nineteen hundred and forty-six - Amazon Web Services

SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD 409
JUNIOR DEPARTMENT
FRANCES WHTTWORTH, Director of Junior Work
Southern Baptist Junior boys and girls—that exceedingly active age group
9-12—are increasingly being led to direct their energies toward the Junior union
program of "training in church membership." At the end of 1945 reports showed
a total of 11,642 Junior unions, a gratifying gain of 403 unions over the preceding
year.
Emphasis is being placed on trained leadership for these Juniors, namely: an
adult leader and at least one sponsor in each union, department officers, associational
Junior leaders and a state leader or approved worker to promote Junior
work in each state.
These facts indicate steady progress:
1. During the year, 888,227 copies of the Baptist Junior Union Quarterly and
19,783 copies of The Junior Leader were distributed. For the fourth quarter
of 1945, the peak circulation for any one quarter was reached—232,200 for the
Baptist Junior Union Quarterly and 20,400 for The Junior Leader.
2. Standard awards indicating an excellence in work done went to 190 Junior
unions and 10 departments.
3. Study Course awards for Juniors in 1945 totaled 65,723—second only to the
Adults in that attainment. Awards for study of The Junior Leadership Manual
totaled 1,334 and for the combined Junior and Intermediate Leaders' Manual,
1,028.
4. Through many Training Unions Juniors are being led to use their church
libraries.
5. Stress is being placed through The Baptist Training Union Magazine and other
channels of promotion on practical missionary activities, improved program
presentations, and more meaningful Bible study.
Christian juvenile training can do much to offset juvenile delinquency. Let
us be vigilant to grasp our opportunities with this aggressive age group!
STORY HOUR DEPARTMENT
THELMA ARNOTE, Director of Story Hour Work
The year 1945 witnessed a steady increase of interest in the work of the
Story Hour; a rapid expansion of the Story Hour work with more churches
setting up the Story Hour as a part of the Training Union; and further grading
and departmentization of the Story Hour in the churches which have it.
A few quotations from correspondence reveal the extent and direction of
growth in the Story Hour program during 1945.
"Please send us any helps you have for organizing a Story Hour."
"Last spring we had only one Story Hour. Now we are fully departmentized
and have fifteen workers; we should have twenty-one."
"We are having a training school next week and want to plan something for
the children. What would you suggest?"
"Another church in our new association has invited me to teach Story Hour
leaders the week of February 10."
Leadership training opportunities for Story Hour work met with increased
response throughout the South during the year. Many classes using the Story
Hour Leadership Manual were conducted.
Plans are being made for a great program of Story Hour leadership instruction
at the Ridgecrest Assembly, July 11-31. In addition to the classes in Story
Hour leadership, there will be several practical discussion groups dealing with
the various phases of Story Hour work.
The development of Story Hour work in the churches goes hand in hand with
the development of the Adult department of the Training Union. Every church,
from the smallest to the largest, should have its Story Hour work. Every
associational Training Union should have an associational Story Hour leader.
The progress of the past in Story Hour development is a motive for the future.
We anticipate an adequate Story Hour program in every Baptist church.