October 20th is National Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day

It seems that the usual way of doing things for Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day is to take a little chunk of time during the Sunday Worship Service to recognize the teachers and other workers. This usually happens on or around Promotion Sunday, near the end of the school year.

The funny thing is that each year it always seems to surprise everyone! As if the Christian Education Board suddenly met one night and said “Uh, oh… It’s the end of the year! What are we doing for the Sunday School Teachers?” And then someone (probably someone just like YOU) gets put in charge of planning some sort of suitable recognition.

As if it was possible to plan a suitable recognition ceremony for Sunday School Teachers! Just exactly HOW do you do that?

What is it you are going to do for people, who come to church every single solitary Sunday with a lesson prepared, and sit in a room full of students to lead them through the intricacies of the Bible, teach them, raise them up, pray for them, and ultimately lead many of them to saving faith in Christ? I tell you right now; whatever you are planning to do… it is not enough!

The only way these people will ever get the reward they deserve is when they get to heaven and our Lord, Jesus Christ tells each of them ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.’ Matthew 25:34

But…(Good news for you)… They probably KNOW that already!

So, in the meantime, they will smile happily and be genuinely grateful for the lovely Christian bookmark or refrigerator magnet that you give to each of them. They will appreciate the card you took time to write, or the plant you tied the bow around.

They will most likely kick their toe in the dirt, or study the intricate weave of the carpet, as you have them stand in front of the congregation, while you extol their virtues. And all the while they will be thinking about how grateful they are that this day only comes around once a year!

In the end, all they really want to do is get back to their classrooms and to their students; because that is where God speaks to them and feeds their soul. These are the teachers you want.

They are the ones who come back year after year. They sign up to teach, volunteer to substitute, and even offer to be there for VBS. They are the ones you can’t ever pay back for the time, treasure, and talent they have given away. And don’t worry… you don’t have to! Like I said, their true reward is coming later!

For now, break out the refrigerator magnets, and get those bookmarks all lined up. Print up the Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Certificates, and write all those Thank You notes. Because for now, this is the best we can do for these dedicated saints of God… at least on this side of heaven!