How to Use a Sunday School Leaders Covenant

Written by Christina Crawley

"Covenant" is a word that we don't usually hear many times outside of a wedding ceremony. But the truth is, this word has been around since Old Testament times (Gen. 15). And it's an important word for the new Sunday School year and doing good Sunday School work.But how do we use covenant in Sunday School?

To get started, make a list of the responsibilities of a Sunday School teacher that you feel are important. Be sure and list as many things as you can think of so that you can cover all aspects of this responsibility. Nothing is too small or too big at this point. You may end up combining some things or you may even take some things completely off the final draft. Things like showing up ata particular time each week, being a good witness, participating in regularly scheduled teachers' meetings, making sure to do the proper amount of preparation each week, and supporting the overall vision of the church need to be on the list and that list could go on and on.

Second, prioritize the list. Review the list again and put things in order of importance. You might also take the time to see which ones can be combined with each other and which ones can be taken off completely. Remember, you want the final draft to be thorough but not too long. If it's too long, itmay cause the prospective teacher to think there are too many thingsfor whichhe isresponsible, resulting in a decision not to serve. On the other hand, if it is too short, it will seem as if teaching is a breeze and we all know that's not true. Search for a good medium. A covenant that is about a page long will do fine. The fact is that if done properly, the reality will be that most teacherswill already be doing the listed items and they will have no issues with the covenant.

Next, talk to your pastor about the covenant. Discuss with him why you feel it is important to use it. Ask his opinion about the items you have included and if he seesany that should be there that aren't or things that shouldn't be that are. His input and support will go a long way in providing a good covenant to use with your teachers.

Your next step is to finalize the covenant. By now, you should have thought through whatshould be on the covenant and should also have a good amount of input that will help you to put together the final draft. If you have any questions at this point, you may need to go back to the second step and work back through it again.

Now youare readyto gather your Sunday School teachers and leadership to discuss the document and its purpose. Mention that you have talked with the pastor, Minister of Education and/or the Sunday School director about using the covenant. Emphasizeits purpose is not tohold something over their heads but to create accountability and to have an actual document that clearly communicates whatthechurch needs in its Sunday School teachers.

Finally, have each teacher read and sign a copy. You may want to give each teacher two copies, one to sign and give to you and one to keep. This way, they will always be able to evaluate themselves and make sure they are doing the things necessary to be effective as a teacher.

Establishing and using a Sunday School teachers' covenant is something that many churches have never done. Truthfully, this may be one of the hardest things to do with Sunday School leadership, especially if they are workers that have been teaching for many years without using one. But it is a necessary tool for any Sunday School to get the most out ofthe teachers. It provides a way for teachers to know specifically what is expected of them before they agree to serve and it creates an automatic system of accountability with those teachers.

Sample Sunday School Teacher Covenant.

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