C.E. Doesn’t Run on Autopilot

John Cionca

After eleven years in Christian education, I became a senior pastor. Previously I had been a specialist — holding C.E. positions in three churches, completing three graduate degrees in education, and serving several Christian and public-school organizations as a consultant. Suddenly I was a general practitioner in a congregation of 250.

As a minister of Christian education, I had always wondered why senior pastors showed so little interest in C.E. Oh, they definitely wanted a strong Sunday school, but when it came to direct involvement, they seemed conspicuously absent.

After six years on the other side of the fence, I’ve gained a new perspective. The pastor is interested in Christian education … and missions and counseling and shepherding and stewardship and preaching and …

I am still convinced education is a top priority. After all, with Americans now watching an average of six hours of television a day (and in the crucial value-forming years between six and eighteen, the average young person sees 35,000 commercials), I ask myself, How much exposure to the Word do my people receive? Looking at many of their lives, I think of the Lord’s words to Hosea: “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.” My sixty minutes of weekly preaching hardly begin to offset the molding capabilities of the world. Any pastor who thinks he can adequately teach and train disciples alone is likely suffering from a malfunctioning diode.

I can’t put Christian education on autopilot and expect it to have significant impact. Even though as senior pastor I have many more responsibilities, I cannot neglect the vital ministry of education.

Resident Chief of Staff

I have changed the way I see my role in the church. I am not a specialist, working with intricate systems and programs. I am not even a general practitioner treating all the patients myself. I am more like a hospital chief of staff. We pastors are the ones primarily responsible for the welfare of those who come to our institution. We are involved in both preventive and curative medicine. We proclaim what people should and should not do if they want to remain healthy. We also meet regularly with the hurting, sometimes even taking them through a spiritual chemotherapy in an attempt to arrest growing cancers.

Important as my function might be, however, I am not the only doctor in the house. The size of the task is beyond any one doctor, or minister. A well-run hospital has a medical staff with expertise in specialized areas. God has not called me, a pastor, to be the only healer; the Great Physician has called me to be a chief of staff.

Our ministry is multiplied as we recognize and develop the team of gifted people the Lord has given to every church who can teach God’s Word.

We are all aware that 2 Timothy 2:2 instructs us to pass our knowledge on to others who are faithful and will join us in the teaching process. We have preached from Ephesians 4:11-12 that our task is to prepare God’s people for the work of ministry. In 1 Corinthians 12 we have observed even a messed-up church with all the spiritual gifts, implying that each local church has everything it needs for building itself spiritually.

Yet because of deadlines, pressures, and expectations, I was finding over 90 percent of my weekly hours given to “things I do” rather than encouraging and helping others who share the ministry of our church.

My sermons, no matter how well developed and delivered, are just not enough. Little Johnny needs the Scripture memorization of the club program; Mary needs the encouragement of the senior high youth leader; Mr. Clark needs the spiritual discoveries he makes at the home Bible study. If we want to maximize learning, we must concentrate on what our lay people are doing.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned since trying to become the resident chief of staff.

Look for the Right People

What type of person makes a good teacher? I once heard someone say the best worker is always FAT—Faithful, Available, and Teachable. I now agree.

Working with people, I have become less impressed with background and credentials, and more impressed with attitudes and performance.

He may be a pipefitter or an executive, she may be a lawyer or a homemaker, but the faithful, available, teachable person is able to minister in a deep way to students.

Sometimes we are overly concerned that teachers have a good Bible knowledge before teaching. A friend of mine became a Christian when he was twenty-six years old. Immediately he was encouraged by a pastor to get involved teaching Sunday school. The man began to teach a class of children, and each week he diligently studied the printed teacher’s guide to be adequately prepared for his kids. It was not unusual for him to call the pastor’s elementary-age daughter to figure out how to pronounce the names of certain Bible personalities or book titles. If you were now to ask Dr. Donald Orvis, seminary vice-president and professor, what helped him grow spiritually, he would include at the top of the list his early teaching experience where he was just “one step ahead of the pack” each Sunday.

