Organizing and Building Up the Sunday School Part 4

(6) _Chief of Staff._ In a word, the a.s.sociate superintendent should be the chief of staff to the executive head of the school, his eyes, ears, and hand; possessing full acquaintance and accord with his plans, and carrying them out in his name; informing and advising him, yet careful of criticism; avoiding all that would hinder, and aiding in all that would make his management successful. He can divide the labor, and relieve his chief of some of the most perplexing and trying details, leaving him free to watch over the general interests of the school.

Whoever can fulfill such a service is an invaluable worker, and should be held in high honor.

Many of the duties named above may be in the sphere of the department superintendent, who should be in his section what the a.s.sociate superintendent is to the school.

IX

THE SECRETARY OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL

1. =Importance.= The secretary of the Sunday school is an officer of far greater importance than is generally supposed. In too many schools some youth in the adolescent period is made secretary, merely to keep him in the school, without consideration of his capacity and adaptedness to the office. As a result of an unsuitable appointment, the minutes of the teachers' meetings are incomplete, the registry of the cla.s.ses is neglected, and the true condition of the school cannot be ascertained.

If by any good fortune or by a more careful choice an able and faithful secretary takes his place, at once a new impulse is felt by the school.

The superintendent, the teachers, and even the scholars will realize that energy, accuracy, and thoroughness count for much in the work of this department. They will appreciate faithful service, and will themselves respond to its influence.

2. =Qualifications.= The ideal secretary of a Sunday school should possess the following characteristics:

(1) _A Business Man._ He should possess the instincts of a man of business, being willing to work, systematic in method, and thorough in care of details.

(2) _Regular in Attendance._ He should make the Sunday school his business on Sunday, with a fidelity equal to that which he manifests toward his vocation through the week. His regularity should also embrace promptness, coming in advance of the hour; for much of the secretary's work may be done before the opening of the service.

(3) _Good Writer._ He should be able to write legibly, and possess skill in framing sentences correctly, and in writing them plainly, without unnecessary flourishes.

(4) _Quick Mental Action._ His mental processes should be sufficiently rapid for him to set down an ordinary motion, presented in a public meeting, without requiring it to be repeated or written out by the mover. An able recorder will promptly express in the minutes the form of a motion or the spirit of a speech, thereby saving much time in the meeting and much s.p.a.ce in the report.

(5) _Quiet Manner._ The secretary should watch the program and do his work without interrupting it. He should never appear among the cla.s.ses during prayer, during the reading of Scripture, or while a speaker is addressing the school. Only under urgent necessity should he come to a cla.s.s in the lesson period, and in that case only at its beginning.

During intervals in the service, or during the singing, he may find it needful at times to pa.s.s among the cla.s.ses; but he should do this necessary work quietly, without distracting the attention of the school.

(6) _Courteous Conduct._ His bearing should always be that of a gentleman, refined and courteous, thoughtful of others and patient toward all; a manner enabling him to win the friendly aid of every teacher, upon whom the accuracy of the cla.s.s record must depend.

Whoever can be found, in the school or the community, possessing these qualities, or approaching them, should be chosen as secretary of the Sunday school, whether man or woman. Often a young woman, accustomed through the week to business methods, becomes an efficient secretary of the Sunday school.

3. =Appointment.= The secretary should be elected by the board of officers and teachers. As he is not merely an a.s.sistant to the superintendent, but an officer of the school, it is not necessary that he should receive a nomination from the superintendent. His term of office should be one year, with as many reelections as will promote the good of the service.

4. =a.s.sistants.= In almost any school the secretary will need an a.s.sistant, whom he should nominate, subject to confirmation by the board of teachers and officers.

5. =Department Secretaries.= In a graded Sunday school there should be an a.s.sistant secretary for each department, who may be one of the teachers, or in the Senior and Adult grades, one of the scholars. He should take the records of the cla.s.ses in the department and transmit them to the secretary of the school. But the secretary is responsible for the records of the entire school, and should see personally that the record of each department is complete.

6. =Duties.= The work of the secretary may be cla.s.sified as follows:

(1) _Record of Meetings._ As secretary of the board of teachers and officers, he should be present at all business meetings and make a careful record. Every motion should be stated clearly, with the names of its mover and its seconder, and the action taken. A statement should be given of every committee appointed, its purpose, and the names of its members. All committees should be expected to present written reports, however brief. A concise summary of each report, in a few sentences, or a single clause, should appear in the minutes of the meeting at which the report is presented; and the report itself should be filed for reference in case it should be needed. A committee once named is on the minutes, and cannot be ignored nor forgotten until its report has been presented and adopted, and the committee has been formally discharged.

