Sunday School

In today’s society, children are bombarded with ideas contrary to the Christian faith. Sadly, many schools and teachers are determined to indoctrinate kids rather than educate them.

It’s vitally important that Sunday school lessons teach children the important truths about God, Jesus Christ, sin, faith, works, the gospel message, and the trustworthiness of the Bible. Sunday school curricula that provide real answers to children’s common questions on these important topics and teach them how to live godly Christian lives are invaluable resources to parents, children, and the church.

Most Sunday School Programs Fall Short

Most churches have Sunday schools, but most young people leave the faith. Studies done by the Barna Group and others show that about 60–70 percent of youth leave the church. Clearly, Sunday school content needs to be more biblically sound and engaging.

If young people aren’t taught that the Bible is the authority in all areas of life, they will replace God’s authority with man’s authority.

Nature abhors a vacuum. If young people aren’t taught that the Bible is the authority in all areas of life, they will replace God’s authority with man’s authority. And if this occurs, children will be captive to the latest intellectual fads and follies taught by wicked and proud individuals who reject God’s wisdom and believe they are the final judge of truth and morals. History repeatedly demonstrates that power corrupts and men are subject to self-deception and the desire to conform to what is currently popular and clearly untrue. Unlike fallible men who come and go, the Bible has stood the test of time, and men reject its truth at their own peril.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Jeremiah 17:9–10).

King Solomon wrote:

“Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath” (Psalm 62:9).

In his book Already Gone, Ken Ham cites a national study revealing that 62% of the young people surveyed did not believe all biblical accounts to be true. That same study revealed that 61% of those who attended church as teens walked away during their twenties.

There Is Research Relating to Key Components of an Effective Sunday School

The more familiar children, Christian parents, and pastors are with the inaccuracies of these false views, the greater confidence and understanding they will have of biblical truths.

Every age has false beliefs that pose as knowledge. The more familiar children, Christian parents, and pastors are with the inaccuracies of these false views, the greater confidence and understanding they will have of biblical truths. Today, there is a concerted attack on the book of Genesis and biblical creation, which supports many important doctrines of Christian theology. And even the basic notion of truth is challenged by secular ideologies. Modern Sunday school plans need to provide lessons defending biblical creation and other crucial scriptural truths. Research also shows that children who are given creation education and information relating to the general reliability of the Bible are more likely to hold biblical beliefs and attend church.

Christians are commanded to “contend for the faith” (Jude 1:3) and “to make a defense to anyone who asks [us] for a reason for the hope that is in [us]” (1 Peter 3:15). Well-designed Sunday school plans enable Christians to fulfill this important task and duty.

Answers in Genesis (AiG) is a Christianity-defending ministry that has helped many Sunday school teachers. AiG offers a Sunday school curriculum that covers the entire Bible in four years through its 200 lessons designed for students of all ages. It covers important topics like the trustworthiness of the Bible, God’s nature and attributes, God’s redemptive plan, how to live the Christian life, Bible history, and defenses of the Christian faith.

Why Sunday School Is Important When Done Properly:

1. Parents are responsible for the spiritual well-being of their children, and this responsibility can’t be delegated away (Ephesians 6:4). At the same time, a quality Sunday school can be an important supplement to what a good parent is already doing.
2. Greater Bible literacy: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17). Scripture provides spiritual nourishment (1 Peter 2:2–3), and Sunday schools should be teaching sound doctrine, the importance of daily Bible reading and Bible memorization, and why the Bible is reliably historically accurate.
3. God has called some Christians to be teachers (Ephesians 4:11), and Sunday school can be a great way to teach children the Christian faith.
4. Sunday school can be an important avenue to help teach and disciple young people so they “walk the talk” and lead a holy life (Ephesians 4:20–24).
5. Sunday school provides another opportunity for Christian fellowship. Scripture declares: “So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (Philippians 2:1–2).
6. Sunday school provides a great avenue for young people to ask questions and get their questions answered.
7. Some children become Christians after hearing the gospel in Sunday school. The prominent evangelist D. L. Moody became a Christian after his Sunday school teacher told him about God’s love and how much God loved him. Moody’s Bible teacher, Edward Kimball, wrote in his memoir about Moody: “I can truly say, and in saying it I magnify the infinite grace of God as bestowed upon him, that I have seen few persons whose minds were spiritually darker than was his when he came into my Sunday School class; and I think that the committee of the Mount Vernon Church seldom met an applicant for membership more unlikely ever to become a Christian of clear and decided views of Gospel truth, still less to fill any extended sphere of public usefulness.”
8. A quality Sunday school program can be an effective church outreach.

Key Components of Answers Bible Curriculum for Churches

The Bible Is Trustworthy

We can trust all of God’s Word beginning in the Book of Genesis! While showing that Scripture is absolutely true, Answers Bible Curriculum also emphasizes the importance of carefully and accurately interpreting the Bible.

Christian Apologetics

Christian apologetics is the study and practice of giving answers for the reasonableness and truth of the Christian faith. Answers Bible Curriculum equips people, young and old, with facts from culture, history, and science to defend the Bible against common skeptical questions.

Chronological/Historical

The Bible presents true history, not made-up “stories.” Chronological teaching through the whole Bible gives your students a powerful, worldview-shaping overview of God’s Word.

God’s Attributes

God’s attributes are displayed throughout the Bible! As students discover the character of God, they are encouraged to grow more conformed to the image of Christ.

God’s Redemptive Plan (Salvation)

God’s plan of redemption is woven throughout Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, Answers Bible Curriculum traces the “scarlet thread” of the gospel to reveal this unified theme in the Bible.

Life Application

We are to live in light of what the Bible teaches. Answers Bible Curriculum brings the Bible’s teaching to everyday life, impacting all ages with easy, practical applications.