A knowledge of Scripture is important. Maturity is desirable. But the right attitude and demonstrated faithfulness in small ways are the most important characteristics. Obviously, some Christians need more encouragement and closer supervision. Nevertheless, FAT people grow in Bible knowledge faster than others, and working with them in ministry is a joy.

Recruit with Class

If there is an unpardonable sin in teacher recruiting, it’s the old trip-them-in-the-hallway trick, where you thrust a Sunday school quarterly into their hands as you pick them up and point them toward the junior department.

We have all learned the hard way that “you get what you pay for.” The same principle applies to recruiting. Paint an inadequate picture, tell a prospective worker that the task will not be too hard, and you receive an inadequate, half-committed teacher.

I’ve used the following plan in recruiting program leaders, and many of them, in turn, are finding it effective in recruiting teachers.

1. Telephone the prospective worker. “Hello, Mary. I’ve been looking at our church membership list trying to think of someone who could work well in Sunday school with our sixth-grade girls. As I prayed over a number of possibilities, I thought you might be one who could really help our gals. Would it be possible for us to meet this weekend to discuss the responsibilities of the sixth-grade worker? If you are like I was a few years ago, perhaps you have some doubts. But I would really like to have an opportunity to chat with you about it, and then allow you enough time to think about it on your own. I have Saturday morning at 10 o’clock and Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock open on my schedule. Would either of these times be convenient for you?”

2. Share the importance of the program. I walk through the details of the job description (see sample) and explain the materials. It’s also important to stress my availability as a resource to the teacher.

Then, as I prepare to leave, a prayer is appropriate. I encourage the prospect to pray about this opportunity during the week—is this invitation God’s call?

3. Make a follow-up phone call five to seven days later to see what questions the person might have and to see if he or she is interested in observing a few class sessions.

4. If the worker is willing to teach, we set up a time to sign an Annual Appointment to Service—a one-year teaching contract (see sample). Materials are further explained, and the new worker is told the time and place of the next department staff meeting.

5. If certain individuals are not able to make the commitment, I try to determine if they would be more comfortable as a substitute teacher or if they have an interest in another area of ministry.

We recruit teachers to serve one year. Shorter terms do not allow workers to assume ownership of the position. The time is insufficient for training, and it is unfair to the students. On the other hand, placing someone in a position indefinitely is unfair to the worker. At the end of each yearly appointment, the teachers have three options: (1) turn in their materials and be finished with their responsibility, (2) sign on for another term of service in the same area of responsibility, or (3) request a change in ministry.

Our experience has been that teachers who have been regularly encouraged have been more than happy to renew their commitments year after year.

Communicate Regularly

A year ago when our church began two morning worship services and two hours of Sunday school, we did a poor job of communicating. Some of the teachers didn’t find out which hour they were teaching until the assignments were printed in the church newsletter in July. They hadn’t been consulted, and some of them felt taken for granted.

We should have called a faculty meeting to present our options and let the teachers point out any problems or oversights.

This fall we did much better, even though the assignments weren’t made until August. We informed the teachers two weeks before making the information public. The teachers were much happier — and so was I.

Program leaders, I’ve discovered, need a minimum of monthly communication, and perhaps as much as weekly visual contact with their teachers. As a pastor who is not directly involved with supervising the educational staff, my amount of needed communication is somewhat less. Most teachers do not expect the senior pastor to be intimately involved with their classroom, but any contact I make greatly builds my relationship with them.

No matter what size the congregation, pastors can do a number of things to build bridges to teachers. About three times a year, I ask one of the elders to take charge of the midweek service so I can sit in on the AWANA program. I’m not there to speak or critique. I may take part in a balloon relay with the kids, but my primary purpose is to chat with the leaders afterward, to sympathize with them about cramped facilities, and to affirm them in their important ministry.

I know other pastors who write a note of encouragement annually to each teacher, or who call each teacher once or twice each year, asking them for one classroom prayer request and one personal prayer request. All these involvements show that we’re not only concerned with a good sermon. We also highly value the teaching ministry of each worker.

