Most youth ministry models do not acknowledge the role that the Sunday School might or does play in the overall Youth Ministry strategy. They do not answer questions like: How does the Sunday School programme interface with Youth Ministry? What role should it play? What communication should there be between the two ministries?
It is a reality that Sunday School and Youth Ministry tend to be separate ministries. In fact I did some Internet research two weeks ago on the Youth Specialties forum and found that while most leaders say the two ministries should be under the same umbrella, I don't think any were actually in that situation. Many youth pastors said that they taught in the Sunday School, but I am sure you will agree that this is a far cry from co-ordination between the ministries.
This document is the result of a survey of youth pastors on the Youth Specialties forum during the third and fourth week of October 1996. I have integrated the findings and included a key at the end of the document as to who each youth pastor is that responded. The following paragraph is what the youth pastors responded to:
In a Youth Ministry studies class one morning one of my students said that his church had asked him as youth pastor to take the Sunday School under his wings. He is a full-time student at the College, and a student youth pastor at the church. He wanted to know whether this is wise. Do you have any comments to make on the following areas:
1. How do Sunday School and Youth Ministry relate to each other?
I don't see how you can even think of classifying Sunday School as non-youth ministry. It ministers to young people, doesn't it? Therefore, it is Youth Ministry. It isn't spiritual, just logical. But the average church has never seen it like this - and it is our job to convince them. I wish that logic was adhered to in all church structures - it would make things so much easier. As for me and my house, we consider Sunday School to be a major part of the overall Youth Ministry. GC
Our Sunday School is where we usually have the largest number of youth during the week. We have the opportunity to really teach youth about what the Bible says, and how it applies to their lives. I think Sunday School and Youth Ministry go hand in hand, and should be very much supported by youth ministers. BR
I see Sunday School as 1/4 of my ministry. Here is how I break it down: (1) Sunday School- Biblical issue discussed and applied to life and these are age sensitive i.e. senior high & middle school. (2) UMYF (Sunday night program)- time of fellowship and outreach to unchurched friends. Light Biblical issues. (3) Wednesday night Bible study- intense study of God's word. Not all kids are ready for this yet. These are the more dedicated youth. (4) Special Outreach Events (bowling, game night, etc)- teaching kids Christians are not boring and know how to have a good time. JH.
The two are immeasurably intertwined. Sunday School is the best place for the youth to get "tuned into" what's going on in the Youth Area. We start off the morning in a joint season, one purpose of which is to let the youth know what is going on in the near future. Afterwards, we break up into classes (Intermediates and High School) for Sunday School. SS.
I have never considered that the two would be separate. It seems to me that the Youth Pastor would be expected to teach Sunday School, either Jr. or Sr. High. It may mean more prep time, but it also provides more time to "be with" the youth for whatever purpose Sunday School is used. NR.
I see Sunday School as a part of the Youth Ministry, focused to meet a specific need in our group. For us, Sunday School, called The Body Shop, is aimed at the majority of our students, the middle of the road kids, spiritually. We teach Bible lessons, usually book studies. It is a little more in depth than Wednesday, not as much as Sunday nights. RP.
It is my personal belief that these are to be two separate departments, although they should coordinate curriculum to lessen possibilities of duplicate lessons. However, in my church, the Youth Pastor falls under the Christian Ed. Board, as well as Sunday School. The major relationship is that of they involve the same people. JT.
I once saw a model in Bryanston at the Methodist Church where the youth leader gave the youth an opportunity to serve through the Sunday School. It was brilliant. She ran camps for the new leaders, gave them much opportunity for development and in the end had about 10 - 15 interested and fired up teenagers that really enjoyed what they were doing. I think much of her success was that she gave them a lot of ownership and helped to see the value that each of them had. B.
Sunday School is a part of any Youth Ministry program because of its original purpose to reach out to children in the community and bring them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as well as a growing knowledge of who God is. Many Sunday School programs have become "church kid" programs that no longer work to reach out to the community, but they are still a tool of ministry to youth. EM.
