sabbath school handbook

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Contents

Preface ................................................................................................................................. 1The Mission of the Sabbath School ....................................................................................... 2Objectives of the Sabbath School ......................................................................................... 2History of the Sabbath School ............................................................................................... 3Sabbath School Publications ................................................................................................. 4Sabbath School Offerings ..................................................................................................... 5Highlights of Sabbath School History ..................................................................................... 6Worldwide Sabbath School Policies ...................................................................................... 8The Sabbath School/Personal Ministries Department ............................................................. 8Sabbath School Departments in Divisions,Unions, and Conference/missions .......................................................................................... 9Sabbath School Curriculum Materials .................................................................................... 9How the World Sabbath School Curriculum Functions ........................................................... 9Sabbath School Offerings and Mission Promotion ............................................................... 11Sabbath School Officers ..................................................................................................... 12The Sabbath School Council ............................................................................................... 12Sabbath School Teachers .................................................................................................... 13How Sabbath School Offerings Are Used ........................................................................... 13Inspired Thoughts on Sabbath School ................................................................................. 14Organizing the Sabbath School in the Local Church ............................................................. 15Sabbath School Membership .............................................................................................. 15Selection of Sabbath School Personnel ................................................................................ 15Election by the Church ........................................................................................................ 15Appointment by the Church Board ...................................................................................... 16Appointment by the Sabbath School Council ....................................................................... 16Selection of Teachers .......................................................................................................... 16Sabbath School Council ...................................................................................................... 16Sabbath School Records .................................................................................................... 17Divisions and Classes .......................................................................................................... 19Sabbath School Divisions .................................................................................................... 19Children’s Divisions ............................................................................................................ 20Junior and Teen Divisions .................................................................................................... 20Youth and Young Adult Divisions ......................................................................................... 20Adult Division ..................................................................................................................... 21Responsiblity for Planning Teachers’ Meeting ...................................................................... 22Planning Forms ................................................................................................................... 22Planning Sheet for a Quarter.................................................................................................24Responsibilities of Sabbath School Personnel ...................................................................... 25General Superintendent ....................................................................................................... 25Developing Leadership.........................................................................................................26Chairing the Sabbath School Council....................................................................................26Building a Soul-Winning Sabbath School...............................................................................26Recruiting Volunteers............................................................................................................27Assistant Superintendents .............................................................................................. ......27

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Assistant Superintendent for Evangelism................................................................................27Assistant Superintendent for Membership.............................................................................28Assistant Superintendent for World Mission..........................................................................28Why Do Missing Members Miss?.........................................................................................28Conflict .............................................................................................................................. 28Unmet Expectations ............................................................................................................ 28Lack of Affinity ................................................................................................................... 28Inability to Relate ................................................................................................................ 28Ideas For Reintegrating Nonattending Members .................................................................. 29Tips on Visiting Missing Members ....................................................................................... 29Assistant Superintendent for Hospitality.................................................................................31Ideas About How to Present and Report onthe World Mission of the Church ......................................................................................... 32Ideas for the World Mission Report .................................................................................... 32Ideas for Educating the Church About Missions ................................................................... 33Ways to Get Involved in Missions ....................................................................................... 33Ideas for Mission Offering Promotion .................................................................................. 34Mission Involvement ........................................................................................................... 34Special Events .................................................................................................................... 35Resource Materials ............................................................................................................. 35Sabbath School Secretary ................................................................................................... 36Keeping Records and Statistics.............................................................................................36The Adult and Young Adult Divisions .................................................................................. 39The Youth Division .............................................................................................................. 43Characteristics of Youth ...................................................................................................... 45The Children’s Divisions ...................................................................................................... 49The Junior/Teen Division ..................................................................................................... 49Characteristics of Junior Children ........................................................................................ 53Characteristics of Teens ...................................................................................................... 56The Primary Division ........................................................................................................... 59Characteristics of Primary Children ..................................................................................... 62The Kindergarten Division ................................................................................................... 65Characteristics of Kindergarten Children ............................................................................. 68The Beginner/Cradle Roll Divsion ........................................................................................ 71How soon should a child be taught about God? ................................................................... 74Characteristics of Cradle Roll Children ................................................................................ 75Discipline in Sabbath School ............................................................................................... 77Leading a Child to Christ .................................................................................................... 80Special Sabbath School Ministries ....................................................................................... 83Extension Division Leader ................................................................................................... 83 Soul Winning ..................................................................................................................... 85Resources for Branch Sabbath Schools ............................................................................... 85How To Organize and Run a Branch Sabbath School .......................................................... 86Types of Branch Sabbath Schools ....................................................................................... 86Branch Sabbath School Programs ....................................................................................... 87Program for a New Branch Sabbath School: ....................................................................... 87Suggestions for Children’s Branch Sabbath Schools ............................................................. 88Adult Branch Sabbath School Programs...............................................................................88

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Youth Branch Sabbath Schools ........................................................................................... 88Making People Feel Comfortable ........................................................................................ 89Who Walks in Your Church Door?........................................................................................90A Quick Look at How to Treat Guests ................................................................................ 90Key Strategies .................................................................................................................... 90Invitations to Lunch ............................................................................................................. 91An Effective Receptionist System ........................................................................................ 92What to Put In An Information Packet ................................................................................. 92Sabbath School Programs ................................................................................................... 93Adult Sabbath School Program Formats ............................................................................. 93Innovation and creativity........................................................................................................93Key Elements of Sabbath School Programs ......................................................................... 94Outreach and evangelism .................................................................................................... 94Traditional Program ............................................................................................................ 94More Dynamic Traditional Program..................................................................................... 95Modified Traditional Program.............................................................................................. 95Full Time Learning Format .................................................................................................. 95Quick Things You Can Do to Make Your

Sabbath School Program More Dynamic ...................................................................... 96Training and Nurture ........................................................................................................... 96Five Sabbath School Audiences .......................................................................................... 97Needs ................................................................................................................................ 98Emphasis & Focus .............................................................................................................. 98Participation ....................................................................................................................... 98Weekly Program Planning Guide ......................................................................................... 98Sabbath School Action Units .............................................................................................. 99The Plan in Action .............................................................................................................. 99Typical Sabbath School Action Unit Program .................................................................... 100Sabbath School Teacher Training and Resources ............................................................... 101Teaching Methods ............................................................................................................ 103The Successful Sabbath

School Teacher ........................................................................................................... 103The International Sabbath School Teachers’ Association: ................................................... 104Sabbath School Teaching and Seating Arrangements ......................................................... 106Types of Seating Arrangements ......................................................................................... 106Questions and answer ....................................................................................................... 106Discussion Arrangement .................................................................................................... 106Small Groups .................................................................................................................... 106Special Days .................................................................................................................... 107How to Organize Special Days ......................................................................................... 108Promotion Ages ................................................................................................................ 113Organizing Promotion Days ............................................................................................... 114Promotion Days Win Souls ............................................................................................... 114Primary Division ............................................................................................................... 115Junior Division .................................................................................................................. 115Receiving Promoted Members .......................................................................................... 115Community Guest Day ...................................................................................................... 115Additional Ideas ............................................................................................................... 116

Sabbath School Handbook, page 1

This Handbook is a guide for Sab-bath School personnel worldwide. It isbased on policies and procedures estab-lished by worldwide Sabbath Schooladvisories and the administrative en-tities of the world Seventh-day Adven-tist church, as well as suggestions andideas from Sabbath School personnelaround the world. It offers guidelinesdesigned to help organize and run effi-cient and productive Sabbath Schoolsin the local church.

While the Handbook contains somepolicies set by the world Seventh-dayAdventist Church and applicable to allSeventh-day Adventist churchesthroughout the world, it is not designedto be an inflexible policy book. It alsocontains many ideas and suggestionsthat may be used in a way that best

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suits the circumstances of localchurches in different areas of the world.

Boxes and sidebars are used to ex-plain which sections of the Handbookapply to all churches and which referto ideas and suggestions.

Contents of the HandbookThis Handbook contains statements

of the purpose and mission of the Sab-bath School, worldwide Sabbath Schoolpolicy, Sabbath School organizationaloutlines and procedures, job descrip-tions for Sabbath School personnel inthe local church, resources for teachercertification and training, outlines andideas for Sabbath School programs, andinformation on how to involve the Sab-bath School in the soul-winning activi-ties of the church.

Preface

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The Mission of the SabbathSchool

The mission of the Sabbath Schoolis to be a system of local church religiouseducation that builds faith and prac-tice. The Sabbath School is based at thelocal church. It builds faith through thestudy of the Scriptures and the doc-trines and teachings of the Seventh-dayAdventist Church. It builds practicethrough the application of biblical prin-ciples and the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church to the individuallives of the Sabbath School members.

Objectives of the SabbathSchool

The Sabbath School has four specificobjectives:

1. Study of the Word2. Fellowship3. Community Outreach4. World Mission EmphasisThese four objectives are the basis

for every activity of the Sabbath Schoolin all divisions.

1. Study of the Word. The Sab-bath School will help the students un-derstand the gospel and make a per-sonal commitment to it. It will helpthem grow spiritually through study of

The Mission and Objectives of the Sabbath School

the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy. Itwill help students develop a prayer pro-gram and teach them how to interpretand apply the principles of the Scrip-tures to their lives.

2. Fellowship. The Sabbath Schoolwill foster fellowship among membersin the weekly Sabbath School program,develop projects for recruiting newmembers and integrating them intochurch life, and find ways of restoringinactive members.

3. Community Outreach. TheSabbath School will help its studentscatch a vision of the church�s missionin the community, train them for ser-vice, and inspire them to witness. It willdevelop programs to involve them insoul-winning activities.

4. World Mission Emphasis. TheSabbath School will present a clear vi-sion of the global mission of the church.It will promote a personal, systematic,and self-denying commitment to thesupport of world missions, and foster inall a desire to help fulfill the gospel com-mission.



3History of the Sabbath School

Adventist Sabbath School work, thegeneral equivalent of Sunday schoolsof other denominations, began in 1852when James White wrote the first Sab-bath School lessons. A Sabbath-keep-ing former Millerite preacher and oneof the founders of the Seventh-day Ad-ventist church, White organized thefirst regular Sabbath School around1853 in Rochester, New York; anotherwas organized by John Byington inBuck�s Bridge, New York in 1854; andthe third was organized in 1855 byM. G. Kellogg in Battle Greek, Michi-gan.

Early Sabbath Schools had only twodivisions, one for children and one foradults, called the Bible Class. Teachersplaced much emphasis on the memori-zation of Scripture. In 1863, the firstseries of Sabbath School lessonsadapted for children appeared. Thesame year the first adult SabbathSchool lessons, written by Uriah Smith,another early Adventist pioneer, ap-peared in the Review and Herald .

There was little organization untilG. H. Bell, a pioneer teacher in BattleCreek, became editor of the Youth�s In-structor in 1869. He introduced two se-ries of lessons, one for children and theother for youth. He also published aplan of organization providing for a

staff of officers and regular reports ofattendance. He later introduced articlesfor teachers and officers. After demon-strating success in Battle Creek, Belltraveled to other places organizing Sab-bath Schools and counseling officers.

Organization of Sabbath Schoolsbegan in California in 1877 with theformation of the first state SabbathSchool Association. The formation ofthis society was followed in the sameyear by the organization of the Michi-gan State Sabbath School Association.In March 1878 the General SabbathSchool Association was organized.

The first association outside NorthAmerica was formed in 1883 in Switzer-land and another in 1886 in England.In 1886 the name was changed to theInternational Sabbath School Associa-tion. When the General Conference wasreorganized in 1901, the InternationalSabbath School Association became theSabbath School Department of the Gen-eral Conference.

In 1878, in Battle Creek, Michigan,the first division for smaller childrenwas formed called �the Bird�s Nest.� In1886 this became the kindergarten di-vision. In 1879 the first Branch Sab-bath Schools were organized.

A major reorganization of the Sab-bath School Department took place at


the 1985 General Conference sessionwhen it became a part of the newly cre-ated Church Ministries Department. Atthe 1995 General Conference session,the Church Ministries Department wasdissolved and the Sabbath school de-partment was reestablished in combina-tion with Personal Ministries. Today itis known as the Sabbath School/Per-sonal Ministries Department of theGeneral Conference of Seventh-dayAdventists.

Sabbath School PublicationsFrom the beginning, Seventh-day

Adventist Sabbath Schools have hadtheir own lessons and papers. The firstset of lessons appeared in 1852 in theYouth�s Instructor with a single set oflessons designed for �children,� a termincluding everyone except adults. To-day, Sabbath School lessons are pro-duced by the General Conference Sab-bath School/Personal Ministries De-partment and published in many lan-guages.

Adults. The first Sabbath Schoollessons were written by James White.He published the first four in the ini-tial issue of the Youth�s Instructor in1852. According to some historians,White, while eating lunch beside theroad, used the top of his hat for a tableon which to write material. The seriesbegun by White consisted of 19 SabbathSchool lessons. In 1853 17 lessons onDaniel from a publication of J.V. Himes,another early Millerite preacher, wereused. These were followed by eight les-

sons on the sanctuary doctrine. In 1854R.H.Cottrell prepared a one year set oflessons in book form, entitled The BibleClass. William Higley wrote a series oflessons on Daniel in 1859. No new les-son appeared until 1861 when UriahSmith authored a series of 32 lessonsfor adults, again dealing with biblicalprophecy.

In 1886, a series of lessons designedfor adults began publication. Thesebecame the Senior Sabbath School Les-son Quarterly in 1889. In 1973, thename was changed to Adult SabbathSchool Lessons, and in 1996 to AdultBible Study Guides. The most studiedBible book from 1886 to the present hasbeen The Acts of the Apostles. The moststudied topic has been the life andteachings of Jesus. In 1985 a new cur-riculum approach began the develop-ment of Bible Study Guides for eachbook of the Bible. Since 1991 these bookstudies have been interspersed withtopical studies.

Youth Lessons. In 1869 G. H.Bell, an early Adventist educator, wrotea series of lessons for youth based onthe book of Daniel. These were eventu-ally published in eight yearly volumesand were used for 25 years. During theyears 1864 through 1888 youth lessonsappeared regularly in the Youth�s In-structor. For some time the lessons sur-veyed the biblical history of both theOld and New Testaments. Later, thefocus shifted to studies on doctrinesunder the title �Important Bible Sub-jects,� and dealt with the doctrine of the


sanctuary, the covenants, the Sabbath,and related Seventh-day Adventist be-liefs.

Currently, two sets of Bible StudyGuides are available for young people,Cornerstone Connections for age 15-18,and Collegiate Quarterly for age 18-35.

Children. In 1863, an AdeliaPatten wrote a two-year series of lessonsfor children. From 1864 through 1888children�s lessons appeared in theYouth�s Instructor, most built aroundbiblical history and narrative Bible sto-ries. In 1869 G. H. Bell wrote a series oflessons for children. In 1890 Our LittleFriend began carrying the SabbathSchool lessons for children. SabbathSchool quarterlies for primary and jun-ior ages were started in Australia in1911-1913, and soon expanded to in-clude the rest of the English-speakingworld. From 1933 to 1936 a series of fivevolumes called Bible Stories for theCradle Roll appeared. Other curricu-lum materials for children appearedperiodically, both from the General Con-ference Sabbath School Departmentand from active teachers and person-nel in local Sabbath Schools around theworld.

By the year 2000 a new children�scurriculum will be available to the worldfield. Currently under development, itwill be the first international children�scurriculum developed by the church.The product of creative thinking andevaluation by many people from all theworld divisions, the new curriculum willstress four core aspects of the Christianfaith: Grace, God�s part in the plan of

salvation; Worship, our response toGod�s saving initiative; Community,how God�s grace compels us to live to-gether in harmony as the family of God;and Service, the natural response of thetrue Christian to reach out in soul-win-ning and service to others.

Teacher Training. In 1885 theSabbath School Worker, a journal ofinstructions and ideas for SabbathSchool personnel, began. It was pub-lished until 1985, when it was replacedby various other journals sponsored bythe Church Ministries Department.From its beginnings, the SabbathSchool Department has offered teachertraining to Sabbath School teachersaround the world.

Sabbath School OfferingsWeekly and special periodic offer-

ings for the worldwide missionary workof the church and the expense offeringfor the local Sabbath School are re-ceived in Sabbath School. The earliestplan for Sabbath School offerings wasintroduced in 1878, when the first an-nual session of the General SabbathSchool Association urged the use ofpenny boxes placed near the door toreceive funds for operating expense.

In 1885 the Sabbath Schools madetheir first gifts to missions. In the firstquarter of that year the Oakland, Cali-fornia, Sabbath School gave all its in-come to aid in the establishment of theAustralian Mission. Several state Sab-bath School associations proposed send-ing part of their offerings to help estab-


lish this mission. A little later W. C.White, former president of the Interna-tional Sabbath School Association,asked the schools to give a portion oftheir contributions to missions. Thiswas the beginning of an ever-increas-ing stream of financial support that hasflowed from the Sabbath Schools to theworld fields.

In 1890 the Sabbath Schools con-tributed a significant amount of moneyto build the missionary ship Pitcairn.When the Pitcairn sailed with its firstmissionaries to the Pacific islands in1890, a new era in Sabbath School mis-sions offerings began. In 1909 it wasrecommended that all the regular con-tributions, except on one or two Sab-baths in the quarter reserved for ex-penses, be given to worldwide missionwork.

With the establishment of theChurch Ministries Department in 1985,the responsibility for Sabbath Schoolofferings passed to the StewardshipDepartment of the General Conference,though they remained part of the regu-lar Sabbath School program. Later, theGeneral Conference treasury assumedthe responsibility. Currently, the Officeof Mission Awareness at the GeneralConference is responsible for the world-wide Sabbath School offering system.These offerings, nevertheless, remainpart of the weekly Sabbath School pro-gram in local churches.

The Regular Sabbath School Of-fering for Missions. In 1909 the Gen-eral Conference recommended that theSabbath School give all offerings to mis-

Ø1853 First Sabbath School; Rochester, N. Y.,founded by James White.Ø1863 First series of Sabbath School lessonsadapted for children.

First Adult Sabbath School lessonswritten by Uriah Smith.Ø1877 State Sabbath School Associationsformed in California and Michigan.Ø1878 General Sabbath School Associationorganizd.Ø1879 First Branch Sabbath Schoolsorganized.Ø1885 First Sabbath School mission offering;contributed by Oakland, California, for Austra-lian Mission. Sabbath School Worker beginspublication.Ø1886 First Kindergarten Division, BattleCreek, Michigan.Ø1889 Senior Sabbath School Lesson Quar-terly begun. First Sabbath School quarterliesprinted in languages other than English: Dan-ish, Swedish, French, and German.Ø1901 International Sabbath School Associa-tion replaced by Sabbath School Department ofthe General Conference.Ø1909 Plan for weekly Sabbath Schoolmission offerings adopted.Ø1911 Primary quarterlies begun inAustralia.Ø1912 First Thirteenth Sabbath Offeringtaken. First Mission Quarterly printed.Ø1913 Junior quarterlies begun in Australia.Ø1919 Birthday-Thank Offering introduced.Ø1925 Investment Plan adopted.Ø1952 Centennial of Sabbath School.Ø1956 First Sabbath School Manual pub-lished.Ø1982 Cornerstone Connections begins pub-lication; Sabbath School lessons for teens.Ø1995 Sabbath School/Personal MinistriesDepartment established.Ø2001 GraceLink Children�s Sabbath SchoolCurriculum launched.Ø2003 Sabbath School University - SSU -broadcast launched on the Hope ChannelØ2004 Real-Time Faith began publication;SabbathSchool lessons for age 13,14.Ø2006 New Cornerstone Connections beganpublication.

Highlights of SabbathSchool History


sions, providing for their expenses insome other way. Goals and devices torecord the amounts were introduced tostimulate the missions offerings. By1913 all regular Sabbath School offer-ings were going for missions and a spe-cial offering was taken for expenses.

The Sabbath School currently spon-sors four offerings:

The regular Sabbath School missionofferings.

Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. On thelast Sabbath, usually the thirteenthSabbath of each quarter, a special of-fering is taken, and a percentage is ap-plied to certain preselected missionprojects.

Birthday-Thank Offerings. Mem-bers are asked to bring a token of thanksfor another year of life or for a specificpersonal blessing received. As early as1890 Ellen White wrote: �On birthdayoccasions the children should be taughtthat they have reason for gratitude toGod for His loving-kindness in preserv-ing their lives for another year.�

Again she wrote in 1894: �Not onlyon birthdays . . . but Christmas andNew Year�s should also be seasons whenevery household should remembertheir Creator and Redeemer. . . . do notlet the day pass without bringingthanksgiving and thank-offerings toJesus.��Adventist Review & SabbathHerald, November 13, 1994.

Investment Fund. Members are in-vited to make an �investment� for mis-sions in some earning project, and givethe proceeds as a special offering. Theinvestment idea was followed as early

as the 1880s when certain church mem-bers dedicated such projects as an acreor more of a crop, some cattle, or somecash to provide camp-meeting equip-ment.

At the Spring Meeting of the Gen-eral Conference Committee of 1925 theplan was named �Investment Fund�and made part of the Sabbath Schoolsystem with the understanding that themoney received would go into the regu-lar mission budget.


4Worldwide Sabbath School Policies

The General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists has established, throughits various administrative entities, a setof general policies that govern theworldwide Sabbath School at all levelsof church organization: divisions,unions, conference/missions, and thelocal church. Some pertinent policies areincluded here for the information ofthose who work in Sabbath School.

These policies have to do with thefunctions of the Sabbath School/Person-al Ministries Department, the processof developing the curriculum materialsused in Sabbath Schools around theworld, the election of officers and teach-ers in the local church, and the man-agement of Sabbath School finances.Some may be repeated in other placesin this Handbook where they apply di-rectly to an aspect of the SabbathSchool.

The Sabbath School/PersonalMinistries Department

The Sabbath School/Personal Min-istries Department at all organization-al levels of the church has been giventhe responsibility by the world churchto administer and run the worldwideSabbath School system.

The General Conference. At theGeneral Conference level, the respon-sibility of the department is as follows:

�In cooperation and consultationwith world divisions, the SabbathSchool/Personal Ministries Depart-ment has the responsibility to assistadministration in accomplishing themission of the Church in the followingways:� Provide Sabbath School Bible Study

Guides, under the direction of theeditors and as authorized by the Gen-eral Conference AdministrativeCommittee (the official publisher), forall age levels.

� Design materials for Sabbath Schoolprogramming.

� Provide training systems and re-sources for Sabbath School teachers.

� Develop and provide resources formembership training systems usableat the local church level.

� Promote Sabbath School as a soul-winning function.

� Cooperate with the Office of MissionAwareness in the promotion of sup-port for world missions.�


Sabbath School Departmentsin Divisions, Unions, andConference/missions

Divisions. Division Sabbath Schooldepartments are directly responsible forthe development of Sabbath School pro-gram helps for all age levels. They alsodevelop teacher training courses andseminars, and handle the administra-tive aspects of printing and distribut-ing Sabbath School materials.

Unions and Conference/Mis-sions. The Sabbath School Depart-ments of unions and conference/mis-sions serve as consultants to localchurches in the development of Sab-bath School programs, the promotion ofmission offerings, and anything elsethat has to do with the administrationand function of the Sabbath School andthe training of teachers.

Sabbath School CurriculumMaterials

The General Conference Adminis-trative Committee, known as ADCOM,is the publisher of Sabbath School Bi-ble Study Guides for all age levels. TheGeneral Conference is the owner, copy-right holder and publisher of theseStudy Guides. They constitute the offi-cial world Sabbath School curriculum.

The General Conference SabbathSchool/Personal Ministries Departmentis responsible for producing the BibleStudy Guides for all age levels used bythe world church. These Bible StudyGuides are the products of a coopera-tive venture with world divisions. The

policy reads as follows:�The General Conference, in consul-

tation with its divisions, establishes adenomination-wide curriculum for eachage level and prepares Sabbath SchoolBible Study Guides, providing for Sab-bath School members to study the sameage-appropriate Bible lessons concur-rently.

