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Sunday School Curriculum Idea



 This article deals with a Sunday School curriculum idea that has taken off at our church. It is a practical and exciting way to stimulate the teaching/learning process at church which we feel is crucial to long term spiritual growth.

The following proposal was submitted to the Immanuel Baptist Christian Education Board. It was accepted and work began on the Exodus material (see below). We completed that successfully and have since done a unit on Acts and one on Seven Motivational Gifts (Romans 12).



The original proposal:

We can all agree that the role of Sunday School is to teach people of all ages the Holy Scriptures and to do it in the best way possible. Thankfully, the Bible itself provides a model for learning scripture that we need to pay attention to as we plan our curriculum.

Deuteronomy 6 says: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord y with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon your heart ; and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

Ephesians 5:19 says: addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart......

Philippians 4:8 says: .......whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Clearly we are taught to listen, write, sing, speak, read, and display scripture, and all of these activities are to be family-oriented. Also, Jesus, in his use of parables, demands that we think, evaluate, and apply his words. This demand requires taking the truth of scripture outside the church to the practical world we live in.

One way to accomplish this would be for the whole family to focus on learning the same scriptures. This would open avenues for discussion and make it easier to apply the truths we had all studied. We would no longer have to ask the generic question, "What did you learn in Sunday School today?" ,when we could ask more pointed questions about the lesson we had all just learned. In fact, the opportunity for the kids to question parents would be increased and questioning would not always have to be one way. The chances for all of this to happen would be greater if we were all "on the same page".

To accomplish intergenerational learning of scripture, we would have to do the following:

  1. Form a curriculum committee.
  2. Choose a thematic unit and write our learning goals.
  3. Divide the unit into 12-14 components. (one quarter)
  4. Determine age-appropriate strategies for teaching each goal.
  5. List materials needed for each age group.
  6. Enlist gifted members to create the needed materials.
  7. Plan family activities related to the theme.
  8. Plan creative activities related to the theme.
  9. Enlist teachers for each age group.
  10. Work out details with Pastor regarding schedule and relationship to worship.


Example of a Thematic Topic: The Exodus

After finishing this quarter, every Sunday School student will:

  • know the principal personalities involved in the Exodus.
  • know the basic geography and historical timeline of the Exodus.
  • understand the Passover and its relationship to Christ's eternal sacrifice.
  • recount many highlights and miracles of the Exodus.
  • identify with the doubts/failures of the Israelites involved and relate this to their own life experiences.
  • identify with those whose faith was strong enough to ensure they would enter the promised land.
  • know the Ten Commandments
  • know where to find the laws God gave to His people and be able to give some examples.


Possible Lesson Topics:

  1. Introduction--Why Were the Israelites in Egypt?
  2. Who is Moses?
  3. Facing the Pharoah
  4. The Plagues
  5. The Greatest of Plagues--Passover/Resurrection
  6. Escape to the Wilderness/ The Red Sea Miracle
  7. Hassles in the Wilderness
  8. Receiving God's Law
  9. The Ten Commandments
  10. Giants in the Land
  11. Those Who Dared--Joshua and Caleb
  12. Entering the Land
  13. Reviewing the Exodus/Looking Ahead


An ideal curriculum committee would be composed of the following:
primary teacher--junior/senior high teacher and student--young adult--middle/senior adult--music/art person--computer/desk top publishing person--pastor or CE person.

This curriculum committee would meet as a Sunday School or Wednesday Night class during the quarter previous to the intergenerational study. The members of this group would not be automatically expected to teach nor would they do all the work associated with the development of curriculum. Their role would primarily be to plan curriculum and enlist gifted members to help finish the planned-for product. Teachers for this unit of study would need to be meet with some members of the committee to become familiar with material and the goals we have set in teaching it.




Some closing thoughts:

Each time we created curriculum, we relied on numerous individuals and classes to help teach Biblical truths. We have met as individual classes about half the time and as one large family class the other half. Teams of teachers and whole classes of kids have been assigned to write and perform skits and lessons. Regular teachers have gotten needed time off from teaching while other "teachers" were discovered.

We have managed to put this proposal into action. With the help of many committed people, it has worked. Contact us at Networthy with any questions on how you might get started. You won't be sorry you tried!



About the Author:


 Steve Graner is a Christian educator and familyman employed by the Minot, ND Public School District. A licensed laypastor, Steve became an associate minister of worship at Immanuel Baptist Church in 2003. He is passionate about Christian writing and Christian drama. Along with family and friends, Steve has performed numerous self-written dramas and musicals for area church audiences.