For example, it is not sufficient for the committee on the Christmas entertainment to hold the entertainment; it must afterward report that the entertainment was held on a certain date; must have its report adopted, and receive its discharge. It should be the duty of the secretary from time to time to call for reports of committees named in the minutes of previous meetings, to insist that a report be rendered, and that some action be taken upon it.

(2) _Record of the School._ In every well-ordered Sunday school the secretary summarizes in writing the attendance in each department, the total attendance, the number of new scholars, and other items to be preserved, including the weather, which may sometimes account for a small attendance; also a comparison with the record of the same Sunday last year. This report should be read to the school by the secretary at the call of the superintendent, or posted before the school; and it should also be recorded in a book which will contain the statistics of the school through a term of years.

(3) _Records of Cla.s.ses._ The secretary and his a.s.sistants should prepare the books in which the cla.s.s record of attendance is recorded.

The name of each scholar should be given correctly and fully (for example, not "F. Jones," but "Frederick Jones"). The secretary should see that the record of attendance for each Sunday is accurately kept. He will need to give special attention to cla.s.ses where subst.i.tutes take the place of absent teachers, and to see that the record for the day is not neglected. As often as the arrangement of the cla.s.s books requires the rewriting of the names of the scholars, he should transcribe the list, always writing every name in full. In looking through the cla.s.s lists he should note the names of those who have been absent for a series of sessions, and should report them to the superintendent, for consideration and for investigation of every habitual absentee. If these scholars can be visited, many of them may be retained in the school.

(4) _Records of Scholars._ In addition to the record in the cla.s.s books, another record should be kept of every member of the school, including every officer, teacher, and scholar; a card catalogue, each name upon a separate card, and all the cards filed in alphabetical order. The card for each scholar should give besides his name the date of his entrance to the school, either the date of his birth or his age at entering--approximative, if above eighteen years; his residence, with street and number in a city; parents' names; cla.s.s to which he is a.s.signed; his relation to the church or congregation, and any other important facts. The card should contain the record of every promotion, and its date; of any changes in residence, and other details, so that it becomes a reliable and complete history of each individual in the school. In many schools the birthday of each member is kept upon the record, and is recognized by sending a birthday card. If a scholar or teacher leaves the school the fact is recorded, and the card is then taken from the regular catalogue and filed permanently in the list of "former members."

(5) _Literature of the School._ The secretary should be in charge of the literature used by the school, its text-books, lesson-quarterlies, and other periodicals. He should see that the literature is ordered in full time, should receive it, keep it in his care, and attend to its distribution. The particular text-book for each grade is fixed by the superintendent; and the secretary should receive from him direction as to the lesson helps for each grade.

(6) _Correspondence._ The secretary should conduct all correspondence in behalf of the school or of the teachers as a body, unless for a special purpose the chairman of a committee be in charge of correspondence relating to his work.

The secretary who with the aid of his staff undertakes to do all the work that rises before him will not find his task a light one. But his department carried on with vigor will greatly promote the success of the Sunday school.

X

THE TREASURY AND THE TREASURER

1. =In the Early Sunday School.= A study of origins has shown that in the earliest Sunday schools in America, as in England, provision was made for the payment of officers and teachers. In the first schools established in and near Philadelphia, each paid teacher had charge of what would now be considered a department, and the practical teaching was given under his direction by scholars, who were called monitors. But in a new country, where the settlements were small and the people mostly poor, the system of paid teachers soon pa.s.sed away, and the schools were carried on by voluntary and unpaid workers. It was fortunate for the American Sunday school that in its beginnings it required but little money. For the place of meeting any chapel or schoolhouse or settler's cabin would serve. The literature was exceedingly meager--a few Testaments and spelling books, and generally these were brought by the teachers and scholars. When the earliest lesson books were published, they were not quarterlies, nor annuals, to be thrown away after one using, but were studied year after year. The largest item of expense was the library; and as this was an inst.i.tution for the entire neighborhood, the families willingly contributed toward it. Not until the Sunday school had become thoroughly founded did the question of its financial support arise as a problem.

2. =In the Modern Sunday School.= As the Sunday school advanced in position, in influence, and in better methods of work, its expenses naturally increased. Now, in the opening of its second century, its financial requirements are far greater than they were even a generation ago. It asks for special and suitable buildings, with rooms and furnishings adapted to the educational needs of its several departments; for a periodical literature suited to teachers and scholars of every grade, and requiring to be renewed every year; for an organ or piano--often for several, with an orchestra added; for an equipment of song books different from those in the church service; for entertainments and gifts at Christmas, and a day's outing for all in the summer; for libraries containing popular books for the scholars and helpful works for the teachers in their work. The demands of a large and growing Sunday school, in city or country, are great, but in nearly all congregations the funds for the support of the Sunday school are obtained with less effort than those for any other department of church activity, and in this liberality the Christian people show their wisdom and insight.

