One of the most valuable aspects of American Church life today is the programme for the training of adults. This is true whether the question is considered from a practical attendance-financial point of view, or the more important growth in spiritual life and evangelism. Although it has taken many forms, the Adult Educational Programme of the local Church has proven itself to be the "backbone" times without number. If tomorrow the average American Church awoke to find itself without its Adult Programme, it would grind to a slow halt in a matter of months.

      In some parts of the world the growing season for farm products is very short. Many people have the mistaken concept that this is true for human beings. They are under the delusion that when you reach 20 or 25 years of age, the "killing frost" brings to an abrupt end the mind's ability to learn. How contrary this is to the teachings of educational authorities. As Richard E. Lentz said, "Informed leaders no longer question the adult capacity to learn." ("The Growing Season," Bethany Guide.)

      In a recent and important book edited by John Casteel, Spiritual Renewal Through Personal Groups (Association Press, New York, $3.50), he said, "for it is during the middle years (30-60) that one becomes existentially aware of the meaning of birth and family responsibilities of sickness and the growing nearness of death. These middle years, we feel, provide the most valid, and promising, context for Christian education." (Page 165)

      Again, we find in Two or Three Together, by Freer & Hall (Harper, New York, $2.50), "Some psychologists are saying that if the intellectual powers are not allowed to become "stiff at the joints" in the middle years, the maturing process is continued and the wisdom of old age is an actuality."(Page 77)

      The response might be: "But we do continue to learn in the Worship Services, Prayer Meetings, and the Auxiliary Groups of the Church. We do continue to study the Bible at home." I am afraid that the person who is completely honest with himself has to admit that these opportunities for growth and learning are very limited in their effectiveness as a context for Adult Education.

      Unless there is opportunity for instruction at the hands of a trained person, with definite assignments and discussion, the average person does not learn a great deal. He may inflate his own ego with the feeling that he is learning, but we seldom find the true signs of the learning process which are a growing awareness of how little we actually know of other people's ideas (and a willingness to at least tolerate them), and the asking of serious questions, Education is not just gathering information; it is tied up inextricably with the ability to think and the desire "to get at all the facts."

      Of course, there are always those who fail to take advantage of the opportunities afforded them, but at least they should have the opportunity! They should also have the incentive to learn; but where there is no opportunity there is usually little incentive. On the American scene the opportunities

take many forms, varying from Church to Church.

      The most nearly universal pattern is that of the Sunday morning Adult Bible Class. It is true that there is a very small percentage of the American Churches which do not have this and which substitute some other educational opportunity; but it is the accepted pattern and an extremely valuable one.

      Generally speaking, the Adult Class meets on Sunday morning for an hour or more preceding the morning Worship Service and Communion. A generation ago the trend was toward as large adult classes as could be assembled. For instance, in Canton, Ohio, the Adult Class averaged in the many hundreds each Sunday morning. Usually one will find Adult Classes for the varying age groups or interest groups.

      Although it is larger than the average sized American Church, an example is the First Christian Church of Longview, Texas. I served as Associate Minister, working with the educational phase. In this Church of 1400 members, the following classes met at 9.45 am. each Sunday morning, average attendance is given in parenthesis:

      Loyal Men's Class (100)
      Loyal Women's Class (65)
      Loyal Daughters' Class (45)
      Dorcas Class (40)
      Young Business Women's Class (20)
      "Young Marrieds" Class (70)
      Young Adults' Class (15)

      The trend is definitely away from the large classes because their effectiveness as a teaching method is very slight; also, it has been found that the form of meeting of a large class closely resembles a Gospel Service, with the result that many of the members attend just the Bible Class.

      There are many reasons why a Church should have classes of some type for adults. As we have mentioned, the most important is probably in giving opportunity for learning. It is not necessarily true that the person who does not know the Bible, Doctrine, Church History, Missions, is an immature Christian, but it is much more likely a person will become a mature Christian if he does have opportunity for expanding his mind in these fields of endeavour. The better educated a person is, the more he realises his need for more education. I know of a man with two Masters Degrees and an "earned" Doctorate, whom I consider to be un-educated because he not only ceased to study upon completing his academic career, but he also developed the attitude that he knew everything that he needed to know. On the other hand I know of people with an Intermediate Certificate who are very educated, not only because they grasp every chance they have to learn, but also because of their attitude of mind which forces them to continue in their studies. The Church with an uneducated adult membership will almost of necessity become narrow, dogmatic and ingrown. It cannot be a truly effective witness for Christ!

