School’s in Session

Studying God’s Word, serving the cause

“All of us have felt that the Sunday School is the nursery of the Church, the camp of instruction for her young soldiers, the great missionary to the future…” — Basil Manly Jr., 1863

Sunday schools began at the end of the 18th century in England to give lower-class children a basic education, which included religious instruction. Spreading to the United States in the early 1800s, Sunday School Unions were formed with the belief that Sunday schools were the “nurseries of the church.” This was James M. Frost’s driving vision behind the founding of the Sunday School Board in 1891—to help churches increase and improve Sunday schools.

Sunday School for All Ages

“God’s Word as the textbook…”

Although Sunday school began as a program for children, in 1912 the Sunday School Board reported to the Southern Baptist Convention a “new and important development”—Sunday school classes for adults. “These classes serve well for gathering grown-up people into the school, in holding them to the study of God’s Word as the textbook, and otherwise serving the cause,” the Board said in its annual report.

Over time Sunday school literature diversified. By the late 1970s, churches could choose among three lines of study materials. Beginning in the 1980s, curriculum became available in a multitude of languages.

Starting Points

Choose your approach to studying Scripture

In 2012, Lifeway introduced The Gospel Project, a theology-oriented curriculum that rapidly grew to more than 1 million weekly users. With The Gospel Project, groups look at the themes of Scripture and see how they all fit together and point to Christ. LifeWay’s other ongoing studies include Bible Studies for Life, for groups that prefer to start with life issues, and Explore the Bible, a book-by-book approach to studying Scripture.

In 2015, Lifeway launched SmallGroup.com, an online tool allowing leaders to build their own Bible study curriculum from existing studies. LifeWay’s oldest ongoing Sunday School curriculum series is the current Bible Studies for Life, previously known as Bible Teaching for Kids, Preschool Bible Teacher, Guide for Preschool Teachers, and Church Nursery Guide. This series aligned with the previous Life & Work series for adults.

Sunday School Now

Always committed to teaching God’s Word

Today, Sunday school takes place in a variety of settings throughout the week. No longer held just on Sundays and often identified by names such as community groups or life groups, it retains the same central purpose—to provide a regular time for believers to gather for fellowship and to grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. Lifeway began as a publisher of Sunday school materials to help churches teach God’s Word, and Sunday school ministries remain at LifeWay’s core. Lifeway offers different lines of curriculum, all designed to help churches take kids, students, and adults into the truth of God’s Word.

Kind Words for the
Sunday School Children

“...traced like a golden thread…”

Kind Words for the Sunday School Children was first published in 1866 by Basil Manly Jr., president of the first Sunday School Board (1863-1873). It contained articles, poems, and Scripture lessons. Kind Words—dubbed “a little Sabbath School paper”—reached a circulation of 25,000 copies per month. With the beginning of the second Sunday School Board in 1891, Kind Words became its first curriculum series for churches.

"This paper may be traced like a golden thread through the annals of the Southern Baptist Convention, and is the connecting link between the past and the present, between our prosperity of today and the severe struggle of our fathers in those far-away years. It is in a great sense the basis of all we have today in Sunday school life and literature." —James M. Frost

Bible School Every Day

The birth of Vacation Bible School

The Vacation Bible School movement began in 1898 when Mrs. Walker A. Hawes conducted an Everyday Bible School at Epiphany Baptist Church for poor children living on New York’s East Side. The school grew more popular every year and became one of the most effective methods of evangelism for churches. By 1901, others joined the effort of providing Everyday Bible Schools in the New York area. In the 1920s, Everyday Bible Schools became known as Vacation Bible Schools and Christian publishers, including the Sunday School Board, began making VBS curriculum available.

VBS Added to Sunday School Work

Grice chosen to lead a new venture

The Southern Baptist Convention added Vacation Bible School to the Sunday School Board’s ministry assignments in 1921. One man who caught the spirit of VBS was Homer L. Grice, pastor of First Baptist Church, Washington, Georgia. When leaders at the Sunday School Board heard of Grice’s success, they established a VBS department and invited Grice in 1924 to lead it. The program blossomed under his leadership.

Modern VBS

Trusted materials for churches

In 1997, the Sunday School Board’s 75th year of producing VBS, a new format was introduced with “The Wild and Wonderful Good News Stampede: Telling Others about Jesus.” The new format introduced children’s rotation sites for music, missions, crafts, recreation, and snacks. Other additions included an evangelistic emphasis, theme music, video segments, and a musical based on the daily songs and drama. Today, preschoolers, children, teens, and adults all have the opportunity to study at an age-appropriate level the same Scripture passages and daily theme, making LifeWay’s VBS a true family experience. In 2003 Spanish translations of the preschool and children’s resources were introduced.

