Overview of SANSSA Christian Education Ministries

History of SANSSA

In the early days Sunday Schools in South Africa generally met for an hour on a Sunday afternoon though it later became more popular to start meeting in the morning.

South Africa was considered outside the major ocean routes and therefore visits from Sunday school leaders of other countries rarely took place.

Initially the responsibility of Sunday Schools fell under the auspices of specific denominations but due to large geographical regions in South Africa and the large number of different denominations all using different programmes, the solution lay in interdenominational co-operation.

This was provided largely by SANSSA, a South African unit of the World Sunday School Association, which was started in 1915 and had its headquarters in Port Elizabeth.

Membership was open to all denominations and Unions were established in twelve large towns, with volunteer officials except for a part time secretary in Johannesburg. The Influence of SANSSA’s work soon extended beyond the Union of South Africa’s border, which led to a merger with regions further north.

SANSSA was also formed to initiate and present a nationally endorsed invitation for the World Sunday School Convention to take place in South Africa. This proposal was accepted at the 1936 Convention held in Oslo, Norway. South Africa was to host the 1940 Convention in Durban but due to the sudden start of War World Two, this was postponed indefinitely.

Objectives:

Improvement of existing Sunday schools in harmony with their denominational policy

Supply of informational literature, conventions & correspondence courses

Services:

To bring every child irrespective of race, language or colour to a Sunday School experience.

To assist teachers by offering training and support.

To facilitate the coming together of different denominations though community activities.

This has been the aim of SANSSA ever since and to this end SANSSA registered with the Department of Social Services as a Non-Profit organisation (No. 012-420) as well as being registered as a Public Benefits Organisation (18/11/13/3400).

CHARTER

Functions:

Facilitating Christian education by way of courses, meetings, correspondence, seminars and Scripture Knowledge Exams (SKE).

Arranging conferences, camps and meetings for inspiration and instruction.

Networking with denominations, organisations and individuals engaged in similar work.

Publishing lesson material and other helps for Sunday school workers, as required.

Promoting Sunday school by the observance of Children’s Ministry Day.

Distributing Christian education resources and materials.

Continuous research on Christian Education.

Promoting children’s education and Christian education information through appropriate media.

Promoting contests to encourage improved Christian education effectiveness.

Establishing, maintaining and financing national and local organisations for the purpose of carrying out the above function.

VISION OF SANSSA Christian Education Ministries:

To lead the Christian church of Southern Africa in developing and supporting world class educators who will establish in all generations the foundations of our Christian faith and in so doing drawing each one of them into a growing relationship with the living God’.

MISSION STATEMENT

The Mission of SANSSA is to focus on Educator Development and Support thereby ensuring Learner Development and Community Building in all Provinces.

This will be achieved in the following ways:

1) Educator Development – Providing outstanding, empowering and comprehensive training.

2) Educator Support – Supplying, enabling and engaging biblically sound resources.

3) Learner Developmentt – Equipping learners for a life of discipleship.

4) Community Building – Building vibrant communities through networking and social events.

For more information about SANSSA’s current activities visit us on
http://www.sanssa.org or access us on Facebook or Twitter.

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