�The purpose of a denomination-wide system is:

a. To strengthen and unify theChurch through the development andutilization of carefully planned curric-ula and Sabbath School Bible StudyGuides that have been evaluated andapproved by manuscript evaluationcommittees in world divisions and inresidence at the General Conference.

b. To ensure that the teachings ofthe Bible, as understood by the Sev-enth-day Adventist Church, are consis-tently and uniformly presented.�

How the World SabbathSchool Curriculum Functions

The phrase �world Sabbath Schoolcurriculum� means that the GeneralConference produces a standard set ofstudy guides for use in Sabbath Schoolsthroughout the world. These curriculaare the outcome of a process that in-volves counsel, suggestions, input, andideas from the entire international Sev-enth-day Adventist church.

The developmental process func-tions through three primary entities:

The World Sabbath School Ad-visory. The members of the WorldSabbath School Advisory are the


WWWWWorororororld Sald Sald Sald Sald Sabbbbbbababababath Scth Scth Scth Scth SchoolhoolhoolhoolhoolPubPubPubPubPublicalicalicalicalications Systemtions Systemtions Systemtions Systemtions System

World SabbathSchool Advisory

General organizationaland operational concepts

General ConferenceAdministrative Committee

(Publisher)Policies and terms of reference

Sabbath SchoolPublications Board

Operational board

Manuscript EvaluationCommittees

Evaluation of manuscripts

World SabbathSchool Curriculum

CommitteeCreative development

component

division Sabbath School directors, mem-bers assigned by the General Confer-ence Administrative Committee, andinvited consultants. The Advisorymeets at least once every five years,between General Conference sessions.The primary task of the World SabbathSchool Advisory is to develop the guide-lines and orientation of the worldwideSabbath School, and to lay out the scopeand sequence of the Bible Study Guidesthat will be available for all age levels.

The World Sabbath School Cur-riculum Committee. The World Sab-bath School Curriculum Committee isthe body that actually develops the Sab-bath School materials. Its members arethe division Sabbath School directors,members assigned by the General Con-

ference Administrative Committee,and any other members and consult-ants assigned or invited. The WorldSabbath School Curriculum Commit-tee is subdivided into various task forc-es, or working groups, that do the actu-al work of putting together the curric-ulum.

The Sabbath School Publica-tions Board. The Sabbath School Pub-lications Board is the governing bodyfor Sabbath School publications. Themembership is approved by ADCOM,the publisher. The Sabbath School Pub-lications Board authorizes all SabbathSchool publications for the worldSeventh-day Adventist Church.


Manuscript Evaluation Com-mittees. Manuscript evaluation com-mittees in each division, and at Gener-al Conference headquarters, readmanuscripts, offer suggestions, andmake recommendations about the fea-sibility of publishing the manuscriptsconsidered. Once manuscripts are ap-proved for publication, they are sent todivisions for translation, if needed, andprinting.

Sabbath School Offerings andMission Promotion

At the General Conference level,the promotion and programming of Sab-bath School offerings, including thepublication of the Sabbath School Mis-sion Quarterly, is the responsibility ofthe Adventist Mission office.

World Mission Funds. The Sab-bath School in all its divisions has his-torically been recognized as the churchorganization which gives weekly em-phasis to the worldwide mission pro-gram. Funds received through SabbathSchool mission offerings constitute asignificant portion of the world missionfunds.

General Conference Funds. Sab-bath School mission offerings are Gen-eral Conference funds, and are to bepassed on in their entirety by thechurch treasurer to the conference/mis-sion for transfer to the General Confer-ence. These mission offerings includethe regular weekly offering, ThirteenthSabbath Offering, Sabbath School In-

vestment, and the Birthday-Thank Of-fering. Each of these mission offeringsis to be identified as a separate fund inthe regular system of records from thelocal church to the General Conference.

Sabbath School Expense. If theexpenses of the Sabbath School are notprovided for in the regular church bud-get, a Sabbath School expense offeringmay be received. This offering is re-tained in the local church to meet therecurring expenses of the SabbathSchool as voted by the Sabbath SchoolCouncil.

Regular Weekly Mission Offer-ing. Mission offerings given throughthe Sabbath School, other than thosefor the thirteenth Sabbath of each quar-ter, Investment, and the Birthday-Thank Offering, constitute the regularweekly Mission offering.

Thirteenth Sabbath Offering.The offering received on, or designatedfor the thirteenth Sabbath of eachquarter, a portion of which is devotedto designated projects in world divisionsaccording to a schedule voted by theAnnual Council.

Sabbath School Investment. Inorder to encourage further giving to themission program and to raise missionfunds through various individual orfamily projects, the plan known as Sab-bath School investment was developed.This plan is not particularly tied to aregular time period or a weekly or quar-terly appeal for the offering, but is a


continuing program to promote an in-crease of mission gifts beyond normalregular giving on the basis of financialreturns from special fund-raisingprojects decided on by individual mem-bers or groups. Such proceeds or offer-ings are received at any time, but peri-odically a special promotional appeal ispresented in the Sabbath School.

Birthday and Thank Offerings.Periodically, an appeal is presented inthe Sabbath School for a special missiongift in recognition of God�s blessing onthe occasion of a birthday or other sig-nificant event for which thankfulnessmight be expressed. Such offerings haveadded a substantial amount to theavailable mission funds, and are includ-ed with other Sabbath School Offeringsto expand the cause of missions aroundthe world.

Sabbath School OfficersThe Seventh-day Adventist Church

Manual specifies a number of thingsregarding Sabbath School officers. Thefollowing are some key policies.

�The officers of the Sabbath Schoolshould be members of the local church.They are elected for one or two years asdetermined by the local church. The of-ficers who serve as members of the Sab-bath School Council are elected in thesame manner and at the same time asthe officers of the church. The list ofSabbath School officers and their assis-tants to be elected by the church is asfollows: superintendents, with one or

more assistants; secretary, with one ormore assistants; a leader for each divi-sion, including the adult and extensiondivisions; a Vacation Bible School di-rector; and an investment secretary.�(pp. 91,92).

The Sabbath School Council �Sabbath School Council is the ad-

ministrative body of the SabbathSchool. It consists of the following: su-perintendent (to serve as chairperson),assistant superintendent(s), secretary(to serve as secretary of the council),assistant secretaries, division leaders,investment secretary, Lay Activities(Personal Ministries) leader, VacationBible School director, an elder (appoint-ed by the church board or by the boardof elders), and the pastor. As soon as pos-sible after the officers are elected, thesuperintendent should call a SabbathSchool Council meeting to appoint, asneeded for the various divisions, otherofficers who do not serve as members ofthe Sabbath School Council. These mayinclude assistant division leaders,division secretaries, music directors,pianists and/or organists, and greeters�(p. 92).Sabbath School Teachers

�In addition to the appointed offic-ers listed in the paragraph above, theSabbath School Council appoints theteachers for all divisions. Careful studyshould be given to the needs of allgroups. It is advisable to consult withthe division leaders particularly whenselecting teachers for the children�s


divisions.Teachers are appointed by the Sab-

bath School Council and approved bythe church board.

The Sabbath School Council is re-sponsible for the successful operation ofthe entire Sabbath School through theleadership of its chairperson, the super-

intendent. The council should meet atleast once each month.

Because of the importance of main-taining the integrity of the truths be-ing taught, great care should be exer-cised in the choice of Sabbath Schoolteachers. The time allotted for teachingapproximates that of the pastor in the

10% World Division specials (Evangelism, new churches, etc.)

5% General Conference operations

10% Inter-Division employees (Pastors, doctors, teachers, evangelists)

40% Christian Education

35% World DivisionAppropriations (General operations of the worldchurch)

Unit ofMoney

13thSabbath offering

Investmentofferings

Weekly missionoffering

Birthday-Thankofferings

HoHoHoHoHow Saw Saw Saw Saw Sabbbbbbababababath Scth Scth Scth Scth School Ofhool Ofhool Ofhool Ofhool OfffffferingseringseringseringseringsAre UsedAre UsedAre UsedAre UsedAre Used


� �The Sabbath school work is im-portant, and all who are inter-ested in the truth should en-deavor to make it prosperous.�

� �The Sabbath school, if rightlyconducted, is one of God�s greatinstrumentalities to bring soulsto the knowledge of the truth.�

� �The Sabbath school should beone of the greatest instrumen-talities, and the most effectual,in bringing souls to Christ.�

� �The Sabbath school is an impor-tant branch of the missionarywork, not only because it givesto young and old a knowledge ofGod's word, but because it awak-ens in them a love for its sacredtruths, and a desire to studythem for themselves; above all,it teaches them to regulate theirlives by its holy teaching.��Counsels on Sabbath SchoolWork.

Inspired Thoughtson Sabbath School

pulpit. All teachers shall be membersof the church in regular standing andserve at the pleasure of the churchboard� (pp. 92, 93).


5Organizing the Sabbath School

in the Local Church

The Sabbath School in the localchurch is a unit of the worldwide Sab-bath School system. It is responsiblefor appointing and training teachers,developing Sabbath School program-ing, managing the finances allocated bythe church, and organizing itself insuch a way that its four purposes arefulfilled: Study of the Word, Fellowship,Community Outreach, and World Mis-sion Emphasis.

Approval of plans, programs,projects, and the implementation ofpolicies are the responsibility of theSabbath School Council. The officers ofthe Sabbath School are responsible tothe Sabbath School Council, which inturn is responsible to the church board.

Sabbath School MembershipSabbath School membership in-

cludes the members of every class in alldivisions. Sabbath School officers, divi-sion leaders, teachers, and other person-nel should be included on the SabbathSchool records.

Anyone indicating a desire to joinmay be a member of the Sabbath School.Neither baptism nor a formal transferof church membership is necessary. Nowaiting period or formal application isrequired. The teacher simply adds thename to the class record.

Dropping names from the member-ship list, or transferring names fromone class to another, is done by the Sab-bath School secretary as authorized bythe Sabbath School Council.

Selection of Sabbath SchoolPersonnel

Sabbath School personnel must bemembers of the Seventh-day AdventistChurch in regular standing.

There are three ways SabbathSchool personnel are chosen.

Election by the ChurchSabbath School officers who serve as

members of the Sabbath School Coun-cil are elected by the church along withother church officers. They may beelected for a one or two-year period toensure strength and continuity. Theymay also be elected for shorter periodsas the needs of the local church mayrequire. The officers are:

1. General superintendent2. Assistant superintendents (as

needed)3. Sabbath School secretary4. Assistant secretaries5. Division leaders6. Investment secretary


Appointment by the ChurchBoard

Between the annual elections anyvacancies that occur in the above listshall be filled by the church board inconsultation with the Sabbath Schoolofficers.

Appointment by the SabbathSchool Council

Positions filled by appointment ofthe Sabbath School Council are the fol-lowing:

1. Assistant division leaders2. Division secretaries3. Music directors4. Pianists/organists5. Teachers6. Greeters7. Ushers

The above lists should be under-stood as guidelines for the nominatingcommittee and the Sabbath SchoolCouncil. Small churches may choosefewer people and large churches mayrequire more.

Selection of TeachersTeachers for all divisions are se-

lected by the Sabbath School Council.Division leaders should be present dur-ing the selection process. The list ofteachers must be approved by thechurch board (See Church Manual, p.92).

Sabbath School CouncilThe members of the Sabbath

School Council are:1. General superintendent (Chair

person)2. Assistant superintendents3. Sabbath School secretary4. Assistant secretaries5. Division leaders6. Investment secretary8. Personal Ministries director9. An elder appointed by the church board or board of elders

10. The church pastor

Responsibilities. It is the respon-sibility of the Sabbath School Councilto keep the Sabbath School runningsmoothly. Everything that concerns theSabbath School is appropriate to con-sider in this council.

As soon as possible after the annualelection, the Sabbath School Councilshould meet to plan for the coming year.It is recommended that during the yearregular meetings be called.

Agenda Items. Some agenda itemsfor the council may be: Appointment ofofficers not elected by the church; ap-pointment of teachers; adjustments inclass membership; development orscheduling of training programs; ma-terials, equipment, and facilities for thevarious divisions; approval of promo-tions from one division to another;scheduling of Promotion Days, DecisionDays, Community Guest Days, andother special days; setting goals for of-ferings, membership, and attendance;authorizing expenditure of SabbathSchool expense funds; evaluation of theSabbath School; development of newclasses; planning for community out-reach, and any other Sabbath School


items that may come to its attention.

Sabbath School RecordsThe Sabbath School secretary is re-

sponsible for keeping accurate recordsof Sabbath School activities and report-ing to the Sabbath School Council andthe Sabbath School department of thelocal conference/mission.

Continuous Membership Sys-tem. The Sabbath School uses a con-tinuous membership system. The classmembership at the close of the year iscarried over intact to the next year.The secretary prepares the new recordsbased on the last quarter of the yearand provides them to the class on thefirst Sabbath of the new quarter

Master Record File. The SabbathSchool should keep a master record file,using whatever system is provided bythe Sabbath School Department of theconference/mission where the SabbathSchool is located, or as developed by thelocal church. The system may be any-thing from a computerized database tocard files and notebooks.

Many Sabbath School secretariesuse the Sabbath School Record andRegistry, a yearly record book providedby the local conference/mission. Itemsrecorded in the registry relate to mem-bership, attendance, offerings, officers,daily lesson study, teacher meetings,Sabbath School Councils, baptisms,Branch Sabbath Schools and Commu-nity Guest Days. It also containsmonthly, quarterly, and yearly summa-ries of Sabbath School activities. The

weekly records are useful in preparingmonthly statistical summaries of Sab-bath School activities for the SabbathSchool Council, and yearly reports forthe church business meeting.

Sabbath School Class Records.Each world division is responsible fordeveloping a record keeping systemthat best serves the needs of the Sab-bath Schools in its territory.

Each Sabbath School class shouldhave a class record listing the names ofthe members. All officers and teachersshould be listed, as well as members ofbaptismal classes, specialized minis-tries, and the extension division. Thesecretary should provide each class withthe necessary record keeping materialsfor listing new members.

Anyone who wishes may be a mem-ber of the Sabbath School, and shouldbe recorded in the class record. The Sab-bath School teacher is authorized to addthe names of people who indicate theirdesire to join. They may be added ontheir first Sabbath of attendance if theirintention is to continue in attendance.

Transferring Between Classes.Regular members of established Sab-bath School classes who wish to trans-fer to another class, or be dropped froma class, should contact the secretary,who will present the request to the Sab-bath School Council. The secretary willthen adjust the Sabbath School recordsas authorized by the Sabbath SchoolCouncil. The secretary will also adjustthe records of children promoted fromone division to another.


Offering Records. The classrecord keeping system will include arecord of the class mission offeringgoal, and the weekly amount received inthe class. A week by week record of all Sab-bath School offerings�mission offer-ings, Investment, Birthday-thank offer-ings, and Thirteen Sabbath� offeringshould be kept by the Sabbath Schoolsecretary. Each of-fering should be re-corded separately.

As soon as pos-sible after the offer-ing is counted andrecorded, the secre-tary should turn themoney over to thechurch treasurerand receive a re-ceipt. These receiptsshould be filed as apermanent record ofthe Sabbath School.

Conference /mission Report.Each local confer-ence/mission willprovide a report form to the localchurch. Usually, these report forms askfor information about both SabbathSchool and Personal Ministries. Theynormally request the following basic in-formation, but may ask for more, de-pending on church stipulations for yourarea of the world: Sabbath School mem-bership; Bible studies given; lay led evan-gelistic campaigns; baptisms from layled activities; pieces of literature distrib-uted; Investment offering; Mission offer-

ings; Community Service units.

Permanent Records. The SabbathSchool records are the property of the Sab-bath School. All records should behanded over intact by the outgoing sec-retary to the incoming secretary. TheSabbath School Council should decidewhen records are obsolete and may be

thrown away. Beforedispensing with oldrecords, however,check with the per-son in charge of ar-chives and statisticsat the local confer-ence/mission office.They may want topreserve them forhistorical purposes.

Reporting tothe SabbathSchoolMembership

The SabbathSchool membersshould receive up-

dates on how the Sabbath School is do-ing. The use of a weekly secretary�s re-port, however, is no longer a part of theregular Sabbath School program,though individual churches may, if theywish, use a weekly report. Well preparedand illustrated periodic reports aremuch more effective than a routineweekly statistical summary.

Some of the statistics that may beshown are: membership, attendancegoal, actual attendance, offering goal,

SABBATH SCHOOL RECORDS

All Sabbath Schools need arecord keeping system. The sys-tem is under the responsibility ofthe Sabbath School secretaries, whomaintain a master record file.

The basic Sabbath School recordsare: � Sabbath School class records. � Conference/mission reports. � Offering records.


actual offering, daily study goal, actualnumber following daily study plan, In-vestment goal, and Investment returnsto date.

The information could be displayedon a chalk board, white board, overheadprojector, or in the church bulletin and/or newsletter. Many Sabbath Schoolshave a register board in front of thesanctuary, used to inform SabbathSchool members about the progress ofthe Sabbath School.

.Divisions and Classes

Bible Study Guides and auxiliarymaterials are provided for eight Sab-bath School divisions. The ages indi-cated on the chart are approximate andcorrespond to generally accepted prin-ciples of childhood educational andspiritual development. The age groupsfor some departments may change, de-pending on how they are determined ina particular part of the world, oftenbased on the local school system, thesize of the church, or the number of chil-dren in the church.

Extension DivisionThe extension division cares for the

needs of shut-ins and those who live inisolated places and cannot regularlyattend church. The Sabbath Schoolshould make provision for attending totheir needs and supplying them withSabbath School Bible Study Guides.

Sabbath School Divisions

Ages

0-2

3-5

6-9

10-12

13,14

15-18

18-35

Curriculum Materials

Beginner Bible StudyGuide

KindergartenBible Study Guide

Primary Bible StudyGuide

PowerPoints

Real-Time Faith

CornerstoneConnections

CollegiateQuarterly

Adult BibleStudy Guide

Division

Beginner

Kindergrten

Primary

Junior

Teens

Youth

Young Adult

Adult

Suggested age groups


Children’s Divisions

Promotions. Promotions from onedivision to another ideally take placetwice during the year, but may takeplace any time according to the needsof a particular child, regardless of chro-nological age. Reading ability is not acriterion for promotion. Promotion Sab-baths for all divisions should be sched-uled into the yearly church calendar.

Beginners: Ages 0 - 2. Where thereare few children, the cradle roll (or be-ginners) may be combined with kinder-garten. In large Sabbath Schools, thisgroup may be further divided into Be-ginners A, from birth to 18 months, andBeginners B, 18 months through thethird year.

Kindergarten: Ages 3 - 5. Wherethere are few children, the kindergar-ten may be combined with the primarydivision for the program part of Sab-bath School. Even when the age groupsare combined for the program sectionof Sabbath School, separate classes forthe study of the lesson should be ar-ranged.

Primary: Ages 6 - 9. Because chil-dren enter school at different ages, pri-mary children should not all be ex-pected to read. The program and teach-ing methods should be adapted to ac-commodate nonreaders.

Junior and Teen Divisions

Junior: Ages 10 - 12. When thereare few children, a combined junior/teen

division may be formed for meeting theneeds of children 10 - 14 years of age. Itis advisable to join only the programsection of Sabbath School and to haveseparate classes for the juniors andteens, using their own Bible StudyGuides.

Local custom, maturation level, andthe wishes of specific children should beconsidered when planning for promo-tion. Promotion should occur at theclose of the school year.

Teen: Ages 13 - 14. When there aretoo few young people in this age groupto have their own division, it is prefer-able to combine them with the juniors.Because of different developmentalrates in youth of this age, the leadermay advance or delay promotion to theyouth department according to theneeds of the individual.

Youth and Young AdultDivisions

Youth: Ages 15 - 18. If there arefew young people of this age, theyshould meet with the adults for the pro-gram and have their own lesson studyas a group.

When the youth are combined withthe adults, it is advisable to includethem in the planning and presentationof Sabbath School programs. The Sab-bath School Council needs to endorseyouthful initiative and creativity, whilegiving guidance on how to maintain thebasic objectives of the Sabbath School.


Young Adult: Ages 19 - 30. Whereenough students of this age group arepresent, they should have their own di-vision. Where the number of youngadults is small, they meet with theadults but have their own lesson studytime. Superintendents are encouragedto keep in mind the particular needs ofyoung adults in planning their pro-grams.

Adult DivisionThe adults form an integral part of

Sabbath School, and are a division justlike any other.

The world Sabbath School systemprovides the adult division with theAdult Bible Study Guides in four edi-

tions:• Student edition• Teacher�s edition• Easy Reading edition• Large Print editionThe adult division also provides spe-

cialized program arrangements andmaterials for Sabbath School ActionUnits and small group activities.

Extension Division. This is thesection of the adult Sabbath School thatcares for the needs of shut-ins andpeople in isolated areas who cannotregularly attend Sabbath School. TheExtension Division provides them withSabbath School Bible Study Guides andmakes provision for their needs.

SaSaSaSaSabbbbbbababababath Scth Scth Scth Scth School Orhool Orhool Orhool Orhool Orggggganizaanizaanizaanizaanizationtiontiontiontionin the Local Churchin the Local Churchin the Local Churchin the Local Churchin the Local Church

GeneralSuperintendent

Superintendents

Sabbath SchoolCouncil

Children’sDivisions

AdultDivision

Junior &Teen

Divisions

Youth &Young Adult

Divisions

Assistant


Ways to Organize the Workof the Sabbath SchoolSuperintendents

There are two main ways for a groupof Sabbath School superintendents toorganize themselves.

1. Each superintendent is assigneda certain number of programs duringthe year and plans all the activities forthe assigned Sabbaths.

2. Each superintendent takescharge of a different aspect of SabbathSchool and plans activities within thatarea of responsibility for the entireyear.

Each superintendent may act asmaster of ceremonies on assigned Sab-baths, but the program itself will be theproduct of the work of the various su-perintendents.

The following chart shows how thissystem would work:

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Responsiblity for PlanningTeachers’ Meeting

Every Sabbath School should havea teachers� meeting. The best resultsare obtained when the meeting is heldprior to the Sabbath, so the teachershave time to assimilate the materialand place it in their lesson plans.

Teachers� meetings should considerat least three things:

1. Study of the next week�s lesson.2. On-going education on teaching

technology, or the study of a book orcourse on teaching methodology.

3. Discussion of any general prob-lems that may need consideration.

Planning FormsThe forms on the next pages may

be helpful in planning Sabbath Schoolprograms. There is a form for yearlyand quarterly planning.


Annual ActivitiesAnnual ActivitiesAnnual ActivitiesAnnual ActivitiesAnnual ActivitiesPlan SheetPlan SheetPlan SheetPlan SheetPlan Sheet

This form may be used to plan theactivities around which you will buildyour Sabbath School programs for theyear. Include Rally Days, VisitorsDays, Thirteenth Sabbaths, etc.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

1.2.3.4.5.

Month: Month:

Month: Month:

Month: Month:

Month: Month:

Month: Month:

Month: Month:


Planning Sheet forPlanning Sheet forPlanning Sheet forPlanning Sheet forPlanning Sheet fora Quara Quara Quara Quara Quarterterterterter

Use this form to plan the programsfor each quarter of the year. Planprograms well in advance. This willhelp your Sabbath School run smoothlyand effectively.

Week Activity Person Responsible

12

3

4

5

6

7

8

14

13

12

11

10

9


6Responsibilities

of Sabbath School Personnel

General Superintendent

The RoleThe general superintendent is the

general coordinator of the SabbathSchool. It is his or her job to see thatthe goals and objectives of the SabbathSchool are implemented in all divisions.In some cases, the general superinten-dent may also hold the office of adultdivision leader.

The role of the general superinten-dent may be shared with assistant su-perintendents.

Line of AuthorityThe following people report to the

general superintendent: assistant su-perintendents, Sabbath School secre-taries, division leaders, world missioncoordinator, Investment secretary,Branch Sabbath School leaders, andreceptionists.

The general superintendent is re-

sponsible to the Sabbath School Coun-cil, the church board, and the local con-ference/mission Sabbath School Depart-ment.

