# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S143
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

Elementary Education 141

The Sunday-School

In general it may be said that the outlook for our Sunday-
schools is brighter than it has been at any time in the past. Pastors
and leaders, realizing the shortcomings of the Sunday-school and
the handicaps under which it is operating, are doing their best to
make of this institution a more efficient educational agency.
“We have a total of 3,586 schools, with an enrolment of 277,608 pupils
-and a teaching staff of 29,253, the highest enrolment in our history.
Included in the enrolment are children of preschool age, day-school
‘pupils attending Sunday-school, and young people and adults in
our Sunday morning Bible classes. Over a period of ten years
the average annual gain has been 80 schools, 7,642 enrolments, and
1,015 teachers. The Sunday-school has always served, and still
serves, as an excellent missionary agency. For the year 1939 our
pastors reported a total of 31,412 enrolments of non-Lutherans.
In view of the vast unchurched population in America an intensive
and persistent effort should be made to build up our Sunday-
schools through accessions from without. For our own Church,
with its emphasis on instruction and training, the prospects in the
field of evangelism have never been more promising.

But we must also point out some serious deficiencies. A com-
parison of enrolment and attendance figures shows that the
average attendance is not over fifty per cent. Besides, we must
eonsider that the average church attendance of these children is
probably ’way below fifty per cent.; and thus they are deprived of
dhe blessings and the instructional element in public worship.
Again, class sessions range anywhere from twenty-five to seventy
‘minutes in length. According to statistics over one fourth of our
’ Sunday-schools meet only twice a month. Unless these conditions
are remedied, the educational standard of our Synod will depre-
ciate more and more.

Teacher-Training

Synod has urged teacher-training at its conventions, and the
‘synodical training program is concrete evidence of our Synod’s
interest in teacher-training. This program is one of the most
successful ventures Synod has ever undertaken for the improve-
ment of the Sunday-school. The response has been most favorable.
At the close of 1940 the sale of text-books totaled 70,000; 683 groups
are in training. This includes twenty-four groups that are members
of other synods. More than 16,000 credits have been issued to
‘upwards of 9,000 teachers. Hundreds of groups are studying the
courses but are not working for credit. Synod has reason to
thank God that this program, so long and so earnestly desired,
tas met with whole-hearted reception. But much work still
gremains to be done in the area of teacher-training. 1,542 congre-