      The Adult Class is needed to provide fellowship. Many people have the false notion that a Church must be kept small in membership so that it will be friendly and provide fellowship. Some of the "coldest" and unfriendliest Churches that I have been in have been the small ones, while some of the "warmest" and by far friendliest Churches have been those with memberships from 3000 to 5000. One of the important reasons for this feeling of fellowship is the small Adult Class which gives people the opportunity for not only understanding the Christian faith, but getting to know each other. Even though you may not attend such a class, this friendliness is not contained just within the small group but is extended to all who attend the Church.

      A close analysis reveals that our average Church provides little real opportunity for personal contact and getting to know each other. The Adult Class, with its few moments spent around the "teacup", its social activities and the opportunity for free and open discussion, gives this very necessary opportunity for really getting to know one another. If the group is guided into a true understanding of the Christian faith, there is little danger for exclusiveness or the clique to develop.

      One of the most important reasons for having the Adult Class is the evangelistic opportunity. It is a well-known fact that a large percentage of those coming into the Church fellowship through Faith and Baptism come out of the Bible School. This is also true in America., with the important difference being that many of those making the Confession come from the Adult Classes, which are part of the Bible School.

      Sociologists and psychologists place emphasis upon a person feeling as if he is in the "outgroup" in reference to the Church. If he has an opportunity, through the Adult Class, to participate in the fellowship and to study along with the members, the informal atmosphere helps greatly in overcoming this fear of "not belonging." Other reasons are involved but a statistical survey will show that those coming into the fellowship of the Church through the Adult Class are more likely to stay within the fellowship than those who make the decision at a Preaching Mission.

      This brings us to still another important aspect of the Adult Class. Every Church has difficulty in conserving the convert. The Adult Class has been found to be one of the most effective methods of membership conservation; it is a "natural" in caring for the new Christian. In the fellowship and learning context of the Class, the "Babe in Christ" is fed the "milk of the Word" and stimulated toward mature Christian living. While the need for Christian leadership is never completely solved, it is helped greatly in that the Adult Class is an excellent training ground for leadership.

      Still another reason for the Adult Class, is, strangely enough, closely connected with the conservation of teen-agers. It is the custom in many of the Australian Churches to use the Teen-ager as Bible School Teacher. This has brought forth several bad results:

      (1) Because many of the Teenagers are teaching, there are usually not enough left to have a Bible Class for the older Teen-agers, with the result that those who do not want to teach drop out.

      (2) We have immature and untrained Teachers for our children.

      (3) In giving the teen-agers responsibilities for teaching, even though they have not received proper teacher training, they are often frustrated and discouraged in their Christian service and many drop out of Church altogether.

      Of course, the cry is, "Where can we get teachers if we do not use them?" The answer should be: "From the Adult Classes!" Where there are adults being trained in the Bible week after week, and being confronted with the responsibilities of the Christian life, you must have many who become willing to teach in the Bible School. In the Churches with which I have had some connection, all with Adult Classes, I cannot remember even one teacher in the Bible School who was under 20 years of age; the vast majority of the teachers were in the middle years (30-60).

      This has had another important consequence in that it, is easier

with the older adults to hold monthly Workers' Conferences and regular 'in service' training periods.

      Other items which might be mentioned as reasons for having Adult Classes are:

      (a) increased attendance at the morning services;

      (b) greater interest in the Church Programme with the resulting larger budget; and

      (c) a membership more willing to serve in various capacities of the Church life.

      We have spent our time in discussing the Sunday morning Adult class because this is most common, but there are other types of Classes or Groups which should be considered.

      (1) THE SUNDAY EVENING FELLOWSHIP GROUP.

