So, exactly what is wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention? What happened
to all the growth promised by denominational leaders in recent years?
So, exactly what is wrong with the Southern Baptist Convention? What happened
to all the growth promised by denominational leaders in recent years?
And could Sunday School actually hold the key to jumpstarting the convention
growth engine?
Perhaps, a pair of recent papers suggest.
That the Southern Baptist Convention has reached a stall period is beyond doubt.
But what to do about it is a more difficult assessment.
However, a pair of papers posted by the Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry
at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary last fall offer a suggestion
a revival and reinvention of an evangelistic Sunday School.
Indeed, in an examination of membership growth and evangelism patterns during
the 20th century, William Day notes a troubling decline in growth rates since
the 1950s.
For instance, from 1995-2000, the rate of growth in Southern Baptist membership
fell to only 1.9 percent.
Meanwhile, while annual baptisms rose from 1900 to 1960, they since have plateaued.
And while it took less than 20 Southern Baptists to baptize one person prior
to 1935, it now takes a statistical average of 43 to do the same.
“Church membership in the Southern Baptist Convention continues to grow,” says
Day, associate professor of evangelism and church health at New Orleans Seminary.
“Some churches are reporting hundreds of baptisms each year.
“However, overall, the rate of growth in the Southern Baptist Convention is
almost nil,” he adds. “Furthermore, the number of baptisms has plateaued.”
Day cites two reasons for the changes
A loss of evangelistic passion. “The church member-to-baptism ratio
is an indicator of evangelistic zeal and commitment,” Day notes. “A steadily-increasing
ratio seems to indicate that one factor in the decline in the rate of SBC membership
growth is a decline in evangelistic fervor.”
A change in the role of the Sunday School relative to evangelism.
Sunday School once was the outreach arm of the church and there was a
strong correlation between its enrollment and baptisms, Day says. However, that
correlation has not existed since 1981.
Sunday School is no longer the evangelistic force it once was in the SBC,”
he emphasizes.
Day urges additional study of the implications of the trends and statistics
and that is just what Margaret Williamson provides in her paper in the
journal. Williamson is assistant professor of evangelism and church health at
the Georgia Extension Center of New Orleans Seminary.
Her focus is squarely on todays Sunday School.
“Throughout its history, the Sunday School program has maintained a position
as the premier teaching program and the primary evangelistic model within Southern
Baptist churches,” Williamson writes. “However, Sunday School attendance throughout
the Southern Baptist Convention is declining. … Does that mean that the Sunday
School has lost its ability to serve as the evangelistic arm of the church?
“(Or) Could it mean that the Sunday School no longer receives the priority
support within the church?”
The importance of Sunday School is undeniable, Williamson insists. Indeed,
researchers have identified a direct relationship between the quality of Sunday
School and church growth, she says.
However, any number of changes and trends are impacting it and all organizations
today, Williamson adds.
In such a midst of change, she says the future of an organization depends on
three keys anticipation (looking toward the future), innovation and excellence
(in terms of customer service and product development).
Simply put, organizations must work to escape its past however successful
it may have proven and reinvent the future, Williamson says.
She adds that future success also will depend on how churches respond to key
trends, including the fact that:
The population makeup within America is changing. The nation is
becoming more ethnically diverse but the church is not reflecting it,
Williamson says.
Family structures are changing. “Todays families are characterized
by diversity two-career families, single-parent families, unmarried couples,
solo singles, childless couples and those who have faced divorce, remarriage
and blending,” Williamson says. “Even with such a list, its impossible
to capture the diversity of complexity of families. Each area of diversity will
create specialized needs which the church of the future will be required to
address.”
Time is societys primary commodity. Most people feel they
have too many responsibilities and too little time, Williamson says. Research
shows the average church attendee participates just about three hours a week.
Spiritual values are not always discovered through the church.
“Many unchurched have not rejected God, although they may have rejected the
church,” Williamson says, noting these still are looking for meaning in life.
Williamson says one Christian researcher has identified eight needs all persons
share the need for personal touch, for continual options, to know how
to interpret information in light of the Bible, for help in coping with change,
to recognize the role of women, to be recognized for what motivates them, for
an organization in which people matter and to have people care for them.
“(Such) Contemporary issues … will impact how churches … provide programming,”
Williamson says. “Changing demographics will affect participants and programming
needs. Changing values will impact the possible selection of programs. Changing
needs will determine the type of delivery system used to provide programming
options.”
In the midst of such change and diversity, Sunday School must move to meet
four key needs, Williamson says.
The need for small-group experiences. “Small groups provide an
opportunity for members to respond to the Bible and to other learners personally
and to relate the Bible to their lives, …” Williamson says. “Relationships
built within the class depend upon the type of opportunities given and can include
evangelism.”
Nonchurched persons want to feel welcome and connected which is more
important to them than the content of the sermon, she adds. “(So) At a time
when many churches are choosing a master-teacher approach for Bible study or
are emphasizing worship in place of Bible study, the importance of developing
nurturing small groups must be recognized.
The need for relevancy. Sunday School curriculum simply must be
culturally relevant, Williamson says. At the same time, it must be able to speak
to the two-thirds of the population who have little or no religious training,
she says.
Meeting this need can include use of intriguing titles, lessons that are instantly
applicable, lessons that address the “Why?” as well as the “What?” of Scripture
and lessons that use the language of learners, Williamson notes.
The need for schedule options. As others have noted, Sunday School
need not be limited to a single Sunday morning hour, Williamson notes. Some
churches already are experimenting with this, spread in the ministry throughout
the week, leading to an increase in participation, she says
The need to see the future. “The church stands on the threshold
of the future, facing certain change and uncertain consequences of that change,”
Williamson says. “Religious futurist Loren Mead describes this prospect: We
are … midwives for a new church, working to help our present forms and structures
give birth to forms appropriate for the new mission of the church.”
All in all, a careful look at the landscape means Sunday School need not be
cast aside, Williamson concludes.
“As a program organization, the Sunday School faces the challenge of adapting
its format, methodology and curriculum in an attempt to meet the needs of its
present participants and future prospects,” she insists.
“The Sunday School, however, still remains an effective evangelistic tool when
used to meet spiritual needs through small-group experiences and scriptural
relevancy.”
(The Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry Web site is located at www.baptistcenter.com.
The two articles featured in this article were included in the Fall 2003 issue
of the centers Journal for Baptist Theology and Ministry. Also, various
resources exist related to Sunday School, including the FAITH program that seeks
to team the organization with evangelism. For details, contact the Louisiana
Baptist Convention at 800-622-6549 or 318-442-3402.)