Esteem Teachers Publicly

When my wife was working on her master’s degree, there was always a time when I could help with house cleaning, laundry, or dishes. I learned something about myself and the nature of people from those occasions. When she recognized and voiced appreciation of my work, I was open and even sometimes eager to do more work for her. However, when I put some of my own work aside to help her and my effort was not recognized, or I felt it was taken for granted, I found myself withdrawing and helping even less.

People continually wonder, Does anybody care? People need recognition. “I am willing to work with these junior highers, but does anybody notice?” Our availability and regular communication can go far to build that sense of appreciation. But in addition, we can take other steps to show we notice and care.

We sometimes highlight a department in the church newsletter or recognize the ministry of a specific teacher in the bulletin.

I mention in sermons interesting anecdotes from the classrooms that teachers tell me.

I also like to publicly pass along any compliments I hear. “I want to thank the Bible school workers, especially Pat, for their work this past week. I got three phone calls from parents who told me their children came home singing the songs they learned last week.”

Or, in a sermon about how Bible study is not just intake but an opportunity for us to share the blessings we receive, I said, “I don’t mean to embarrass Bev, but I learned this week she did exactly that. She was struck by two verses in the devotional she was reading, and when she went that day to visit Bill in the hospital, she wrote them on a small card. Bill told me later that they were just the verses he needed to hear.”

How important is appreciation and recognition of staff. Its value is beyond measure.

In a hurting world, people need the healing words of the Great Physician. God has strategically assigned us to work in the church as resident chiefs of staff. Our involvement in the teaching ministry of the church extends beyond our own preaching. As we develop others who can teach and minister, we see what God intended the church to be.

JOB DESCRIPTION SUNDAY SCHOOL TEACHER

DEFINITION:

Sunday school teachers shall be regular members of the church’s educational faculty, with specific ministry in an assigned age-group class in the Sunday school.

RESPONSIBLE TO:

1. The Christian Education Committee.
2. The age-group Department Leader.
3. Appointed for a one-year term of service as noted on teacher contract.

SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS:

1. Personal preparation of body, mind, and spirit.
2. Regular, systematic lesson preparation.
3. Knowledge of pupils, with interest in their everyday lives.
4. Consistent attendance at each unit teacher preparation meeting.
5. Regular, punctual attendance at the place of duty (arriving 15 minutes prior to starting time).
6. Weekly follow-up of absentees either through a phone call, personal visit, or a note.
7. Teaching as a regular team member of a department, using methodology that encourages student self-discovery.
8. Willingness to share in personal evaluations and department evaluations for the improvement of instruction.

QUALIFICATIONS:

1. A born-again Christian with a desire to grow in godliness.
2. A member of our church or in the process of considering membership.
3. One who nurtures his or her personal relationship with Jesus Christ through regular Bible study, prayer, and personal worship.
4. One who can commit the necessary time for personal preparation, staff meetings, and shepherding of the students.
5. One who supports the total church ministries of worship, teaching, missions, evangelism, and stewardship.

APPOINTMENT TO SERVICE ON THE EDUCATIONAL FACULTY “Trained Leadership for Transformed Lives”

Having received and approved your request for service at Trinity Baptist Church, the Christian Education Committee hereby extends to you an appointment to serve your Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as

_______________________________________________

until _________________, 19_____, at which time you may consider reappointment for another year.

As a worker in the educational program of the church, it is expected:

1. That you give of your best in the service you have accepted. Not exceptional ability nor outstanding qualifications, but faithfulness to the task assigned is of supreme importance.
2. That you attend regularly the planning meetings of your department or organization.
3. That you remember at all times that you are working with the lives of individuals, to help mold them after the life of the Son of God, as set forth in the Word of God.
4. That in public and in private you lead an exemplary life, honoring your Lord as well as having the best possible influence upon those you lead.
5. That you support the total ministry of the church, remembering the importance of each function.

“Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

On behalf of the Christian Education Committee: Dated _________

______________________________, Chairman

______________________________, Ministry Director

____________________________, Teacher

© 1986 Christianity Today