An evangelistic type of service for the benefit of non-Seventh-day Adventists conducted generally as a branch of an established Sabbath school. According to the specifications of the North American Sabbath School Secretaries’ Council, 1963, such meetings should be approved by the Sabbath school council, or the assistant superintendent for branch Sabbath schools of a parent school, or by the conference Sabbath school secretary in the case of a school conducted by isolated members; should preferably be conducted on Saturday; and should follow the general pattern of a regular Sabbath school, with any necessary program adaptations during the early development of the school. A similar school conducted on days other than Saturday is called a branch Bible school.
The idea of sharing the Sabbath school program and lessons with others began early. In 1879 Sunday schools were organized, a few of which were changed to Sabbath schools and were instrumental in the formation of new churches. Beginning in 1885, a considerable interest was aroused in conducting Sunday schools; two were reported in California in 1885, and others in 1886 in Allegan County, Michigan; in Wellsville, New York; and in several other places. In 1891 a letter from L. Johnson in Scandinavia told of a woman colporteur who opened a branch Sabbath school with 60 children. At the 1901 General Conference session, Ida M. Walters of Ohio reported on “branch Sabbath schools” before the Sabbath school council, and both the council and, in July, the International Sabbath School Association recommended operating such schools wherever practicable.
In 1927 R. G. Jones and his wife founded numerous branch Sabbath schools in the Dominican Republic in the Inter-American Division, and used these neighborhood Sabbath schools as a means of evangelism. They divided the city of Santo Domingo into several zones and encouraged their church members to conduct the schools on Sabbath afternoons in the areas nearest them.
At the General Conference Sabbath School Department meetings in 1930, many encouraging reports were given about branch Sabbath schools in northern California, Iowa, and other places. Some of these were follow-up work after Ingathering, and many resulted in additions to the church.
In 1933 J. M. Howell reported that a Sabbath school in Chile had, in about 1927, held 11 branch Sabbath schools, with the result that the church membership had grown from about 25 to nearly 100. Another Sabbath school conducted six branch Sabbath schools. In 1933 Mrs. Anna L. Hindson, in Australia, reported a number of Sunday schools held in different places.
The Autumn Council of 1934 commended the establishing of branch Sabbath schools, Sunday schools, and home Sabbath schools in all conferences and churches. From then on branch Sabbath schools sprang up everywhere—in Australia, in the Inter-American Division, in South America, in India, in Africa, in China, and wherever the regular Sabbath schools were found. By 1946 the goal was one branch Sabbath school for every regular Sabbath school.
In 1942 a series of four senior lesson quarterlies was provided for branch Sabbath schools, and in 1948 lessons called “Adventures in the Holy Bible” were prepared for boys and girls by R. R. Breitigam and his wife. Later, filmstrips for these lessons were prepared and also a set of lessons for adults, “Bible Adventures.”
In 1953 there were 3,058 branch Sabbath schools in all the divisions; by the end of 1964 there were 27,268 schools, with 203,546 members. In addition, there were 7,976 branch Bible schools, with an attendance of 53,307 around the world.
In 1989 there were 66,879 branch Sabbath schools, with 543,650 members. Since then, no statistics have been recorded. See Branch Bible School .