# Synodical Conference Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1900_S19
# AI translation — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

of the Ev. Luth. Synodical Conference of North America. 1900. 19

distinguish themselves thereby, to their advantage, from the state school. The question is now: Do these two arrangements satisfy the need of the Christian family? We answer: "Sunday school and confirmation instruction do not fully answer it."

Let us look first at the Sunday school. By this we do not mean the arrangement that had to be made in many mission congregations, where on Sunday the children are instructed for several hours in the catechism, in Bible history and in the German language. We speak here of what is commonly known by the name Sunday school, namely that the children of the congregation, and as many outside children as can be got for it, are instructed in religion by the pastor with a number of helpers. As a rule this Sunday school suffers from great defects. Usually the teachers are taken from the laity; and because the older and experienced members of the congregation mostly do not lend themselves to it, one is dependent on young, often very young people, mostly girls. That is an immature teaching staff. When it is a matter of instruction in God's Word, one surely cannot expect good, adequate instruction from people who are not themselves thoroughly at home in Scripture. One does, to be sure, try to meet this deficiency by having the pastor drill the teachers, men and women, in the lesson to be taken on Sunday. A number of Sunday school papers also serve to prepare the teachers for the chosen lesson. By these aids the Sunday school is indeed made more efficient; but these aids also prove that one cannot let the teachers work independently.

To the deficient knowledge are added lack of experience in teaching and lack of teaching skill. Luther says of teaching: This calls for "special, good people who understand teaching; those are choice people." This deficiency carries all the more weight because in the Sunday school so much is to be accomplished in a short time. The teacher would have to be particularly skilled who, in an hour or a half hour a week, is to achieve the same thing for which daily instruction and constant practice are necessary.

The third deficiency is the lack of a good curriculum and system of teaching. As a rule it will be the case that in the Sunday school one takes up and discusses biblical passages according to some selection. Among us one would also go into the catechism and impress its wording, with the chief proof texts, upon the memory, even if little time is left for explanation. But there is always a lack of proper summary, of showing the connection, and of thorough drilling of what has been learned. These are the chief defects from which the Sunday school suffers.

Suppose, now, that these defects were removed; then