# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1944_S655
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 71

#2. The encouragement of Lutheran high schools wherever their
oduction is possible and feasible;
3: Regular calling of teachers and the payment of adequate
s in order that progress may not be hindered by unnecessary
ctions upon the servants of the Word;
4,.Increasing the enrollments of our teachers’ colleges to pro-
a sufficient number of men and women to fill the teaching
sitions in existing and prospective schools;
5. Support of the production program of the Board with sub-
for costly projects, for example, producing attractive science
erials;
6. Encouragement of congregations and schools to use the
tbooks and other materials prepared under the auspices of the
ard of Christian Education and published by Concordia. Pub-
ishing House.

: Sunday School

No agency, and no combination of agencies, can take the place
a full-time school in the sense of constituting an adequate sub-
stitute for such a school; nevertheless it is possible by means of
art-time agencies to lay a measurably satisfactory basis for the
ild’s religious life. Among the part-time agencies, the Sunday
school is by far the most popular and widespread. Both as a
nissionary and an educational institution the Sunday school has
proved its worth. Considering the difficulties that beset the road
of progress, the improvement of the last decade has been phenom-
al. The brief report that follows will deal mainly with problems
Jong the lines of which improvement should be made.

tatistical Picture

‘ ‘In the past three years there was an increase of 173 schools.
“The number of teachers shows a decrease of 333.. The draft and
onditions brought about by the war lead us to infer that a loss .
ould be expected. Average Sunday school attendance (171,511)
las always left much to be desired; yet in spite of wartime condi-
ons the attendance has improved from year to year. 29,166 un-
-churched individuals are enrolled in our Sunday schools at the
resent time, revealing a decrease‘ of 4,389 in the past triennium.
This figure indicates that missionary possibilities in the vicinity
of many congregations either do not exist or that no concerted
effort is being made to reach the multitude of children and adults
“who are without any church affiliation. A sharp decline in our
‘Sunday school enrollment has occasioned a great deal of ap-
-prehension. This decrease has not yet hurt our enrollment in the
confirmation classes, for the number of confirmands increased ‘by