3. =Practical Ways and Means.= The methods of financial support for the Sunday school are exceedingly varied. The simplest plan is through a regular weekly contribution in the cla.s.ses. Where attention is given to the collection, and an appeal is occasionally made in its behalf, the school will generally obtain the funds needed for its own support. When the special need arises for the purchase of a piano or a library, some entertainment may be held which will by its profits swell the receipts.

The objection to these methods, which are almost universal, is that they appeal to self-interest, and fail to educate the members of the school in true liberality. It is for _our_ school, _our_ piano, _our_ library, that the appeal is made and the money is contributed. The scholars should be taught to give to the cause of Christ and his gospel, and not merely to interests from which they themselves are to receive a reward.

4. =The Ideal Way of Giving.= The more excellent way is for the church in its annual estimate of expenses to include a fair, even liberal, allowance for the Sunday school, and at intervals through the year pa.s.s over to the treasury of the Sunday school the funds appropriated, to be expended according to principles and regulations provided. Then let every officer, teacher, and pupil in the school, from the Adult Department to the Primary, and even to the Beginners, make his own weekly offering to the church. Most church schools contribute to the cause of foreign missions; but there is equal reason why they should give to all the general benevolent objects for which the church receives an annual collection. This plan would unite the church and the school more firmly, would avoid multiplying and conflicting objects for which funds are raised, and, best of all, would train every child in the Sunday school to systematic giving upon the true gospel principle, which is "not to be ministered unto, but to minister."

5. =The Sunday-School Treasurer.= The work of the treasurer is very different from that of the secretary; yet the two offices are often held by one person. In that case they should be regarded as distinct positions; the election to the two offices should be separate, and not at the same time for one person as secretary and treasurer. At every business meeting a separate report should be presented for the two departments, and the treasurership should not be regarded as a branch of the secretary's work. If the plan outlined in the last paragraph be adopted as the method of providing for the financial needs of the Sunday school, it might be well to choose the treasurer of the church as treasurer of the Sunday school, thus giving unity to the financial administration of the entire organization.

6. =The Treasurer's Work.= This will require a person who is known as careful in accounts, as well as honorable in all his dealings.

(1) _His Charge._ All the funds of the Sunday school should pa.s.s through his hands. If money is raised for any purpose, or a money-making entertainment is held, the treasurer should take charge of the receipts and pay the bills. For this purpose he should be ex officio a member of all committees required to receive and disburse funds.

(2) _Bank Account._ Except in small and remote places, the treasurer will find it desirable to keep an account with a bank in behalf of the school, and deposit therein all moneys received. Under no circ.u.mstances should he deposit Sunday-school funds as a part of his own private account, but should keep separate accounts as an individual and as treasurer.

(3) _Reports and Vouchers._ At each meeting of the governing board of the school he should present a statement of the condition of the treasury, with exact mention of all moneys received and paid since the last meeting; and for every payment he should show a receipt or voucher, and on it the "O. K." or approval of some qualified person who knows that it is correct.

(4) _Bills._ He should receive all bills against the school, and should inform himself concerning them, in order to be able to answer any questions raised by members of the board. He should present at the meeting a statement of all the unpaid bills on hand, with a forecast of bills expected, and obtain a vote of the board upon each bill that is to be paid.

(5) _Checks._ It is desirable to pay bills as far as possible with checks, as the check will often serve as a receipt; and the receipted bills should be filed together for reference.

(6) _Audits._ An Auditing Committee should be appointed, to examine the accounts of the school from time to time, and always when the treasurer completes his term, alike whether he is reelected or gives place to a successor. This committee should either present a written report, or should sign their names to the treasurer's report, with the indors.e.m.e.nt, "Audited and found correct."

Most of the above recommendations, perhaps all of them, state the methods that would be followed by any intelligent, businesslike treasurer. But in the continent-wide area of the Sunday school, of necessity, not all treasurers are intelligent or experienced in business methods; and there are doubtless many who may profit by these suggestions.

(7) _Study of Benevolent Interests._ One of the most important duties of a treasurer in a modern Sunday school is to study the different charitable objects that present themselves to the school, decide upon their merits, and then present them understandingly to the members of the school, with a view to eliciting their interest and training them in the spirit and habit of intelligent giving. This important task raises the treasurership out of mere mechanical service, and const.i.tutes it one of the directing forces in the school.

XI