Sunday School: Then and Now
A Brief Historical Sketch
Records indicate that Christian Education has always been
an important interest of the Original Free Will Baptist denom-
ination. In 1921, just eight years after the North Carolina State
Convention of Free Will Baptist was formed, discussion was con-
ducted concerning the need for an organized effort to place emphasis
on Christian Education in the Free Will Baptist churches. A "bureau of
institutes" was established to begin this promotion through training Sunday
School workers. For many years there was a great deal of discussion about a centralized effort to promote Sunday School, but it was not until 1940 that something was done. There were 'pockets' of churches meeting in Unions that
had a Sunday School program, but nothing denomination wide.
Records indicate that during 1940, a group was selected with The Reverend Raymond Sasser serving as President to form the NC State Sunday School Convention. The growth and development of this organization was due to the work of a great many people. Another man who played a great role in the work of the of the Sunday School Convention was The Reverend L.E. Ballard, who served as Field Secretary for many years. He traveled wide spread to promote the cause of Sunday School among Free Will Baptist churches. Both these men gave a large part of their lives to see that the Sunday School Convention had strong roots and a firm foundation upon which to grow.
The work of the Sunday School Convention continued on after the North Caro-
lina State Convention of Free Will Baptist Churches left the National Assoc.of FWB in the early 1960's. The office of Field Secretary was reactivated in 1984 with the Reverend Bass Mitchell serving until late 1990. In 1989 the Sunday School Convention was dissolved and the Original FWB Sunday School
Board was established as part of the work of the Convention of OFWB as
one of 10 ministries.
The OFWB Sunday School Board operated with officers from
1989 when Mrs. Mary Dudley was hired as director. Prior to 1999, the business of the SS program was conducted from the homes of the
various leaders in the movement. In 1999, The OFWB SS Board,
opened to the people of the OFWB headquarters in Ayden, NC to
enhance it's services to the people of the OFWB Denomination.
That location also houses our Resource Library which opened
in 2008, just before the board hired an assistant for Mrs.
Dudley. May 28, 2010 became the next historic day for the
OFWB Sunday Board, because it was on the day the
the Board purchased a Motor Home to be used for
the purpose of starting a mobile ministry in joint
efforts with the OFWB Press.This will enable
the ministry to reach more people
especially in rural areas.