Connecting Kids to God’s Word

Summer wouldn’t be the same without VBS

By 2009, Southern Baptist Vacation Bible School enrollment averaged around 3 million, with about 10 percent of participants identifying themselves as unchurched. The Lifeway Kids team hosts VBS leaders from across the U.S. for VBS Preview events. Leaders have the opportunity to explore VBS resources, experience a VBS worship rally, and preview the VBS musical performed by a local children’s choir. VBS has changed over the years to meet the needs of children, but the purpose of VBS remains the same—to proclaim the message of Christ and the gospel to children.

Camps for Kids

One week can change a life

Lifeway launched Crosspoint camps for kids in 1986. For 24 summers, “where the desire to excel athletically and the message of Christ meet” was the mission of Crosspoint Christian Sports Camps. CentriKid, for kids in third through sixth grades, began in 2000. The camp focuses on Bible study, worship and devotions, and recreation. Its name connected the kids’ camps to Centrifuge Camps, LifeWay’s camp program for teens. In 2009 Lifeway held the last Crosspoint camps, rolling them into the CentriKid program.

Lifeway Enters Student Work

Developing the next generation of leaders

From its earliest years, Lifeway has developed materials and programs for teaching young people—on college campuses, at camps, and within the church. In the years leading up to the formation of the Sunday School Board, another institution, the Baptist Young People’s Union, was developing. The two would soon be bound together. By 1893, Baptist Young People’s Unions were under way in Texas, Arkansas, Maryland, and Virginia. That same year, the Southern Baptist Convention asked the Board to provide literature to support distinctly Baptist young people’s organizations. In response, Board President T.P. Bell created the Young People’s Leader monthly and hired Isaac J. Van Ness as editor. By 1916, the BYPU exploded from 500 unions with 20,000 members to more than 4,000 unions with about 153,000 young people.

Baptist Young People’s Union

Churches become training grounds for ministry

Along with Isaac J. Van Ness, Landrum P. Leavell began working with the Baptist Young People’s Unions in 1907. He was later joined by editors E.E. Lee and Arthur Flake. The Sunday School Board developed a distinct curriculum for young people and began contributing money to the BYPU. This effort eventually grew into a comprehensive Bible study for students 17 and older. Subjects included church membership, stewardship, missions, evangelism, and denominational life. The unions gradually moved to a graded program for younger students and older adults. The BYPU movement developed into a churchwide training program for all age groups, and, in 1934, the name was changed to Baptist Training Union.

Baptist Student Union

Collegiate ministry begins in Memphis

Early on, the Sunday School Board played a key role in the growth of student ministry on college and university campuses. An outgrowth of the Baptist Young People’s Union, the Baptist Student Union began in 1922 in Memphis, Tennessee, as an Inter-Board Convention activity and in 1928 was transferred to the Sunday School Board with L.P. Leavell as the leader. The idea behind the BSU was to provide spiritual care for students, plus give an invitation to mission work and guidance on maintaining a Christian lifestyle on campus. As the Sunday School Board’s centennial neared, there were Baptist Student Unions on more than a thousand college campuses reaching almost 150,000 students. Today, Baptist Collegiate Ministries continue on university campuses, challenging and inspiring students to make disciples and take the gospel to the nations.

Student Camps

FUGE camps become summer tradition

Over the years, 1.5 million students and counting have come through the Sunday School Board’s student camps. Centrifuge camps debuted in 1979 with 7,500 campers at the Board’s conference centers, Ridgecrest and Glorieta. Centrifuge combines small group Bible study with fun, creative activities and a great worship experience. MFuge was born in 1995, combining the best of Centrifuge with a missions emphasis. MFuge soon expanded to include international locations, starting with Ecuador in 1998. In 2005, Lifeway added XFuge, giving churches the option of keeping their youth groups together. XFuge on Mission sends students on local ministry assignments such as painting a children's home and feeding the homeless. FUGE campers through the years have raised millions of dollars for missions and thousands of lives have been changed.

Student Life

Building community and engaging God’s Word

Student Life, originally based in Birmingham, Ala., has provided Christian summer camps and conferences for kids and youth since 1993, when it hosted its first camp for 400 students. Today, Student Life impacts thousands of students every summer through worship and Bible study. On Aug. 15, 2012, Student Life became part of the Lifeway family of resources.