      A few Churches have found an opportune time for adult discussion groups on Sunday evening either during the hour preceding the evening Gospel Service, or as a part of the evening service. Many of our own American Churches have discontinued the evening service on Sunday, but the Southern Baptists, one of the largest communions in America now numbering near 9,000,000, are going strong with large attendances at the Gospel Services. This is a true phenomena in the face of Television, professional sports and the Sunday evening cinema. They universally attribute this to their Sunday evening Fellowship Classes for all age groups, from the crèche through older adults, meeting during the hour prior to the Gospel Service. This "Training Union" affords opportunity for "down to earth" discussion of practices, beliefs, organisation and ways of training leadership. It is an addition to an even larger Sunday morning Bible School Programme. The devout Southern Baptist finds himself at Church from 9.30 a.m. to 12 noon in the morning, and from 6.30 to 9 p.m. in the evenings. If he teaches in the Bible School, he is also expected to attend the weekly teachers' meeting. Their religion means something to them because it expects something of them!

      (2) THE FAMILY NIGHT ADULT GROUPS. A growing tradition in America is the extending of the Wednesday night Prayer Meeting into a mid-week Family Night Church Programme. The Church meets each week at 6.30 p.m. for tea, which is either catered for by roster of the women, or a basket tea. Toward the end of the meal announcements are made, usually few songs are sung, and maybe prayer session around the tables. In this experience the family is together. Then approximately at 7.30 p.m. each person goes to their respective group according to age. Again, everyone is catered for from the crèche on up.

      Usually there will be several Adult Study Groups covering such topics as:

      "The Life and Teachings of Paul."
      "The Life of Jesus."
      "What We Believe."
      "The History of the Church."
      "The Functional Church Programme."

      The Adult sessions usually last from 9-13 weeks and a person can go to which ever group he chooses. Some churches use this in place of the Sunday morning Bible Class for the adults, while others find it a valued addition with wider opportunities offered to the adults for study and service.

      (3) STUDY GROUPS. Another trend is that of the Study Group. Often times these groups are a combination of Study-Prayer-

Service. They are usually rather small in size. They can meet in the home of a member or at the Church, and a Church of moderate size might have as many as six groups meeting on various nights of the week and in the afternoons. A person limits himself to just one group. The group will usually select its own study, and spend as much time as they feel needed in the study. This type of arrangement is much more informal, but yet offers many opportunities, especially where it is difficult to arrange a time when everyone can get together.

      Again, if these groups have a true depth to their study and devotional life, there is little danger in developing pious groups of superior people or cliques within the Church. The book already mentioned, edited by Dr. Casteel, is an excellent stimulus and guide for such groups. In some of the larger Churches in America, these groups have followed "professional" lines with the Physicians, doctors, lawyers, housewives, business women, having their own groups and studies. There is an almost infinite variety in the forms and studies which may be pursued.

      (4) ADULT RETREATS AND CAMPS. Another very popular form of Adult Education is found in the week-end "Retreat" where adults go to a camp for two or three days to study and pray together. This provides tremendous opportunities for spiritual growth. A slight variation of this is the Adult Camp which is an annual affair during the summer, where there is a large group of adults taking a week of their holiday to go and live together to study and pray and grow in grace. The inspiration, fellowship and educational opportunity is, again, tremendous.

      (5) STUDY COURSES AND INSTITUTES. It has long been a common practice of many Churches to have a special emphasis. This is always in addition to the regular Sunday morning Adult Bible Classes. These Institutes are usually held on a Sunday afternoon or a week night, running for several weeks. Many times authorities in the respective fields are brought in to lead the group. Such studies are considered as:

      "How to lead and worship."
      "The Stewardship of the Church."
      "Missions."
      "The Functional Church Programme." etc.

      This, again, provides a wonderful opportunity for learning and leadership training.

      There are several commonly accepted principles involved in Adult Education. The following may prove helpful:

      (1) The Classes should be fairly small. One of the most dangerous fallacies which is commonly accepted is that it has to be big to be worthwhile. In congregations numbering in the many thousands, it is common to find the study groups often or twelve. This is the best sized group for learning because it affords a certain informality which induces discussion and also provides ample time and opportunity for discussion. Because of this emphasis on the small class, even the smallest Church in Australia can have at least one Adult Class.

      (2) The Leader, or Leaders, should be well trained. This does not mean that they have to be authorities in the field, but that they be trained in methods of teaching and discussion-leading. They should not be people who tend to dominate a discussion, neither should they be of the attitude that is dogmatic and "has the last word."

