘The Seven Laws of Teaching,’ by John M. Gregory. “The Pupil and the Teacher,” by Luther A. Weigle. “Talks to Sunday School Teachers,” by Luther A. Weigle. “Use of Motives in Teaching Morals and Religion,” by Thomas W. Galloway. “The Educative Process,’ by William C. Bagley. « Jesus the Master Teacher,’’ by Herman H. Horne. “Pyndamentals of Child Study,” by Edwin A. Kirkpatrick. “Learning to Teach from the Master Teacher,”’ by John A. Marquis. “The Making of a Teacher,” by Martin G. Brumbaugh. “Self-Help in Teaching,’ by Huber W. Hurt. “How to Teach,” by G. D. Strayer and N. Norseworthy. BLACKBOARD AND OBJECT TEACHING “Crayon and Character,” by B. J. Griswold. “Chalk: What We Can Do with It,” by Ella N. Wood. 149 APPENDIX “Experimental Object Lessons,’”’ by Charlotte E. Gray. “Pictures in Religious Education,” by Frederica Beard. “Handwork in Religious Education,” by Addie G. Wardle. . ‘‘Handwork in the Sunday School,” by Milton 8. Littlefield. MISSIONARY . “The Why and How of Missions in the Sunday School,” by William A. Brown. “Graded Missionary Education in the Church School,” by Frederica Beard. ‘Missionary Education in the Sunday School,” by Ralph E. Diffen- dorfer. “Making Missions Real,” by Jay S. Stowell and others. “How to Interest Your Sunday School in Missions,” by Sue R. Staley. | “The Missionary Education of Juniors,” by J. Gertrude Hutton. MISCELLANEOUS . “ Devotional Life of the Sunday School Teacher,” by J. R. Miller, “The Church School,’’ by Walter S. Athearn. “Story Worship Programs for the Church School Year,” by Jay S. Stowell. , “Plans for Sunday School Evangelism,” by Frank L. Brown. “How to Run a Little Sunday School,” by E. Morris Fergusson. “The Child and His Religion,” by George E. Dawson. “Ethics for Children,” by Ella Lyman Cabot. “How to Teach Religion,’ by George H. Betts. “From Youth Into Manhood,” by Winfield S. Hall. “Religious Training in the School. and Home,”’ by E. H. Sneath, G. Hodges, and H. H. Tweedy. “Graded Social Service for the Sunday School,” by Wm. N. Hutchins. “Bible Atlas,” by Jesse L. Hurlbut. “Dictionary of the Bible,’ edited by John D. Davis. “Cruden’s Concordance,”’ by Alexander Cruden. “Historical Geography of the Holy Land,” by George Adam Smith. “Bringing the Pupil to a Decision for Christ,” by George G._Mahy. “The Successful Sunday School Superintendent,” by Amos R. Wells: “Ten Don’ts for Sunday School Teachers,” by Amos R. Wells. “The Week Day Church School,” by Walter Albion Squires. ‘A Handbook for Daily Vacation Bible Schools,” by W. C. Smith, B. G. Jackson, and J. 8S. Armentrout. 150 APPENDIX “Religious Education in the Family,’ by Henry F. Cope. “Church and Sunday School Buildings,” by P. E. Burroughs. “The Charm of the Impossible,” by Margaret Slattery. STORIES FOR USE IN THE SUNDAY SCHOOL “Dramatization of Bible Stories,” by Elizabeth E. Miller. “Missionary Stories for Little Folks,” First Series—Primary, by Margaret T. Applegarth. “Missionary Stories for Little Folks,’ Second Series—Junior, by Margaret T. Applegarth. “World Stories Retold,’ by William J. Sly. “Children’s Missionary Story Sermons,” by Hugh T. Kerr. “Friday’s Footprints,” by Margaret T. Applegarth. “Recitations and Dialogues for the Sunday School,” Series 1, by Mary E. Priest. “Recitations and Dialogues for the Sunday School,’ Series 2, by Mary E. Priest. “Sunday School Builders,” by John M. Somerndike. “The Use of the Story in Religious Education,’ by Margaret W. 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