At my old church, the Sunday School director and the Youth Minister worked together. The Youth Minister was involved and gave announcements. The Sunday School director furnished substitute teachers and provided materials. The Youth Minister and Sunday School director worked together to find and train new teachers. At my new church, the youth Sunday School is under a youth Sunday School director. We don't have a Youth Minister right now, but when we did, it was still under the youth Sunday School director and the Youth Minister didn't have much involvement. My opinion: it involves ministering to youth, so therefore the Youth Minister needs to have the authority. The Sunday School director should work with the Youth Minister like my previous church. I have been told to build my ministry around the youth Sunday School, because that's where you have many of your visitors and you can base your outreach on Sunday School. That's hard to do when you don't have any involvement. WW.
I believe Sunday School is a function of Youth Ministry. MK.
In total cooperation. They are not the same thing, although each contains a little of the other. E.
At my church they are coordinated by separate people But seen as related to each other. My Job
description includes all ministry to, with, by, and for youth. C.
2. In your church, does Sunday School fall under the youth pastor's portfolio?
No. But I have only been at my present church for this year, and have a proposal on the table for a youth council, that will bring Sunday School into the picture with other youth ministries (the funny thing is that the position of Sunday School in this structure is the only point of contention remaining - I say in, others say NO, it must be out and separate - I don't think I should budge on this one). GC.
No! but I am an avid supporter of Sunday School, and encourage our youth to be actively involved. BR.
I am not personally responsible, but I am consulted on curriculum and help find teachers. JH.
Our Youth Pastor wears several hats in the church-Missions, Music & Drama, and Youth. He joins us every Sunday morning for the joint session prior to breaking into classes. However, he is not involved in the planning and execution of the Sunday School. He supports us and is a Sunday morning presence in the lives of the youth, but he is not involved other than that (of course, he does immeasurable work behind the scenes to make sure we make a sufficient budget.) I guess one reason Jack is not more involved in the Sunday School, is that we also have a Minister of Education. SS.
From my experience, Sunday School is the Youth Pastor's responsibility. KK.
The Youth Pastor, me, teaches one Sunday School class; but, we have a Sunday School administrator who is over all classes and teachers. His role as it relates to me and my class is: he makes sure we have a room to meet in; he gets someone to fill in for me if I cannot make it (that happened once this year); and, he makes sure I have any materials I may need. NR.
My job description requires me to teach High School Sunday School twice a month. (the other two sundays are covered by lay people.) Personally, I don't find this ideal, as it breaks up their continuity in Sunday School. (However, I am part time, and sing with a choir that tours about once a month, so this is a necessary arrangement). On the flip side, it has been beneficial, as it has given more chance to get to know the high school group, and be able to spend more time and study with them. JT.
I think they'd like that to be the case, but unfortunately they have a youth worker that won't let them do it, without a substantial pay increase. The figure I asked for was pretty heavy, I figured that would get them off my tail. Plan B was that I would do it but then I wanted 6 days off a week. B.
No. EM.
In the previous church it did. In my new church, it doesn't. In my opinion, it should. WW.
Only the junior high and senior high, 8th through 12th grade. I have recently added an 18-25 college and career group. MK.
In my parish, "Sunday school" is referred to as Religious Education, as it occurs on all days of the week. There are regular classes for grades K-6, sacramental preparation classes for kids for baptism, reconciliation, Eucharist, and confirmation, adult education classes for RCIA. All of this falls under the Director of Religious Educations auspices. The youth director (me) runs Youth Ministry, grades 7-12, and young adults 18-20yrs old. E.
Yes, but in practice not really although I have significant input. C.
3. What involvement do you, as a youth leader have in the Sunday School?
Not as much as I would like to. I think that there should be a great overlap in leadership. There should be some leaders who are involved in both. Then there can be some who lead in one group, but diligently attend the other - this provides a link for the young people between the groups. The youth pastor should go to both groups. GC.
I teach a class (9th and 10th grade), meet with the other teachers for planning on ways to reach more youth, and to keep the classroom times interesting. I also keep track of our visitors, and make sure that we follow up on them. BR.
I am free to visit during this time with new visitors or to fill in for someone who couldn't teach. JH.