Building Strong Families

Board begins active emphasis on family ministry

Over the years, Lifeway has offered resources to provide trustworthy, compelling, and practical help for Christian families through the local church. In 1946, the Sunday School Board committed an entire department to home curriculum for strengthening marriages, nurturing children, and promoting Christian character at home. A year later, HomeLife was launched, a monthly magazine designed to assist the church in supporting Christian marriages and parenting. HomeLife, the first magazine published by the Sunday School Board, continues today as the most popular periodical with more than a million copies a month in circulation.

Grady Cothen, LifeWay’s sixth president, made building strong families a primary focus, adding numerous other publications such as Christian Single, Mature Living, and Parenting Teens. Lifeway continues reaching out to help families with Bible studies and through digital tools such as podcasts and online video series.

Lifeway Launches Women’s Ministry

From Bible studies to live events, millions impacted

Since its earliest days, Lifeway has had a heart for women’s ministry. The Sunday School Board worked closely with the Woman’s Missionary Union and the Home Mission Board at the end of the 19th century to minister to women and families across the South. At a time when few churches had women's ministries, Lifeway helped to launch Bible teacher Beth Moore, whose Bible studies and live events have touched the lives of millions of women. Training for women’s ministry leaders is now done in all sorts of ways—online, in person at events, and through a group of Lifeway Women’s Ministry Trainers. YouLead is a women’s leadership event that happens across the country, and Lifeway offers the Women’s Leadership Forum each November in Nashville to train women in leadership.

A Woman’s Heart

Encouraging women to draw close to God through study

In 1995, Lifeway introduced Bible studies for women by Beth Moore, whose energetic and inspiring presentations to women about their role in God’s kingdom and the joy to be found in it attracted an ever-increasing audience. With Moore’s first study, A Woman’s Heart: God’s Dwelling Place, women’s ministry was about to take a new form and grow to a new level.

Soon after, Lifeway began publishing the Bible study material in book style. Within three years, Moore’s books sold half a million copies, and she and Lifeway became strong partners in women’s ministry. Moore has published more than a dozen Bible studies with Lifeway on both Old Testament and New Testament subjects to help millions of women grow in their faith.

Living Proof Live

Digging into God’s Word for a lifetime

After Beth Moore’s initial Bible study was released, women’s groups were asking her to come speak. She thought it would be easier to speak to several groups at once. When thousands of women turned out in churches and then arenas for Moore's Living Proof Live events, the hunger for women's discipleship in God's Word was evident.

In 2017, Lifeway celebrated 20 years of Living Proof Live events with Beth Moore. In that time, Moore and the team have traveled to all 50 states. Lifeway now has an entire event team producing events with authors like Priscilla Shirer, Kelly Minter and many others. Through the power of simulcast, the event team can livestream an event to churches across the nation.

Journey Toward the Father

Helping women develop a daily walk with God

Journey, a devotional magazine for women, was launched in 1994 under the editorial direction of Selma Wilson. Journey continues to serve as a guide to Scripture for answers to important, real-life questions that modern women face. It equips women to develop a daily walk with God and to serve Him in their homes, churches, and communities. Journey is now available both in print and digitally via LifeWay’s DevoHub app.

Transformed

Men’s ministry focuses on connection and transformation

Men’s ministry takes many different shapes. In many churches, the most effective strategy may not involve a formalized men’s ministry. Healthy ministry to men connects, disciples, challenges, and ultimately witnesses men transformed by the power of Jesus. Lifeway isn’t interested in leading men to modify their behaviors or encouraging them to pull themselves up by their bootstraps. Lifeway Men seeks to help churches lead men to gospel transformation as they are mastered by the rule and reign of Jesus over every aspect of their lives. Lifeway provides men’s Bible studies as well as Stand Firm, a men’s devotional to help churches disciple men.

The Study that Moved Millions

"Find out where God is at work and join Him there."

Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God has touched and changed thousands of churches and millions of lives worldwide since its release in 1990. While attending a prayer conference at the Sunday School Board in 1986, Henry Blackaby, a pastor and director of missions at the time, met Roy Edgemon, director of discipleship. Blackaby unpacked the seven realities of experiencing God as he taught them in his conferences. As a result of that meeting, Experiencing God would become an interactive course on how to help people experience God rather than just know about Him. The workbook has sold more than 7 million copies, is available in more than 60 languages, and has been used in almost every denomination. Blackaby’s simple message: “Find out where God is at work and join Him there.”