Time Commitment - 6 to 7 ½Hours a Month

The general superintendent or anassistant superintendent must be onduty each Sabbath at least half an hourbefore Sabbath School begins to makesure all divisions and classes are func-tioning.

One to two hours per month shouldbe scheduled for the Sabbath SchoolCouncil. Another one or two hours willbe expected for attending the churchboard.

Two to four hours per month may bespent in recruiting volunteers, promot-ing training events, and caring forother administrative duties. They willalso need to budget time for studyingSabbath School methods, for prayer,

This section outlines the general duties and responsibilities of Sabbath Schoolpersonnel in the local church. Local situations may mandate fewer or additionalpersonnel. Their duties and responsibilities will be defined by the local church.The time commitments are approximate, based on observations and informationfrom local churches around the world.


and for planning ways in which the Sab-bath School can reach its objectives.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the general super-

intendent to administer the entire Sab-bath School by developing leadership,chairing the Sabbath School Council,building a soul-winning SabbathSchool, and recruiting volunteers. Ifthere are no assistants, the general su-perintendent will also care for the du-ties of the assistant superintendents ofthe adult Sabbath School.

Developing Leadership1. Supervise all the leaders of the

Sabbath School and encourage them toperform their duties cheerfully and ef-fectively.

2. Arrange for the training, sup-port, and resources needed for effectiveleadership in all areas of the SabbathSchool.

a. Help leaders prepare budgetsto present to the Sabbath School Coun-cil.

b. Determine needs for equip-ment and supplies in each division andhelp them get the necessities.

c. Encourage leaders and teach-ers to attend appropriate trainingevents.

3. Check with the Sabbath Schoolsecretary on the adequacy of recordsand the accuracy and promptness ofquarterly reports to the conference Sab-bath School director.

4. Foster the development of an ad-equate collection of Sabbath Schoolbooks, cassettes, and videos in the

church library.5. Be on hand early Sabbath morn-

ing to coordinate activities and answerquestions.

6. Work closely with the pastor, par-ticularly in the planning of trainingevents, community outreach, and spe-cial programs.

Chairing the Sabbath SchoolCouncil

1. Call monthly meetings of theSabbath School Council.

2. Call quarterly planning sessionswhere future plans for all divisions willbe coordinated.

3. Call a yearly planning sessionsoon after the election of officers andbefore the new year begins. Outlineevents for the entire year.

4. Prepare the agenda for all coun-cil meetings.

5. Represent Sabbath School inter-ests on the Church Board.

6. Publicize Sabbath School Coun-cil plans and activities.

Building a Soul-Winning SabbathSchool

1. Implement the four SabbathSchool objectives:

� Promote Bible study and effec-tive class teaching.

� Foster Christian fellowship.�Encourage community out-

reach activities.� Cultivate support for world mis-

sions.2. Plan with the assistant superin-

tendent for evangelism in promotingBranch Sabbath Schools, Community


Guest Days, Friendship Evangelism,and class outreach.

3. Plan with the assistant superin-tendent for the reclaiming of inactivemembers and in keeping the SabbathSchool membership list up to date.

4. Plan with the world missions co-ordinator for a strong program of mis-sion education in all divisions.

5. Plan with the hospitality coordi-nator for an effective program of car-ing for visitors.

6. Plan with the adult divisionleader for growth. If a Sabbath Schoolwants to grow, it should add one newclass per year for every 100 members.These might be for special interestgroups such as young adults, singles,women, cradle roll parents, new mem-bers, prospective members, or other spe-cial interests.

7. Encourage activities outside ofSabbath school time, such as potlucks,picnics, nature walks, and other socialactivities.

8. Make sure the extension divisionis functioning properly.

Recruiting Volunteers1. Identify potential Sabbath

School personnel, invite them to getinvolved, and assist them in gettingstarted.

2. Be on hand early Sabbath morn-ing to help find substitutes or assistantsin order for the program to run smoothly.

3. Plan training events and encour-age new people to attend and preparethemselves for service.

4. Arrange for frequent apprecia-tion and affirmation to be given to Sab-bath School volunteers.

Assistant SuperintendentsThere are two main ways for a group

of Sabbath School superintendents toorganize themselves.

1. Each superintendent may be as-signed a certain number of programsduring the year and plans all the ac-tivities for the assigned Sabbaths.

2. Each superintendent takescharge of a different aspect of SabbathSchool and plans activities within thatarea of responsibility for the entireyear.

Assistant Superintendent forEvangelism

The assistant superintendent forevangelism must work closely with thepastor and the Personal Ministries leaderof the church so that the outreach plansof the church are coordinated.

It is the responsibility of the assistantsuperintendent for evangelism to:

1. Direct Sabbath School outreach inthe community.

2. Plan with division leaders andteachers for class outreach activities.

3. Plan for Community Guest Days.4. Sponsor Friendship Evangelism.5. Plan with division leaders for De-

cision Days.6. Work with Vacation Bible School

director for Vacation Bible School fol-low-up programs.

7. Plan for Branch Sabbath Schools.8. Develop a follow-up system for

guests and other prospective members.9. Fill in for the general superinten-

dent for Sabbath morning duties asneeded.

10. Attend the Sabbath School Coun-cil and report on activities and plans forcommunity outreach.


Assistant Superintendent forMembership

It is the responsibility of the assis-tant superintendent for membership to:

1. Analyze the local membershipsituation by checking the SabbathSchool rolls with the church member-ship roll.

2. Maintain an up-to-date list ofaddresses and phone numbers of mem-bers and prospective members.

3. Arrange for the implementationof a plan of assignment of inactive mem-bers to classes for visitation and follow-up.

4. Foster the visitation of memberswho occasionally are absent from Sab-bath School.

5. Help with the integrating ofnewly baptized members and newlytransfered members into the SabbathSchool program.

6. Fill in for the general superin-tendent for Sabbath morning duties asneeded.

7. Attend the Sabbath SchoolCouncil and report on activities andplans for membership promotion.

Assistant Superintendent forWorld Mission

1. Work with division leaders tomake sure an interesting mission em-phasis is provided in each week�s Sab-bath School program.

2. See that every division has Mis-sion for their age level and that theyare using it.

3. Work with division leaders tohelp increase mission giving by help-

Why Do MissingMembers Miss?

Most studies estimate that ap-proximately 40 percent of churchmembers on the books are inactive.Why are they inactive?

There are four basic reasons whypeople stop attending church: conflict,unmet expectations, lack of affinity, orinability to relate.

ConflictMore than half of all inactive mem-

bers leave because of unresolved con-flicts with the pastor, with other mem-bers, theological issues, or churchstandards and policies. Conflict cre-ates discomfort and the tendency ofmost people is to simply retreat.

Unmet ExpectationsSometimes members become dis-

couraged because they feel the churchignored them or didn�t help them dur-ing a time of stress in their lives. Some-times people become upset when theyget burned out with church work andare unappreciated. People expect tofind friends in the church and if theyare not able to penetrate existinggroups, they will leave.

Lack of AffinityA single mother may feel out of

place with married couples; a youngperson may feel alienated by a congre-gation of senior citizens. Profession-als may find it hard to communicatewith working class people.

Inability to RelateSome people are misfits wherever

they go. They have difficulty relatingto people in general and in buildingmeaningful relationships.

(cont’d. on p. 31)


Ideas For Reintegrating Nonattending Members

� Make sure the class record is taken every week. This record is the keyresource for identifying missing members.� Memorize the names of your class members, their spouses and their

children. Be acquainted with their work, hobbies, and leisure-time activities.� Give missing members a reason to come to your class. Make sure the

lesson is well-planned and interesting.� Sensitize yourself to others� needs. Try to discover the reason that a mem-

ber chooses to stay away. Look for hidden hurts that you can help heal.� Invite missing members to a church activity such as a dinner, a picnic, or

a party. Often people stay away because they lack fellowship and a sense ofbelonging to the group.� If you have class members who are trained to do so, involve them in reach-

ing the missing members. Assign names to be visited or contacted during theweek.� Every special Sabbath School program or church activity is an opportu-

nity to call the missing member to let them know what is happening. Offer topick them up if transportation is a problem.� Mail a copy of the new quarterly to each missing member. Better yet, take

it to them.� Mail or deliver a bulletin to each missing member every week. Keep the

absentee in touch with what is happening in church.� Encourage regular members to place missing members on their personal

prayer list. Prayers can reach behind closed doors, and they can melt cold exte-riors.� Remember missing members with a greeting card on their birthdays,

Mother�s Day, Father�s Day, Christmas, and other special occasions.� Never give up! People will often put up barriers to avoid being hurt. Per-

sistence will break down those barriers.

Tips on Visiting Missing Members

� Pray for the absentee daily. Pray especially before you visit that angels ofGod may attend you and that the Holy Spirit will give you wisdom.� Know as much as possible about the absentee: name, family members,

occupation, age, and interests.� In some cases, it may be wise to phone ahead for an appointment. Iden-

tify yourself with the church and a specific Sabbath School class if that is appro-priate.� Approach the home with a cheerful, optimistic attitude. Determine to be

warm, tactful, and gentle.


� Have a friendly visit about things they are interested in such as family,hobbies, and occupation. You might ask when they first joined the Adventistchurch and what led them to Christ.

� Bring greetings from the Sabbath School and your class.� Mention some interesting thoughts from that week�s Sabbath School les-

son, Sabbath School program, or sermon topic.� Be enthusiastic about good things that are happening.� If confronted by a person�s problem or a negative experience they had

with the church, do not argue, condemn, or defend the church. Don�t take sides.Let them unburden themselves and express your sincere feelings of regret. Saysomething such as, �I�m sorry to hear what happened. I can understand why youfeel badly. On behalf of the Adventist church I want to apologize and ask yourforgiveness.�

� Offer something appropriate to the missing members such as Bible StudyGuide, a good book, Signs, Adventist Review, a video, or sermon tape.

� Give an invitation to come back to church. If you are unknown to the per-son, it may be wise to wait until the third or fourth visit to make such an invita-tion.

� Assure them that you and the members of your Sabbath School class willbe praying for them.

� Stay no longer than about 20 minutes. Close with prayer, mentioning thenames of family members and specific needs that they have expressed.

� You may want to invite the person or family to your house for a meal orfellowship group.

� Assure them you will come again; then keep your promise.


sure all are helping newcomers feel wel-come.

5. Organize a program of providingmeals for visitors and make sure some-one is always prepared to invite visitorshome or to a fellowship meal at thechurch.

6. Develop a plan of follow-up forall visitors who attend Sabbath Schoolincluding, cards, letters, phone calls,and/or a visit.

7. Work with division leaders andteachers in planning fellowship activi-ties outside of Sabbath School hours

8. Fill in for the general superinten-dent for Sabbath morning as needed.

9. Attend the Sabbath SchoolCouncil and report on activities andplans for hospitality.

ing with such things as: setting and vi-sualizing goals, finding visual aidssuch as maps and pictures, locating in-teresting stories, tapes, books, videoson target area, or setting up displaysand bulletin boards

4. Providing regular informationabout projects, needs, goals, and spe-cial offerings through the program,bulletin boards, church bulletins, andnewsletters.

5. Plan special events to promotemissions such as: mission conferences,mission theme days, mission studygroups, mission prayer circles, missiontrips, and mission potlucks.

6. Coordinate the Thirteenth Sab-bath Program.

7. Fill in for the general superin-tendent for Sabbath morning duties asneeded.

8. Attend the Sabbath SchoolCouncil and report on activities andplans for world mission promotion.

Assistant Superintendent forHospitality

It is the responsibility of the assis-tant superintendent for hospitality to:

1.Recruit, train, and supervise thecrew of greeters that meet people onSabbath morning.

2. Arrive early on Sabbath morn-ing to make sure there are enoughgreeters on duty and observe how toimprove the work of the greeters.

3. Work with division leaders tomake sure a plan for welcoming visi-tors and recording their names, ad-dresses, and phone numbers is put inplace.

4. Work with the teachers to make


Ideas About How to Present and Reporton the World Mission of the Church

Ideas for the World Mission Report�� Have a missions quiz. Use brief quizzes to spotlight the history of the

featured division or to share general information about mission lands.�� Plan a skit. Use the skits in Mission or ask the youth or children�s divisions

to make their own skits using the stories found in Children�s Mission.�� Try a dialogue. Try having two people give the mission report. Let them

alternate telling parts of the story.�� Conduct an interview. If the story is about one person�s experience, make

up questions and interview someone as if they were that person. The persongives answers from the mission story.��Many Adventists take overseas trips. Tell them you will expect a report

when they return about their contacts with Adventist institutions and people.�� Correspond with missionaries from your country who are working

in another country. Write to them and let them know you are praying forthem. Ask them to write a quarterly report of their work and activities that youcan use as a mission report.�� Correspond with missions or schools. Find the address of a mission or

school in the featured division in the SDA Yearbook. Find out firsthand whatlife is like in the area. Ask about their needs and goals. Share their responsewith the Sabbath School.�� Get an overseas phone connection. Talk to your telephone company

about a hookup so you can talk to someone overseas. Have them broadcast thecall over the audio system. Talk to them about specific projects advertized inMission.�� Use maps. Use maps in connection with the mission report. Show exactly

where the story took place.�� Liven the story with costumes. Have people dress in costumes for spe-

cial mission programs.�� Use a panel discussion. Follow a mission report with a panel discussion

about getting involved in world missions.�� Plan a jigsaw mission story. Cut the mission report into several differ-

ent parts. Paste each part on a separate card. Let people draw cards and readtheir part in turn.�� Use a hidden mike. Have the narrator of the story stand at the pulpit.

Whenever the direct words of the speaker are used, have that part spoken over ahidden microphone or from another part of the building.�� Illustrate with graphs. Use circle graphs or bar graphs to illustrate mis-


sion statistics. Consult an almanac for information about population, literacy,religions, and average income. Compare with other countries.�� Plan a Thirteenth Sabbath program. Get the children�s divisions in-

volved in promoting missions. Excellent programs are provided in Children�sMission magazine.

Ideas for Educating the Church About Missions� Provide interesting mission emphasis for Sabbath School programs.� See that every division has access to a globe and a world map to use in their

mission education program.� See that the children�s divisions have access to pictures, books, felts, and

other visual aids to make their mission education interesting.� Develop a mission resource library of books, videos, maps, and visual aids.� Present plans to the Sabbath School Council for mission to shut-ins and

mission education, offering promotion, mission involvement and special events.� Put out a mission newsletter or include a missions reporting section in the

monthly church newsletter. Include information from Mission, correspondencewith missionaries, statistics about the featured division, and specific offering goalsfor your Sabbath School.�� Record mission stories. Take the recorded stories to shut-ins and members

of the extension division so they can feel like part of the worldwide mission pro-gram.�� Make mission posters. Get the children or youth to make posters advertis-

ing missions or the special Thirteenth Sabbath program and projects.�� Display mission artifacts. If you have people who have lived in particular

countries, have them set up a table to display items of interest from the featuredcountry.

Ways to Get Involved in Missions�� Stage a mission potluck. Bring foods common to the countries of the

featured division. Check your local library for international cookbooks. Children�sMission has several recipes for each quarter.�� Have a mission progressive party. Plan various mission-centered ac-

tivities in different homes or parts of the church. Groups spend 15 to 20 minutesin each place. Some things to do are: films, quizzes on missions, singing in aforeign language, eating food from the featured countries, listening to stories ofmission heroes, or writing to someone in a mission land.�� Do a research report on missions. Assign individuals or groups re-

search topics on particular countries or cultures. Have them report their find-ings to the group.


� Sing in another language. Children�s Mission often includes a song in an-other language. Teach it to the whole Sabbath School.� Invite people who sing in a language of the featured division to teach your

group a song.�� Hold a mission conference. Invite special speakers, show films, have skits

and quizzes. Plan an all-day mission emphasis, including a mission potluck.�� Get a pen pal from mission lands. Guide and Mission sometimes have names

and addresses of pen pals.�� Send literature and greeting cards to mission lands. Requests often appear

in the Adventist Review.�� Invite international students. Most colleges and universities have inter-

national students. Invite them to your Sabbath School for an interview aboutlife in their country. Invite them home for a meal.�� Pray for specific mission needs. Take time in Sabbath School to pray for

specific needs and unreached people groups.�� Organize a prayer vigil. Organize different people to pray around the clock

for specific people groups that need the gospel.�� Make a stamp collection. Involve your group in collecting stamps from coun-

tries of the featured division. Display them at the end of the quarter.� Get acquainted with immigrants and refugees. Get to know people who come

from other cultures. Try to learn some of their language and customs. Do whatyou can to share the gospel with them. Help them with their problems.

Ideas for Mission Offering Promotion� Work with the division leaders and the Sabbath School Council to set goals

for weekly mission offerings, Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, and InvestmentOffering.� Help division leaders plan and make goal devices for mission offerings.� Promote Investment.� See that a Birthday Thank Offering is taken in all divisions at least once a

month. Provide promotional material.� Promote the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering, setting a goal of three times the

weekly offering.� Keep the members informed about how they are doing in reaching their

world mission offering goals.

Mission Involvement� Get youth involved in short term mission trips sponsored by the local church,

school, or conference youth department.� Encourage college age young people to apply for a position as a student

missionary. Get a list of openings from your conference/missionYouth Depart-ment.


� Organize mission study groups.� Organize prayer circles for world mission, concentrating on specific projects

or unentered areas.� Encourage correspondence with missionaries.� Encourage vacationers to visit Adventist mission work and bring back re-

ports of what they saw.

Special EventsThe world mission coordinator should plan several special events each year

to focus on the challenge of world mission such as: Weekend Mission Conference,Mission Theme Days, Mission Potlucks, Children�s Mission Parties, World Mis-sion Vesper Programs, Thirteenth Sabbath Programs

Resource materials1. The General Conferene Sabbath School and Personal Ministries web

site has Bible Study Guides for Children through Young Adult as well asteaching helps and resources and links to Sabbath School University andother helpful sites. Visit at sspm.gc.adventist.org.

2. Adventist Mission is a General Conference office that produces thequarterly Mission magazines that include facts and stories about the divisionwhere the special projects chosen for the Thirteenth Sabbath offering arelocated, as well as a quarterly DVD that also features the division receivingthe 13th Sabbath offering for that quarter. Contact your division SabbathSchool department for more information. Materials and stories can be accessedon the web at www.AdventistMission.org .ventist Mission is a General

3. Adventist Frontiers, produced by Adventist Frontier Missions, P.O. Box346, Berrien Springs, MI 49103, is an independent ministry operated by Adven-tist lay members to plant churches among unreached people groups. 4. ADRA produces a monthly video called ADRA’s World and a weekly radio program oncassette. These offer some good ideas about missions.

5. Mission Felt Sets are specifically designed each quarter to highlight thedivision projects which will benefit by the Thirteenth Sabbath Offering. Thesecan be obtained through the Adventist Book Center.

6. The book Getting Excited About Global Mission by Dorothy Eaton Wattsand James R. Hardin (Hagerstown, MD.: Review and Herald Publishing, 1989)is a good source of educational materials.

7. You Can Make A Difference! by Dorothy Eaton Watts (Silver Spring, MD.:Education Department of the General Conference, 1991), is a curricular unit onAdventist global mission for grades 7-12. It has quizzes, skits, games, and ideasfor mission conferences, mission programs, mission prayer conferences, and manyother events that would work well in a church setting. 8. Sabbath Schoolo Leadership Magazine, published by Review & HeraldPublishing, has programs and resources for Sabbath School(www.sabbathschool.com).


Sabbath School Secretary

The RoleThe Sabbath School secretary cares

for the records, supplies, offerings, andclerical details of the Sabbath Schooland all its divisions. In larger schoolsthese duties may be shared with one ormore assistants.

Line of AuthorityThe secretary is responsible to the

general superintendent, assistant su-perintendent as assigned, and to theSabbath School Council.

Assistant secretaries report to thesecretary. Division leaders and teach-ers are also responsible for reportingmembership, attendance, daily lessonstudy, and offerings to the secretary.

Class secretaries are responsible tothe general Sabbath School secretaryfor information on membership, atten-dance, daily lesson study, and offerings.

Time Commitment – 10 Hoursa month plus Sabbathmorning duties

The secretary, or an assistant, mustbe on duty every Sabbath.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the secretary to at-

tend to the clerical work of the SabbathSchool� keep records and statistics,oversee supplies, provide communica-tion and care for the Sabbath Schoolofferings.

Keeping Records and Statistics1. Distribute and collect the class

record cards, offering envelopes, andpersonal ministries report blanks.

2. Check record cards, fill in omis-sions, count and record the offerings.

3. Promptly enter all weeklystatistics into the Sabbath SchoolRecord and Registry.

4. Secure and preserve a receiptfrom the church treasurer for all Sab-bath School offerings.

5. Transfer the names of all classmembers to the new Sabbath Schoolclass records each quarter and at thebeginning of the year.

6. Maintain a Sabbath School mem-bership file including baptized, unbap-tized, inactive and prospective members.

7. Maintain the weekly, monthly,quarterly, and yearly records required.

8. Keep minutes of meetings of theSabbath School Council on permanentfile.

9. Preserve all records and passthem on to a successor.

Overseeing Supplies1. Order, through the Personal Min-

istries secretary, supplies authorized bythe Sabbath School Council. This in-cludes Bible Study Guides, programhelps, teaching aids, and magazines.

2. Provide the Sabbath SchoolCouncil with a recommended list of sup-plies for their approval. This should beupdated each quarter and changesmade in the standing orders from pub-lishing houses, if this system is used inyour area indicating if more or fewer ofany items are needed. Allow one quar-


ter for the changes to take effect.3. Request necessary free supplies

from the conference or mission SabbathSchool department. The following areusually sent each quarter on a stand-ing-order basis: mission quarterlies,class record cards, class record enve-lopes, expense envelopes, quarterly re-port forms, and extension division re-port blanks, and in some divisions, In-vestment label report cards.

4. Open Sabbath School suppliesand place them where they may be eas-ily distributed weekly or quarterly.

5. Distribute all Sabbath Schoolpublications and supplies to the divi-sion leaders and teachers.�� Program materials and teacher�s

helps will be needed several weeks inadvance for efficient planning.�� Children�s take home papers

such as Our Little Friend, PrimaryTreasure, Guide, Insight, or whateveris used in your division, may be distrib-uted to the departments on the day theyare to be used.�� Lesson quarterlies should be given

out one or two weeks in advance of thenew quarter.

6. Arrange for the use or disposalof out-of-date Sabbath School materi-als. Some can be packaged and sent tofields around the world. Contact the lo-cal conference/mission Sabbath Schooldirector for instructions on how to dothis.

Providing Communication1. Send or telephone announce-

ments of the Sabbath School Council.2. Pass on information from the con-

ference/mission Sabbath School depart-

ment about workshops, training semi-nars, new policies, and new materialsto those who need the information.

3. Keep the Sabbath School in all itsdivisions informed of progress, trends,plans, and achievements through occa-sional reports during the regular pro-gram.

4. Compile a complete and accuratequarterly Sabbath School report onSabbath School Report Form A, andsend it promptly to the local conference/mission Sabbath School department.

5. Prepare monthly and quarterlystatistical reports for the SabbathSchool Council. Use the report formsprovided by your Conference/MissionSabbath School department.

6. Prepare a list of inactive or miss-ing members to be given to class or di-vision leaders.

7. Send a list of names and ad-dresses of Sabbath School officers anddivision leaders to the conference/mis-sion Sabbath School department assoon as elections are held, or subse-quent changes are made. The churchclerk sends in only the names of the su-perintendent and secretary. The Sab-bath School department needs thenames of all officers in order to send outspecific information and supplies.

8. Keep the Sabbath School mem-bership apprised of the progress of theSabbath School through the use of re-ports.

9. Make sure that all SabbathSchool meetings are publicized in thechurch bulletin. These include SabbathSchool Council meetings, teachers�meetings, and Sabbath School work-shops.


Attending Meetings1. Participate in Sabbath School

Council meetings, take notes, write upthe minutes, and provide copies to allmembers.