      (3) The Studies should be relevant to daily living, interesting and easy to understand. They do not necessarily have to be taken directly from the Bible. (A list of suitable studies is included in the Bibliography.) While the Church life and belief must be always controlled by, and centred in, the Holy Scriptures, there are many other areas of studies which are both important and essential to the life of the Church.

      (4) There should be a definite time limit. This may be an hour, an hour and a quarter or an hour and a half, but there should be an understanding as to when the session will end. It discourages interest and attendance when the discussion always runs over time.

      (5) It should NOT be another "Church Service." It is not necessary that every time a group of Christians get together to sing some hymns, to take up an offering and to follow some accepted routine. If the group is primarily concerned with study the time should be devoted to that; if it is study and prayer, then it should be so divided.

      (6) There should be as little organisation as possible within the Study Group itself. While it is usually necessary to have the entire programme of Adult Education well co-ordinated and organised, it is not desirable to have too many officers or committees which take up time and burden down the group.

      (7) The teaching methods should be up to date and varied. While the straight lecture or sermon is often valuable in imparting information, other methods are being found, or acceptable discussion with plenty of class participation based on a subject already studied at home prior to the meeting of the Class is probably the best method yet devised. A panel of teachers, or leaders, discussing a subject with time for questions is good. The Project Method should not be overlooked; in this method the Study Group formulates a problem and then sets to work to find information that will help towards a solution, often, in the course of the project, paying visits to the Home Missions Office, the various Institutions, or such other items which they might be studying. The Project is often reported on by one of the members of the group, or all of the members might even write an essay concerning the visits and the Project. Audio-Visual aids should not be overlooked and such helps as Maps, coloured pictures, charts and black-boards should be mentioned. This is not a report on methods, but we should mention, also, "Buzz Sessions" and "Group Dynamics." (Some helpful books on Methods are included in the Bibliography.)

      An important consideration is "How does a Church go about establishing a programme of Adult Education?" The following points on procedure have worked in other places:

      (1) THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE: As soon as the desire arises for educational groups on the Adult level, a committee of Church leaders should be formed with the responsibility of co-ordinating all educational work in the Church, including the Bible School and Youth Groups. This committee should have the responsibility of serving the need for Adult Education. They can investigate the local situation and decide what would be the best time for Adult Classes to be held; what kind of facilities are available; what additional facilities would be needed; who would be suitable leaders, and some possible studies that could be undertaken. This committee would continue functioning as a permanent group within the Church after the Adult Work is on "its feet."

      (2) SELECTION AND TRAINING OF LEADERS: After the decision is reached concerning the time of meeting, and the number of groups needed, steps should be taken to contact those people best qualified to lead the groups. They should be very carefully chosen and convinced of the need. Pressure should not be used, for an unwilling teacher is an ineffective one. A Training Course should be set up lasting several sessions, where the various methods of teaching are presented and studies considered.

      (3) MATERIALS: Before the Training Class has completed its course, the Education Committee, in consultation with the prospective teachers, should decide what courses to offer the first term and order needed materials and helps, so that each adult in the group will have his own lesson book. The material should be very carefully selected so that it is interesting, informative, accurate and easily divided into Study Sessions. It should also be inexpensive.

      (4) ADVERTISING: A campaign for enlistment in the Classes should be carried on for several weeks prior to their inception. Posters should be put up, announcements be made, and personal invitations should be sent to every available adult. The emphasis of enlistment should be three-fold, i. e.

      (a) Opportunity for growth both mentally and spiritually,

      (b) Opportunity for fellowship and getting to know other Christians better, and

      (c) Opportunity for service in the Church and in bringing others to know Christ--

      (5) FACILITIES: Adequate classrooms should be available, and a crèche should be provided. Distraction should be at a minimum, with individual rooms available if at all possible. This should be arranged well in advance.

      If at all possible, during the week preceding the day of beginning, a personal telephone call or visit should be made by those in charge to each prospect, The Minister should emphasise, if possible through a sermon, the importance for Christian growth and service. Even though there may not be an overwhelming response at first, if a beginning has been made then the Church will find itself enriched, strengthened and invigorated by its new venture into Adult Education.

      In many thousands of churches the Adult Education Programme is not only successful, including even the smallest congregations, but indispensable. It can be in YOUR church if enough thought, planning, preparation and prayer is put into it!