Do’s and Don’ts of Selecting Adult Bible School Material
If a congregation chooses to have a Bible school program, one of the more difficult tasks is having a vibrant adult class or classes. Part of the reason for that is that it can be difficult to find literally years’ worth of good material.
Think about it this way: a student is only in the youth group for about four years. If a class uses the quarter system on both Sundays and Wednesdays, that is still just 32 quarters of material. That sounds like a lot…
…until you start looking at it beyond the youth group. Let’s say that same person leaves for a couple of years to go to college, then returns home to work. They place membership at their “home” congregation and grow through their adult years there. They might be an adult member of that congregation for 40, 50, or more years.
That being true, they will study in the Bible school program for at least 320 quarters (Sunday and Wednesday combined), and in some cases many more! Just think about that as you start putting together ideas for materials.
I teach a Sunday and Wednesday adult Bible class, and also help select curriculum for another one. Trust me, coming up with good material quarter after quarter is not easy. If we are not careful, we can fall into a rut, or just tell the teacher, “teach whatever you want.”
Instead, let me offer a few general “do’s” and “don’ts” if you are tasked with helping to select adult Bible school material.
DO Have a Plan. This takes work, but it is the most important step. Instead of just figuring out the next quarter, lay out a couple of years’ worth of material. That way, you can see if you are covering a good range of topics and texts, and it helps you have more time to get materials (both books and supplementary materials).
DON’T be “Married” to a Certain Curriculum. It is fine if a congregation wants to use, for example, “Foundations” from Gospel Advocate or the adult materials from Start2Finish (both of which, by the way, are excellent!). However, I would suggest that we do not just always use those, or that we do not use them on both Sundays and Wednesdays. These are fine materials, but we need to vary how we teach.
DO Give Teachers Time to Prepare. Even if you use a regular curriculum, too many congregations give a teacher a book on one Sunday and say, “Here’s the material for next quarter, and it starts next week.” That is unfair to the teacher and to the students. Even if you just purchase one copy of a book for the teacher, give it to them with several weeks to prepare, if not longer.
DON’T Forget “Classic” Studies. While it is easy to always want the new books and materials, there is a reason why certain books are still in print. I don’t think we should only use new or only use older material, but it is good for adults (especially older adults) to learn again from some older materials. As one example, our auditorium class is getting ready to study the classic book “Heart Diseases and Their Cure” by Wendell Winkler. That book is 45 years old, and the cover is a bit out-dated, but the material is still just as needed.
DO Preview the Materials. Just because so-and-so printed it does not always mean it is good material. Additionally, just because it is marketed as a Bible class book does not mean that it is fitting for your congregation, a specific class, or a certain teacher. Take the time to preview the books for (1) Biblical accuracy, (2) ease of understanding, and (3) teachability.
DON’T Get Stuck in Topical or Textual Studies. One thing I am glad to see among a number of our brotherhood publishers is a balance of textual (book-by-book) studies and topical (day-to-day) studies. Some teachers, though, prefer one over the other and can get in a rut of only studing verse-by-verse or doing one topical study after another. People need to both dig more deeply into the text of Scripture and to apply it to their daily lives. Seek out both kinds of material.
DO Repeat Materials…but DON’T Do It Too Soon. This goes back to planning, but needs to be emphasized. Just because you have used a book in the past does not immediately remove it from future consideration! If it was a good study, make a note of that, and put it in the “idea” folder for a future year (or for a different class). Not everything has to be the latest publication off the printing press! Remember, even though a student may be in adult classes for decades, their life experiences change, their depth of Biblical knowledge changes, and (likely) the person leading the class changes, too.
If I had to give just one step to improving the curriculum of most congregations it would be to take the needed time to review the curriculum and consider a longer-range plan than just quarter-to-quarter. (In all seriousness, do the elders even know what is being taught, both in the current quarter and over a longer period of time? If not, there must be some planning!) Give yourself grace with the amount of time it would take, but then notice the benefits over time, as people are fed the Word of God, both in depth and breadth, due to your efforts.
[NOTE: We would love your additions to this list of “do’s and don’ts.” Below, we have added a Facebook comment box, where you can interact and add your thoughts. We hope you will take advantage of that on this post and any future posts you would like. Thank you!]
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AUTHOR: Adam Faughn