2. The secretary or an assistantmay be asked to attend teachers� meet-ings to keep a record of any recommen-dations for the Sabbath School Coun-cil.

3. The secretary should work withthe Assistant Superintendent for mem-bership to put together an accurate setof membership and attendance records.

Caring for Offerings1. Collect the offering envelopes

from each class.2. Count the money, record the

amount, and turn the funds over to thechurch treasurer as soon as possibleand get a receipt.

3. Keep a permanent file of the re-ceipts.

4. Approve bills for Sabbath Schoolmaterials and supplies before thetreasurer pays them.

5. Ask the treasurer for regularmonthly financial statements.

Assistant SecretaryIt is the responsibility of the assis-

tant secretary to:1. Perform the duties of the secre-

tary in his or her absence.2. At the direction of the secretary,

perform such tasks as:�� Distribute and collect supplies.�� Share in the responsibility of car-

ing for supplies.

�� Help count the offering.�� Help with record keeping.�� Fulfill specific regular responsi-

bilities as assigned.


Adult/Young Adult DivisionLeader

The RoleThe role of the division leader is

to oversee the Sabbath School pro-gram and lesson study of the division.Assistants may be chosen to workwith the division leader.

Line of AuthorityThe division leader is responsible

to the general superintendent and tothe Sabbath School Council and shouldwork closely with the Sabbath Schoolsecretary. Assistant division leaders,teachers, song leader, pianist, organ-ist, greeters, and ushers report to thedivision leader.

Time Commitment –14 hours amonth plus time spent on Sabbathmorning.

The division leader should plan tospend two to four hours a month inplanning, gathering material, andcontacting participants. At least twohours a week, outside of the Sabbathprogram, should be spent organizing,planning, recruiting, and training.One to two hours a month should be

budgeted for the Sabbath SchoolCouncil.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe responsibilities of the division

leader fall into four main categories:leadership development, planning,weekly programs, and communica-tion.

Leadership DevelopmentIt is the responsibility of the

division leader to:1. Recommend names of teachers

or discussion group leaders to theSabbath School Council.

2. Plan for and be in charge ofweekly teachers� meetings.

3. Attend, and encourage otherofficers and teachers to attend, Sab-bath School workshops and leadershiptraining seminars designed to assistthem in their responsibilities.

4. Make available to divisionteachers helpful training courses andother materials to aid in self-improve-ment.

5. See that the church library hasthe necessary resources in the areasof teaching techniques, programideas, world mission education, Biblestudy aids, and maps.

The Adult and Young Adult Divisions

The leadership functions of the Adult and Young Adult divisions are nearlyidentical. The Sabbath School Bible Study Guides for both groups cover the sametopics, though in different formats. In some cases, the two groups meet togetherfor the Sabbath School program and then divide into separate classes. In otherchurches, they may function as separate departments.


Planning Weekly ProgramsIt is the responsibility of the divi-

sion leader to:1. Serve as a member of the Sab-

bath School Council.2. Present requests to the Sabbath

School Council for needed supplies,equipment, or personnel.

3. Lead out in planning theweekly programs.

4. Lead out in planning for periodicsocial and fellowship activities for thedivision, such as banquets, picnics, re-treats, camping weekends, and variouskinds of class social activities.

5. Coordinate division activitieswith the local church calendar of events.

6. Lead out in the development of ayearly plan for community outreachevents such as Community Guest Day,Friendship Evangelism, and BranchSabbath Schools, working closely withthe general superintendent or the as-sistant superintendent for evangelismand the Personal Ministries leader ofthe church.

7. Plan for classes of ten to twelvemembers.

8. Oversee and promote the fiveSabbath School offerings: weekly mis-sion offering, Thirteenth Sabbath offer-ing, Birthday-Thank offering, Invest-ment fund, and Sabbath School ex-pense offering.

9. Schedule the divisions that willparticipate in the Thirteenth Sabbathprograms.

10. In coordination with the churchpastor, plan for a Pastor�s Bible Classfor new members and other interestedpeople.

Communication1. Inform Sabbath School teachers

and officers of conference/mission spon-sored training seminars or workshopsin their area of interest.

2. Arrange for the Sabbath Schoolprogram to be printed in the churchbulletin.

3. Advertise special SabbathSchool programs and outreach activi-ties though announcements, bulletinnotices, newsletter articles, and bulle-tin board notices.

4. Visit classes regularly.5. Plan for ways to express appre-

ciation and affirmation to the volun-teers who staff the Sabbath School.


Adult/Young Adult Teacher

The RoleThe role of the teacher is primarily

to assist people in learning that will leadto faith development. The teacher isalso expected to promote fellowship,community outreach, and world mis-sions.

Line of AuthorityThe teacher reports to the division

leader. The assistant teacher reports tothe teacher.

Time Commitment – 25 hoursa month

The time involved in lesson prepa-ration depends on the background andtraining of the teacher. Usually a suc-cessful teacher will devote three to fivehours in preparation during the week.He or she should also set aside two tofour hours per month for teachers� meet-ings. In some cases teachers are alsoasked to attend the Sabbath SchoolCouncil once a month.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the responsibility of the teacher

to lead the Sabbath School class inmeaningful and redemptive study ofGod�s Word through creative and effec-tive teaching methodologies.

1. Teach the lesson and/or serve asdiscussion leader, depending on thetype of class.

2. Encourage daily lesson study.3. Attend teachers� meetings and

teacher training sessions.

4. Seek to involve the student indiscussion and active learning.

5. Be aware of the characteristicsof adult learners and the life issueswith which they have to deal at par-ticular periods of their lives and striveto meet those needs.

Class LeaderTraditionally, the teacher has been

responsible for running the mechanismof the Sabbath School class. This is notthe ideal. Each class should have a classleader who is responsible for all theseaspects of class management.

When it is not possible to have aclass leader, some member of the classmay be able to handle these tasks. Ev-ery effort should be made to avoid plac-ing them on the shoulders of the teacher,whose main responsibility is to lead theclass in the study of the Word.

The responsibilities of the classleader are:

1. Become acquainted with classmembers: their interests, spiritualjourney, and needs.

2. See that members receive theirBible Study Guides in the edition thatwill benefit them most. The GeneralConference produces four editions:Standard, Teacher�s, Large Print, andEasy Reading.

3. Watch for visitors and invitethem to attend the class.

4. Welcome all, introduce guests,and provide an atmosphere of warm fel-lowship for members and guests.

5. Take the attendance record.6. Deal with missing class members

appropriate to their circumstances andneeds, encouraging class members to


call, visit, or send cards.7. Encourage participation by class

members in the community outreachendeavors sponsored by the church andthe Personal Ministries Council.

8. Promote the world mission offer-ing.

9. Set a class offering goal and takeup the weekly world mission offering

10. Devise ways to get class mem-bers interested and involved in worldmissions.


Youth Sabbath SchoolLeader

The RoleThe role of the youth Sabbath School

leader is to coordinate programs thatacquaint youth from 15 to 18 years(high school) with the gospel and to leadthem to make a commitment to Christand the mission of the Seventh-day Ad-ventist Church.

Line of AuthorityThe youth Sabbath School leader

reports to the general Sabbath SchoolSuperintendent. The leader is expectedto attend the Sabbath School Council.Teachers and youth staff are respon-sible to the leader. The leader will alsocooperate with the Sabbath School sec-retary, world missions coordinator, andthe superintendent for evangelism.

Time Commitment – 8 hours amonth plus Sabbath mornings

The leader should spend about twohours during the week and approxi-mately one hour on Sabbath morning.Before the beginning of a new quarter,the leader should hold a one or two hourplanning session with the entire staff.Time will be needed at the start of eachquarter to get materials and accommo-dations ready for the new quarter. An-other one or two hours will be needed

for the monthly Sabbath School Coun-cil.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the leader to admin-

ister the division, manage the program,and minister to the youth as a friendand counselor.

It is the duty of the youth leader to:1. Learn about the physical, emo-

tional, social, intellectual, and moral de-velopmental characteristics of youth,understand their developmental needs,and seek to meet those needs.

2. Give a sense of continuity andsecurity to youth through regular at-tendance and beginning each programon time.

3. Maintain appropriate discipline.4. Communicate unconditional

love and acceptance.5. Learn each youth�s name and

make contact with each of them as of-ten as possible outside of the SabbathSchool setting.

Administer the DivisionIt is the duty of the youth leader to:1. Take responsibility for the up-

keep and organization of the division�ssupplies and equipment.

2. Decide with the assistants andteachers how to spend the division bud-get for materials and visuals.

3. Present needs for supplies,equipment, furniture, and room envi-ronment to the Sabbath School Coun-

The Youth Division


cil.4. Work with assistant leaders and

teachers to establish goals and activi-ties that are age appropriate.

5. Recruit and train people to helpwith the details of the division, keepingin mind the need for substitutes andreplacements.

6. Assure that there is an up-to-date record of names, addresses,phone numbers, and birthdays of allearliteens.

7. Distribute supplies such asteaching aids, program helps, memoryverse booklets, and take home papers.

8. Plan, promote, and preside overteacher�s meetings.

Manage the Weekly ProgramIt is the duty of the youth leader to:1. Plan an interesting program

that will meet the developmental needsof youth.

2. Involve the youth in planning,leading out, and conducting each Sab-bath School program under carefulguidance and supervision.

Minister to the YouthIt is the duty of the youth leader to:1. Get acquainted with the families

and understand the particular needs ofthe youth in the family situation.

2. Maintain open communicationwith the parents or guardian aboutgoals and objectives of the program, spe-cial things that are happening, progressof the youth in faith development, andany serious behavioral problems.

Youth Sabbath SchoolTeacher

The RoleThe role of the youth Sabbath School

teacher is to acquaint the youth in Sab-bath School from ages 15 through 18with the gospel and to lead them tomake a commitment to follow Christand to become involved in the missionof the Adventist church.

Line of AuthorityThe youth Sabbath School teacher

reports to the youth division leader.The teacher is expected to attend teach-ers� meetings and planning sessions.

Time Commitment – 8 hours amonth plus 1 hour on Sabbathmornings

The teacher should plan to spendabout one hour during the week andapproximately one hour on Sabbathmorning. Another two to four hours permonth will be needed for teachers� meet-ings and division planning sessions.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the youth teacher to

serve as a friend and counselor, supportthe program, teach the lesson, and min-ister to the youth in the class.

The youth Sabbath School teach-ers share many of the same responsi-bilities toward the youth and the youthSabbath School as the leader. See thelist of responsibilities under the youthleader section.


Characteristics of Youth

Youth is the bridge between the freedom of childhood and the responsibili-ties of adulthood. These years are some of the most stressful in life. Some ofthe characteristics of these years are:

Physical1. Forty percent of boys and ten percent of girls are still going through

puberty at age 15½.2. All girls have passed through puberty by the age of 17 while approxi-

mately 10 percent of boys are experiencing late hormonal changes.3. The majority of youth have completed puberty and spend most of the

youth years filling out physically and building strength.4. Teenage youth are much concerned with the way they look: shape of

features, hair, skin, height, weight.5. During later adolescence fine motor skills, mechanical skills, reaction

time, and eye-hand coordination near adult levels.

Mental1. Youth are interested in learning about careers.2. They are interested in learning practical skills.3. Mental activity may appear erratic because of hormonal changes and

interests in boy-girl relationships, extracurricular activities, and jobs.4. They have a better understanding of time, places, current events, and

historical perspectives.5. They are capable of handling difficult assignments that require research,

organization, independent thinking, and creativity.

Emotional1. Teenage youth have many mood swings because of hormonal changes,

uneven growth, and fatigue.2. They are very sensitive about what others think about their looks and

actions.3. Fear of rejection makes it difficult for youth to express affection or ap-

preciation openly.4. Youth may feel strong conflict between desire for independence and need

for safety and nurture, thus they are ambivalent in their feelings toward par-ents and teachers.


Social1. Teenage youth want to be appealing to the opposite sex, and heterosexual

relationships are a top priority.2 Adolescents have an intense need to belong to another person as well as

to cliques, clubs, gangs, and teams. Extracurricular programs become very im-portant.

3. Large group activities such as pep rallies, group cheering the crowd at asports event, and a big crowd for any event are appealing to youth.

4. Conflict with parents and other authority figures is often intense as teen-agers try to think for themselves and become their own person.

5. Peer pressure is very strong, and youth are often easier to live with atschool than at home.

6. The teenager feels good will toward people in general and desires socialresponsibility.

Spiritual1. Youth are on a quest for values in all areas of life.2. They are interested in ethical discussions about such areas as: drugs, hu-

manism, evolution, nuclear war, violence, standards, environmental issues, worldpoverty, and sexuality.

3. Youth often feel a conflict between the code of ethics of their peer groupand the moral ideals of adult society.

4. Teenage youth want to make a difference in their world and are drawn toa religion that helps them change things.

5. Teenagers can develop a meaningful relationship with Christ through adevotional life.

NeedsThe needs of youth are physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Physical1. Youth need a comfortable learning environment with temperature in com-

fort zone and tables and chairs of good quality.2. The program should provide for the teenagers� need for action and the use

of their increased coordination and skills.

Mental1. Youth need to explore their world and have opportunities to dig for an-


swers to more complex problems.2. They need opportunities to choose and to think independently. They

need facts that will help them make correct ethical decisions.3. They need adults who will take them seriously and help them in their

search for knowledge and understanding.4. They need correct information to help them understand issues such as:

creation/evolution, drugs, humanism, violence, poverty, current events, andsexuality.

Emotional1. Youth need to feel they belong and are accepted. They have a great

need for approval from adults as well as peers.2. They want to feel needed by someone, to find their identity in doing

something worthwhile. They need to be given leadership and to become in-volved.

3. They need help in developing self-control, independence, and self ex-pression.

4. They need to experience unconditional love�being accepted and lovedregardless of how they act. Youth are sensitive to criticism and often use thisas an excuse to exit the church.

5. They need adults to help them achieve and develop their self worth, whiletreating them with respect.

Social1. Earliteens work best in groups of no more than ten.2. They need to share their feelings and attitudes and know that they are

heard and accepted.3. They need to relate to adults who accept their racial and cultural differ-

ences without prejudice.4. Youth are ready to interact with each other in learning activities. They

need opportunities to talk with each other about spiritual issues, values, andethical concerns.

5. They want adults to treat them with respect and as intelligent adults.

Spiritual1. Earliteens need models of spiritually minded people who reflect God�s

love, tolerance, patience, and firmness.2. They need to have biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly


graded to their cognitive development.3. They need to know the plan of salvation in its simplicity, to be led to accept

Jesus as their Saviour, and to make a commitment through baptism if they havenot already done so.

4. They need to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally.5. They need adults to help them form habits of worship and a meaningful

devotional life.6. They need guidance in discovering biblical principles to govern their de-

cisions about right and wrong.7. They need to become involved in the world mission of the church both at

home and in other lands.

The future of society will be deter-mined by the youth of today. Satanis making earnest, persevering effortsto corrupt the mind and debase thecharacter of every youth; and shall wewho have more experience stand asmere spectators, and see him accom-plish his purpose without hindrance?Let us stand at our post as minute-men, to work for these youth, andthrough the help of God to hold themback from the pit of destruction. �Counsels to Parents, Teachers and Stu-dents, p. 47


The Children’s Divisions

The church has two departments that deal with children�s pro-grams; the Sabbath School and Children�s Ministries. The Sab-bath School deals mostly with children�s activities that take placeon Sabbath morning. Children�s Ministries deals with those pro-grams designed for children that take place at times other thanSabbath morning.

Churches organize these activities in different ways. Yourchurch may have designated Children�s Ministries as the overallministry to children, including Sabbath School. Other churcheshave combined the two and retain Sabbath School as the frame-work for all children�s activities.

The job descriptions given below are specific to Sabbath morn-ing activities. Lines of authority, governing committees and listsof responsibilities may vary according to how your church haschosen to organize itself.

The Junior/Teen Division

Junior/TeenThe junior/teen division of the Sab-

bath School deals with children from 10to 14 years of age. The standard cur-riculum materials are designed for afour year cycle with extra material in-cluded for those churches who have ear-liteen sections.

In some churches there are enoughchildren to organize a separate earli-teen division for thirteen and fourteenyear old children. Youth of this age of-ten prefer to meet by themselves ratherthan with the juniors.

The responsibilities of the leader-ship and teachers are the same, butmany of the characteristics of the earli-

teens change. See the charts on the fol-lowing pages for the main characteris-tics of juniors and teens.

Junior/Teen Leader

The RoleThe role of the junior/teen leader is

to coordinate programs that acquaintchildren from 10 to 14 years old withthe gospel and to lead them to make acommitment to follow Christ in baptism.

Line of AuthorityThe junior/teen leader reports to the

Sabbath School superintendent. Theleader is expected to attend either the


Sabbath School Council and/or theChildren�s Ministries Committee.Teachers and other personnel are re-sponsible to the leader. The leader willalso cooperate with the Sabbath Schoolsecretary, world mission coordinator,and the superintendent for evangelism.

Time Commitment – 10 hoursa month plus Sabbathmorning activities

The leader should spend about twohours during the week and approxi-mately one hour on Sabbath morning.Before the beginning of a new quarter,the leader should hold a one or two hourplanning session with the entire staff.Time will be needed at the start of eachquarter to arrange room decorationsand get materials ready for the newquarter. Another one or two hours willbe needed for the Sabbath School Coun-cil or the Children�s Ministries Commit-tee.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the leader to love

children, administer the division, man-age the program, and minister to fami-lies.

Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the junior/earliteen

leader to:1. Learn about the physical, emo-

tional, social, intellectual, and moraldevelopmental characteristics of thosein the division, understand the devel-opmental needs of children between theages of 10 to 14 years, and seek to meet

those needs.2. Maintain appropriate discipline

for the children�s age level while com-municating love and acceptance.

3. Learn each child�s name andmake contact with the child as often aspossible outside of the Sabbath Schoolsetting in cooperation with theChildren�s Ministries Department ofthe church.

Administer the ProgramIt is the duty of the junior/earliteen

leader to:1. Take responsibility for the up-



3. Present needs for supplies,equipment, furniture, and redecorationto the Sabbath School Council.

4. Work with assistant leaders andteachers to establish goals and activi-ties that are age appropriate.

5. Recruit and train people to helpwith the details of the division, remem-bering the need for substitutes and re-placements.

6. Keep an up-to-date record ofnames, addresses, phone numbers, andbirthdays for all children.


8. Plan, promote, and preside overteachers� meetings.

Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the junior/teen


Junior/Teen Sabbath SchoolTeacher

The RoleThe role of the junior/teen Sabbath

School teacher is to acquaint a smallgroup of children 10 to 12 years old withthe gospel and to lead them to make acommitment to follow Christ in baptismand learn the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist church.

Line of AuthorityThe junior/teen teacher reports to

the division leader. The teacher is ex-

leader to:1. Plan an interesting program

that will meet the developmental needsof children of junior/teen age.

2. Involve the junior/teen in plan-ning, leading out, and doing each Sab-bath School program under carefulguidance and supervision.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the junior/earliteen

leader to:1. Get acquainted with the families

and understand the particular needs ofthe child in the family situation.

2. Encourage the parents to go toJesus with their perplexities. Let themknow you are praying for them.

3. Maintain open communicationwith the parents or guardian aboutgoals, objectives, special things that arehappening, progress of the child, andbehavioral problems.

pected to attend teacher�s meetings andplanning sessions.

Time Commitment – 8 hours amonth plus Sabbath morningactivities

The teacher should plan to spendabout one hour during the week andapproximately one hour on Sabbathmorning. Another two to four hours permonth will be needed for teacher�s meet-ings and division planning sessions.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the junior/teen

teacher to teach the lesson, love chil-dren, support the program, and minis-ter to families.

Teach the LessonIt is the duty of the junior/teen

teacher to:1. Plan an interesting lesson that

will meet the developmental needs ofchildren of junior age and make themwant to be sure they get to SabbathSchool.

2. Plan to involve the children ineach lesson through activities or discus-sion. Children of this age need involve-ment.

3. Plan for variety in the lesson.Alternate listening with responding,moving, visual, and tactile experiences.

4. Plan lessons that have a purposeand a simple spiritual message, usingonly items that will help communicatethat purpose.


Love ChildrenIt is the duty of thejunior/teen

teacher to:1. Learn about the physical, emo-

tional, social, intellectual and moral de-velopmental characteristics of juniors.

2. Understand the developmentalneeds of children between the ages of10 to 12 years and seek to meet thoseneeds.

3. Give a sense of continuity andsecurity to the children by being thereregularly and on time.

4. Maintain appropriate disciplinefor the children�s age level

5. Communicate love and accep-tance in all actions in dealing with thechildren.

6. Learn each child�s name andmake contact with the child as often aspossible outside of the Sabbath Schoolsetting.

7. Greet all the children by nameas they arrive.

8. Be sure that absent children gettheir Bible study guides and their take-home papers. A visit from their teacherwill be treasured by the child.

Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the junior/teen

teacher to:1. Attend division planning ses-

sions and teachers� meetings.2. Present needs for supplies,

equipment, furniture, and redecorationto the division leader.

3. Cooperate with the staff in estab-lishing goals and activities that are ageappropriate.


Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of thejunior/teen

teacher to:1. Encourage the parents to go to

Jesus with their perplexities. Let themknow you are praying for them.

2. Spend time getting acquaintedwith the family of each child in the classto help you understand the child bet-ter.

3. Maintain open communicationwith the parents or guardian of the childabout goals and objectives of the class,special things that are happening,progress of the child in faith develop-ment, and behavioral problems.


This is the age when children�s decisions ripen into commitment and bap-tism. Statistics show that more individuals are baptized at12 years of agethan at any other single year of life. If for some reason a child is deterredfrom making this commitment during the junior years, it becomes increas-ingly less likely that he or she will do so later.

Physical1. Growth slows and weight usually increases more than height during

the junior years.2. Girls as well as boys acquire strength during this period, and they

admire strength, power, and bravery in others.3. Girls have about 95 percent of their height and puberty has started in

most by the end of their twefth year. Boys vary more than girls in this area,only a few having begun puberty.

4. Juniors take a special interest in developing muscular skill and enjoycompetitive games that require strength and speed.

5. They have abounding energy and a spirit of adventure. They lovenoise and find it very hard to be quiet.

Mental1. A junior�s thinking differs little from that of adults. When their reac-

tions seem irrational, it is because data essential for adequate judgment islacking.

2. Juniors can think and reason, but abstract concepts such as love, peace,faith, and joy mean very little except in relation to real people and prob-lems.

3. They have a fair concept of time and space and the relationship amongnations and nationalities.

4. Juniors have a natural curiosity and appetite to learn new things aboutthe world in which they live.

5. They enjoy problem solving and can be trained how to think of allpossible points concerning a problem in order to arrive at a solution. Theythrive on independent thinking.

6. They are capable of handling extended mental exertion and the de-velopment of projects.

7. They admire models and heroes who do outstanding exploits in the

Characteristics of Junior Children


areas of their personal interests or who exemplify the personal characteristics towhich they aspire.

8. Juniors are open, talkative, communicative, energetic, mobile, dynamic,and sociable.

Spiritual1. Juniors understand sin and often become discouraged because they are

plagued with desires they consider sinful. 2. They are prepared to respond with a deepening commitment to Christ,to experience the new birth, and to learn to have a relationship with God inprayer and Bible study.

3. If youth of this age meet unacceptance or condemnation by the church,they often begin to retreat from God.

4. Most juniors believe in God but have a hard time believing that He hasany influence in their daily lives.

5. They have an interest in religion and ethical concerns, but at the sametime are somewhat skeptical

NeedsThe needs of juniors are physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Physical1. Juniors need a comfortable learning environment with the temperature in

the comfort zone and tables and chairs the correct size.2. They need a program that appeals to their exuberance, sense of adven-

ture, and the testing of their strength and abilities.

Mental1. Juniors need to explore their world, to have opportunities to dig for an-

swers to problems.2. They need opportunities to choose and to think independently. They need

the facts that will help them make correct ethical decisions.3. They need adults who will take them seriously and help them in their search

for knowledge and understanding.

