A Teacher's Helping Hands

To millions of Americans the initials "SS" stand for Social Security. In Nazi Germany "SS" meant the Schutzstaffel, the secret police who served as Hitler's henchmen and bodyguards. To Baby Boomer children who grew up going to church in the 1950s and 60s, "SS" meant Sunday school.

My boyhood church had adult Bible classes called "Win a Couple," "Loyal Men," and "Loyal Women," while the classes for children bore names like "Shining Stars" and "Helping Hands." (I should point out that my classmates and I frequently were neither shining nor helpful.) My Sunday school teachers—Thelma, Wilma, Hazel, and other faithful saints—seemed very old to me then, although in retrospect they were probably younger than I am now. Decades later, I can still identify several ways they touched my life.

They moved God's truth from the printed page to a permanent place in my mind. In those days Sunday school teachers emphasized Scripture memorization. I may not have enjoyed the experience at the time, but over the years I've benefited greatly from memorizing the Ten Commandments, the Twenty-Third Psalm, the Beatitudes, and the Lord's Prayer. Learning Scripture early in life shaped my worldview and gave me a biblical framework for making wise decisions. The psalmist told the Lord, "I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you" (Psalm 119:11).

They made church seem fun. I enjoyed working puzzles and making crafts in Sunday school, pasting cut-out pictures of sheep and goats, apostles and Pharisees onto my Standard Publishing lesson quarterly. As a teenager I joined my church friends to play softball and basketball on Sunday afternoons. Today when I pick up one of my granddaughters from her Sunday school class and see her smiling happily, I remember hearing a wise preacher advise, "Never bore a kid in church."

They reinforced my parents' values. Important as they are, Sunday school teachers can't replace the influence of a mom and dad who love the Lord and model godly values in the laboratory of day-to-day life. Yet, it's very important for children to hear someone other than their parents speak fondly about God and firmly about morals. Even though I respected my parents, during adolescence I was more likely to listen to another adult's opinion.

They modeled God's love. I will always be grateful for a construction worker named Ray who opened his family's home to the youth group during my teenage years. He patiently encouraged me when I questioned my faith and pulled me toward the Lord with the powerful persuasion of Christian love.

So I want to say a hearty word of gratitude to Thelma, Wilma, Hazel, Ray, and all the hardy souls like them who labor in the "SS" every week. On behalf of a host of kids who don't always act like shining stars, I say "thanks" for your helping hands. If you're a Sunday school teacher or a volunteer youth leader, you labor without pay and probably without much recognition, but you're making a big difference. And you're following in the footsteps of Jesus who said, "Let the little children come unto me."