The Sunday School Department

SUNDAY SCHOOL OUTREACH

ALABAMA CONFERENCE SUNDAY SCHOOL REPORT

Rev Terry D. Going, Secretary

July, 2009

Brother Hedstrom, Delegates, and Friends of the Alabama Conference, I submit my annual report as Secretary of the Alabama Conference Sunday School Department.

This year has been a very busy time for most of us on the Conference. God has wonderfully blessed in many ways, but there have been times of stress, especially for us at Easley, in the untimely deaths of some of our people.

It has been good to work with the Sunday schools across the Conference. It has been a privilege to work with our Conference President, Rev. Walter Hedstrom, whose input and advice are always helpful.

This year, we did not have the Sunday School Convention, because of tight schedules, that included the Bus Convention, in IN, rallies in Salina, KS, and Ponca City, OK, revival meetings, and other special meetings. Yet, I believe the Sunday School Department has thrived.

I appreciate the work of our pastors and superintendents, as reflected in the evaluations at the end of the year. Those evaluations revealed that each of the reporting Sunday schools had done their best to develop themselves to make an impact on their churches and in their communities.

Sunday School of the Year

First Place - Graham Bible Methodist Church

Second Place - Active Bible Methodist Church

Honorable Mention - Burlington Bible Methodist Church

Pastor Evans receives award

Superintendent of the Year

First Place - Charles Baker

ManchesterBible Methodist Church

Second Place - Larry Unger

Glencoe Bible Methodist Church

Honorable Mention - Leonard Collins

Tarrant Bible Methodist Church

Pastor Watkins receives award for Charles Baker

Teacher of the Year

First Place - Alvin Hodge

Glencoe Bible Methodist Church

Second Place - Rev. A. L. Kight

Flat Rock Bible Methodist Church

Honorable Mention - Rick Tallman

Burlington Bible Methodist Church

Alvin Hodge receives award

I deeply appreciate the work of each of these churches and their leaders. I will mention that the other evaluations were very close, and I would encourage each of you to strive for mastery in your work. Of the churches reporting their average attendance this year, we averaged 37 across the Conference.

Sunday school is a very important part of church work. It is there that smaller groups within the church can develop relationships and closer friendships with one another. But Sunday school also provides the opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of the Word of God. It must not be a place to vent one’s anger, or to promote some private agenda. I am deeply concerned that we strive to make our Sunday schools interesting, and that we help our people to understand who we are, what we believe, and why we believe it. I am staunchly Wesleyan-
Armenian. I understand what holiness is. I am not sure exactly when I became so rooted and grounded in what I believe, but I am convinced that it was the teaching and examples of various Sunday school teachers and pastors that I had throughout my formative years.

There is too much of a light attitude among people toward the Sunday school today. It is easy for many to skip Sunday school in favor of the worship service. Dr. Elmer Townes said that a study has been made to determine when this trend began, and why. The “why” has not been decided, but the trend began in 1971. Perhaps we need better training sessions for our Sunday school workers, so that they can take a more serious position as to the training of those coming under their influence. Perhaps we need more visitation of prospects, absentees, and visitors. It would be good for us to overcome any poverty of ideas, and become more creative. If we don’t do something, the next generation may not care about the church at all.

It is time for those of us in leadership to examine our own attitudes. I recently preached to my people about being a man of integrity. I fear that integrity has become a forgotten word. It often becomes easy to allow wrong to prevail because we don’t want to deal with it. The younger generation picks up on that, and says, “If that is the church, then leave me out of it,” and they run in some new direction. When this happens, they tend to become laws to themselves, and do only what is right in their own eyes. Sometimes they become devoutly religious, but merely serve the Lord on their own terms.

Our Sunday schools must rise above the current and strive to build into all of our people, from baby to great-grandpa, a clear understanding of God’s Word. It is not our own ideas that matter, but what God says. We need a fresh brokenness - a getting down into the dust before God - a deep humility, and a sense of purpose. If we can do that, our Sunday schools can grow, not only numerically, but spiritually, and a deepening process will take place throughout the entire Movement.

May God help each of us to catch a fresh vision of what we are all about; and may He richly bless you in the coming year.

Respectfully Submitted,

Terry D. Going, Secretary

Sunday School Board Members
Rev. Dana Bentz
Rev. Randall Crotts
Rev. Marcus Evans
Mr. Jim Stanley