Emotional1. Juniors need to feel they belong and are accepted. They have a great need


for approval from adults as well as peers.2. They want to feel needed by someone, to find their identity in doing some-

thing worthwhile.3. They need help in developing self-control, independence, and self-expres-

sion.4. They need to experience unconditional love.

Social1. Juniors work best in groups of no more than eight.2. They need to share their feelings and attitudes and know that they are

heard and accepted.3. They need to experience male as well as female role models in the Sabbath

School.4. They need to relate to adults who accept their racial and cultural differ-

ences without prejudice.5. Juniors are ready to interact with each other in learning activities. They

need opportunities to talk with each other about spiritual issues, values, andethical concerns.

6. They need to experience appropriate touching, eye contact, and the fo-cused attention of adults whom they admire.

7. They need to learn how to cope with violence and how to settle disputeswithout physical force.

Spiritual1. Juniors need models of spiritually minded people who reflect God�s love,

care, warmth, patience, and firmness.2. They need to have biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly graded

for their cognitive development.3. They need to know the plan of salvation in its simplicity, and to be led to

accept Jesus as their Saviour, and to make a commitment through baptism.4. They need to know that Jesus loves them.5. They need adults to help them form habits of worship and a meaningful

devotional life.6. They need guidance in discovering biblical principles to guide their deci-

sions about what is right and wrong.7. They need to become involved in the worldwide mission of the church both

at home and in other lands.


Physical1. Teens are entering a period of rapid but somewhat uneven growth; they

may experience intervals of physical depression and are often uncertain andawkward of movement.

2. Their motor senses develop before their judgment centers.3. Their senses have developed more acuteness, especially sight and hear-

ing.4. The average age for puberty is 13.5 years. This change in body chem-

istry affects posture, coordination, voice, appearance, and inner tension.

Mental1. Teens are mentally energetic and active, but impulsive and erratic.2. Their judgment and self-control have not yet developed to keep pace

with their thoughtless, impulsive, venturesome tendencies.3. Their mental processes, and consequently their pattern of living, tend

to be disorderly.4. However, they expect and respect orderliness on the part of parents,

teachers, and leaders.5. They appear to be mentally lazy, but only require proper motivation.

Social1. Girls titter and giggle; boys are boisterous and talkative; yet either at

times will talk soberly with adults on serious subjects, such as current events.2. Teens have strong individualistic tendencies and a keen, competitive

spirit yet find it difficult to be themselves when faced with peer pressure.3. Prestige with their peer group is often of more importance to them than

the approval of adults.4. They want to be given more freedom, leadership, and responsibility,

but still require close guidance.5. They tend to argue with brothers and sisters and to draw away from

parents.

Emotional1. Teens are unsettled, uncertain, self-conscious, and insecure.2. Their interests waver between childhood and adulthood.3. They thirst for fellowship and group acceptance.4. They are painfully conscious of their mistakes.

Characteristics of Teens


5. They often feel condemned by adults and by God and need a great deal ofunderstanding.

6. Their irreverent, disrespectful, willful, insubordinate, defiant attitude usu-ally is an unconscious resentment of being forced to leave the freedom of child-hood for the responsibilities of adulthood.

Spiritual1. Earliteens have sufficient ability to find and to use help from the Bible.2. They have increased reasoning ability but are hesitant because of lack of

experience.3. They are assailed by many doubts and questions.4. They are strongly drawn to God, but are, at the same time, subjected to

strong temptations and discouragements, and are likely to give up.5. They are ready for more complex thinking about ethical and religious prob-

lems.6. They are interested in religious faith, group life, and church activities,

including discussion and recreation.

NeedsThe needs of teens are physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Physical1. Earliteens need a comfortable learning environment with the tempera-

ture in the comfort zone and tables and chairs the correct size.2. They need a program that appeals to their exuberance, sense of adven-

ture, and testing of their strength and abilities.

Mental1. Teens need to explore their world, to have opportunities to dig for answers

to more complex problems.2. They need opportunities to choose and to think independently. They need

facts that will help them make correct ethical decisions.3. They need adults who will take them seriously and help them in their search

for knowledge and understanding.4. They need correct information to help them understand issues such as:

creation/evolution, drugs, humanism, and sexuality.

Emotional1. Teens need to feel they belong and are accepted. They have a great need

for approval from adults as well as peers


2. They want to feel needed by someone, to find their identity in doing some-thing worthwhile. They need to be given leadership and to become involved.

3. They need help in developing self-control, independence, and self-expres-sion.

4. They need to experience unconditional love. Teens are more sensitive tocriticism than perhaps any other age level.

5. They need adults to help them achieve and to develop their self worth.

Social1. Teens work best in groups of no more than eight.2. They need to share their feelings and attitudes and know that they are


School.4. They need to relate to adults who accept their racial and cultural differ-

ences without prejudice.5. Teens are ready to interact with each other in learning activities. They

need opportunities to talk to each other about spiritual issues, values, and ethi-cal concerns.

6. They need to experience appropriate touching, eye contact, and the fo-cused attention of adults whom they admire.

Spiritual1. Teens need models of spiritually minded people who reflect God�s love, tol-

erance, patience, and firmness.2. They need to have biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly graded

for their cognitive development.3. They need to know the plan of salvation in its simplicity, to be led to accept

Jesus as their Saviour, and to make a commitment through baptism.4. They need to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally.5. They need adults to help them form habits of worship and a meaningful

devotional life.6. They need guidance in discovering biblical principles to guide their deci-

sions about what is right and wrong.7. They need to become involved in the worldwide mission of the church both

at home and in other lands.


The Primary Division

Primary Sabbath SchoolLeader

The RoleThe role of the primary leader is to

coordinate programs that acquaint chil-dren from six to nine years with the gos-pel and the mission of the Seventh-dayAdventist church.

Line of AuthorityThe primary leader reports to the

Sabbath School superintendent or tothe children�s ministries coordinator.The leader is expected to attend eitherthe Sabbath School Council or thechildren�s ministries committee. Teach-ers and primary staff are responsible tothe leader. The leader will also cooper-ate with the Sabbath School secretary,world mission coordinator, and the su-perintendent for evangelism.


The leader should spend about twohours during the week and approxi-mately one hour on Sabbath morning.Before the beginning of a new quarter,the leader should hold a one or two hourplanning session with the entire staff.Time will be needed at the start of eachquarter to change room decorationsand get materials ready for the new

quarter. Another one or two hours willbe needed for the Sabbath School Coun-cil or the Children�s Ministries Commit-tee.



Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the primary leader

to:1. Learn about the physical, emo-

tional, social, intellectual, and moraldevelopmental characteristics andneeds of primary children.

2. Maintain appropriate disciplinefor the children�s age level.

3. Communicate love and accep-tance.


Administer the DivisionIt is the duty of the primary leader

to:1. Take responsibility for the up-




3. Present needs for supplies, equip-ment, furniture, and redecoration to theappropriate governing body.


5. Recruit and train people to helpwith the details of the program, keep-ing in mind the need for substitutes andreplacements.

6. Supervise the work of the assis-tants and teachers.



9. Divide the group into smallgroups of not more than five per group.Group children of the same age to-gether.


Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the primary leader

to:1. Plan an interesting program that

will meet the developmental needs ofchildren of primary age.

2. Plan to involve the children ineach item of the program through theirminds, hands, feet, or bodies.

3. Plan for variety in the program.Alternate listening with responding,moving, singing, visual, and tactile ex-perience.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the primary leader

to:1. Become acquainted with the fami-

lies and understand the particularneeds of the child in the family situa-tion.


3. Maintain open communicationwith the parents or guardian of the childabout goals and objectives of the pro-gram, special things that are happen-ing, progress of the child in faith devel-opment, and behavioral problems.

Primary Sabbath SchoolTeacher

The RoleThe role of the primary Sabbath

School teacher is to acquaint a smallgroup of children from six to nine yearsold with the love of Jesus and the mis-sion of the Seventh-day Adventistchurch.

Line of AuthorityThe primary teacher reports to the

division leader. The teacher is expectedto attend teacher�s meetings and divi-sion planning sessions.


The teacher should plan on spend-ing about one hour during the week andapproximately one hour on Sabbathmorning. Another two to four hours permonth will be needed for teachers� meet-ings and division planning sessions.


Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the primary teacher

to love children, manage the program,teach the lesson, and minister to fami-lies.

Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the primary teacher


tional, social, intellectual and moral de-velopmental characteristics and needs ofprimaries.

2. Give a sense of continuity and se-curity to the children by being there regu-larly and on time.

3. Maintain appropriate discipline forthe children�s age level.

4. Communicate love and acceptancein all actions in dealing with the child.

5. Learn each child�s name and makecontact with the child as often as possibleoutside of the Sabbath School setting

6. Greet each child by name.7. Be sure that absent children get

their lesson quarterlies and their takehome papers. A visit from his teacher willbe treasured by the child.

Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the primary teacher

to:1. Attend division planning sessions

and teacher�s meetings.2. Present needs for supplies, equip-

ment, furniture, and room decor to thedivision leader.


4. Keep an up-to-date record ofnames addresses, phone numbers, and

birthdays for all children.5. Distribute supplies such as teach-

ing aids, program helps, memory versebooklets, and take-home papers.

Teach the LessonIt is the duty of the primary teacher

to:1. Plan an interesting lesson that will

meet the developmental needs of chil-dren of primary age.

2. Plan to involve the children in eachlesson through their minds, hands, feet,or bodies. Children of this age need torespond.

3. Plan for variety in the lesson. Al-ternate listening with responding, mov-ing, visual, and tactile experiences.

4. Plan lessons that have a purpose, asimple spiritual message, using onlyitems that will help communicate thatpurpose.

5. Give attention to visuals, makingsure they are suitable and there are noobjectionable features in the pictures.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the primary teacher

to:1. Encourage parents to help their

children learn the memory verse eachweek.

2. Encourage parents to read the Sab-bath School lesson to primaries. Readingis still too difficult for most to be able tostudy on their own.


4. Spend time getting acquainted withthe family of each child in the class tohelp you understand the child better.


Characteristics of Primary Children

This is the age of decision making. Primaries may not act out their decisionsuntil later years, but it is during these crucial years�from 6 to 9 years of age�that basic attitudes are formed, and these have lifelong impact.

Physical1. This is the motor period of life, when the child works and plays hard to the

point of exhaustion.2. They have a hard time sitting still. They must be provided with action or

they will provide their own.3. Children still prefer activities using large muscle activities as opposed to

precision work.

Mental1. Primaries are curious and eager to learn.2. This is the peak age of creativity and memorization.3. Primary children have an intense imagination, but are able to differenti-

ate between the real and the imaginary.4. They like adventure and thrill at being able to solve problems and dis-

cover things for themselves.5. They are concrete, literal thinkers, not understanding symbolic or abstract

ideas, though they are beginning to understand time, space, distance, and num-ber concepts fairly well.

6. Primary children like to use their hands to make things, to construct, andto tear things apart to see how they work.

7. They prefer to read material with large print as many are still farsighted.Reading ability varies greatly.

Emotional1. Primaries respond well to affection, and they need a sense of approval and

security.2. Their feelings are sensitive and easily crushed.3. Primaries feel confident one day and appear withdrawn the next. They

need lots of sympathetic understanding.

Social1. Younger primaries work well with boys and girls together, but later they

draw apart and feel uneasy with the opposite sex.2. They enjoy group games and activities.


3. Friends are important and peer pressure is strong as they compare them-selves with other children.

4. Primaries are beginning to cast off some of the ties of family and are some-times torn between the wishes of parents and the demands of peers.

Spiritual1. Primary children have a very tender conscience.2. They know right from wrong and can understand the meaning of sin. They

are becoming aware of their need for salvation.3. They are beginning to reason out their own decisions according to their

Bible knowledge.4. Primaries are beginning to form values and attitudes of their own based

upon the foundation that has been laid.5. They have a spiritual hunger and a strong impulse to obey.6. Primaries enjoy group outreach activities. This is the age when unselfish

service for others is most readily entered into.

NeedsThe needs of primary children are physical, mental, emotional, social, and

spiritual.

Physical1. Primary children need a comfortable learning environment such as tem-

perature in the comfort zone and tables and chairs the correct size.2. They need to move. Use activities that involve the arms, hands, feet, and

body.3. They need to respond actively to what they learn. They need to be involved

by answering questions, role playing, participating in games and quizzes, draw-ing or other activities.

4. They need to be accepted, regardless of the stage they are at in learning toread or write.

Mental1. Primary children need to know and explore their environment, to have

their natural curiosity satisfied.2. They need opportunities to choose and to think.3. They need adults who will take them seriously and help them in their search

for knowledge and understanding.4. They need opportunities to use their imagination and creativity and to

have their efforts accepted and displayed.


Emotional1. Primary children need to be loved and accepted, to know that they are

special. They need freedom to make mistakes and to learn without fear of ridi-cule or punishment.

2. They need models of emotionally mature, kind, loving, patient people.3. They need leaders and teachers who are calm and peaceful.

Social1. Primaries work best in groups of no more than six.2. They need to share their feelings and attitudes and know that they are


School.4. Young children need to relate to adults who accept their racial and cultural

differences without prejudice.5. Primaries are ready to interact with each other in learning activities. They

need opportunities to talk to each other about spiritual issues.6. They need to experience appropriate touching, eye contact, and the fo-

cused attention of adults whom they admire.

Spiritual1. Primary children need models of spiritually minded people who reflect God�s

love, care, warmth, patience, and firmness.2. They need to have biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly graded

for their cognitive development.3. They need to know the plan of salvation in its simplicity and to be led to

accept Jesus as their Saviour.4. They need to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally.5. They need adults to help them form habits of worship and service for oth-

ers and to participate in group outreach activities.6. They need guidance in discovering biblical principles to guide their deci-

sions about what is right and wrong. They need many opportunities to discussvalues.


The Kindergarten Division

The Kindergarten Leader

The RoleThe role of the kindergarten leader

is to coordinate programs that acquaintchildren from four to five years withGod�s love.

Line of AuthorityThe kindergarten leader reports to

the Sabbath School superintendent orthe children�s ministries coordinator.The leader is expected to attend eitherthe Sabbath School Council or theChildren�s Ministries Committee.Teachers and kindergarten staff are re-sponsible to the leader. The leader willalso cooperate with the Sabbath Schoolsecretary, world missions coordinator,and the superintendent for evangelism.

Time Commitment – 10 hoursa month plus Sabbathmorning activities

The leader should spend about twohours during the week and approxi-mately one hour on Sabbath morning.Before the beginning of a new quarter,the leader should hold a one or two hourplanning session with the entire staff.Time will be needed at the start of eachquarter to change room decorationsand get materials ready for the newquarter. Another one or two hours willbe needed for the Sabbath School Coun-

cil or the Children�s Ministries Commit-tee.



Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the kindergarten

leader to:1. Learn about the physical, emo-

tional, social, intellectual, and moral de-velopmental characteristics and needsof children between the ages of four tosix years and seek to meet those needs.


3. Communicate love and accep-tance by the way each child is spokento and treated in all aspects, such asgreeting each child by name and mak-ing contact with the child as often aspossible outside of the Sabbath Schoolsetting. A visit from his or her teacherwill be treasured by the child.

Administer the DivisionIt is the duty of the kindergarten

leader to:1. Take responsibility for the up-


2. Decide with the assistants andteachers how to spend the division bud-get for materials and present needs for


supplies, equipment, furniture, andother needs to the Sabbath SchoolCouncil.



5. Supervise the work of the assis-tants and teachers.


7. Distribute supplies such as teach-ing aids, program helps, memory versebooklets, and take-home papers.

8. Divide the group into smallgroups of not more than five. Group chil-dren of the same age together.


Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the kindergarten

leader to:1. Plan an interesting program that

will meet the developmental needs ofchildren of kindergarten age with lotsof variety. Alternate listening with re-sponding, moving, singing, visual, andtactile experience.


3. Give attention to visuals, makingsure they are suitable, and there are noobjectionable features in the pictures.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the kindergarten

leader to:1. Provide parents with a copy of the

program and the words for the songsand fingerplays to use in home wor-ships. Encourage parents to read thelesson to their children.

2. Invite parents to a social gather-ing for a time of sharing, studying, andpraying together.

3. Teach the parents to go to Jesuswith their perplexities. Let them knowyou are praying for them.

The Kindergarten Teacher

The RoleThe role of the kindergarten teacher

is to acquaint a small group of childrenfrom four to five years with the love ofJesus.

Line of AuthorityThe kindergarten teacher reports to

the division leader. The teacher is ex-pected to attend teachers� meetings anddivision planning sessions.




Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the kindergarten

teacher to love children, manage theprogram, teach the lesson, and minis-ter to families.

Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the kindergarten


tional, social, intellectual, and moraldevelopmental characteristics of thechildren in the kindergarten division,understand their developmental needs,and seek to meet those needs.


3. Communicate love and accep-tance by the way each child is spokento and treated in all aspects, such asgreeting each child by name and mak-ing contact with the child as often aspossible outside of the Sabbath Schoolsetting. A visit from his or her teacherwill be treasured by the child.

4. Be sure that absent children gettheir Bible study guides and their takehome papers.

Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the kindergarten

teacher to:1. Attend division planning sessions

and teachers� meetings.2. Present needs for supplies, equip-

ment, furniture, and learning environ-ment to the division leader.


4. Keep an up-to-date record of

names, addresses, phone numbers, andbirthdays for all children.

5. Distribute supplies such as teach-ing aids, program helps, memory versebooklets, and take home papers.

Teach the LessonIt is the duty of the kindergarten


will meet the developmental needs ofchildren of kindergarten age. Alternatelistening with responding, moving, vi-sual, and tactile experiences. Plan toinvolve the children in each lessonthrough their minds, hands, feet, orbodies. Children of this age need to re-spond.

2. Plan lessons that have a purposeand a simple spiritual message, usingonly items that will help communicatethat purpose.

3. Give attention to visuals, makingsure they are suitable and there are noobjectionable features in the pictures.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the kindergarten

teacher to:1. Encourage parents to read the

Sabbath School lesson to their childrenand help them learn the memory verseeach week.


3. Spend time getting acquaintedwith the family of each child in yourclass to help you understand the childbetter.


Characteristics of Kindergarten ChildrenThis is the age of decision making. Kindergartners may not act out their

decisions until later years, but it is during these crucial years�from four to fiveyears of age�that basic attitudes are formed that have lifelong importance.

Physical1. Kindergarteners are active, energetic, and find it hard to sit still for more

than a few minutes.2. At this age children find it hard to focus on small details.3. Small muscles lag behind larger ones in development and coordination.

Girls are usually ahead of boys in development.

Mental1. Kindergarteners are talkative and eager to learn.2. They are full of curiosity about their world and ask many questions. Ev-

erything is �why?�3. They are realistic thinkers, unable at this age to understand symbolism or

abstract concepts.4. Children at this age are easily distracted and can think of only one thing

at a time.5. They still have only a limited understanding of time, space, and numbers.6. Kindergarten children learn best through the use of their senses, real ob-

jects that they can touch, see, and smell.7. Fact and fancy are still not clearly distinguished by the younger kinder-

garten children.

Emotional1. Kindergartners have intense feelings and fears.2. They want to be the center of everything and to monopolize the leader�s or

teacher�s attention.3. They enjoy routine and are upset by changes in the program, the room

arrangement, or a change of teachers.

Social1. Kindergarteners want other children to play with.2. They are willing to share and take turns.3. They like to pretend, imitating grownups.4. Children of this age can be quite quarrelsome, yet are able to listen to

reason.


Spiritual1. Kindergarteners have a simple trust in a personal God and believe strongly

in angels, prayer, and God�s watch care.2. They are learning the difference between the voice of God and the voice of

Satan.3. They can distinguish between right and wrong; however they judge the

seriousness of a wrong by the severity of the punishment.4. They understand confession, restitution, and forgiveness.5. They have many questions about religion and death.6. They are able to have a real relationship with Jesus and to experience

worship, awe, and thankfulness.7. They enjoy worship rituals at home and at church.8. They are beginning to understand a little of the world beyond their own

home and community and can understand the concept of mission and sacrificingself for others.

NeedsThe needs of kindergarten children are physical, mental, emotional, social,

and spiritual.

Physical1. Kindergarten children need a comfortable learning environment: with tem-

perature in the comfort zone and tables and chairs the correct size.2. They need to move. Use activities that involve the arms, hands, feet, and

body.3. They should not be required to do activities that require precision and the

use of the small muscles.4. They need to be accepted no matter at what stage they are in learning to

read or write.

Mental1. Kindergarten children need to know, to explore their environment, to have

their natural curiosity stimulated.2. They need opportunities to choose and to think.3. They need adults who will take their questions seriously and help them in

their search for knowledge and understanding.4. They need opportunities to use their imagination and creativity and to

have their efforts accepted and displayed.5. They need to receive knowledge in small doses to fit their short attention

span.


Emotional1. Kindergarten children need to be loved and accepted, to know that they

are special.2. They need to feel secure and connected to people.3. They need freedom to make mistakes and to learn without fear of ridicule

or punishment.4. They need models of emotionally mature, kind, loving, patient people.5. They need leaders and teachers who are calm and peaceful. It is important

to avoid using a loud voice or extreme actions. Even stories should not be over-dramatized.

6. They need time to adapt to changes in routine, so it is best to make changesslowly.

Social1. Kindergarteners work best in groups of four or five.2. They need to share their feelings and attitudes and know that they are


School.4. Young children need to relate to adults who accept their racial and cultural

differences without prejudice.5. To maximize their learning, they need many activities in which they work

in groups with other children.6. They need to experience appropriate touching, eye contact, and the fo-

cused attention of adults whom they admire.

Spiritual1. Kindergarten children need models of spiritually minded people who re-

flect God�s love, care, warmth, patience, and firmness.2. They need to learn biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly graded

for their cognitive development.3. Because the conscience is still developing, kindergarten children need guid-

ance in their decision making.4. They need to know that Jesus loves them unconditionally.5. They need adults to take their questions about religion and death seri-

ously and to give answers that they can understand.6. They need adults to discuss Bible stories with them and to ask them ques-

tions about their understanding. Children of this age are very good at deceivingadults into thinking they understand.


The Beginner/Cradle Roll Divsion

Beginner/Cradle Roll Leader

The RoleThe role of the cradle roll leader is

to coordinate programs and lessons thatacquaint children from birth to threeyears of age with the love of Jesus.Some churches may prefer to call thisthe beginners division.

Line of AuthorityThe cradle roll leader reports to the

Sabbath School superintendent or tothe children�s ministries coordinator.The leader is expected to attend eitherthe Sabbath School Council or theChildren�s Ministries Committee.Teachers and cradle roll staff are re-sponsible to the leader. The leader willalso cooperate with the Sabbath Schoolsecretary, world mission coordinator,and the superintendent for evangelism.

Time Commitment – 6 Hours amonth, plus Sabbath morningactivities

The leader should spend about twohours during the week and approxi-mately one hour on Sabbath morning.Before the beginning of a new quarter,the leader should hold a one or two hourplanning session with the entire staff.Time will be needed at the start of eachquarter to get materials ready for thenew quarter. Another one or two hourswill be needed for the Sabbath SchoolCouncil or the Children�s MinistriesCommittee.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the cradle roll leader

to love children, administer the divi-sion, manage the program, and minis-ter to families.

Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the cradle roll leader


tional, social, intellectual, and moraldevelopmental characteristics of thechildren in the cradle roll division, un-derstand the developmental needs ofchildren from birth to three years, andseek to meet those needs.


3. Communicate unconditionallove and acceptance by the way the chil-dren are spoken to, held, and touched.

4. Learn each child�s name andmake contact with the child as often aspossible outside of the Sabbath Schoolsetting, such as visiting the child�s homeand planning special social activities forcradle roll families.

5. Make sure someone is at the doorto greet all children by name as theyarrive, take them by the hand, and leadthem to a seat or to whatever activity isgoing on.

Administer the DivisionIt is the duty of the cradle roll leader

to:1. Take responsibility for the up-

keep and organization of the division�s


supplies and equipment.2. Decide with the assistants and

teachers how to spend the division bud-get for materials and visuals.

