Although significant theological shifts have occurred in Southern Baptist Convention leadership, one item has remained constant-- the foundational means by which we educate our children and youth in the faith.

Historically, Southern Baptists have emphasized what I believe to be three main characteristic traits which directly affects Christian education: evangelism, missions, and church growth. As a result of these emphases, Christian education in Baptist life has developed significant traditions that, I believe, will continue well into the foreseeable future.

Southern Baptists have benefited greatly from the Sunday school movement that began soon after the Civil War and experienced a significant surge through the leadership of Dwight L. Moody in the latter part of the century. "Within a brief time, the Sunday school-- benefiting from its surge of popularity-- had begun to replace revivalism as the primary recruiting device of the churches"(Hudson and Corrigan, 231). Consequently, for almost 100 years now, Sunday school has been the means for recruiting new membership. In many churches, it is the Sunday school class that becomes the place of personal fellowship. Therefore, a class invites prospective members to experience their fellowship, which is a significant attraction for those looking for church families. Southern Baptist Christian education has benefited from this since Bible study is central to Sunday school programming.

Baptists also have benefited from the emphasis on missions. In the 1810's, a group of five students from Andover Theological Seminary set sail for India to offer themselves in the service of foreign missions. Of these, Adoniram Judson and Luther Rice became convinced of the need to share Baptist convictions abroad. Rice returned to America to enlist support for Judson's mission (Hudson and Corrigan, 232). Since that time, Southern Baptists have developed a significant emphasis for missions and, consequently, a strong foundation for mission education. On any given Wednesday evening at a local Baptist church, you will find a variety of mission organizations meeting. They are gathering to discuss the places where we carry out our work in missions as well as learning the biblical basis for why we "do" missions. In my church, as well as many other Southern Baptist congregations, many children and youth are annually recognized for their accomplishments in missions education-- it has become one instance of a rite of passage in Baptist life.

Sunday school and missions education are the main-stay of Christian education in the Southern Baptist church because they occur on a regular basis throughout the year. However, I would like to mention one other tradition which continues to find a significant place in Christian education-- Vacation Bible School. It is this one activity during the church year that seems to carry a particular "revivalistic" quality when it comes to the spiritual journey of Baptists. A foundational belief of Baptists is that Baptism is the response of an individual to the actions of God within his or her life. Therefore, many parents look for an opportunity to immerse their children in spiritual training to encourage this movement of God and, consequently, a child's response to God's action. Vacation Bible School is one of those places. For one week, children hear the Bible stories again in fresh ways. Quite often, this week brings about many decisions for Christ as Savior. Actually, I would speculate that Baptists have come to expect this possibility. Many parents place their hopes in this type of Christian education. Personally, though I was very active in Sunday school and missions education as a young child, it was after a week of Vacation Bible School that I came to make my public profession of faith.

I do not know how well Southern Baptists have fared, comparably, to other denominations in terms of "success" of their Christian education. However, I share the following numbers because I believe it reflects well upon the local church, and possibly the denomination, in which I serve. Last week, at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, we had an estimated 525 people in worship attendance. On that same morning during the Sunday school hour, we had 410 people participating in Bible study. On the following Wednesday evening, we had an estimated 340 people participating in both prayer service, Bible study, and missions education. I give these figures without any ability to compare them with other churches or denominations. I present them simply for the fact that I believe the percentage of those people who attend worship and participate in various forms of Christian education throughout the week is significant.

I intentionally place the success of Southern Baptist Christian education within a context of Southern Baptist's emphasis upon evangelism, missions, and church growth. I believe Christian education in Baptist life has prospered both because Baptists have chosen these as points of focus and because significant Christian education is required to maintain these as points of emphasis. As long as Southern Baptist's preach "evangelism, missions, and church growth", Christian education will continue to prosper.

Hudson, Winthrop and John Corrigan. Religion in America: An Historical Account of the Development of American Religious Life. New York: Macmillan, 1992. 5th Edition.

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