Stress that this lesson should not be long. Fifteen to twenty minutes is maximum, depending upon the age level. The younger the children, the shorter the lesson must be. Plenty of time should be left at the end for altar call and prayer. This is their main purpose in teaching that lesson, to give an altar call. Note – it may be needful to teach your teachers the “do’s and don’ts” of praying with children in the classroom. Care must be given to not allow zeal to replace wisdom.
By Tim Massengale
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If the job of the Bus Ministry is to reach the parents, then it’s the responsibility of the Sunday school to reach the children. It stands to reason that one of the best times we have to reach the souls of our children who’s parents do not come to church is during the Sunday school hour.
What will happen if we don’t? It should be obvious. Look around and see how many children continue to come to Sunday school and on the Bus Ministry beyond thirteen years of age. Within most of our churches, you could probably count them on one hand.
When a child reaches their teenage years and has still not made a decision to live for the Lord, it becomes increasingly more difficult to reach them. It is no longer “cool” to go to Sunday school or ride the bus. Now they are “grown-up” and “grown-ups” don’t go to Sunday school – “just look at mom and dad,” they say. The opportunity to give their heart to the Lord and receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost needs to be offered and made available on a regular basis while they are still young. This is the concept of the monthly Holy Ghost Sunday.
The idea of a monthly Holy Ghost Sunday came as the result of one teacher’s frustration at the traditional “Baptist” method of having a Sunday school class: pre-session time, followed by worship, followed by the lesson, followed by the craft, followed by the snack, followed by going home. . . . Hopefully the lesson was a good one and touched their heart. But something was lost during “craft” time, and after the “snack” the feeling totally died. The children went home with the knowledge in their head, but no real touch in their heart. This should not be!
So this teacher decided to switch things around a bit. He put his lesson quarterly aside. He prayed and fasted that week for a Bible lesson from God. He felt the Lord impress a simple Bible story to his heart. That next Sunday, he skipped his pre-session time and had a quick craft. Then he went directly into an extended time of worship and singing. After this, he taught his lesson under a burden of the Holy Ghost. It was a short lesson and at the end he gave a simple altar call. Several received the Holy Ghost that Sunday morning. He followed the same pattern the next week and several more received the Holy Ghost. This want on for several weeks. All told, over fifty children received the Holy Ghost in that one Sunday school (it spread to other classes too). They had, in essence, a Sunday school Revival – but without an evangelist.
He realized, of course, that this could not go on indefinitely. After a while the altar call becomes “old hat.” But it could be done very effectively once a month – and effective it is! The concept is simple, the results are consistent. The following outline will help you start your own “Monthly Holy Ghost Sunday” in your Sunday school.
- Explain the simple concept to your teachers much like it was explained above. Somehow we must reach our unsaved-parent children before they drop out of our Sunday schools. Then too, our saints children often times are “left out” in our normal services. The message is over their heads. This approach brings salvation down to their level.
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