I teach 7th and 8th graders (Intermediates) and on a rotating basis lead the joint session. SS.
I teach the High School class, and have since before I was the Youth Pastor. NR.
Yes. RP.
Not a lot now except that I'm watching hoping to find an opportunity to get some teenagers involved. It's a dream but a dream I need time for, and timing. B.
I teach the junior high Sunday School class. I do not count this as "work" time. Instead, I count it as "involvement" time. EM.
Right now I am not serving as a Youth Minister, but hopefully will be again in the future ( I am bi-vocational). I am teaching 7th Grade Sunday School and preaching children's sermons at my new church. I am currently teaching 7th Grade. I also do my best to follow up on visitors and perform an inreach and outreach. WW.
I am one of 3 instructors on Sunday morning, sharing the duties with two other adults NOT involved in other Youth Ministry programs. Nice to have other involvement. MK.
I also volunteer in Rel Ed as their liturgical musician for special liturgies (it helps when I go to recruit them for Youth Ministry when they're older). E.
I provide some of the activities and content that is not found within the text book we use. I also teach occasionally. C.
4. What is the objective of your Sunday School? ie. evangelism, education, etc?
Mainly education (although I personally believe that more Christian kids come to the Friday youth group than to Sunday School). GC.
Our Sunday School is kind of a blending of evangelism and education. It's the area where we tend to have the most visitors, and we try to make sure there is some evangelism taking place, because of this. Also, it's a wonderful place to educate on Bible History, prophecy, etc. We have youth at different stages of Christian growth, so it's sometimes a challenge to keep those who have been in church all their lives, interested, while being basic enough for those who aren't familiar with the Bible at all. BR.
Education. JH.
Education. Actually, not being seminary trained, my approach is more of sharing my life and spiritual journey with the youth. SS.
In the ministry the Lord has given me, I have made the focus on small groups/education for Christian kids in our church. The avenue for friends to come would be during the week. My suggestion is to focus this Sunday A.M. time towards creative education for the Christian bunch. However, you can add some variety by once in a while spicing things up a bit. Don't think so traditional but reaching the kids so they will desire to reach their friends. KK.
Purely educational. Currently, we are going through the Bible discussing major stories and what their significance is. NR.
As the youth pastor I have responsibility to plan the teaching topics, and schedule of who will be teaching and when. I also do some teaching, I split time with my other leaders and between my senior high and junior high classes. RP.
In Sunday School, we are doing a curriculum on gifts and service, while in Youth Group we are doing my tailor-made lessons on the Book of Acts. JT.
Education and keep kids busy whilst mom and dad are doing their Church thing. Wish it would be a little more community reaching. B.
Our Sunday School program seeks to provide children with a strong understanding of God's word. Our curriculum is Christ-centered and Biblically based. The focus is education. EM.
I just started teaching 2 weeks ago. Right now, I want to build the class back up. I am also concentrating on education. I will personally handle the evangelism. WW.
Education, application, enlightenment, consciousness raising...MK.
Primarily education. E.
The primary purpose of Sunday School at our church is Education. C.
5. What would you advise my student to do?
As long as he has the time, (and he should MAKE the time), this is an ideal opportunity for him to entrench in this church the close connection between Sunday School and youth groups. He should go for it. GC.
I would say go for it, if he feels that's what God would have him do. It will take a lot of time to do it well, but it could have some tremendous results too. I think it's a wonderful opportunity. BR.
He should be there to help facilitate and to be a resource for others. A pastor's best role is that of an encourager. JH.
I don't know his situation. If his church has someone willing to do the Sunday School, it may be a good idea for him not to. Maybe he should stick to building relationships with the youth, rather than teaching. If however, no one in his church feels called (read: unwilling to serve with the wild & crazy youth), then he should step in. It may be difficult for him to go to school, lead the youth group and prepare and lead the Sunday School; all of which are full time jobs! SS.
If he feels comfortable teaching Sunday School, do it; if not, don't do it. NR.
