The Sunday School:
A Mighty Movement

In 1780, a philanthropist and Anglican layman named Robert Raikes lived in Gloucester England. After surveying the social setting of his time and noting the unfortunate and destructive paths of young people and children in his community, particularly on Sundays, he decided that starting a Sunday School would be his mission. He acknowledged that it would be easier to work with children because it was a way of preventing the problem rather than adopting the harsh responsibility of curing it. One Sunday, he invited 12 uneducated and underprivileged to the house of a Mrs. Meridith on Sooty Alley, Gloucester. The numbers began to grow so rapidly that other places had to be found such as the garden behind Raikes’ house where his wife would serve plum cake. By 1788, thanks in large part to Robert Raikes, over 250,000 children in England were attending Sunday School regularly. Their main text book of study was the bible. By using his publishing company to produced hundreds of thousands of booklets, he was able to promote the idea of service through Sunday School all around the world. Robert Raikes died on the 5th of April, 1811 at the age of 74.

During this time, John and Charles Wesley, the founders of the Methodist Church, were delighted by Raikes’ work and incorporated Sunday School into their church’s routine. By the time of John Wesley’s death, there were more than 500,000 Sunday School attendees in Great Britain. In 1830, under the direction of The Sunday School Union, a statue in Raikes’ honor is erected on the Victoria Embankment Gardens, London, England.  By 1831, Sunday Schools in Great Britain were teaching 1,250,000 children (about 25 percent of the population at the time) on a weekly basis. In 1858, after being inspired at the home of a “Mother Phillips,” D.L. Moody rented an old building in Chicago with the help of his mentor, J.B. Stillson. This became his first Sunday School. The school would go on to flourish so successfully that it attracted hundreds of students. It also caught the attention of then President, Abraham Lincoln, who visited that school and spoke to the students.

The Sunday School movement continued throughout the years. Another major contributor was Arthur Flakes, a businessman from Winona, Mississippi. He left his business to join the Baptist Sunday School Board to lead the Sunday School Department. Under Flakes’ leadership, Southern Baptist Sunday School Enrollment increased six fold from one million to six million people. His legacy was able to impact not just Southern Baptist churches but almost all protestant denominations and non denominational churches as well. Pastors, education ministers,Sunday School teachers, church organizers and small group leaders should all familiarize themselves with what is now known as the ‘Flakes Formula’.  The steps of this invaluable formula are as follows:

1.Know Your Possiblities -  A dream deferred is a vision aborted. Therefore having a vision is essential.

2. Enlarge The Organization - You must be willing to start new groups and support networks. This allows the movement to grow and encourages cooperation across a larger portion of the community.

3. Enlist and Train Leaders - Develop good leaders that can inspire others, succeed previous leaders and also become forerunners in their own future endeavors.

4. Go After The People/Children - Reach out to others in the community. Drive people towards your Sunday School/Church. You cannot rely on hearsay and curiosity to drive people towards your organization. You must actively encourage them through your consistent effort and presence.

One of our greatest resources as a people is our children and grandchildren.  We cherish them. We plaster our homes with their pictures and spend thousands of dollars to make them happy. In the Bahamas, one of the most vital lamps, as Arthur Flakes may describe it, in our churches is the Sunday/Sabbath School. These lamps cannot and will not be extinguished or downplayed.

In 1992, in an address to the worldwide assembly of the church, the late Bishop Billy Murray, former General Overseer of The Church of God of Prophecy, had this to say about Sunday School:

“In some places, we are seeing a decreasing interest in Sunday School. This has caused some churches to consider abandoning Sunday School altogether. Worship is important but we must make certain that teaching and discipling is being pursued. We do know that Sunday School offers a means of use for the gifted ministries of many individuals. We should consider extending this teaching and discipling ministry through some mid-week sessions.”

The International Sunday School Department of The Church of God in Christ has created a Sunday School church group academy (SSCGA) to equip its leaders for church and community work.

In 2001, the Government of the Bahamas, with great fanfare, launched a campaign entitled ‘Bahamas Public Order Campaign 2001 and Beyond.’ It was a joint initiative of the government of The Bahamas, the church community, civic organizations, the business community and the media. One of the foundational planks in this bold initiative was a “National Back To Sunday/Sabbath School Drive.” The whole objective of this event was to encourage families to attend Sunday/Sabbath School thereby promoting and enhancing faith formation and character development. 

Life changing lessons are taught in Sunday School. Extensive studies of many biblical stories are taught and discussed in a peaceful, tolerant atmosphere. We are living in a wonderful yet challenging age. Life - changing lessons are taught in Sunday School. Two of many examples include ‘The Good Samaritan’ and ‘The Prodigal Son’. Biblical Stories, parables and principals for Christian living provide useful and insightful moral lessons. The Ten Commandments and The Fruits of the Spirit establish firm principles that can positively impact the decision-making skills of those that are ready to receive the information. 

In conclusion, to save our nation, the baton must be passed. Therefore it is imperative that we protect and rescue our children. The Sunday School movement must be a part of our onward-forward march. There is no substitute for it. We have organized churches from it. LONG LIVE THE SUNDAY SCHOOL MOVEMENT! May all of our churches continue to encourage vibrant proactive, community-oriented Sunday/Sabbath Schools throughout this entire nation.