3. Present needs for supplies, equip-ment, furniture, and environment tothe Sabbath School Council.



6. Supervise the work of the assis-tants and teachers, giving on-the-jobtraining as needed.


8. Distribute supplies such as teach-ing aids, program helps, memory versebooklets, and take-home papers.


Manage the ProgramIt is the duty of the cradle roll leader

to:1. Plan an interesting program

that will meet the developmental needsof children of cradle roll age.

2. Keep the program the same fromweek to week; only as the children be-come very familiar with an item shouldit be replaced. Introduce no more thanone or two new items each week.


4. Plan for a variety in the program.Alternate listening with responding,

moving, singing, visual, and tactile ex-periences.

5. Plan programs that have a pur-pose and a simple spiritual message, us-ing only items that will help communi-cate that purpose.

6. Give attention to visuals. All ob-jects should be safe, soft, and unbreak-able. Use large, uncluttered pictures.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the cradle roll leader

to:1. Model tenderness, firmness, and

love in the Sabbath School program.Young parents will learn much fromobservation.

2. Demonstrate the value of a lov-ing touch, eye contact, and focused at-tention.

3. Provide parents with a copy ofthe program and the words for the songsand fingerplays to use in home wor-ships.

4. Invite parents to a social gath-ering for a time of sharing, studying,and praying together.

5. Encourage parents to read theSabbath School lesson even to the tini-est babies. This gives them a head startin their mental, emotional, and spiri-tual development.

6. Teach parents to go to Jesus withtheir perplexities. Let them know youare praying for them.

7. Work tactfully with parents whohave left the church and return when achild is born. Involve them in the workof the division and encourage them inevery way possible.


Cradle Roll Teacher

The RoleThe role of the cradle roll teacher is

to acquaint a small group of childrenfrom birth to three years with the loveof Jesus.

Line of AuthorityThe cradle roll teacher reports to the

division leader. The teacher is expectedto attend teachers� meetings and divi-sion planning sessions.

Time Commitment – 6 hoursper month plus Sabbathmorning activities


Duties and ResponsibilitiesIt is the duty of the cradle roll

teacher to love children, support theprogram, teach the lesson, and minis-ter to families.

Love ChildrenIt is the duty of the cradle roll


tional, social, intellectual, and moraldevelopmental characteristics of thechildren in the cradle roll division, un-derstand the developmental needs ofchildren between the ages of birth andthree years, and seek to meet those

needs.2. Maintain appropriate discipline

for the children�s age level.3. Communicate unconditional love

and acceptance by the way the childrenare spoken to, held, and touched.


5. Greet each child by name.6. Be sure that absent children get

their lesson quarterlies and their take-home papers. A visit from their teacherwill be treasured by the child and theparents.

Support the ProgramIt is the duty of the cradle roll

teacher to:1. Attend division planning ses-

sions and teachers� meetings.2. Present needs for supplies,

equipment, furniture, and redecorationto the division leader.




Teach the LessonIt is the duty of the cradle roll


will meet the developmental needs ofchildren of cradle roll age.


2. Plan to involve the children ineach lesson through their minds,hands, feet, or bodies. Children of thisage need to do and respond.

3. Plan for variety in the lesson.Alternate listening with responding,moving, visual, and tactile experiences.

4. Plan lessons that have a pur-pose, a simple spiritual message, usingonly items that will help communicatethat purpose.

5. Give attention to visuals. All ob-jects should be safe, soft, and unbreak-able. Use large, uncluttered pictures.

Minister to the FamilyIt is the duty of the cradle roll

teacher to:1. Model tenderness, firmness, and

love in the Sabbath School lesson.Young parents will learn much fromobservation.

2. Demonstrate the value of a lov-ing touch, eye contact, and focused at-tention.

3. Encourage parents to help theirchildren learn the memory verse eachweek.

4. Encourage parents to read theSabbath School lesson even to the tini-est babies. This gives them a head startin their mental, emotional, and spiri-tual development.


6. Spend time getting acquaintedwith the family of each child in the classto help you understand the child bet-ter.

The Importance ofCradle Roll

How did Jesus treat childrenand how did they respond?

Jesus was ever a lover of children.He accepted their childish sympathyand their open, unaffected love. Thegrateful praise from their pure lipswas music in His ears, and refreshedHis spirit when oppressed by contactwith crafty and hypocritical men.Wherever the Saviour went, the be-nignity of His countenance and Hisgentle, kindly manner won the loveand confidence of children. (The De-sire of Ages, p. 511).

How soon should a child betaught about God?

As soon as a child can love andtrust his mother, then can he loveand trust Jesus as the Friend of hismother. Jesus will be his Friend,loved and honored.�Child Guid-ance, p. 486.

One of the first sounds thatshould attract their [children�s] at-tention is the name of Jesus, and intheir earliest years they should be ledto the footstool of prayer.�ChildGuidance, p. 488.

The Lord has directed that thechildren, even from babyhood,should be taught of His goodnessand His greatness, especially as re-vealed in His law, and shown in thehistory of Israel.�Fundamentals ofChristian Education, p. 32 .


There is no period of human development more critical than the cradle rollyears�especially the first two years. One educator said:

�If the sensitive years are ignored, they pass like dropped stitches, never tobe picked up during the rest of a child�s life.��Bernice T. Coy, The Pastor andHis Interest in Preschoolers, p. 3.

Developmental1. Physical needs preempt all other needs for the child from birth to 24 months.

Enough help needs to be available to care for physical comfort of cradle roll chil-dren (holding, feeding, changing, taking to restroom, etc).

2. Toddlers, one to two years of age, have a tremendous urge to be indepen-dent and do things on their own. They are very curious and need many opportu-nities for exploration, visual and tactile stimulation.

3. Young cradle roll children are self-focused and do not know how to playwith others or to share before the age of three.

4. The toddler�s body demands exercise. Plan many activities for movementof hands and feet.

5. Two-year-olds often say No when they mean Yes. Phrase suggestions asstatements rather than questions.

Cognitive1. Cradle roll children learn at different rates.2. They learn moral behavior from specific situations, results, and conse-

quences.3. They do not understand intentionality.4. Cradle roll children think syncretistically, linking together ideas that do

not belong. For example: A cradle roll child does not understand �husband� andwill call all men �Daddy.�

5. Symbolic language has no meaning for cradle roll children. Leaders shouldnot refer to Jesus as the �rock,� the �shepherd,� or the �light of the world.�

6. Cradle roll children do not understand historical sequence, time, or dis-tance. Places on the globe are meaningless.

7. A cradle roll child tends to focus on only one feature of a story. Storiesshould be very simple and to the point.

8. Repetition is a natural part of their learning process. The more somethingis repeated the more they enjoy it.

9. Biblical truth must be greatly simplified: God is real, God loves me, God

Characteristics of Beginner/Cradle Roll Children


watches me, angels are real, angels help me, I can talk to God in prayer, Godmade the flowers, the Bible is a special book, Sabbath is a special day.

NeedsThe needs of cradle roll children are physical, mental, emotional, social, and

spiritual.

Physical1. They need a comfortable learning environment with temperature in the

comfort zone and tables and chairs the correct size.2. They need to move. Use activities that involve the arms, hands, feet, and

body.3. They need to have the discomforts of hunger, thirst, or illness cared for

immediately.

Mental1. They need to know, to explore their environment, and have to opportuni-

ties to choose and to think.2. They need help in learning new words and ideas.3. They need to receive knowledge in small doses to fit into their short atten-

tion span.

Emotional1. Cradle roll children need to be loved and accepted, to be touched and held,

to receive eye contact and focused attention. They need to feel secure, connectedto people.

2. They need freedom to make mistakes and to learn without fear of ridiculeor punishment.

Social1. Cradle roll children work best either alone or in small groups of four or five

individuals.2. They need to experience male as well as female role models in the Sabbath

School.

Spiritual1. Cradle roll children need models of spiritually minded people who reflect

God�s love, care, warmth, patience, and firmness.2. They need to be taught biblical truths that are meaningful and correctly

graded for their cognitive development.


Discipline in Sabbath School

PurposeThe purpose of discipline is to teach the child self-reliance and self-control.

All discipline, even that administered as punishment, should be redemptive inthe sense that the disciplinary action moves the child toward self-governmentthe next time the same problem arises. Simply controlling the immediate situa-tion may be necessary, but it is not the ultimate aim of discipline.

The object of discipline is the training of the child for self-government. Heshould be taught self-reliance and self-control. �Education, p. 287.

While under authority, the children may appear like well drilled soldiers butwhen the control ceases, the character will be found to lack strength and stead-fastness. Having never learned to govern himself, the youth recognizes no re-straint except the requirement of parent or teacher. This removed, he knows nothow to use his liberty, and often gives himself up to indulgence that proves hisruin.�Education, p. 288.

Preventive Discipline1. Model Good Behavior. Children are like mirrors reflecting the tone of

voice and actions of adults.2. Prepare Carefully. Take the time to have the program or lesson well

prepared, with all materials in order so that your full attention can be given tothe children.

3. Arrive Early. Arrive well before the children and be ready to greet themwhen they arrive, providing them with some activity to keep them busy andhappy. Allow no opportunities for misbehavior.

4. Know the Names. Children feel valued when you know their namesand something about their families, pets, and interests.

5. Provide Adequate Supervision. The fewer children a person has tosupervise, the fewer problems there will be. There should be one adult for everyfive children in cradle roll and kindergarten; one for every six children in pri-mary; one for every eight children in juniors and earliteens; and one for everyten youth.

6. Plan an Interesting Program. Use variety, surprise, visual aids, andactivity. If the program is not interesting, the children will create their own en-tertainment, which will probably become a disciplinary situation.

7. Have Few Rules. The rules should be few and well chosen.8. Make Procedures Clear. Make sure the children understand clearly

what is expected of them in each situation.9. Avoid Crowding. Have enough chairs and table space for all the chil-


dren. Crowding offers many temptations for misbehavior.10. Reward Good Behavior. Give attention to those who are doing things

right. Publicly affirm children who are reverent, helpful, take turns, raise theirhands, come on time, etc.

Corrective Discipline1. Establish Eye Contact. Often a look and a head shake is enough. If that

doesn�t work move closer to the problem child. If the action doesn�t stop, touch thechild gently and give a positive statement of how you want him to act.

2. Control Your Voice. Never scold or yell at a child. Keep the voice evenand the tone low and soothing. State calmly what you have to say. Do not showthat you are upset.

3. Be Fair. Ask the child why they did what they did. Perhaps they didn�tunderstand what you expected. Treat all children equally. Punishment shouldnot be worse than the behavior.

4. Be Firm. Children will try adults to see if they mean what they say. Do notgive in to whining and pleading.

5. Be Consistent. Don�t discipline a child for something one time and over-look it another time. All staff in the division should follow the same disciplineprocedures.

6. Reprove in Private. If a child needs to be dealt with, do so in private.They will respond better when they are not embarrassed before others.

7. Avoid a Power Struggle. Do not put yourself in the place where the childmust do something�or else. Give a child a choice so that they have freedom tochoose the right.

8. Don�t Reward Bad Behavior. Children often misbehave to get atten-tion. Give attention to those who do right.

Four Types of Misbehaving Children

Show-off1. The Goal: Get attention.2. The Behavior: The child becomes a nuisance, acts like a clown, and is often

lazy, demanding more help than is necessary. They put others in their service,keeping teachers busy. They think, Only when people pay attention to me am I aworthwhile person.

3. The Reaction: Such misbehavior annoys adults. They coax, remind often,give service to the child, keep busy trying to please the child. The adult thinks,This child occupies too much of my time. I wish they wouldn�t bother me so much.

4. The Correction: Never give attention when the child demands it. Punish-ing, nagging, giving service, advising are all forms of attention. Do not show an-


noyance. Be firm in telling them what you expect from them. Give lots of attentionat other times.

Stubborn1. The Goal: Power.2. The Behavior: The child is stubborn and argumentive. They want to be

the boss. They tell lies and throw temper tantrums. They are often disobedient,doing the opposite of instructions. They think, I count only when I can do what Iwant to do. I need to be in control to be worth anything.

3. The Reaction: Adults feel threatened by such children. They think, Theycan�t do this to me. Who�s running this show? I won�t let them get away with this.

4. The Correction: Don�t fight. Don�t give in. Give them power in situationswhere the child can use that power productively. Avoid a power struggle. Removeyourself from the conflict. Ask for their aid. Show them respect. Negotiate a con-tract with them.

Mean1. Goal: Revenge.2. The Behavior: The child is vicious, sullen, and defiant. They kick, bite,

scratch, and hurt people, animals, and adults. They are sore losers and potentialdelinquents. They steal and lie. They think, My only hope is to get even with them.I will hurt them as they have hurt me.

3. The Reaction: Adults feel outraged or hurt by such actions. They dislikethe child and retaliate. This causes conflict.

4. The Correction: Never say that you are hurt or behave as though you are.Apply natural consequences. (Punishment produces only more rebellion). Do theunexpected. Persuade the child they are liked. Use group encouragement. Enlist abuddy. Show them much unconditional love and caring.

Helpless1. The Goal: Display of inadequacy.2. The Behavior: The child feels hopeless and has an inferiority complex.

They do foolish things or give up. They rarely participate. They think, I don�t wantanyone to know how dumb I am. No one can help me.

3. The Reaction: Adults feel helpless with such children. They feel like throw-ing up their hands. They don�t know what to do. They think, I give up. I can�t doanything with this child.

4. The Correction: Encourage them when they make mistakes. Make themfeel worthwhile. Praise them for trying. Say often, �I believe in you. I know you cando it.� Do not support their inferiority feelings. Get peer helpers to encouragethem. Avoid discouragement yourself. Never give up.


Leading a Child to Christ

Leading children to the Saviour and into church membership is one of thekey responsibilities of the personnel in the children�s divisions. The followingideas on how to do that will be helpful. This information should be studied by allSabbath School personnel, and plans should be included in the overall planningto implement ways and means of intentionally leading the children in SabbathSchool to the new birth experience and to responsible church membership.

You [the teacher] will show a care for your scholars by making special effortsfor their salvation. You will come close to them in loving sympathy, visiting themat their homes, learning their true condition on conversing with them concerningtheir experience in the things of God, and you will bear them in the arms of yourfaith to the throne of the Father.�Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 76.

1. When should we begin to lead a child to Christ?

The moment the child is born. Sabbath School leaders should invite parentsof newly born babies to enroll their child in cradle roll. Visit the new parents,present a small gift for the baby, and give an invitation to bring the baby tocradle roll. Ask cradle roll mothers to encourage the new parents to enroll theirbaby.

Try scanning local newspaper columns for the names of parents of new babiesin the neighborhood. Visit these homes with an invitation to enroll their infantsin the Seventh-day Adventist cradle roll.

2. What are the characteristics of Sabbath School personnelwho can lead children to Jesus?

People who:a. Love working with children.b. Have the best talents and abilities available.c. Are willing to take advantage of training opportunities to maximize their

effectiveness.d. Have a good personal relationship with God.e. Want to be soul winners and are willing to do the personal work necessary

to lead children to Christ.f. Are willing to spend the necessary time. It costs something in personal

concern and effort to lead a child to Jesus.


3. What part does the weekly Sabbath School program play?

Leaders and teachers should be careful to make each program or lessonevangelistic in nature. Everything done in the Sabbath School should haveas its goal the winning of the child for Christ. An hour on Sabbath morning istoo short a time to spend any of it on mere entertainment. Whatever is pre-sented must be Bible-based and Christ-centered.

4. Should Sabbath School personnel visit the homes ofchildren?

Visits to the home help the Sabbath School worker minister to the wholefamily as well as to the child. Visits help a Sabbath School worker understandthe child better. A visit from a Sabbath School teacher tells the child that he orshe is special. Children respond more readily to appeals made by someonewho is their friend.

5. Is it really possible for children to understand the plan ofsalvation and to make a meaningful, lasting commitment?

Do not speak of religion as something that children cannot understand, oract as if they were not expected to accept Christ in their childhood.�The De-sire of Ages, p. 517.

It is still true that children are the most susceptible to the teachings of thegospel; their hearts are open to divine influences, and strong to retain the les-sons received. The little children may be Christians, having an experience inaccordance with their years.�The Desire of Ages, p. 515.

God wants every child of tender age to be His child, to be adopted into Hisfamily.�Counsels to Teachers, p. 169.

6. How old should children be before they are baptized?

Children of eight, ten, or twelve years, are old enough to be addressed on thesubject of personal religion. Do not teach your children with reference to somefuture period when they shall be old enough to repent and believe the truth. Ifproperly instructed, very young children may have correct views of their stateas sinners, and of the way of salvation through Christ.�Testimonies, vol. 1, p.400.

Research points to the ages of 11 to 15 as the optimum years for makingdecisions for Christ. Most children make this decision at the age of 12. Studiesindicate that those baptized before puberty are more likely to remain active inthe church than those baptized later.


7. Should the Sabbath School conduct a baptismal class?

It is appropriate for such classes to be held in the junior and earliteen divi-sions for all children who are not baptized. The course is held during the regularlesson study time and lasts for one quarter. The children are told the purpose ofthe class and are given an appeal to join, but the response is voluntary andpressure should never be applied.

8. What are Decision Days?

Decision Days are special days dedicated to asking for decisions for dedica-tion to the Lord and for baptism. They should be held in each division twice ayear. On these days part of the regular program may be set aside and a specialstory and appeal are given for children to make a decision (appropriate to theirage level) to love and follow Jesus.

Preschool children can be asked to respond by placing a heart around a pic-ture of Jesus or make a similar indication of their decision. Primary, juniors,and earliteens respond well by writing out their decision, their thoughts or feel-ings, or perhaps signing their name to a commitment card.

9. What is a simple gospel presentation for children?

Make a wordless book with three sheets of construction paper: gold, red, white.Or make cloth flags in three colors. The ideas they represent can be made into aprogram or a brief talk.

GOLD Gold stands for heaven, the New Jerusalem, thegolden city God has gone to prepare. Everythingis good there. No bad things can enter heaven. John14:1-3; Revelation 21, 22.

RED Red stands for our sins. All have sinned. Allmust die. But it also stands for the blood ofJesus. He died for us. Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23;John 3:16.

WHITE If we accept Jesus as our Saviour, He will forgiveour sins and give us a new start. Eternal lifeis ours. Isaiah 1:18; 1 John 1:9; Romans 6:23.


Extension Division Leader

The RoleIt is the responsibility of the exten-

sion division leader to take the SabbathSchool to those who, for reasons oftransportation difficulties, illness, age,or a physical handicap, cannot regu-larly attend meetings at the church.This division may also include travel-ing workers, humanitarian workers,and military personnel. Where thereare no more than three members in theextension division, the Sabbath Schoolsecretary may care for them. If the mem-bership exceeds three, an extension di-vision leader should be elected. If thenumber exceeds 10, one assistantleader should be elected to care for ap-proximately each additional 10 mem-bers.

Line of AuthorityThe extension division leader re-

ports to the assistant superintendentfor membership or to the general Sab-bath School superintendent wherethere is no assistant for membership.The leader is also responsible for report-ing membership and offering figures tothe Sabbath School secretary who needsthis information for the conference/mis-sion quarterly report. The assistant

leaders report to the extension divisionleader.


Two to three hours per week wouldbe needed for visits, phone calls, andcorrespondence with the isolated mem-bers. Another one or two hours shouldbe scheduled for the Sabbath SchoolCouncil.

The amount of time spent dependson the individual leader and how oftenthey visit or talk with their assignedmembers.

Duties and Responsibilities1. Compile a list of members of the

Extension Division.2. Maintain regular contact with

members of the extension division. Thismay be done in a number of ways, forinstance, by visits, letter, or telephone.

3. Provide members with SabbathSchool Bible Study Guides, children�spapers if needed, world mission reports,individual offering envelopes, recordcards, and other Sabbath School sup-plies.

4. Serve as a member of the SabbathSchool Council.

5. Submit a complete report of themembership and offerings of the exten-

Special Sabbath SchoolMinistries

7


sion division to the Sabbath School sec-retary.

6. Enlist other members of the Sab-bath School to send cards, make phonecalls, or visit a member of the extensiondivision.

7. In coordination with the superin-tendent for evangelism, study the pos-sibilities of developing a Branch Sab-bath School near an isolated or shut-inmember.

Branch Sabbath SchoolLeader

The RoleIt is the role of the Branch Sabbath

School leader to organize and conductan evangelistic program using SabbathSchool materials, to be held on any dayof the week. This role may be filled byany Sabbath School leader, teacher, ormember who may wish to begin aBranch Sabbath School.

Line of AuthorityThe Branch Sabbath School leader

is responsible to the Sabbath SchoolCouncil or to the local conference/mis-sion Sabbath School director in the caseof isolated members. The leader willalso work closely with the assistant su-perintendent for outreach if the Sab-bath School has one.


The time it takes to lead a BranchSabbath School depends on the scope

and size of the program. One shouldplan to spend a minimum of two hoursa week in preparing the program andanother two hours for the program it-self and for visitation.

Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe duties of the Branch Sabbath

School leader fall into three categories:organization, programming, and soulwinning.

Organization1. Get approval from the Sabbath

School Council and the necessary fi-nancial support.

2. Begin small. It is possible to startwith one or two interested people. It isusually best to begin by concentratingon one age level: children, youth, oradults.

3. Find others to help with the lead-ership as required by the size of thegroup.

4. Arrange for a place to hold theBranch Sabbath School and decide onthe time it will be held.

5. Prepare announcements and in-vitations and see that they reach thosewho might attend.

6. Order lessons, program materi-als, and take-home papers for the chil-dren.

7. Keep a record of attendance.8. Keep the pastor and the home

Sabbath School informed about theprogress of the Branch Sabbath Schooland the interest of individuals.

Programming1. Use Sabbath School materials

and materials available through


Children�s Ministry.2. The meetings should follow the

general pattern of regular SabbathSchool, though there may be some needfor adaptation.

3. Make the programs interestingand appropriate to the age and experi-ence of those who attend.

4. Where specific Branch SabbathSchool materials are not available,adapt material used in the regular Sab-bath School, such as felt visual aid sets,picture sets, songbooks, illustratedsongs, lessons, program, and activitymaterials.

Soul Winning1. Pray for the direction of the Holy

Spirit that people will be led to makedecisions for Christ.

2. Encourage personal devotion onthe part of those attending, perhapsproviding Bibles for those who needthem.

3. Visit homes occasionally.4. As you see spiritual growth tak-

ing place, be ready with encouragementand help as needed.

5. Avoid embarrassing anyone bypresenting testing truths too soon.Avoid controversy. Concentrate onbringing them into a living relationshipwith Christ.

6. When appropriate, invite mem-bers of the Branch Sabbath School toparticipate in church functions.

Resources for BranchSabbath Schools

Most world divisions have studyguides, baptismal manuals, Bible corre-spondence lessons, and other publica-tions in local languages that can be usedin Branch Sabbath Schools.

Adults. The regular Sabbath SchoolBible Study Guides may be used, espe-cially those that focus on a book of theBible or topics such as health or Biblebiographies. You do not have to use thecurrent Bible Study Guide. A series oftwo Bible Study Guides is available cov-ering the 27 fundamental beliefs of thechurch.

Youth: Issues of Collegiate Quar-terly on different topics may be used, aswell as the adult Bible Study Guides.

Junior/Earliteen. The Youth de-partment has available a study seriescalled the G.A.T.E. that covers the doc-trines of the church.

Children. The Department ofChildren�s Ministry has excellent mate-rial that can be used in Branch SabbathSchools.

They have a Children�s Great Con-troversy set, a Children�s Steps to Christset, a year long series entitled God Is SoGreat, and three sets of Bible lessons:God Sent His Son to Be My Friend, God�sYoung Friends in the Old Testament,and God�s Young Friends in the NewTestament. A set called God Wants to BeMy Very Best Friend studies the ten com-mandments.

An activity book on how to study theBible, titled Making the Bible a Delight,is also available.