When you say take the Sunday School under his wing, do you mean the youth Sunday school, or all of it. If it is the Youth only, I say-he better. Otherwise as youth pastor there is an entire area of his ministry, and an important one that he is totally uninvolved with, not a good thing. RP.
My gut feeling would be that if it is not in his contract, he needs to respond as though he were any other layperson at the church. If he has time and desire to do it, than he should, otherwise he should decline. JT.
Make sure you have enough time on your hands, and only you know that. Rather leave it than take it and not be happy in yourself. Can't do everything my mate, although in the Church they think you can in the arena of youth. Haven't you heard, youth work is easy. If you do it, it has amazing opportunities, for service and an area I hope the Church get's into one day: Family Enrichment. You then hold the key to developing a ministry to the families in the Church. Now that's meaningful work! B.
I think it is possible to teach a Sunday School class and still be involved in Youth Ministry. However, Sunday School has almost always been a lay ministry that has traditionally been run separate of other ministry programs within a church. Eddie should avoid allowing his involvement in the Sunday School program to become a part of his job description. This would put extra expectations on anyone that might follow him, and it would also begin a shift that could make the Sunday School program one in which lay members of a church are no longer encouraged to become involved. EM.
Try to have as much control over youth Sunday School as possible. The best way is by working with the Sunday School Director. My personal irritation is that the youth minister position in my church seems to only have responsibility over retreats and after church activities. The Youth Sunday School director has charge over youth Sunday School, the RA/Challenger director has the youth missions, the GA/Acteens director has charge over girls missions, and the youth committee plans the activities with the youth minister. The various directors aren't under the authority of the Youth Minister. That leads to a situation where the Youth Minister doesn't have much flexibility to be led by the Spirit in making decisions. I have though about talking to my pastor about assuming the position in the interim, but I am weary of taking a figurehead position. This is a situation where we have, to use an analogy, we have 4 horses pulling in different directions to reach the same goal. In my honest opinion, the youth minister needs to work closely with all of his directors. The directors should OK everything with the youth minister (trips, activities, etc.). That way the youth minister can direct the ministry in the direction that the Lord is leading him. WW.
I hear what Eric is saying! But the "flip side" to this issue is also one to consider: don't get yourself involved in Sunday School leadership unless it is part of your job description! Often, doing "extra" things, on the side, leads to the same kind of dependency or pulling away of the lay folks...If your person feels that his ministry rightly should include regular involvement with the Sunday School (as is the case with me), then have him negotiate to define it in his job description. Why? (1) It gives all parties a chance to try to clarify the roles. Job description or not, there are always expectations of a minister's role! At least when they are written down, you have a better chance of keeping things realistic. (2) It gives the church leadership a golden opportunity to consider how the larger ministry might be integrated and/or enhanced. A collective wisdom can be used to determine how Eddie's professional skills could be used while not usurping the good work of volunteers. (3) It protects Eddie and his successors from being taken advantage of by not allowing there to be a "paper job description" and a "real (twice the work) job description." KM.
He needs to take very seriously his school work load and how it will progress as he gets more involved in college. It doesn't become easier, and time will be a factor SOON. Although he feels called or asked, that sheepskin can be important later on in his career. (As I am finding out, being recently newly unemployed!) MK.
Be the youth pastor OR the Sunday School Director, not both. In this Diocese, we call such people "slashes" because their titles are written DRE/Youth Director. We have lots of folks working like this, but they generally burn out in about 2 years from job abuse. Some even drop out from the church. Not healthy at all. It may be necessary to start this way if your parish is small, but get it changed as soon as possible. E.
It sounds to me like the time commitment at this point in time would be overwhelming. I would
lean toward a NO do not take the added responsibility. But since I do not know Eddie or the
church he is working for I can not say that that is a definite response. C.
Participants:
GC - Graeme Codrington
BR - Billy Ragland
KM - Katie Miller
JH - Jay Huff
SS - Sam Smilie
MK - Michael Kelley
KK - Krazy K
NR - Nathan Routh
E - Eibelhouse
RP - Rick Pierce
JT - Jonathan Twitchell
C - Christopher
B - Barrie
EM - Eric Muhr
Return to Model of Youth Ministry