The Importance of Sabbath School

Growing up in a home that was actively involved in church was a real blessing. As a child I loved worship and the stories of the bible. Mum and dad were committed to family worship every morning and we loved listening to the age-related readings and joining in the family prayer. In the evenings we really enjoyed studying our Sabbath School lessons. On Sabbaths I have fond memories of going to Sabbath School and enjoying singing, stories and reciting the memory texts and then sharing of the lesson.

As I travel around our conference it is evident that well run Sabbath Schools are still important for the children of the church. A lot of children are excited to be at Sabbath School and the effort that the leaders put into making the time together interesting and life changing. Sabbath School is really important in connecting children with God and the church family. A well-run Sabbath School can be a significant evangelistic program for the church. Children not only learn themselves, but if they are excited, they can invite their friends to come along as well.

When I was a young adult there was a perception that adult Sabbath School was the great strength of our church and on reflection it may have been, but perhaps there were problems already beginning to appear. Adult Sabbath School in the 70’s and 80’s was a time of high biblical content and great discussion, which sometimes ended up in heated argument. I can remember people saying that was a great Sabbath School and on recall I am not sure it was, because it did not always build faith in God or relationships with each other.

Today the cracks in our adult Sabbath School cannot be glossed over. We are missing opportunities to grow people as disciples of Jesus Christ. This is not true in every church as some are making significant change that encourages prayer, reading scripture and application to real life. There are several churches who have a seekers class or “pastors’ class” (run by the pastor or elders) that are for new believers or people coming to faith. I turn up for church in time for Sabbath School and sometimes it is the literal “where two or three are gathered”. By the end of Sabbath School there are a lot of people in class, and we are inclined to blame people for turning up late.

In our Seventh-day Adventist church in Western Australia the people who are leaders in our local churches are telling us through NCD surveys that we are doing poorly in Holistic Small Groups. In our context Sabbath School can be part of the solution for changing the culture of our church in Holistic Small Groups. Mid-week small groups are a great way of going to the next level, but in our culture a well-run Sabbath School class can be a significant part of discipleship.

An effective Sabbath School class needs to meet for at least 50 minutes and if a church decides to have an introductory time together it should be no longer than 15 minutes. If adult Sabbath School classes run for the entire 70 minutes, it needs to cover some basics.

Care – what is happening in life for each person? Who is missing? Who will follow up those who are missing?

Prayer – spend time praying for requests from no. 1 above and other needs.

Share – who can we share with – mission focus locally (individually and as a class) and overseas (mission offering).

Bible Reading – we come together to study the Bible not the Sabbath School lesson. It is a time of connecting with God in reading his word and discussing God’s word together. Our textbook is the Bible, and you should be able to leave the Lesson Book at home.

Read a passage of scripture highlighted in the Sabbath School lesson. What have you learned that is new? What don’t you understand? What is God telling you in this passage? What will you obey/apply? Practical take home point. What will you share with someone this week? Mission focus.

The focus of each church is to make sure our Sabbath Schools are places of discipleship that welcomes and grows people as followers of Jesus. If you need resources or direction for Children’s Ministry - contact Kyle Richardson
 kylerichardson@adventist.org.au Youth Ministry - contact Uili Maugu 
 uiimauga@adventist.org.au Sabbath School - contact Nicu Dumbrava
 nicudumbrava@adventist.org.au

1 Natural Church Development (NCD) surveys those who are leaders and really involved in church to discover the factors limiting growth. The limiting factor in our conference is “Holistic Small Groups.”

Steve Goods