This week in Christian history: Sunday School Society founded, Jacques-Désiré Laval dies
Sunday School Society founded – Sept. 7, 1785
This week marks the anniversary of when English merchant and deacon William Fox founded the Sunday School Society, an influential organization aimed at educating Christian children.
A deacon at London's Prescott Street Baptist Church, Fox oversaw the inaugural meeting for the organization, held at Paul’s Head Tavern in London and featuring multiple philanthropists.
“The society soon established rules, paid for textbooks, provided funding, and recruited volunteer teachers. It published its resolves in London newspapers and issued a circular newsletter describing its plan,” noted the Christian History Institute.
“As a result of its efforts, close to four thousand Sunday schools were formed, educating thousands of children who otherwise would have had no schooling. Sunday was chosen because it was the one day of the week that working children had free.”
The Sunday School Society's work eventually spread throughout the British Empire and also inspired the creation of a similar group in the nascent United States.
