THE EVANGELICAL COLLEGE OF THEOLOGY (TECT)

LECTURE NOTES ON THE EDUCATIONAL MINISTRIES OF A CHURCH

February 14, 2024, Introductory Concepts

1. Definitions:
a. Education: is the act or process of developing and cultivating mentally and morally.
It is the use of specific instructions to prepare someone for a special calling. Its
synonyms are teaching, training, discipling, and forming. In the context of the
educational ministries of a church education is the training of an individual mentally
(mind) and morally (character) to become more like Christ Jesus (Ephesians 4:11-13).
b. Ministry: is the act of doing things needful and helpful. From a Christian
perspective, ministry has a connotation of service rendered, labour or duty performed
for the benefit of another. In biblical times, it is the service rendered by a person of
servant or slave status (doulos). In the context of the educational ministries of a
church, ministry is that which we do to advance the educational intentions of those
who comprise a church.
c. Church: is a group of people who have become children of God through receiving
Jesus Christ, through believing in his name (John 1:12, 13); and who have voluntarily
joined themselves together to share the fellowship of his love, and to carry out his
will in the world.
2. History of Educational Ministries of the Church in the Old Testament (OT). The Bible in
all its rightful expressions in text and in life has been the textbook of Christian religious
education in the OT as well as in the New Testament (NT). It emphasizes that everyone is
to be educated so, Christian educators need to acknowledge this truth and not
misrepresent the usefulness of education in the church. Teachers of the Bible must not
know how to teach (methodology) but also know the truth of the Bible (theology). The
pastor needs to be the primary educator in the church. The historical sketch we are going
to make will emphasize this vital precedent of the Bible in education:
a. Education in the OT Times: The OT educators use the Law known as the TORAH
with emphasis on what the Jews or Hebrews call the SHEMA recorded in
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear O Israel: The Lord your God is one Lord; and you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with
all your might. And these words which I command you this day shall be upon
your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of
them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you
lie down, and when you rise. And you shall bind them as a sign upon your hand,
and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. And you shall write them on the
doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The TORAH is the Law or the five
books of Moses; the PROPHETS is the history books and the prophets; the
HAGIOGRAPHA (“holy writings”) is the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job etc. In

1
 addition to these is the commentary or MISHNAH. All these together are known as
life to those who learn them (Proverbs 13:14). They teach this repeatedly so that
learners can remember the details taught by rote. Their education periods then was
divided into two periods: Pre-exilic (before the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Babylonians in 586 BC) and Post-exilic (the return to Jerusalem by the edict of King
Darius).
i) Pre-Exilic Period: “Education took place among the living. The family was
the chief educational institution. The teachers of the first importance were
parents, prophets, priests, sages, and poets. Education was in every aspect of
life. So, if you fail to teach or learn you are failing in life.
ii) Post-Exilic Period: This was the moment that education was critically
promoted. The people of Israel began to realise their specialty as the chosen
people of God to carry the task of making other nations realise the salvation of
God. They see themselves as a people with a mission. They started meeting in
small houses which later became the synagogues from which teaching later
continued away from the home. The developments in this period with regards
to education were as follows:
- Religious education received unique emphasis
- Family responsibility remained principal
- Schools emerged especially synagogues
- The rabbi was the synagogue teacher
b. Education in the NT: Many of the primary aspects of education in the OT in terms
of the textbook and personnel and syllabus, continued to be in use in the NT. The
personnel like the prophets continue to be used (John the Baptist) though not
extensively. The works of the sages and poets were in use but not the personnel. NT
education is also a continuity of the OT because the streams that hold it together like
the family, the schools and the synagogues are still the bases.
i) Education in the ministry of Jesus Christ: Christ himself was the great teacher.
The major task of his work on earth was teaching and preaching. Other
services like healing and raising were done but none equals the teaching he
did. Teaching therefore has the potential to increase the knowledge of the
gospel. Christ was identified with because: 1). He considered himself as a
teacher (John 13:13. 2). Friends, followers, and foes regard him as teacher
(Matthew 22:24; Mark 9:17; 12:13-14, 32; Luke 12:13; 19:39). 3). Jesus
taught masterfully by using analogies or illustrations. 4). Jesus commissioned
his followers to teach in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
ii) Education in the ministry of Paul: He was the most influential teacher of all
the followers of Christ because, first, he was educationally advanced since
childhood especially when he mentioned the city he was born as a Roman
citizen (Acts 21:39). Second, Paul had a superior education (Acts 22:3).
Thirdly, Paul was perceived as a teacher (Acts 21:28). Fourthly Paul’s
2
 teaching was effective (Acts 11:19-26). Fifthly Paul taught in the synagogue
(Act 13:14-52). Sixthly Paul taught wherever or whoever he could. Seventhly
Paul used various methods to teach like discourse, persuasion, correction etc.
Eighthly Paul admonished pastors to teach (1 Timothy 3:2). Ninthly Paul
taught faithfully throughout his ministry (Acts 28:30-31)

The above-mentioned notes recorded the biblical history of the educational ministries of the
church. The next consideration of the history of the educational ministries of the church is the
history of the enterprise of education in the Christian faith that is recorded in extra biblical
materials.

