A Blessed Assurance: The Continuing Education of Church School

Rev. Corwin Malcolm Davis, AMEC Publishing House

I am a third-generation preacher, a seminary graduate, and a burgeoning theological educator, and I remain astounded at what I learn in Church School. The provided lessons shared through Liberating Faith Studies are rich and generative material, and they are only the kindling. What invigorates the lessons are the sundry stories and interpretations of those who gather to engage them. There are subject points that require exegesis and analysis, and then there are points that require experience and wisdom. And for those lessons that one cannot learn in a classroom or a seminar, there is always the Church School space wherein those who have lived through something can encourage the others in their midst and where those who are going through can share and be heard. What makes Church School effective is the intentional and consistent gathering of a collective to think and live and be together.

While the Sunday morning worship service offers one type of spiritual edification, there are equally important building blocks in times of shared learning. This sharing, to me, is one of the primary distinctions of Church School that sets it apart within the life of the local church: everyone has the opportunity to share. In worship, the congregation receives the Word of the Lord from the musicians, the liturgist, and the preacher – all of whom are important and central figures in the service of worship. But in Church School, congregants have the opportunity to hear wisdom from the church mother, and from the usually quiet trustee, and even from the college student who rides the church bus to make it to service. Each of these stories is crucial to the body, and they are given voice during the collective study of our lessons.

Church School, at its best, is the intergenerational model of faith transmission from which our people have benefited for decades. There are interpretations of the lesson from the church’s most seasoned saint that will provide clarity to the congregation’s newest first-time parent. There are ways in which the materials are lived out by the young and zealous member that will serve as inspiration and revitalization for the member who is still attempting to find joy in church again post-pandemic. When all of God’s people join together in a mutually affirming and shared lesson, the work of the Spirit moves among those gathered to meet the emerging needs and even to perfect the troublesome concerns. It is akin to Paul’s admonition to the church in Corinth that although there are many parts to the body, the body is one in Christ Jesus.

For young adults, especially those like me who are in the liminal spaces of early career and emerging adulthood, Church School remains a vital opportunity to receive a means of grace. Despite which minister is preaching or which choir is singing, Church School offers a consistent presence of the Spirit and of the people – a blessed assurance. One would be surprised to hear the words of comfort and challenge that could come from the people in the congregation that one may never expect. Being open to the shared knowledge and wisdom of Church School is, truly, an affirmation that the Spirit moves in us all, and our task is to open our senses to perceive it.