What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know

by Elmer L. Towns, Bill Greig (Foreword)

Great Sunday School Teachers Aren't Born--They're Taught

Few spiritual experiences are as satisfying as sharing God's Word with children, youth, and adults. But if the pastor suddenly asks you to teach next Sunday--and you've never taught before--the prospect can be terrifying!

Let Elmer Towns put your fears to rest! This down-to-earth, inspirational training book by one of America's leading experts on teaching Sunday School consists of 24 "bite-sized" topics covering everything from motivation to gifting to teaching methods.

This makes What Every Sunday School Teacher Should Know easy to follow and learner-friendly for both first-time and experienced teachers. Use it to inspire, educate, and change lives!

Genres: Nonfiction, Teaching, Christian

192 pages, Paperback

First published March 31, 1996

About the author

Dr. Elmer Towns is a college and seminary professor, an author of popular and scholarly works (the editor of two encyclopedias), a popular seminar lecturer, and dedicated worker in Sunday school, and has developed over 20 resource packets for leadership education. He began teaching at Midwest Bible College, St. Louis, Missouri, for three years and was not satisfied with his textbooks so he began writing his own (he has published over 100 books listed in the Library of Congress, 7 listed in the Christian Booksellers Best Selling List; several becoming accepted as college textbooks. He is also the 1995 recipient of the coveted Gold Medallion Award awarded by the Christian Booksellers Association for writing the Book of the Year, i.e., The Names of the Holy Spirit.

He was President of Winnipeg Bible College for five years, leading it to receive American Accreditation and Provincial authority to offer degrees (1960-1965). He taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, in greater Chicago, Illinois, in the field of Religious Education and Evangelism (1965-1971).

He is co-founder of Liberty University, with Jerry Falwell, in 1971, and was the only full-time teacher in the first year of Liberty's existence. Today, the University has over 11,400 students on campus with 39,000 in the Distance Learning Program (now Liberty University Online), and he is the Dean of the School of Religion.

Dr. Towns has given theological lectures and taught intensive seminars at over 50 theological seminaries in America and abroad. He holds visiting professorship rank in five seminaries. He has written over 2,000 reference and/or popular articles and received six honorary doctoral degrees. Four doctoral dissertations have analyzed his contribution to religious education and evangelism.

His personal education includes a B.S. from Northwestern College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, a M.A. from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, a Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary also in Dallas, a MRE from Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Reviews

[Shiny]

Quick and a crisp read. The book is to the point and very well written. No new information but definitely a practical guide on principles to take an effective Sunday School. A wonderful opportunity to also introspect one's role as a teacher in leading and shepherding the class. I found the book in our church Sunday school cupboard. Many thanks to the person who has contributed this book for the church. I would definitely ask other teachers to read.

[G. Clay]

3.5 stars

Several "nuggets" in this book made it worth it.

[Erin Irwin]

Great advice for a brand new Sunday school teacher.

[Sarah Weidner]

I expected to roll my eyes as I read this book at the outdated information, but actually most of this advice is timeless and I will be using it as a reference as I continue to teach.

[Deeps George]

A simple and practical book for all Sunday School teachers to read, learn and apply.

[Barry Stone]

I love everything by Dr. Towns. This was very encouraging and practical. Every Sunday School would benefit and be inspired to be a Teacher that impacts the world.

[Erika]

I read this because it was given to me when I started teaching Sunday School. It did have valuable points in it, but nothing that blew me away as new knowledge. I'm terrible at non-fiction, so I'm happy that I finished this. I bettered my mind. :-)

[Sarah Poling]

Very practical intro to teaching and the key concepts teachers need to be familiar with, a quick and easy resource to use to train teachers!

[Thomas Kinsfather]

A long list of handy thoughts for children's teachers.

[Sam]

Good practical advice. Short read. Good for all Sunday School teachers to improve their teaching.