Educational Work of the Church
INTRODUCTION
The most important work of any individual is work for Christ. This work takes two broad forms, evangelical and benevolent. The evangelical phase of this work is summed up by Christ in the words of the great commission: “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:19-20, KJV).
This Scripture reveals that the evangelical work which Christ has assigned to his followers has two main points of emphasis, teaching the alien sinner and edifying the Christian. The majority of Christians have yet to realize that this great work for Christ is an individual responsibility. When one examines the teaching program of the average local congregation of the body of Christ, one usually finds a need of more efficient leadership, organization, administration, and co-ordination of the educational work. There is often a lack of vision, zeal, co-operation, and awareness of responsibility in the teaching program of the local church.
The Purpose
Since the teaching of the Gospel of Christ plays a major role in Christianity, it is essential that
the teaching program be effective. To be effective, it must be organized, coordinated, and properly
administered. This calls for special effort on the part of the elders (leaders), and members of the
congregation. The special effort exerted for a better educational program, if it is to be
effective, must grow out of an awareness of the need for such effort, an understanding of what
constitutes a good educational program, and a determination to teach God’s Word in the most
efficient manner possible.
The goal of this study is to help the church of our Lord Jesus Christ become more “Christian education” conscious, to help elders see more clearly an efficient way of teaching and nurturing the local congregation, to inspire more Christian men to consider the educational work of the church as a “full-time job,” and to provide a definite, scriptural concept of the person and work of the educational director in the church.
The Method
This study has been approached in the following manner. “Basic Foundations for Christian Education in the Local Church” presents some basic foundations for Christian education in the local church, which are necessary for this study, involving characteristics of the New Testament church, scripturalness of the educational director’s work, Christian education concepts, and the great need for renewed emphasis on Christian education in the local congregation. “Qualifications of the Educational Director” establishes some spiritual, intellectual, physical, and social qualifications of the educational director. The lesson on the “Relationships Involved in the Educational Director’s Work” discusses the relationship of the educational director to the elders, the local minister, the supervisory and administrative personnel of the Bible school, and the teachers of the classes. “Duties of the Educational Director” deals with the duties of the educational director as a leader, an organizer, an administrator, an educator, and a counselor. “Summary and Conclusions” contains a summary and conclusion of this study.
A Prayer and A Plea
We pray that the contents of this study are in harmony with the Word of God, that this work accomplishes the purpose for which it was written, that the reader will always consider the Word of God as authoritative and this work only suggestive, that “they shall all be taught of God” (John 6:45), and that, as a result, the church will spread “unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
The reader is urged to consider the principles and concepts set forth in this study in the context of New Testament Christianity. No attempt has been made to justify, clarify, or defend the religious concept of the director of education. Instead, an effort has been made to formulate a scriptural setting in which one may see the need and the advisability of the educational director within the framework of the New Testament church organization and work. Where references, quotations, or statistics have been used, it has been for the purpose of pointing out desirable educational fea- tures which are scriptural and inherently good in any setting, or to show the danger or fallacy of divorcing a good work from the scriptural foundations that justify the performance of that work. This is not, therefore, a historical study of the rise. and development of an “intruder” in the church of our Lord called the educational director; rather, it is a definitive study of one efficient way the Lord’s solemn command to “Go . . . teach” may be accomplished. The term “educational director” is not a title, but a function, or work, and may be considered parallel with “song director”, “teacher”, “overseer”, etc. The reader, therefore, is urged to discriminate carefully between principles and procedures, to study the entire work and thoughtfully apply the principles set forth to a local congregation before passing judgment thereon, and to remember that all productions of man are subject to fallibility.
