combined enrollment of its adult and home departments will be twice as large as the enrollment of all other departments from cradle roll to senior! How many schools come anywhere near this goal? If a school is to capture and hold men and women, however, it must provide an adult department that offers what men and women need. In addition to reaching those who attend classes, it must extend its ministry to the aged and handi capped, the sick and those who must work on Sundays, through an ac tive home department. Though home departments are no innova tion in evangelical circles, most schools have never recognized, let alone developed, the possibilities of such “ extension” work. Any Sun day school without an active home department is failing in its respon sibility to one of the most needy groups, spiritually, in the commu nity. An adequate adult department not only ministers to spiritual needs of men and women, but also helps to hold young people for the Sun day school through parental exam ple and serves to establish and maintain a strong relationship be tween church and home. The need for this relationship is fairly ob vious. A child is in Sunday school an hour a week. The public school —thoroughly secularized today— has the child perhaps 30 hours. During his rem a in ing waking hours, he is presumably under the influence of his parents, whom we must enlist to supplement what is done on Sunday morning. Actually, God has laid Christian education at the door of parents,
especially of fathers (Eph. 6:4), but even in many Christian homes there is no family altar, let alone systematic instruction in the Bible and training in ways of godliness. If pagan homes are to be converted into Christian homes and Christian homes into homes where God’s Word is given its proper place, our Sunday schools must assume their share of the task of bringing about such transformations. Strong adult departments and flourishing home departments can do much, but do not overlook the potential of the cradle roll. We have had cradle rolls in our Sunday schools for many years, but today we know that the cradle roll is not an end in itself. Cradle rolls are used in progressive churches as a means of bringing a host of parents into the church orbit. A modern cradle roll is far more than a list of babies—it is a means of gaining entrance into many a non-churched home and a device for bringing home and Sunday school together in a partnership of Christian edu cation. Sunday schools where adult, home and cradle roll departments have been static for some time face a golden opportunity. A carefully planned and conscientiously exe cuted program to build up these departments would, in most schools, double the number of adults on the roll. It would also materially in crease attendance on the part of younger members of families, and would reach many a soul for Christ who will never be won unless Sunday schools alert themselves to the possibilities of work with adults. (To be continued next month.)
F U N - T O - P L A Y BIBLE MM ES
FUN WITH LOTTO By May Smith. This game may be played by as many as 16 people, plus a "caller'^ who names Bible characters while players place sym bols on cards. Boxed. $ 1.00 BIBLE ZOO GAME By B. DeFrees Brien. A fun game in Rhyme. Verse riddles about Bible animals. For all ages. iBoxed. 60c TOPIC BIBLE GAME A game in which 15 Bible topics are formed in books of four cards each. Boxed. 60c “WHAT AM I?” BIBLE GAME — By B. DeFrees Brien. A fascinating quiz game. Boxed. 60c LEMON’S BIBLE GAME 12 fascinating Bible games in one set of 120 cards. You can play B ib le Q u iz , B ib le Heroes, B ible Cities, Bible Fauna and others. Boxed. 1.00 WHO AM I? By B. DeFrees Brien. Clever instruction Bible quizzes. Boxed-. 60c VERSE RIDDLES Helps all to become fa miliar with Bible char acters, etc. Boxed. 60c BIBLE AUTHORS Played similar to popu lar “ Author’s Game.” Boxed. 60c BIBLE BOYS An intriguing question and answ er gam e. Boxed. 60c
Rembrandt T he name Rembrandt is synonymous with art at its greatest. His great ness has rarely been challenged, especially as an etcher of religious art. His most famous etching, “ Christ Healing the Sick,” is a typical exampl of how Rembrandt saw Christ. It pictures the Saviour in a simple though noble attitude, His face deeply moved as He is about to pour power and health into the sick bodies of the people standing and lying before Him. This year art lovers throughout the world are celebrating the 350th birthday of Rembrandt. Born Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, he died miserable, abandoned by most of his earlier friends in Amsterdam in 1669, where he once achieved his greatest triumphs. — Fred A. van Braam
Dept. No. 5 information on Miracle Projector
C.O. B A P T I S T A F I LM S W H E A T O N , ^ I L L I N O I S , U. $. A.
NOVEMBER 1956
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