How To Organize and Run aBranch Sabbath School

Types of Branch SabbathSchools

A church planting Branch Sab-bath School. This type of Branch Sab-bath School is held on Sabbath at thesame time as the regular SabbathSchool, using the same materials, butin another location. Its purpose is to es-tablish a new Sabbath School and even-tually a new church.

It is advisable to consult with thepastor and church officers regardingthe best location for this type of BranchSabbath School.

An outreach Branch SabbathSchool. This is evangelistic in natureand may be conducted on any day of theweek. It is designed to create spiritualinterest and bring souls to a saving re-lationship with Jesus. It may be con-ducted for children, youth, or adults.

• Church members who are notSabbath School members.

• Former members.• Seventh-day Adventist parents of

children in Sabbath School orchurch school.

• Guests who visit the church.• Vacation Bible School interests.• Friends, neighbors, and relatives.• People responding to a community

survey.• Interests from literature evange-

lists.

• Radio, TV, and Bible school inter-ests.

• Hospital visitation interests.• Interests from literature distrib-

ution.• Ingathering contacts.• Those attending evangelistic meet-

ings.• Community service contacts.• Prison ministry contacts.• Business associates and contacts.

Who Attends a BranchSabbath School?

�The object of Sabbath school workshould be the ingathering of souls.�� Counsels on Sabbath SchoolWork, p. 61.

A Branch Sabbath School is an evangelistic type of serviceconducted primarily for the benefit of non-Seventh-day Adven-tists. Branch Sabbath School is an evangelistic endeavor usingSabbath School materials. It may be held on any day of theweek.


How to Start a BranchSabbath School

Where Can Branch SabbathSchools Meet?

With some personal initiative andcreativity, many church members canfind ways to start Branch SabbathSchools. Keep in mind that the SabbathSchool department of the local churchshould always be kept up to date on theprogress of Branch Sabbath Schools. TheBranch Sabbath Schools are part of theoverall church program. They are neverthe personal arena of any one personor group in the church.

Some suggestions for creating inter-est are:

• Have a story hour for children.• Start a Bible marking class.• Start a Bible discussion group.• Conduct an adult program in

conjunction with Vacation Bible School.• Continue Vacation Bible School

on a weekly basis.

Branch Sabbath Schools can meetin all kinds of places:

• Private homes of members orinterested persons fromVacationBible School, Bible studies, andother activities.• Public building�courthouse,fire station, school.• Vacant building�store, church,office• Nursing home.• Prison.• Out-of-doors if weather and con-ditions permit.

Branch Sabbath School programsusually follow the format of the regularSabbath School and use the same ma-terials. The only difference is when andwhere they meet.

Begin with a simple program. Re-cruit friends to help establish theBranch Sabbath School. Ideally, therewill be four people on the leadershipteam, each with a particular set of spiri-tual gifts:

1. The leader or administrator of theBranch Sabbath School.

2. The teacher or teachers.3. A prayer leader or care coordina-

tor. This person serves as the pastor ofthe Branch Sabbath School.

4. A person with the gift of hospital-ity. This person serves as greeter, socialplanner and serves as the host or host-ess of the Branch Sabbath School.

Branch Sabbath SchoolPersonnel

Branch Sabbath SchoolPrograms

The following programs are sugges-tions. You may need to design programformats that fit the social context of thepart of the world where your BranchSabbath School is held.

Program for a New BranchSabbath School:

WelcomeSong or song service


PrayerBible lesson or storyPrayer

Suggestions for Children’sBranch Sabbath Schools

� The program should not lastlonger than one hour.

� Use music and active participa-tion.

� If Bible quizzes are used, takeinto account the age and knowledge ofthe participants.

� Whenever possible, divide intosmall groups for the lesson study.

� Use activities and object lessonsto reinforce the Bible stories.

� The ideal is that each child willget something to take home.

� Periodically, invite parents to aprogram presented by the children.

� For young children especially, fo-cus on leading them to Jesus and noton complicated doctrinal issues.

Suggested Formats:Songs (with illustrations and activi-

ties)PrayerDevotional talk (2 min.). Suggested

topics: love for parents, reverence, loveof Jesus, Bible study, etc.

SongNature talk or story (always with il-

lustrations)Bible gamesBible lessonSongMission storySongClosing prayer

Adult Branch Sabbath SchoolPrograms

Use the same general format as aregular Sabbath School. Depending onthe topic of the quarter, the regularAdult Bible Study Guide may be used.

If the audience is made up of mostlynon-church members, a series of Biblestudies may be used. Topics such ashealth, family life, parenting, and otherissues may also be studied.

Encourage parents to attend anadult Branch Sabbath School whiletheir children attend one for their agegroup.

Suggested Formats:SongWelcomeOpening songSpecial feature (music, quiz, health

talk, etc.)Bible study and discussionMission story (may be a video, a ver-

bal presentation, etc.)Closing songPrayer

Youth Branch SabbathSchools

Follow the program formats for theadults or devise one that fits the con-text in which the Sabbath School isheld.


Receptionists

The RoleThe role of the receptionist is to make

the atmosphere of the church warm andinviting. The receptionist�s task is toset the climate for the Sabbath School,to make others feel comfortable, wel-comed, and loved. They are to makefriends of strangers.

Line of AuthorityThe Sabbath School receptionist is

responsible to the general SabbathSchool superintendent or to the assis-tant superintendent for hospitality. Inlarger churches there may be a recep-tionist committee with one person act-ing as chairperson. In that case eachreceptionist would be responsible to thatcommittee. The receptionists will workclosely with the deacons or ushers.

Time Commitment – 3 hours amonth

Receptionists are often scheduled toserve one Sabbath a month, or everySabbath for one month of the year orthe quarter. The receptionist shouldbe on duty thirty minutes before Sab-bath School begins and should continueat least until the sermon begins. Inlarge congregations the receptionistmay be asked to attend a receptionists�committee once or twice during theyear.

Duties and Responsibilities1. Become acquainted with regular

members so that they can recognize

visitors when they arrive.2. When approaching guests intro-

duce themselves first, extend a wel-come, then ask for the visitors� names.

3. Introduce the person to someonewho will show them to a seat or help themfind Sabbath school classes or the par-ents� room.

4. Introduce newcomers to one ortwo other people in the church withwhom they might feel comfortable be-cause of shared ages or interests.

Making People Feel Comfortable1. Make the church appear personal

and caring to all who walk through thedoors, members and visitors alike.

2. Try to sense the needs of peoplearriving in a church for the first time.Help them with such needs as: where tofind the children�s rooms, where to hangcoats, the location of the restrooms, thelocation of the mother�s room, as wellas the variety of classes and where theymeet. (This can be accomplished in thebulletin along with a map of the build-ing or by a foyer announcement board.)

3. Arrange for someone to greetpeople in the parking lot, particularlywhen the weather is bad. Assistancewith an umbrella on rainy days is oftenappreciated.

4. Be alert to people carrying chil-dren, packages, or other materials.Hold the door open and assist them inother ways.

5. Educate the regular membersabout the importance of mixing andtalking with visitors after the service,and not just with their personal friends.


The receptionist system in yourchurch is one of its most important ac-tivities, and deserves careful attentionand training of personnel.

What do people look for when theystep inside your church door? This isnot an easy question to answer, becausepeople�s personalities vary so much.There are, however,some common de-nominators:

• People look fora warm, friendlyplace.

• They are look-ing for the right kindof human contact.

• They expectcourteous treatment,and they expect recog-nition of their existence.

• They expect verbal and body lan-guage that says: �You are welcome andaccepted.�

• They expect an attitude thatsays: �We want you here.�

Who Walks in Your Church Door?

There are four general categories ofguests who walk in your church door:

• Unchurched people who for onereason or another visit your church.

• Non-attending or occasionally-attending Adventists.

• People brought to church byfriends, relatives, and acquaintances.

• Adventists from out of town orfrom other Adventist churches.

Each of these groups has its own setof expectations, fears, and preconceivedideas.

The following chart lists some com-mon perceptions and expectations.

None of these is uni-versal, becausepeople have indi-vidual personalities,and no church canbe expected to readminds and hearts,but they point tosome common de-nominators.

Your congrega-tion, and especiallyyour receptionists,

need to have a general idea of how toapproach each group.

Lasting impressions are made inthe first 30 seconds, and guests of-ten decide within about five minuteswhether or not they will come backto your church.

Key Strategies

1. Take - don’t send.2. Show - don’t just “handto.”3. Connect guests withother people as quickly aspossible.

A Quick Look at How to Treat Guests


Invitations to Lunch

1. Make sure the church has a planto ensure that visitors are either in-vited to lunch at someone�s home or toa church fellowship dinner.

a. Larger churches organize groupsto host dinner every Sabbath.

b. Small churches usually have apotluck once a month with individualstaking responsibility for inviting visi-tors on other Sabbaths.

2. Extend a dinner invitation toeach visitor. If the invitation is tosomeone�s home, introduce the host tothe visitor sometime during themorning�s program.

3. Greet visitors again after thechurch service, making sure they havean invitation and know where to go forthe dinner. Take them with you to thechurch fellowship dinner and introduce

them to two or three other people.4. At church fellowship dinners it is

important to seat visitors with mem-bers so they feel welcome and part ofthe fellowship. Often visitors are askedto go through the serving line first andend up sitting with other visitors, andso feel ignored by the members of thechurch.

A smile, a warm signof welcome, either ahandshake or what-ever form is used inyour culture, and abrief word of welcomeare always in order.

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An Effective Receptionist System

1. Make sure you have enough greeters to give individual attention toguests.

� Know where they should sit.� Know where church facilities are Sabbath School rooms, rest rooms,

etc.� Ask questions. Is there anything special guests would like to

know? Anything they would like to see?

2. Develop a welcome pack. In-clude everything you can think ofabout your church that a guestmight want to know.

3. Take people � don�t just sendthem. The idea is to designate a spe-cial section in the church where care-fully trained people sit who know howto receive guests. When guests ar-rive, seat them in this section. Onlythe receptionists and the people whosit at the welcome desk are those whomake available a welcome packetand other materials about thechurch.

At the welcome desk you couldhave:

� The welcome packet.� Guest buttons or ribbons for those who wish to wear them� Anything else you may want a guest to have.� Some well trained people informally gathered around the wel-

come desk. They offer help, answer questions, and take people to wherever they go next.

5. Learn the names of regular members so they don�t feel neglected. Newgreeters especially need to know who the members are.

What to Put In An InformationPacket

√ A map of the Sabbath Schoolrooms and church plant.

√ Some history of the church.√ A list of weekday activities such

as Bible study groups, PathfinderClub, health classes, the AdventistCommunity Services Center, fam-ily life workshops, and evangelis-tic seminars.

√ A list of Adventist beliefs.√ Phone numbers of key church per-

sonnel.√ Information about the local Ad-

ventist school.


Sabbath School Programs

8

Adult Sabbath SchoolProgram Formats

The Sabbath School Council, underthe leadership of the general superin-tendent, decides on the format of theprogram.

The following program formats aresuggestions, a starting point from whicheach school may develop its own pro-gram.

The majority of adult SabbathSchools tend to follow a traditional for-mat similar to the worship service. Thisis not the best for Sabbath School. A�school� suggests active participationand learning activities by the students.

Whatever format is used, the fourbasic purposes of Sabbath Schoolshould be included: Study of the Word,Fellowship, Community Outreach,World Mission Emphasis.

Ellen White gives some clear coun-sel on Sabbath School programs (em-phasis supplied):

Innovation and CreativitySuperintendents and the workers in

our Sabbath schools have a very impor-tant, broad field to cultivate. They needto be baptized with the Holy Spirit ofGod, that their minds may be impressed

to use the very best methods, and followthe best plans to make their work whollysuccessful.�Counsels on SabbathSchool Work, p. 11

Different minds and qualities willbring in fresh ideas, fresh lines ofthought; and this is essential.�Coun-sels on Sabbath School Work, p. 165.

“Mechanical” vs. InteractiveThe object of the Sabbath school

should not be lost sight of in mechani-cal arrangements, thus occupying timewhich should be given to other impor-tant matters. We should ever be guardedagainst forms and ceremonies whichwill eclipse the real object for which weare laboring. There is a danger of car-rying system to such an extreme that theSabbath school will become weariness,when, on the contrary, it should be arest, a refreshment, and a blessing.There is altogether too much dependenceplaced upon form and machinery, whilethe life-giving power of God is not mani-fested for the conversion of souls, forwhom Christ died. This order of thingsmust be changed if our Sabbath schoolsmeet the purpose for which they exist.�Counsels on Sabbath School Work, pp.151, 156, 157.


Let not those who have a mechani-cal way of doing things, take completecharge of the school, and mold it intoformal ways, into precise habits, and yetall its life stifled in a multiplicity of regu-lations. It is essential to have order, butwe need a great deal more spiritualknowledge along with rules and regu-lations. We need a life-giving power, azealous enthusiasm, a true animation,that our schools may become filled withan atmosphere of true piety and purity;that there may be real religiousadvancement.�Counsels on SabbathSchool Work, p. 162.

“Talk” vs. Interaction andActivity

They make long, dry speeches in theSabbath school and the teachers� meet-ing, thus wearying the minds of both theteachers and students. They do not re-alize that by their long, tedious talksthey are killing interest in, and love for,the school.�Counsels on SabbathSchool Work, p. 166.

Key Elements of SabbathSchool Programs

Participation and interaction.The more participation and interactionthat is built into the Sabbath Schoolprogram, the more learning and per-sonal application takes place.

Creativity and innovation. Themore interesting and appealing a pro-gram is, the more people will learn. Sab-bath School programs that consistmostly of one person doing all the talk-ing from the front of the meeting place,

in spite of how good the content mightbe, have very little lasting effect on thestudents.

Outreach and EvangelismResearch and experience show that

Sabbath Schools are not really success-ful unless they include elements of out-reach and soul winning.

The Sabbath School should be oneof the greatest instrumentalities, andthe most effectual, in bringing souls toChrist.�Counsels on Sabbath SchoolWork, p. 10.

It has been proved in the mission-ary field that, whatever may be thepreaching talent, if the laboring part isneglected, if the people are not taughthow to work, how to conduct meetings,how to act their part in missionary la-bor, how to reach people successfully, thework will be nearly a failure. There ismuch to be done in the Sabbath Schoolwork, also, in bringing the people to re-alize their obligations and to act theirpart. God calls them to work for Him,and the ministers should guide theirefforts.�Counsels on Sabbath SchoolWork, p. 184.

Traditional Program(Exact times may vary)

If a traditional format is used, thelesson study time of at least 40 minutesneeds to be protected so that it is notpreempted by the program.

9:15 Song Service9:30 Opening Remarks,

Welcome, Prayer


9:35 Keeping on Course (Choose one)• Progress Report• Evangelism• Investment• Improvement• Occasional SpecialFeature

9:40 Musical Selection9:45 World Mission Report9:55 Class Time

• Class Activities - 10 minutes• Lesson Study - 40 minutes

10:35 Closing Remarks. Preview of next week

More Dynamic TraditionalProgram

The format is the same as the tradi-tional and follows the same time frame.More time and planning goes into theprogram.

• Train people to read and speakwell in public.

• Practice the program• Less formal and stiff - more

participation by the students.

Modified Traditional ProgramA modified traditional program uses

the same time frame, but the activitiesare different. Not all elements are in-cluded every week. The time is spentfocusing on some issue, concern, real-life matter of interest to the students.Some activities could be the inclusionof personal growth seminars, opportu-nities of training in personal witness-ing and training and certification ofSabbath School teachers.

Full Time Learning FormatA full time learning format means

that the entire Sabbath School time,usually about and hour and a half totwo hours, is devoted to learning activi-ties. The objective is interactive learn-ing an participation that meets studentneeds. The time frame is a suggestion.

Another modification would be tovary the lesson study time. It couldcome before or after the mission feature,or at the very beginning of the SabbathSchool activities.

9:00 Family Fellowship, informalsong fest or group activity greeting,opportunity to share and talk together.Try this occasionally: All divisions join together in the sanctuary for sing-ing, including children�s songs, cho-ruses, and special music. Families sittogether.

9:25 Group Activity (childrengo to divisions)

9:40 Mission Feature or Per-sonal Ministry Training

9:50 Training or NurtureSeminar

10:20 Lesson Study10:50 Closing


Full Time Learning Program

The segments represent the nature of the activity and the time spent. Thesize of any segment may vary from week to week.

MultipleActivities

Training andNurture

Bible Study

World Mission

Quick Things You Can Do to Make YourSabbath School Program More Dynamic

• Develop a theme for the programs. This could be a monthly theme, or it couldrun the entire quarter.• Set goals for attendance, ministries or projects, and offerings.• Advertise your Sabbath School. Set up a telephone chain to call members,send out a newsletter, advertise in the church bulletin.• Give the classes names and build loyalty and enthusiasm in the classes.


Five Sabbath SchoolAudiences

Research has shown that very oftena church will have some combinationof five basic audiences, or sociologicalgroupings, who come to SabbathSchool. Each is based on a particularinterest or preference.

Each of these groups works as a unitand can be organized so that they at-tract people with similar interests. Theresult is that the Sabbath School growsin membership and attendance.

Depending on the space availablein a church, it is possible to have a num-ber of adult Sabbath Schools function-ing, built around these audiences.

The audiences are:� Traditionalists� Fellowship oriented� Those who wish to study the

Bible in depth� Those interested in social action

and involvement� Multiple interest groups, from

whom leadership is often drawn.

Organizing a five audience or socio-logical grouping Sabbath School takesa great deal of work and plan-ning. Allgroups meet periodically, once every sixweeks, or once a quarter, on Sabbathmorning during the regular SabbathSchool time. The purpose of these meet-ings is to report how the groups are do-ing, and on their plans for the future.

Each audience group should havea leadership team made up of a teamleader, a teacher, a greeter, and aprayer leader. Each should have corre-

sponding spiritual gifts and must meetweekly, even if for a few minutes, forprayer, planning, and evaluation.

The primary function of each groupis to find people like themselves andbring them to Sabbath School. In thisway, the groups will grow consistently.Each group leadership team will makesure that the four purposes of SabbathSchool are fulfilled.

Another way to use this same socio-logical grouping system is to organizeSabbath School classes based on eachtype of group. In this case, the SabbathSchool program will be modeled on oneof the formats already outlined, but theclasses will be designed around thesegroups. In this case, more time must begiven for classes and far less to the pro-gram. If not, the groups will not havetime to carry out their various activi-ties.

The five audience group system will ide-ally result in a number of Adult SabbathSchools (not just classes) meeting through-out the Sabbath School time. Each groupwill have its own program format and styleof classes.

The only time the entire Sabbath Schoolmeets together is periodically, as part of anoverall plan, to report and praise the Lordfor what He is doing.

Most of the success of this system de-pends on three things:

• The amount of work and planning theSabbath School leadership is willing to putinto the plan.

• The space available in the building.• The quality of the leadership teams in

each group.


WeeklyProgramPlanningGuide

Use this form as a guide for organizing weekly SabbathSchool programs. Answering the questions will help focusthe programs so they do not become routine and the sameevery Sabbath. It will help you become creative and inno-vative in your planning.

What are the needs of my church that can be met by thisweek’s program?Needs

Emphasis &Focus

What is the emphasis and focus of this week’s pro-gram?

How can this program motivate the participation of themembers?Participation

Which of the four main purposes of Sabbath Schoolare emphasized in this week’s program?Objectives

What specific results do we expect from this week’sprogram?Results


Sabbath School Action Units

A Sabbath School Action Unit is asmall-group Sabbath School class or-ganized in a way that provides time forsharing, Bible study, and systematicplanning for outreach.

Many Sabbath Schools have dis-covered that the small-group SabbathSchool Action Unit can, if properly con-ducted, provide the supporting fellow-ship and relevant nurture needed. Itcan also provide the caring atmo-sphere, inspiration, and trainingneeded to bring our missing membersback, so they will stay and assist us inreaching the world with the Three An-gels� Messages.

The small group Sabbath Schoolclasses can provide an excellent orga-nized, continuous training school,since Sabbath School meets everyweek. By involving outreach leaders,the care coordinators, Sabbath Schoolscan provide weekly promotion andtraining in soul-winning, both theoreti-cal and practical, on-the-job skills.

The Plan in ActionThe plan is very simple. Here are

10 necessary elements of successfulSabbath School Action Units:

1. Classes of Six to Eight.Classes are formed into groups of sixto eight for optimum participation.

Participation is vital to understand-ing, spiritual growth, and outreach. Ina small group of six to eight, membersfeel free to share the experiences oftheir lives, their joys, and their bur-dens. The more they know of the cir-

cumstances that formed the lives of fel-low members, the more they under-stand and love them and are encour-aged to support one another.

2. Outreach Leaders. Each classhas an outreach leader called a carecoordinator, who is an assistant to theChurch Lay Activities/Personal Minis-tries leader. Assisted by a secretary, thecare coordinator promotes outreach inaccordance with the class plan.

The care coordinator should be a lov-ing, concerned, active member with aburden for souls who develops a bandof enthusiastic and eventually well-trained soul winners. This personshould be a tactful, enthusiastic, andpersevering member who can cooperatewith the Personal Ministries leader andother care coordinators in encouragingand giving simple, practical on-the-jobtraining to fellow class members.

3. Outreach Plans. Specific out-reach plans of the class are developedimmediately after class organization ata special planning session. Little ornothing will be accomplished by theclass without a plan. With a plan un-limited results are possible. The carecoordinator leads the class in planning.

4. One Hour Class Time. To ac-complish the purpose for which the Sab-bath School was actually established,it is vital to provide an hour for theclass. Twenty-five minutes are devotedto outreach at the beginning of theclass, followed by thirty-five minutes forlesson discussion. This adjustment canbe made with careful planning. It willmean shortening the opening exercisesto allow the one hour time for classes.


5. Time for Missing Class Mem-bers. Weekly caring for missing Sab-bath School class members is vital tothe plan. The class leader takes up tofive minutes at the beginning of the25-minute outreach time to welcome all,take the record, and arrange for send-ing cards to, telephoning, and visitingany missing Sabbath School class mem-bers.

Loving, caring concern for missingclass members is essential. Many havebackslidden because they were notcared for immediately when they firstbegan to miss Sabbath School. Theyneed to be cared for according to theircircumstances and needs.

6. Time for Outreach. The carecoordinator uses the remainder of the25-minute outreach time to:

• Call for experiences related tothe class plan.

• Give simple, timely trainingbased on experiences shared and appro-priate to guests present.

• Promote class plans and goals.• Give visitation assignments and

arrange for on-the-job training whereneeded.

• Have special prayer for interests,plans, and goals.

7. Lesson Discussion Applica-tion. The teacher endeavors to get ev-eryone to participate in the discussionof the lesson and in making personalapplications. He or she reviews the highpoints of the lesson and asks three orfour questions that help each one ap-ply the lesson to life and to witnessingthat week.

8. Weekly/Monthly Leader Con-sultations. To evaluate and sharpenplans, care coordinators should meetbriefly after church with the PersonalMinistries leader, Sabbath School su-perintendent, and the pastor for prayer,encouragement, and to strengthentheir coordinated efforts. A regularmonthly planning session is vital to thesuccess of the plan.

9. Monthly Corporate Sharing.Once a month the care coordinatorstake the superintendent�s program time,or their normal 20 minutes from theclass time, and work together in pre-senting their successes before the en-tire Sabbath School. This encourageseveryone.

10. Monthly Home Fellowship/Evaluation. To sharpen progress andbuild mutual trust and fellowship, ca-sual, relaxed, and pleasant fellowship/evaluation meetings are held in thehomes of class members. Dates and lo-cations are set during the class plan-ning session.

Typical Sabbath SchoolAction Unit Program

9:15 Song Service 9:25 Welcome, Prayer 9:30 Music/Special Feature 9:35 World Missions Report 9:45 Action Units Begin

Outreach Time - 25 minutesLesson Study - 35 minutes.

10:45 Benediction in Classes.


Sabbath School Teacher Trainingand Resources

9

The work of the Sabbath Schoolteacher is critical to the success of theSabbath School. The ideal is that allSabbath School teachers be personswith the spiritual gift of teaching. Thatis not always possible, but anyone askedto teach a Sabbath School class musttake the task seriously and be willingto devote the necessary time, and will-ing to learn how to teach effectively.

