Sabbath School
About the department
Sabbath School is a religious education system within the Adventist Church that seeks to build the faith of Seventh-day Adventist adults, youth, and children. The mission of the North England Conference Sabbath School Department is to nurture and facilitate the spiritual growth of individuals – through education and discipleship – as they deepen their relationship with God.
Sabbath School is the heart of the Church, especially those who disciple their members to be followers of Christ. This is achieved through interactive teaching, training, and mentoring, thus equipping each person to go out then and make disciples of Christ for themselves. This mission incorporates the General Conference vision and mission "I Will Go, Reach My World," which, when carried out effectively, fulfils the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19-20 given by Jesus to,
Go…Teach…and make Disciples…
"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you…"
Dr Gina Miller
Director
gmiller@necadventist.org.uk
Director's role
The Sabbath School Department operates on a 50% budget allocation. The responsibilities of the Director include, but are not limited to:
Administering and facilitating the worldwide Sabbath School education system across the North England Conference.
Providing high-quality training and resources for Sabbath School leaders and teachers to enhance the spiritual growth of our members.
Offering leadership and serving as a consultant to local churches in developing their Sabbath School programmes and improving the delivery and presentation of content.
Promoting mission and mission offerings.
Encouraging fellowship and coordination between Sabbath School leaders, members, and the community.
Departmental objectives
Make Disciples: To help cultivate effective Sabbath Schools across the NEC that foster discipleship.
Train: To train Sabbath School leaders and teachers to effectively plan and deliver the Sabbath School curriculum in their local Church. Additionally, to train Sabbath School members in carrying out the mission of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
Engage: To encourage and engage Sabbath School members in daily Bible study and prayer to deepen their relationship with God.
Enrich: To foster and enrich authentic unity, community and fellowship among Sabbath School members.
Empower: To empower and encourage Sabbath School leaders, teachers, and classes to take the initiative in communicating the three angels' messages within their sphere of influence.
To achieve these objectives within local churches, the Sabbath School time each week should be comprised of 3 main core value components that involve reaching up, reaching in, and reaching out:
Reach Up (To God): Bible study & prayer
Reach In (To self and each other): Fellowship
Reach Out (To the community and the world): Mission
Reach Up: Bible study & prayer
The foundation of Sabbath School is the study of God's Word. The Word is what gives power to Sabbath School. Quality time is given for interactive teaching and Bible study. With a soul-winning mindset, teachers are to cultivate and facilitate an environment for members to dig deep into the Bible for themselves and strengthen their relationship and faith in God.
"Never should the Bible be studied without prayer" (Steps to Christ, p. 91). Personal and intercessory prayer is a significant and integral part of this teaching and learning experience.
Reach In: Fellowship
The format of Sabbath School promotes fellowship. The Sabbath School teaching and study time is where discussion can effectively take place. This is achieved through the use of small group classes intended to facilitate quality interaction, the participation of as many class members as possible, and foster bonding amongst the small groups. To develop and strengthen these bonds, classes are also encouraged to meet together outside of class time for social interaction and group outreach.
A spirit of care and concern should result in classes that minister to those who are inactive or going through difficulties through visitation and reclamation ministries.
Reach Out: Mission
The focus of Sabbath School is the mission of making disciples. In addition, and separate to the teaching and study time, strong emphasis is placed on making disciples. Quality time is given to raise awareness, emphasise and focus on the Church's mission, including world mission updates, local outreach reports and personal ministries training.
Sabbath Schools worldwide show their sacrificial nature by giving financially to support world mission projects.
When these 3 core objectives are prayerfully and effectively incorporated, Sabbath School within the local church will be a vibrant and an ALIVE experience! For more information, click on the following link: https://alive.adventist.org.
Dates for 2025
Sunday 19th January: Church Officer's Training: Click here to register
Sunday 23rd March: Sabbath School Level 1 Teacher Training (Part 1): Zoom - details to follow
Sunday 30th March: Sabbath School Level 1 Teacher Training (Part 2): Zoom - details to follow
Sunday 22nd June: Sabbath School Level 2 Teacher Training: Zoom - details to follow
Sunday 14th September: Sabbath School Level 3 Teacher Training: Zoom - details to follow
Sunday 20th July: Sabbath School Surgery: Zoom - details to follow
Sunday 26th - 28th September: Sabbath School & Personal Ministries Weekend Retreat: In person - details to follow