1940s

Ralph Pallen Coleman (1892 – 1968)

Coleman’s career spanned more than half a century. During World War I, he worked in the Marine camouflage department painting combat vessels. In 1915 he sold his first illustration to the Saturday Evening Post. During the 1920s and ’30s, Coleman turned out a steady stream of religious and biblical paintings for Providence Lithographics. One of his most widely distributed works, The Eternal Christ, was painted in 1942. It was reproduced and several million copies were distributed to both civilians and servicemen during World War II. Coleman’s portrayal of Christ unites an essential spirituality with the warm humanity of a strong and vigorous young man. In his later years, Coleman had the most complete series of paintings on the life of Christ ever done by a contemporary artist.

1950s

Ben Stahl (1910 – 1987)

Ben Stahl was an accomplished artist whose work appeared in several national magazines, including illustrations for more than 750 stories for the Saturday Evening Post. He was co-founder of the Famous Artists School, a correspondence art course. Stahl also served as an official U.S. Air Force artist.

In 1951 he was commissioned to paint The 14 Stations of the Cross for a special edition Bible published by the Catholic Press of Chicago. Seven years later, Stahl was commissioned by MGM Studios to create six paintings for the movie Ben-Hur. In 1965, Stahl wrote and illustrated his first book Blackbeard’s Ghost, which was made into a 1968 Disney film. Norman Rockwell once said of Stahl, “We are but illustrators, but you among the masters, and I am filled with admiration.”

1960s

Cleveland Woodward (1900 – 1986)

An Ohio native, Cleveland Woodward had a career spanning 47 years. He created thousands of pen-and-ink drawings and hundreds of oil and watercolor paintings for various publishers. His reputation as one of the foremost contemporary illustrators of the Bible was firmly established in the early 1960s. At one time he had one of the largest collections of biblical costumes, some of which were purchased from Bedouin tribes whose style of dress had changed little during centuries of desert life.

Over a period of years, by experience and study that included a trip to the Holy Land, Woodward accumulated a working knowledge of the customs and costuming of the times. Woodward said his objective in painting biblical scenes was to eliminate sentimentality—to show Christ, His apostles, and the people of the Bible not as dressed-up Americans but as strong Semitic people.

1970s

Patricia Karch (1923 – 2011) & Paul Karch (1919 – 2003)

The Karches are the only husband-and-wife team to have painted for LifeWay. Together they produced an extensive body of work. Both were born and raised in Dayton, Ohio, and lived there most of their lives. Their careers were focused on religious illustration. Though they illustrated for multiple publishers, Lifeway Christian Resources would become their primary and most valued client. They spoke frequently with affection and appreciation for this long and mutually beneficial opportunity to contribute to the education of young Christians.

Their son, Dick Karch, and daughter, Carol Voyles, were also artists who contributed to LifeWay’s volume of art over the years.

1980s

John Steel (1921 – 1998)

Born in New York City and raised in France and Spain, John Steel returned to the United States as a teenager. Raised in a family of accomplished singers and actors, he performed briefly on Broadway as one of the Dead End Kids as a young boy and occasionally sang on the radio. At the start of his career, Steel worked on the design of the Matterhorn and the Western Village at Disneyland. He also designed and drew the storyboards for movies such as Ben-Hur, Spartacus, and Mutiny on the Bounty.

Steel was a veteran of three wars. He fought in World War II at the battle of Guadalcanal. During the Korean War he fought at the battle of the Chosin Reservoir. He was a Marine combat photographer and artist during the Vietnam War, serving five tours of duty. Steel produced a large volume of work for Lifeway over the years.

1990s

Jim Noble (1921 – 2009)

Prior to a career in art, Jim Noble was a B-17 pilot during World War II, flying 24 combat missions. Noble ended up in a German POW camp—the same camp the movie The Great Escape was based on. Under the GI Bill, he attended the Chouinard Institute of Art in Los Angeles. Early in his career, Noble worked for a variety of nationally known advertising agencies. He was eventually hired by Walt Disney World, where he served as senior illustrator for 13 years. He was also elected into the Disney Hall of Fame.

Upon his retirement from Disney, Jim immediately began contract illustration work for LifeWay, where he produced a large volume of biblical art over the years.

2000s

Douglas C. Klauba 1963 –

Douglas Klauba is an award-winning painter and illustrator whose work is recognized for his heroic-deco style with influences of art nouveau design. Klauba established a studio in his hometown of Chicago, where his illustrations have been commissioned for many book covers, magazines, calendars, posters, and collectibles for a variety of national and international clients.

He was commissioned by The Bradford Exchange for a variety of collectible projects, including a series of Gone With the Wind plates. A poster of Klauba’s painting “Stella 7” can be seen on the popular television show Big Bang Theory.

Klauba had a long-term working relationship with Lifeway and recognizes those many years as the most gratifying, challenging, and rewarding experiences in his professional career.