Teaching is more than an activityor a science; it is an art.

�To the teacher is committed a mostimportant work�a work upon which heshould not enter without careful andthorough preparation. He should feelthe sacredness of his calling and givehimself to it with zeal and devotion��Counsels to Parents, Teachers, andStudents, p. 229.

�It is the nicest [most exacting] workthat was ever entered upon by the hu-man agent, the dealing with humanminds.�� Fundamentals of ChristianEducation, p. 277.

The Sabbath School teacher has afar greater responsibility than the secu-lar teacher. The secular teacher�s pur-pose and responsibility is to cause tolearn, to help students acquire knowl-edge. The Christian teacher is chargedwith the added responsibility of inspir-ing those he or she teaches to apply bib-

lical principles to daily living.The Sabbath School teacher has

three aims:• Facilitate the acquisition of

Bible knowledge.• Motivate spiritual growth.• Enable class members to develop

scripturally oriented lifestyles.

Teaching skills. Based on the agelevel at which a person is teaching, cer-tain fundamental teaching skills areneeded. These skills can be learned andimproved on through continuing edu-cation.

�The Lord has made ample provisionthat teachers may have increased abil-ity from Sabbath to Sabbath, that theymay teach to some purpose, working asfor time and eternity.��Counsels onSabbath School Work, p. 104.

The Sabbath School system of theworldwide Seventh-day Adventistchurch offers many opportunities toSabbath School teachers for continuingeducation in the art of teaching.

The International SabbathSchool Teachers Association. TheInternational Sabbath School TeachersAssociation is a worldwide organizationdedicated to improving Sabbath Schoolteaching skills. It is organized through



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each world division and managed by theSabbath School department of the lo-cal conference/mission.

Chapters of the International Sab-bath School Teachers Association areoften organized on a regional basis, in-volving a number of churches in closeproximity to each other. Each chapterelects its officers and organizes its workin consultation with the conference/mis-sion Sabbath School department.

Sabbath School workshops.Many local conferences/missions spon-sor Sabbath School workshops. Teach-ers should take advantage of thesetraining opportunities to improve theirskills.

Personal study. There are manyresources available for teachers. Read-ing books and taking courses on how toteach are essential for teachers.

Teaching MethodsSabbath School teachers must learn

and use the best teaching methods. Atthe adult/young adult level there arethree commonly used methods of teach-ing.

Telling or lecture method. Us-ing this method, the teacher impartsfacts to the class, who presumably ab-sorb the facts and �learn� something.Actually, the class members will onlyhear about 10% of what is said, and re-member even less. This is not the bestmethod of teaching.

Recitation. Using this method, theteacher, following the outline of the

Bible Study Guides, reads the questionsand the students may or may not re-spond, usually with yes or no answers.This is a really bad way of teaching. Itdoes not stimulate thinking and is ac-tually counterproductive to the learn-ing process.

Question method. Using thismethod, the teacher asks carefullythought out questions that engenderdiscussion and analysis. Students diginto Scripture to find truthful and ap-plicable answers.

Often a question will be followed bya period of silence while students absorbthe question and search for an answer.One writer says, �In getting people totalk, one should not be afraid of silenceor a long pause. Something will comethrough soon if the teacher is not afraidof standing and waiting.�

The Successful SabbathSchool Teacher

Recognition of God�s call to teach

A personal knowledge of Christ

A knowledge of the Bible

A knowledge of human nature

Personal qualifications• Consecration• Cheerfulness• Patience and tact• Pleasing speech• Love• Feeling of responsibility



The International Sabbath School Teachers’ Association:What It Is and How It Works

The International SabbathSchool Teachers Association is a vol-untary organization whose purposeis to provide training, support andresources for Sabbath School teach-ers at all age levels.

The vision statement of the Inter-national Sabbath School TeachersAssociation is taken from Paul�s writ-ings and two statements by EllenWhite:

�The things you have heard mesay in the presence of many wit-nesses entrust to reliable men[people] who will also be qualified toteach others. . . . Do your best topresent yourself to God as one ap-proved, a workman who does notneed to be ashamed and who cor-rectly handles the word of truth.�2 Timothy 2:2,15.

�Let the teachers enter, heart andsoul, into the subject matter of the les-son. Let them lay plans to make apractical application of the lesson,and awaken an interest in the mindsand hearts. . . . Let the activities ofthe scholars find scope in solving theproblems of Bible truth. The teach-ers may give character to the work,so that the exercises will not be dryand uninteresting.��Counsels onSabbath School Work, pp. 113,114.

�The true teacher is not contentwith dull thoughts, and indolentmind, or a loose memory. He con-stantly seeks higher attainments and

better methods. His life is one of con-tinual growth.��Counsels on Sab-bath School Work, p. 103.

What Are the Benefits?What are the benefits of such an

Association? Sabbath School teach-ers are better equipped professionallyto carry out their responsibilities andcan better understand and experi-ence their important roles as leaders,protectors, and trainers. They will bespiritually and intellectually re-freshed through newsletters, on-lineand other resource materials.

The Association will focus on thebasic skills needed by SabbathSchool Teachers:

• Skills in handling the Bible• Skills in using Bible study

tools• Skills in using resources• Skills in teaching methods• Skills in asking questions• Skills in using instructional

equipment• Skills in small-group technol-

ogy

What Do Members Study?Participants will gain an under-

standing of the following topics:• A Philosophy of Sabbath

School.• Introduction to the Bible• How to Interpret the Bible and

the Writings of Ellen White


• Inductive and Relational StudyGroup Skills

• Lesson Preparation• Learning Process• Caring for Class Members

How Can a Person Join?There are three ways a person can

become elegible to join the Interna-tional Sabbath School Teachers Asso-ciation:

1. Through a training pro-gram: Attend local conference coordi-nated training programs for a total of10 hours.

2. Equivalent training: Havetraining and experience in the area ofgroup skills, Bible teaching, and teach-ing methodology.

3. Correspondence Courses:On-line training, etc. for those whowish to study on their own.

How Do You Maintain YourMembership?

There are four ways to maintainyour membership, which must be re-newed annually.

1. Be an active Sabbath Schoolteacher or have been in the last 12months.

2. Attend, within a three-year pe-riod, a conference or union trainingprogram. This may include a unionconvention.

3. Attend a local church or areatraining program once a year.

4. Be a participating member inactivities sponsored by the Associa-tion.

Certification Sponsored ByThe Association

The International Sabbath SchoolTeachers Association sponsors a cer-tification program for those teacherswho are really serious about learningand improving their skills. The certi-fication system provides three levelsof training: entry level skills, mid-level skills and Advanced skills. It isexpected that those who become cer-tified will become part of the facultyof the association and will train oth-ers.

Entry level skills include themission of the Sabbath School class,how to use the Bible in SabbathSchool teaching, people skills forteaching, how to prepare the SabbathSchool lesson, the art of asking ques-tions, the use of instructional equip-ment, and small-group technology.

Mid-level skills include the lawsof teaching and learning, group dy-namics, learning styles, instructionalskills, and the Sabbath School classas a caring unit.

Advanced skills include theteaching methods of Jesus, advancedapplications of the laws of teachingand learning, advanced skills in us-ing instructional equipment, and de-velopment of specific skills for variousage groups.


Sabbath School Teaching andSeating Arrangements

Seating arrangements make a greatdeal of difference in the effectivenessof teaching.

Most seating arrangements are de-pendent on the style of the churchbuilding. In some cases, SabbathSchool classes meet in inadequate fa-cilities that leave little choice of seat-ing arrangements.

Nevertheless, some innovation andcreative thinking will always find waysand means of improving even inad-equate situations.

Types of Seating Arrangements

Questions and Answer

Discussion Arrangement

Teacher

Teacher

Students

Small Groups

Teacher

The focus is on the teacher, but thestudents can see each other.

The focus is on the members of thegroup, and the teacher facilitates thegroup work when necessary.

Teacher

Small groups, but with the teacher asthe focus. Students can still see theteacher and each other.

Teacher


Special Days

10

by division or with the entire SabbathSchool.

Children Are ResponsiveChildren are very responsive to the

teachings of the gospel. Their heartsare open to divine influences and theyretain the lessons received. The mostfavorable years for decision are whenchildren are in the primary, junior, andearliteen divisions.

About 7 percent of Seventh- day Ad-ventist children and youth are baptizedbetween the ages of 7 and 14. The high-est rates are between eleven and four-teen. The peak age of baptisms is twelve.

Variation in ProcedureA child�s knowledge level and abil-

ity to understand and comprehend re-ligious concepts must be taken into con-sideration. The methods used and theemphasis given in making an appealshould not be the same for every agegroup.

�Do not speak of religion as some-thing that children cannot understand,or act as if they were not expected to ac-cept Christ in their childhood.��TheDesire of Ages, p. 517.

�Do not teach your children with ref-erence to some future period when theyshall be old enough to repent and be-

There are four special days spon-sored by the Sabbath School: DecisionDays, Rally Days, Promotion Days, andCommunity Guest Days. The exactdates for these special days may be var-ied according to local circumstances.

Special days are important out-reach tools, and planning for themshould be an integral part of the annualprogram of the Sabbath School. Follow-up plans are a vital aspect of these spe-cial days and should be included in theplanning process.

Plan short, enthusiastic, spiritualprograms. Remember that they are de-signed to capture interest and affordopportunity for creating a desire to at-tend further services of the SabbathSchool and church.

Decision DayThe adversary of God will contest ev-

ery step of our endeavor to save ourchildren and youth. Decision Days helpwin the battle for the eternal destiny ofsouls.

The kindergarten and primary di-visions should hold Decision Day ser-vices at least twice a year. Once a yearis sufficient in the other divisions. TheSabbath School Council and the teach-ing staff should lay plans for this ser-vice and decide whether to conduct it



How to Organize Special Days

Most special days are organized in much the same way. What follows aresome general priciples to keep in mind.

General PlanningThe Sabbath School Council should plan the program several weeks in

advance, including the following items:1. Advertise the special day.2. Enlist the cooperation of all members in inviting friends and neigh-

bors, those who have been contacted through the Vacation Bible School,and especially non-attending church members, to come to Sabbath Schoolon the special day. The membership superintendent or secretary should beable to provide names of non-attending persons.

3. Send written invitations to all former church members in the commu-nity.

4. Appoint a telephone committee to follow up the written and personalinvitations with telephone calls.

5. Display a poster in the foyer of the church.6. Make weekly announcements in the church bulletin about the date

for the special day.7. Appoint a welcoming and ushering committee or enlarge the existing

committee.8. Place a special basket or bouquet of flowers on the platform. This is a

special day.9. Select carefully those who participate in the program. Choose persons

who can read and speak distinctly and who can hold the interest of the audi-ence. Those who participate should represent church standards in dressand deportment.

10. Select special music suitable for the occasion.11. Offer some small award to anyone bringing a visitor. Change it fre-

quently.12. Teachers may offer to take students home to dinner for bringing a

visitor.13. Have an Honor Roll with the names of those who bring visitors posted

on it.14. Make a special drive to invite visitors whenever there is a guest

speaker or special Sabbath School program. Send out invitations with stu-dents.


15. Have some small award to give to visitors. Many Sabbath Schoolsuse a little printed motto or a Bible verse card. Some Sabbath Schools givecelluloid buttons, which, if used, should be changed each year. Others usepaper bookmarks or silk ribbons, which may be purchased in quantity. ABible bookmark ribbon can easily be printed with the name of the Sab-bath School and a �Welcome� for visitors. The color of ribbon should bevaried each year.

16. Visitors may be called forward to receive their awards or just standin their places to be recognized. The Sabbath School may sing an appro-priate welcome song.

17. Make the visitors feel at home as much as possible. Ask their namesand where they are from. Invite them back next Sabbath. See that theyare placed in the right class and introduced to the teacher of the class. Besure that the secretary is given the name and address of each visitor.

18. Send thank you letters to people responsible for bringing visitors.See that every visitor receives a letter, a telephone call, or a personal visitduring the week following the special day.

Planning Calendar for Special Days

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19. Enroll new members as soon as possible. Make them feel part of theSabbath School.

20. Keep a scrapbook, files, and records, by years, of special days as re-sources for the following years.

Organizing the Program1. Stay on time during each feature of the program.2. The person offering the opening prayer should remember to ask for a

blessing on friends and guests. People appreciate being remembered in prayer.3. The superintendent should extend a cordial welcome to all guests and

mention that this is an annual Rally or Homecoming Day.4. Mission presentation. The person or persons chosen to talk about mis-

sions on this special day should be carefully chosen and urged to preparewell. If the story from the Mission Quarterly is used, be sure it is told and notread. A brief statement should be made regarding the part that SabbathSchool plays in supporting the worldwide mission program of the church, andan invitation should be given to all guests to participate in the offering forthis work if they care to do so.

5. The lesson study. Teachers should be instructed to prepare especiallywell for this day. Visitors should be welcomed, introduced by name to the class,and encouraged to participate in the discussion of the lesson if they wish.They should not be asked direct questions that might embarrass them if theanswer depends on specific knowledge of the lesson for the day. Teachers shouldavoid denominational clichés and controversial subjects.


How to Organize a Decision Day Program

The ProgramThe Decision Day program replaces the regular Sabbath School pro-

gram. Allow 20 or 25 minutes for the program, omitting regular featuressuch as the mission emphasis, superintendent�s remarks, etc.

The superintendent, or perhaps the pastor, could say something such as�This day has been set apart as Decision Day. We, as your Sabbath Schoolofficers, have been looking forward to this important occasion, and we havebeen praying that it will bring to all our Sabbath School members the bless-ing of a forward step toward the kingdom, especially to those who shall thisday make a public confession of Jesus and their desire to join with thechurch.�

The person conducting the service gives a brief study about the plan ofsalvation preceding the invitation, not more than 10 or 12 minutes long,allowing sufficient time for an appeal.

After the appeal, the Sabbath School divides for regular lesson study.

The AppealIf people will be called forward, make sure seats are reserved for them. If

they are to stand or raise their hand, make sure they clearly understandwhat to do. It is always a good idea to build time for personal testimoniesinto the program.

An effective way to secure a response is to pass out cards or slips of pa-per. When the appeal is made, ask everyone to write a sentence or two ex-pressing his or her feelings and intentions. This works especially well in thejunior and primary divisions. It will lead to frank expressions of desire anddetermination to follow Jesus. The advantage of this plan is that it revealsthe particular needs of each person. Efforts may then be made to give ad-equate instruction and encouragement to individual cases.

Be gentle with those who are timid or reluctant. The Holy Spirit willhelp them lose some of their self-consciousness and respond to His call.

Those who do not respond to the call for decision should not be made tofeel that they have made a decision against the right once and for all. Con-vey the idea that the decision is simply deferred. Emphasize that Jesusstands always ready to receive those who come to Him, and that none isever cast out.

Close the service with an earnest season of prayer.


lieve the truth. If properly instructed,very young children may have correctviews of their state as sinners, and of theway of salvation through Christ.��Counsels on Sabbath School Work, pp.79, 80.

Especially in the older divisions, oneway to make a call is by using the �for-ward step� plan. After presenting indetail, the importance of a decision andoffering a special prayer, each person,including the leader, secretary, teach-ers and students, is asked to write downhis or her �forward step.� They may beasked for a decision to be more carefulin following the daily study plan, topray more, to be more regular in atten-dance, to give more to world mission,and to be more respectful and kind toparents. Make it very plain that if theyhave not yet surrendered their lives tothe Lord, that should be their first step.

Rally DaysThe purpose of a Sabbath School

Rally Day is to bring non-attendingmembers to Sabbath School as specialguests. The ideal is that the welcomethey receive, the program presented,and the fellowship they enjoy will im-press them to attend regularly.

There are three areas to consider inplanning for Rally Days:

1. Preparing the Sabbath Schoolmembers for the Rally Day;

2. The Rally Day program, both forSabbath School and church;

3. Rally Day follow-up.See the information on how to pre-

pare for special days.

Children and Rally DayEnlisting will be of priceless benefit

to the children and add to the total out-reach of the Sabbath School.

Enlist children for an active part inRally Day.

1. Share with the children thechurch�s burden for missing membersand members of families who are not inthe church and Sabbath School.

2. The special nature of Rally Dayand its objectives need long-range at-tention, and emphasis in the buildupcarried on in each division will appealto children.

4. Children flock together very eas-ily. It is not difficult to arouse their gre-garious instinct by enlisting them tocarry special invitations and appealsto other boys and girls to join them inSabbath School on Rally Day.

5. Participation is an important keyto interest. Outline a program of simpleapproaches children can make, explainit fully, and then have them practice.Watch the response!

6. Children love surprises, so plan aspecial surprise feature for the Sabbathof Rally Day. Curiosity will hold inter-est and encourage participation. Makefrequent mention of it in the advancepromotion. Make sure the surprise fea-ture is worthwhile.

7. Everyone should share in specificrecognition for making Rally Day a suc-cess. Some activity such as an outingfor the children of a division to climaxthe campaign for Rally Day is a goodway to say thank you and to welcomethose who were newly found or re-en-listed.


Promotion DaysPromotion from one division to an-

other is usually based on a child�s ageor grade in school. Other criteria mayapply in various parts of the world. Ageneral Promotion Day may be held fol-lowing the close of the school year. Theymay also be held at the end of each quar-ter, or whenever the church deems ap-propriate.

If children are very unhappy aboutbeing promoted, they certainly shouldnot be forced to leave a division. Verylikely after a few weeks they will be gladto go into the next division of their ownaccord. In this case it is not necessaryto have a promotion, but just take themto their new division and introducethem to the leader.

Promotion Day is a special eventand should be a meaningful, inspiringoccasion. In some special circumstancesit may be advantageous to promote achild at times other than on PromotionDay. It is better, however, to wait for thepublic ceremony and make it an enthu-siastically anticipated event.

Preparing for Promotion Day.The general Promotion Day is plannedby the Sabbath School Council so thateach division is prepared to promotesome students and welcome others. Theactual time should be synchronized be-tween the divisions to permit as smootha transfer as possible. Promotion cer-tificates, if used, should be ordered, filledout and signed well in advance of Pro-motion Day.

Promotion Day Programs

Beginners (Cradle Roll) andKindergarten

Give each child to be promoted aname tag so that in the new divisionthey can be called by name by the newleader and teacher. This helps to makethe child feel more secure and welcomein the new division. These name tagsmay be shaped like little figures, ani-mals or flowers, or be a sticker of Jesusblessing the children.

Usually the children to be promotedare called to the front of the room. A fewappropriate remarks are made by theleader, telling them how happy he orshe and their teachers have been tohave them in the division, and how gladthey are that they have become so grownup now that they are to be promoted to

Promotion Ages

Beginners Birth-3 yearsKindergarten 4-5 yearsPrimary 6-9 yearsJunior/Earliteen 10-14 yearsYouth 15-18Adult 19+



Organizing Promotion Days

1. Use an assistant. It sometimes happens that a leader becomes so at-tached to the children that it is difficlt for the person to conduct the promo-tion. If this is the case, have an assistant lead out in the promotion pro-gram.

2. Appoint a child from the division to which the children are being pro-moted to escort them to their new division.

3. Sometimes the current members of a division move back to make roomfor the new members.

4. The advance buildup in the minds of the little ones must be planned.The children should be brimming with anticipation. Leaders, teachers, andparents must join together in the buildup.

5. The program must be well planned and run on time.6. Many parents and friends will come for a special Promotion Day. The

greater the buildup, the greater the possibilities. Children are very effec-tive in getting grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends to attend.

7. The children must participate in the program. It is their high day.Use this special day to the glory of God.

Promotion Days Win Souls Betty Lou Smith never came to Sabbath School, but someone enrolled her as a prospective

member in the beginner division. The teachers visited her home and were always receivedwarmly but no one attended Sabbath School.

Another baby arrived and was enrolled as a prospective member in the beginner division.The visits continued for three years.

Then came promotion day. Betty Lou�s beginner division teacher and her kindergartenprospective teacher visited her at home and gave her a nice promotion card, even though shehad never been to Sabbath School. The teachers kept visiting.

The children loved them, and Mrs. Smith was impressed. The ladies were so pleasant andkind that Mrs. Smith decided that maybe she herself needed some religion. So after months ofprayer and genuine interest by the kindergarten teacher, plus the years of faithful visitation bythe cradle roll teacher, Betty Lou attended the kindergarten division, where she was alreadyenrolled as a prospective pupil, although she had never before attended a single class.

Betty Lou loved Sabbath School, and soon the mother was enrolled in an adult class. Aftersome months of attendance, Bible studies, and personal work, Mrs. Smith joined the church.She later became the Sabbath School pianist.

Mr. Smith accepted the Lord Jesus during a revival meeting. He is now a regular SabbathSchool member and a deacon in the church. Later Betty Lou and her brother, John, werebaptized. There are four happy Sabbath School members in a church centered home becausesome teachers cared.

What a wonderful opportunity we have in the Sabbath School to do a great work for God.Let us never be satisfied until we have done our best for the Master.


another division. Tell them you wantthem to continue to grow for Jesus.

Have a short prayer, present eachchild with a promotion certificate, andbid them good-bye with an appropriategesture, a handshake, a hug, or what-ever is used in your part of the world.Then have someone escort them to thenew division.

Primary DivisionMake some remarks of appreciation

for having had these children in yourdivision, and tell them that God hasblessed them and helped them to growup to become juniors. Give each one apromotion certificate, sing a song andoffer a short prayer. Then escort themto the junior division.

Junior DivisionMuch the same procedure may be

followed in promoting the juniors to theyouth division. This is usually aboutthe time of their fourteenth birthday,though the time may vary in differentparts of the world. In general, it is bestnot to keep juniors in the junior divi-sion after 15 years of age.

Receiving Promoted Members

Welcome. A cordial and cheerfulwelcome should be planned by the divi-sion receiving the promoted members.They should be taken to the front of theroom and introduced by name to thedivision and to their new teachers. Akind gesture would be to give them abookmark, flower, picture, or Bible

verse typed on an attractive card ap-propriate to their age. You may wish tosing a welcome song.

The Sabbath School records, with thename and birthday of the child , the par-ents� address, telephone number, etc.,should be transferred to the division towhich the child is promoted.

Community Guest DayPurpose. A Community Guest Day

is listed in the church calendar for thefourth quarter of each year. It is simi-lar to a Sabbath School Rally Day, andthe two may be used interchangeablyor to compliment each other. The pri-mary difference is in the audience ad-dressed. Sabbath School Rally Daysfocus primarily on non-attending Sab-bath School members. The purpose of aCommunity Guest Day is to introducethe surrounding community to the workof the Seventh-day Adventist Churchand to win new members.

Programs. Programs are plannedby the Sabbath School Council a quar-ter in advance. They are developed tomake a favorable impression on non-members. Care should be taken to avoidsubjects that might offend those invited.You may want to invite a city official toparticipate and say a few words. This isa good day to give awards to service-minded people in your community. Seethe information on planning Rally andCommunity Guest Days for organiza-tional ideas.

Fellowship Meal. Plan for enoughfood for the expected visitors. Make a


special effort to decorate the room andmake the meal attractive. You mightask the choir or a musical group to pro-vide music. Mix the seating of guestswith friendly members. Do not send allthe visitors through the serving linefirst, as it leaves them no opportunityto mix with members. Assign �secrethosts� to mix with the visitors and makethem feel at home during the fellowshiptime.

Additional Ideas1. Provide name tags for everyone,

including members.2. Provide lesson quarterlies for all

the visitors.3. Have welcome packets to give all

visitors. The packet could contain:church bulletin, welcome letter from thepastor, a copy of a missionary journal,an information brochure on the Sev-enth-day Adventist church, a localchurch calendar of services and activi-ties, special notice of any upcomingseminars, and a welcome card.

4. Send a thank you note to all visi-tors who attend. Invite them to comeagain.

5. Be alert for parts of the programthat may need an explanation to nonmembers. Choose well known hymnsthat are easy to sing.

sabbath school handbook

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