Age-Segregated Sunday School

Many churches have an age-segregated Sunday School class for children scheduled before the main preaching service. These age-specific lessons can be a great blessing for children to learn the Bible and memorize scripture verses.

However, in the past, some have argued that dividing young children into age-segregated Sunday School classes ruins a church and is an unbiblical practice.

These sincere and well-meaning Christians have argued that age-segregation takes away from the father's role to train their children, and that age-segregation is pagan because it comes from the evolutionary based teaching of government schooling.

For these reasons, it's important to address this issue, and see what THE BIBLE actually teaches.

In the book of Titus, we can see age-segregation as a good thing. It gives the example of the younger women in the church being taught by the older women.

• Titus 2:3-5 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

Additionally, THE BIBLE teaches about a group of widows in Acts 6, that had specific needs. That group was segregated, so their spiritual needs could be met, and they could be properly ministered to.

It's also important to note that the Jewish temple layout had a court for men, one for women, and one for children. As a result, young Jewish boys attended age-segregated schools by day.

So, age-segregated Sunday Schools do NOT come from the pagan government school system. They come from an old Jewish age-segregated schooling model.

Additionally, if someone thinks that 40-minutes of age-appropriate Bible teaching is somehow going to remove the responsibility a father has to train their children, then there is probably a bigger problem at home, that should be addressed before it's too late.

The main point for writing this is to point out that the failure of the modern church isn’t because of age-segregated Sunday School; it’s because of WHAT is being taught and WHO is doing the teaching.

All solid, Bible-believing churches have recognized the problems that carnal “youth ministries” and “Sunday school programs” have brought into the church. Most of these “programs” are full of silly games, carnal entertainment, wordly music, and offer no spiritual benefit to the children. True churches stand 100% opposed to this type of carnal nonsense.

If you look closer, you'll find there are many churches that have excellent age-segregated Sunday School classes where children are being taught appropriately, with proper accountability, by qualified teachers who emphasize scripture memory, conservative music, godly living and Bible lessons.