A major question for the church today is "Can we have spiritual growth that leads to numerical growth?" Acts 9:31 says that the New Testament church was edified and multiplied.

In an effort to answer this question I want to look at the Sunday School of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The Bible school has its roots in England. A man named Robert Raikes began early in life to visit the prisons in an effort to reform prisoners. When he saw his efforts to reform adult prisoners were not very succesful he turned his attention to children. He began to establish schools primarily for the purpose of teaching underprivileged children. It was said of him that "out of compassion and interest to reform the boys who roamed the streets on Sunday, Raikes opened his first Sunday school in the kitchen in Gloucester, England, in 1780, and hired a Mrs. Meredith to teach them." This date they said "marks the day that worked a miracle on the young people of England and extended throughout the United Kingdom." The school at first served a secular purpose. William Fox was given credit for bringing the Bible into the school and making Bible study the chief purpose. When Robert Raikes died in 1811, there were an estimated 400,000 attending Sunday schools in Great Britain.

The Sunday school movement spread to America where it was received with open arms. In 1800, the average education being received was 82 days. Therefore the Sunday school was seen as serving both educational and spiritual purposes.

The Sunday school actually led the organized church into pioneer communities. Stephen Paxton rode his horse, whom he named Robert Raikes, into the Mississippi valley and personally organized 1,314 schools during his lifetime with more than 80,000 pupils and teachers enrolled. D. L. Moody along with his assistants organized every county in the state of Illinois, 102 in all, into the movement.

The evangelistic tool for outreach found fertile soil in America. Between 1827 and 1860 most religious groups adopted the Sunday school. Publishing literature became a big business. We followed the leadership of the Sunday school movement and published our own quarterlies. I can remember when the International Sunday School lesson was taught on Saturday on WSM radio because this was used by many religious groups.

During the first two-thirds of the 20th century, Sunday school growth skyrocketed in unprecedented numbers. It just seemed to happen with little or no effort. These first 60 years of the 20th century have been called the "Golden age of American Sunday schools."

Churches also enjoyed unprecendented growth. I believe the Sunday school and churches grew greatly because of the influence of the Bible in the public school. We based our plans for growth in an era when the lost came to public services.

A book was published in 1969 called The Ten Largest Schools and What Makes Them Grow. Those churches ranged in size from 2,847 to 5,762. I visited a Chattanooga church while speaking in that area. They were averaging 4,821 in attendance. They had averaged over 2,100 baptisms per year for 5 consecutive years. They supported 199 missionaries. They contacted 5,000 non-members per week through their outreach program. I asked one of the preachers, "How many they baptized the previous year?" He said, "2,300." I said, "How many did you contact first in their home?" He said, "80%." One year they had plans to contact the entire city of Chattanooga.

As the century moved into the mid '60s, growth patterns began to change. In many Sunday schools enrollment began to plateau. Worship attendance stabilized and started to decline. This did not happen in every congregation at the same time. As to reaching outsiders, both adults and children, the "great depression" of growth of many Bible schools and churches had begun. From 1970 to 1980 church school attendance in America dropped by 8 million.

The Institute For American Church Growth surveyed 250 preachers and church leaders. They were asked what are the reasons for the present decline of the Sunday school? They gave seven things:

1. Not concerned with outreach.
2. Classes not relevant.
3. No long range planning.
4. Decreased priority given to the Sunday school.
5. Declining teacher committment.
6. Lack of evangelistic fervor.
7. Low level of teaching competency.

Bible teaching and prayer were removed from the public school in 1962 and 1963. No doubt TV has had its effect. After some 200 years as a growing institution, the Sunday school as a means of reaching the uncharted has changed. Declining Sunday schools meant declining churches.

In a recent 15 year period in churches of Christ in the United States:

• Oklahoma had the largest decline of members--5,903--a loss of 27 congregations.
  
• Missouri had the largest decline in congregations--80--a loss of 3,840 members.
  
• Tennessee had the largest decline in members, children and visitors--4,933. Think of the resources in Tennessee: 1,475 congregations, 167,968 members, 3 universities, 6 preacher training schools, 12 elementary and secondary schools and 6 periodicals.

There is one obvious conclusion--we have the resources but they are not focused on reaching the lost. Brother Yeakley says that we have the man power, the money, the gospel power--but not the willpower.

Batsel Barrett Baxter spoke on "The Crises of Ineffectiveness" a few years before his death. He said, "Our crisis today is the crisis of ineffectiveness. We must recognize our ineffectiveness in reaching those among whom we live and work, even in areas where the church is relatively strong."

In Church Growth magazine (2nd quarter, 1999), Brother Flavil R. Yeakley, Jr. of Harding College says, "Since 1980, however, there has been very little growth. State-by-state comparisons indicate that churches of Christ are either plateaued or declining in the Bible Belt, and it is only in some mission field areas that significant growth is taking place." We were told in 1990 that 80-85% of all churches were plateaued or declining.

Church Growth of Monrovia, CA did considerable research into the decline of the Bible school and what can be done about it. They found that the difference in a growing Bible school and one that was not growing was the way they view their purpose. "In most declining Sunday schools the reason for being is exclusively a ministry to existing Christians and nurture to members of existing churches."

They described these as inward-focused Sunday schools. They write, "Growth of inward-focused Sunday schools, through reaching unchurched people in the community, is either not mentioned or assumed to be an automatic by-product of nurture. The activities of inward-focused Sunday schools also reflect little or no effort to find and bring in non-Christians." They go on to say that these Sunday schools do not reflect "the priority of outreach required by Christ and His church."

