# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1953_S218
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

218 PARISH EDUCATION

representing 1,512 congregations. A credit (course card)
for about 25 hours of home and class study, so that our tre
program has been an incentive to teachers to devote tho
of hours to study and preparation. The indoctrination of
this is the evidence should contribute, and no doubt has contri
to the spiritual life of our Church. The circulation of tex
passed the 300,000 mark long ago, the annual sale of books
aging 23,000. Such a circulation is gratifying.

Teachers earn upwards of 1,300 credits each year. We
expect double and triple that number of credits, in fact
credits each year would seem to be a minimum figure. Ho
the large circulation of textbooks indicates that thousands
sons are taking the courses without working for credit
Teacher Training Office has no means of tabulating this g
students. Taking both groups into account, we may say th:
program has been successful in large measure and has los
of its popularity. For progress made we praise and thank.

But the story of Sunday school teacher training has i
side as well. As a rule, teachers take from one to four cotgt
then quit instead of going on to earn the “First Certificate.”
rate, only a small minority of our teachers will, at any given iif
have the training the committee has envisioned.

Teachers ought to complete two courses a year so as
their certificate in three years. But if all of our 50,000 no
fessional teachers completed only one course a year, the
circulation of textbooks would be at least 50,000. Since a
number of teachers are taking the courses but are not worki
credit, it is impossible for the committee to report the pi
status of Sunday school teacher training. A conservative
might be that close to fifty per cent have taken or are
courses. Accepting this figure as fairly accurate, we still k
ask the very important question, “What provision is being:
for the systematic preparation of the fifty per cent who ha¥
been enlisted in our training program?” It is the responsibi
our pastors and our synodical leaders to find the answer.
question.

The training of Sunday school teachers i is a matter of §
concern for all of us. More children, young people, and adul
being reached by the Sunday school than by any other edu
agency of our Church. We dare not entrust the spiritual ¢
so many souls to untrained or poorly trained teachers. If
we shall run the risk of having these souls corrupted with
doctrine. Poor teaching, even when doctrine is correctly pr
is one reason why many children quit the Sunday school an
sake the church. So we have here two weighty reasons w