What is worth of note with regards to this next consideration is the movement of the educational
ministries from its original location (that is the Jewish/Greek/Roman/Christian world to our
present world. The path the educational ministries of the church followed was noted as follows:

1. Christianity moved gradually and mysteriously westward from those earliest days – from
Jerusalem to Antioch to Athens, Corinth, and Alexandria (Egypt), and later to Rome and
Carthage. Across the centuries, the westward movement reached the western hemisphere
(the Western Hemisphere includes not only North and South America but also portions
of Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and Asia). With this continuous westerly flow, education
was an integral part of the Christian faith.
2. Teaching continued as a major responsibility.
3. New concerns emerged:
a. Education through preaching
b. Education through teaching
c. They educated in their meetings.
d. They educated in the family.
e. They educated through worship services
f. They educated in catechetical schools; the most notable one being the Alexandria
school taught by Clement and Origen (Clements’ pupil) and Jerome (Origen’s pupil)
from AD 190 to AD 231. These schools stop to function by the end of the fifth
century.
4. Education across the centuries took a new dimension. Christianity, after the Roman
emperor Constantine, who decided to end Christian persecution, was declared a state
religion by Theodosius I in AD 380. This change introduced spiritual hierarchy in the
place of equality of all members. The concept of the bishop of Rome being the Pope
arose. The church turned to liturgy (body of rites prescribed for public worship) instead
of education till the time of the reformation of Martin Luther.
5. The period before the reformation was known as the Dark Ages. Religion was external in
practice rather than internal as prescribed by Christ in the “Sermon on the Mount”.
6. Education was deplorable and mostly neglected except for the hermits who preserved the
leaning materials in monasteries. Most of the church leaders at that time do not even

3
 know the Ten Commandments and The Lord’s Prayer or even where to find them in the
Bible.
7. The reformers renewed the education enterprise under the following developments:
- Facts that are seemingly contradictory to biblical teachings, like
Copernicus discovering that the earth is round and that it rotates around
the sun and so are other planets (this marks the beginning of secular
education) emerged; Johann Gutenberg printed the first Bible in Mainz,
Germany in 1456 ending the copying of the Bible by hand; the city of
Constantinople fell to the Mohammedan in 1453 causing the Greek
scholars to flee to Northern and Western Europe; and John Wycliffe
though later martyred in secret translated and printed the first English
Bible in 1384.
- Nationalism and colonizing developed
- Christopher Columbus voyaged and came upon the Western hemisphere.
He was noted to have suggested the use of Africans for slavery.
- There was then an awakening interest in learning known as the
Renaissance which prepared the way for the awakening interest in the
Christian faith.
- Learning revealed the truth of the priesthood of all believers. Attempts to
propagate this truth brought about the Reformation first initiated by the
German priest who renounced his oath of celibacy in the Protestant
Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany, on October 31, 1517. Martin
Luther championed education.
- Erasmus advocated popular Bible study.
- Philipp Melanchthon reformed education to include universities just like
Luther reformed religion.
- John Calvin urged the church to teach the young.
- John Knox of Scotland advanced Sunday education.
- Ulrich Zwingli favoured indoctrinating children. All the above efforts of
the reformers caused a renewed focus on the value of education in the
Christian faith. They encouraged the efforts of the home, the school, and
the church to be employed to accomplish the purpose.
8. Post Reformation Education.
Highlights of the developments that the Reformation had made upon religious education
history are as follows:
a. The Catholic Church, since they are the direct target of the Reformation, countered it
with the formation of the Society of Jesus (AKA Jesuits), founded by Ignatius
Loyola. They ignored the “search and destroy” (AKA Inquisition) moves of other
Catholics against the Reformers and instead emphasized on missions and education.
They made substantial moves in North and South America and the Orient (i.e.,
eastern part of Asia – China, Japan etc.). Loyola’s companion Francis Xavier left for
4
 India, Japan and China but died before entering China. Xavier’s focus was on
children, and he made significant gains in Japan on missions and education in that
nation.
b. The education of America reflected that of the Reformation. This was engineered by
the European settlers who came to the New World (America by then). From the
landing of these settlers 1620 to the birth of the American Republic in 1767 there was
no difference between secular education and religious education.
9. The Modern Era.
It was in America that religious education experienced its greatest development than
general education though they were at per during the eighteenth century. The following
then were the developments in the new era:
a. The Sunday School movement set the pattern. Robert Raikes of Gloucester started a
school held every Sunday for the child labour force of his community. It was his aim
to reach out to these neglected social menace on a day they rest from work. Raikes
believed if this young work force is taught to read, they will read the Bible and learn
the way of salvation. His efforts in 1780 (renting a meeting place; employing
teachers) yielded some positive results though he faced opposition from the-Lord’s-
Day fanatics. In addition, the funds to support teachers and purchase Bibles for the
students got finished. Raikes published an account of his work on Sunday school and
that publication motivated female volunteer teachers cushioned the decline. Others
like William Fox a wealthy Baptist merchant joined to help for the time being with
less success till John Wesley suggested free teacher services in 1811.
b. Southern Baptists experienced phenomenal educational growth.

BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE EDUCATIONAL MINISTRIES

The basic components of the educational ministries of the church are what we also call the
ministries of the educational ministries of the church. These basic components or educational
ministries of the church are:

1. Church and Home Ministries

2. Sunday School Ministries
3. Home Bible Studies (Home Cells)
4. Summer Bible Ministries (Vacation Bible School)
5. Church Retreats and Camping
6. Adult Education
7. Youth Program
8. Boys and Girls Club Programs
9. Children’s Church
10. Mission Education (Tertiary Education).