How Sunday School Can Sell Well

by Reba Collins

Said no kid ever -- Mom, I love school. I can’t wait to go back! I love having to sit still for 5 hours learning new Math skills and all that interesting stuff. I feel smarter already just thinking about it. I can’t wait to leave my friends after 20 minutes at recess—it was so boring spending three or four hours with them every day this summer. And I can’t wait to get up earlier, stand in line for my lunch, and then do my homework. School is great!

Even though I’ve never heard one of my kids say anything like that, it’s still what I want to hear from them because I am wise enough to know what going to school can do for them.

So, if going back to school isn’t the high-five, let’s-all-celebrate event for every kid, why do we think that the start-up of fall Sunday School for kids and youth will be any better? Really, why is that? School is “school” – and that’s a really tough sell all around.

Regardless of how hard a church tries to make its Sunday School program sound like the BEST THING EVER, it’s still a struggle for parents to pitch to their kids. So how do we reach our goal of getting our kids to want to go to Sunday School? It’s not as hard as you’d think. Simply look for a church that is doing the same kinds of things that good teachers are doing to motivate their students Monday through Friday. 

So, what do good churches do to make Sunday School appealing enough to make kids want to go back to school on a Sunday?  

They engage more, and teach less.

Here are three ways the good churches apply and practice these key Sunday School concepts to make their Sunday morning programs sell well:

1. “Community” over classes. One of the first things good teachers do is establish a sense of “community” with their classes. Values, beliefs and behavioral expectations lay the foundation for community. Good teachers, though, build community with student-to-student, student-to-teacher relationships. Good churches don’t offer classes; they offer community for their Sunday School kids. The Sunday School community is shaped by only a handful of faith beliefs and values, such as:

• Jesus Loves Me
• I Can Trust Jesus No Matter What
• I Need to Make a Wise Choice

Kids see the same group leader week-in and week-out – sometimes for years. Peer-to-peer relationships are built on time spent learning and discussing in highly relational groups, not researching scripture and regurgitating answers in a workbook.

2.  Co-learners Over Controllers. Today, parents and kids are co-learners, and their teachers as guides. “Learning community” is a common term for teacher-guided, peer-led, parent-assisted learning environments. Good churches create learning communities, too. These are often called “small groups.”  Equipped with cues and good communication provided by the church, parents support these engaging discussions by carrying on conversations at home.

 3.  Techy AND Touchy. Technology has made phenomenal educational content accessible to both students and parents. Good teachers use technology to spark imagination and creativity. Churches have tons of options for using technology to access the Bible, sing worship songs, and engage in learning, knowing, and experiencing God even after they leave church on Sunday. Check to see how a church uses technology to connect kids in their faith journeys beyond the classroom. Good churches use technology to enhance a faith experience; they don’t rely on it to create the faith experience. Touching people was Jesus’ preferred way of sharing the Gospel with others, and good churches know that Jesus’ way is still the best. 

“School” simply isn’t going to experience a warm reception during this time of year. No one, especially kids, wants to go to school for an extra morning, no matter how fun you make it sound.  Many churches realize this and stay away from tagging their Sunday morning experience as “school.” Instead, they give parents and their churches a motivational advantage by offering “programming” or “kids’ communities.” And that just might get your kids to go once. But to get them to go again, look for churches that lean toward interaction and exploration and offer relationships over rote learning practices.

Sunday mornings at church shouldn’t feel like something kids have to do, or are supposed to do. Good churches create engaging environments and experiences so that kids want to be there.