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SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD 397
PRIMARY DEPARTMENT
ALLENE BRYAN. Superintendent
One of the greatest opportunities and corresponding responsibilities of
Southern Baptists is that of ministering to the large group of boys and girls
comprising the Primary division of the Sunday school. There are thousands of
boys and girls in the South not in any Sunday school who could be enrolled in
Primary classes in Baptist Sunday schools.
Through the efforts of the faithful State Elementary Secretaries, the Primary
Approved Workers, the Associational Primary Superintendents, and the
local workers, these boys and girls are being sought for regular Sunday school
attendance.
Primary workers among Southern Baptists have two Bible lesson courses
from which to choose, the Uniform and the closely Graded Lessons. The
Uniform Lessons are chosen on the basis of an effort to cover the high points
of the entire Bible in a given period of years. Those parts of the lessons thus
chosen with the general needs of all age groups in mind which seem most suitable
to Primary children are then adapted as best they may be to the needs of
children of Primary age.
In the Graded Lessons the choice of Bible material is made on the basis of
the child's spiritual needs at this particular stage of his development. Our
desire is that all unenlisted boys and girls shall be brought under the influence
of these Bible lessons that they may learn of Jesus and the way he wants us
to live.
Each month The Sunday School Builder carries a section devoted to the
promotion of Primary Sunday school work. Helps are provided for both Primary
superintendents and teachers.
Through The Sunday School Bulletin for Associational Sunday school workers,
help is made available for all Primary workers. This Bulletin is sent free to
Associational Primary Superintendents.
Two books are offered especially for Primary workers in the Sunday School
Training Course. They are Guiding the Primary Child in the Sunday School and
Primary Sunday School Work. Interest in these books is evidenced by the fact
that 3,197 awards were granted for their study during last year.
Increased interest in the Standard of Excellence was indicated by the fact
that 141 departments were recognized as Standard in 1945. This is the largest
number of Standard Primary departments to be reported in any given year.
* The nature of the world of tomorrow will be determined largely by the character
of the children of today. The admonition of the wise man of old was never
needed more than now: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he
is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6).
JUNIOR DEPARTMENT
LILLIAN M. RICE. Superintendent
At this time many circumstances combine to make especially important
our work with boys and girls nine, ten, eleven, and twelve years of age. These
boys and girls are confronted with numerous problems—the age-old problems of
childhood plus those peculiar to our time—broken homes, working mothers,
lowered moral standards, lack of leisure-time supervision, and many others.
In all its planning, the Junior department is aware of the factors affecting
boys and girls today, and is seeking to provide help which will strengthen character
and undergird moral life.
Each month in the Junior section of The Sunday School Builder help is
provided for Junior workers—discussion of problems, helps in planning assembly
programs and weekly officers and teachers' meetings.
Through The Associational Bulletin, sent free to 519 associational Junior
workers, topics for study in the monthly meetings are offered each month.
Two series of lesson helps are provided in the Junior course—the closely
Graded Lessons prepared for schools having one or more separate classes for
each age group, and the Uniform series, prepared for schools where two or
more age groups meet together in one class. The Uniform Lessons are based