• Small churches can find creative ways to run Sunday school.small country church image by Maria Bell from Fotolia.com
  
  Small churches provide intimate gatherings that allow people to form relationships and grow in their faith. They can also come with small operational budgets. Affording curriculum and lesson books for Sunday school with a limited budget is a downside that is easily overcome. Creative Sunday school teachers can find a variety of materials that provide high quality teaching options for little to no cost.
  
  

What Jesus Did

• Use whatever is on hand.colored chalks image by Radoslav Lazarov from Fotolia.com
  
  Follow the example of Jesus and teach with whatever is on hand. Use the church's kitchen to bake bread to teach lessons about the bread of life and communion. Give each student a piece of sidewalk chalk and teach outside on the driveway as Jesus did when he drew in the sand. Have a nursery volunteer bring a baby in the class for lessons on the Nativity and baptism. Burn a dried palm leaf from last year's Palm Sunday and make Ash Wednesday ashes to teach about Lent. Trash the classroom prior to the student's arrival to teach about stewardship of the earth.
  
  

Download Curriculum

• Use online curriculum, producing only what you need.hypertext transfer protocol image by Pei Ling Hoo from Fotolia.com
  
  Download curriculum and lessons for a money-saving way to supply Sunday school classes. Print only the number of lessons needed for each class. Subscriptions to yearly curricula are available and additional resources can be ordered such as pictures, posters and music CDs that augment the themes.
  
  

Ask to Share

• Locate a larger church in your denomination or area and ask to share resources. Recycling lesson books and materials is good stewardship of resources. For the cost of shipping or gasoline to pick up donations, small churches can outfit entire Sunday school departments with another church's hand-me-downs. Check with your denomination's conference agencies about scholarships for teacher training workshops.
  
  

Youth and Adult Classes

• Use a Bible that contains lesson plans.the bible pages image by Alexey Klementiev from Fotolia.com
  
  Purchase a Bible that contains lesson plans and class discussion questions. The Serendipity Bible provides teachers with 200 studies and 60 course plans that can be used in various groups, including parents, singles, women, men and youth. Icons such as coffee cups, hearts and donuts direct the teacher to opening questions, in-text discussion questions and personal in-depth reflection questions. Provide students with regular pew Bibles to follow the readings.