I continue to quote, "The purpose of most growing Sunday schools, on the other hand, is quite different--they have an outward focus. These Sunday schools exist to obey Christ's Great Commission and equip the laity (members) for ministry to the world. While concern for spiritual growth and nurture of existing Christians is a crucial part of all curriculum and activities, it is seen as a "means to an end in itself..." When means become ends, institutionalism occurs.

They say that inward-focused Sunday schools do not produce spiritual growth and that they produce a "self-service mentality." They say "that the present system does not motivate people toward involvement in the church's mission of growth and outreach." Is this really true? Do the facts support this view?

In about 1970, Flavil Yeakley Jr. wrote that 2% to 3% of the church win souls. In 1987, the figure was 1%-1 1/2% by the preachers and 1/2% by the church members. This means approximately 1 in 200 members share their faith with others.

Larry Gilbert in his book Team Evangelism writes that 65% of the church have a low commitment--no concern for people outside the church. Each Christian and each congregation has to decide if this is applicable to them.

How much evangelism is the average congregation doing today? Practically none. Therefore, we have few conversions. The number of conversions of any congregation tells something of its evangelistic activities. It is not evangelism until the lost are confronted with the gospel!

We raise the question again, "Can spiritual growth lead to numerical growth?" I believe that if properly focused, it can. I believe that advanced training through a level two Bible school can do much to help equip the church for the work God gave it to do. Modifications need to be made in what we might call level one Bible school. The Bible school must expand its purpose from simply imparting Bible knowledge to preparing the church for the work God gave it to do.

[The following comes from my book Church Growth Today.]

Who will be the students in a level two Bible school? Perhaps the elders should select certain people, such as elders and deacons, for certain courses. (See J. J. Turner's Church Leadership Handbook).

The wives should also be invited. Materials taught should include "How To Win the Lost and Restore the Erring." Most classes can be open to anyone, but selection of those who are most spiritual and most committed would be a criteria. Sometimes those young in the faith have more zeal than some who have aquired knowledge and have lost their zeal.

It is recommended by church growth authorities that one-third of the adults in Bible classes go through a course on soul winning each year. (For details on this subject read chapter four of my book.)

Some churches are finding that the use of small groups provides growth oportunities, as well as opportunities to minister to others. Leaders must be trained for this if it is to succeed. You will want to consider John Ellas' book, Church Growth Through Groups. Order from the Center for Church Growth, P.O. box 691006, Houston, TX 77269-1006.

Courses should be offered in teacher training. This should include the concept of teachers helping shepherd their students and work to build enrollment. Perhaps most would not endorse our system of selecting people to teach. We select teachers who must learn how to teach in the classroom. Someone has said, "Teachers are not taught, they are caught." (They are hemmed up in a hall and urged to become a teacher.) They need an instructor who can help prospective teachers see teaching as an exciting privilege. Too often, teachers' meetings are boring and uninteresting.

What are your plans to lead youn men to want to be workers for the cause of Christ, including preaching, or our young ladies to be great sevants for the cause of Christ? Special classes for each could help achieve that objective. How many men would you like to see become preachers? Do you offer special classes that will lead them in that direction? I know of a man who wanted to improve his abilities for the cause of Christ. He worked long hours on his job, then went to a secular night school to take public speaking. The preacher where he attended taught speech at a Christian college. WE HAVE DESTINED OUR MEN TO MENIAL TASKS BECAUSE WE DO NOT OFFER THEM TRAINING TO MOVE BEYOND WHERE THE PRESENT LEVEL OF TEACHING TAKES THEM! Some of our preaching schools offer extension courses. These are advanced courses which include the use of videos. This could be offered in the level two Bible school. International Bible College, P. O. IBC, Florence, AL 35630 and Sunset Extension School, 3728 34th St., Lubbock. TX 79410 offer such courses. Ideally students should spend more time in study than one class a week. A preacher who has devoted much of his life to training men suggest that two hours be devoted to Bible study on Sunday morning and two hours at the mid-week sevice for courses designed to train. This may not always be possible. Remember the level one Sunday School is more of a Bible happy hour (a Sunday stroll with Jesus) than for the purpose of equipping for works of service (Eph. 4:12).

Churches should strive to offer courses on missions taught by one who is mission minded. We must help students see where we are in our efforts to evangelize the world and where the Lord wants us to be, and how we can get more involved. Only five states in the United States have a congregation in every county. We have been involved in the Restoration Movement over 200 years. Suppose we advance the idea of training groups to move to a city where there is no congregation, to get jobs and begin a church in a home. This might be more pleasing to God than trying to have a large church all under one roof, necessitating hugh real estate costs!

Another important area where training is needed is working with erring members. This is one of the most neglected areas of work. Even elders are often not well-equipped to deal with erring members. A group of spiritually mature men and women could be selected for special training, perhaps along with the elders. Several books are available. One is Keeping Converts and Restoring the Erring, published by Quality Productions. There are several books dealing with church discipline.

A group of people who had received this training could assist the elders with those who are drifting and those who have fallen away. See Chapter Ten of my book Church Growth Today entitled "Seeking Those Who Have Gone Astray."

You may ask where will we get teachers and where will we find the teaching materials needed? It would be well to select teachers who are good role models, committed to the mission and who can effectively communicate the message and train before the plan is attempted. Teachers should have a good understanding of God's eternal purpose (Eph. 3:10,11). See Homer Hailey's book God's Eternal Purpose. Also see the 34-page chapter on the Bible school in my book, Church Growth Today, available through your bookstore.

You may access other articles by Brother Pepper on this website.

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Clayton Pepper is widely known for his writing and speaking on church growth. You may contact him at 1254 Campbell Road, Goodlettsville, TN 37072, 615-859-4660.