Since the late 18th century, when the first Sunday schools appeared in Great Britain, a particular type of church education has been considered essential in many quarters for passing the faith to the next generation. Could it be that inattention to the Sunday school is a contributor to declining attendance in worship services, leading in turn to a general secularization of the larger culture? Experience living and working in two countries suggests to me the possibility of such a connection.
I grew up in Wheaton, Illinois, USA, located some 40 kilometres west of Chicago. During my childhood and youth, our family was part of two successive congregations in two different denominations. Both put great emphasis on Sunday school classes for the entire family. Due primarily to the presence of Wheaton College, one of the premier Christian universities in North America, the city of Wheaton became known as the centre of scores of conservative protestant enterprises. Few actual denominations were headquartered there, but a variety of parachurch organizations, such as foreign mission societies and publishing houses, called Wheaton home. The Scripture Press headquarters at the city’s eastern edge supplied Sunday school material for generations of children and youth in area churches.
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