The Sunday School Revolutionary!

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 10

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:15:00 -0400

Jesus sent us into our community and world to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19-20). Sunday School can have even greater impact upon lives and this discipling effort. In Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 1, I listed fourteen discipling outcomes which have potential to result from Sunday School.

In this series thus far, these are the posts with the Sunday School discipling issues addressed in each post:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2 (biblical knowledge and understanding); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3 (Christian worldview); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4 (spiritual disciplines); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5 (obedience); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6 (life and behavior practices); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 7 (spiritual gifts and church body practices); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 8 (love of God, neighbor, and self); and Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 9 (connection, community, fellowship).

In Part 10, I will focus on ways a Sunday School class (or small group) can impact discipling through leadership training. When we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, we become shepherd-stewards responsible to connect with, care for, and lead sheep. We are to share everything Jesus has commanded us (Matthew 28:20) until they obey. Thus, we become trainers of trainers.

Apprenticing is a natural method for delivering that leadership training. As we go through life and the paces of ministry responsibility, we take apprentices (and potential apprentices) with us. We let them watch us (and pray for us) while we live out Christianity and while we perform leadership duties. Then we ask them to help us to do so. Then after they have watched and helped, we drop back to help them while they perform the leadership duties. Then after a time, we drop back to watch (and pray) while they carry out those responsibilities. Then we ask them to enlist someone to watch/help them.

Some leadership training may be delivered in a leadership training conference or event, especially when we are launching new areas of ministry or when we are emphasizing certain responsibilities for more than one group or set of workers. For instance, a training event to train new care group leaders or training for outreach leadership in helping groups to build a prospect list.

As group members are enlisted in a leadership capacity, they tend to pay more attention, become more faithful in attending, and focus a bit more on being a good example. At the same time, ideally they are being led to utilize the spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences that God desires to use to build the body of Christ.

Affirmation is essential in encouraging these new leadership in taking these early steps. Debriefing following each leadership effort is helpful. Ask what went well and what they would do differently next time. Teach them how to be self feeders and evaluators.

Leadership expectations, job descriptions, accountability, and coaching all make the leader more effective and will tend to stretch the individual to grow as a disciple. This begins with prayer for a God-called individual rather than selecting a popular or charismatic leader. After seeking God's leadership in prayer, then beginning apprenticing efforts even prior to officially asking them to serve is helpful. He or she may not be confident until you have helped them to take a few steps with you. At the appropriate moment, do the ask. Then he or she will pay even more attention to the leadership lessons you offer from that point forward.

Disciple your people by providing leadership training. Expect them to take responsibility. Encourage them to success. Watch them grow. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about leadership training, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 9

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:00:00 -0400

In this series thus far, these are the posts with the Sunday School discipling issues addressed in each post:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2 (biblical knowledge and understanding); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3 (Christian worldview); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4 (spiritual disciplines); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5 (obedience); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6 (life and behavior practices); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 7 (spiritual gifts and church body practices); and Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 8 (love of God, neighbor, and self).

In Part 9, I will focus on ways a Sunday School class (or small group) can impact discipling through connection, community, and fellowship. Relationships matter! Look around you. Who are the people in your circles of influence? Who are those friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors in your network of relationships and daily life walk? Our Lord has placed you uniquely in the center of those circles to have impact for Him.

Developing those relationships for Jesus is an act of discipleship! Praying for people is an act of discipleship! Sharing Jesus and helping those who accept Jesus take steps to share Jesus is an act of discipleship!

What are you doing as a class to challenge, prepare, encourage, and help our class members to invest in lost and unenrolled relationships for Jesus? In the blog post, 101 Ways for Sunday School to Be Evangelistic, Part 2 Relational, I offered ten suggestions:
1. FOCUS. Be evangelistic with everyone, but focus prayer, care, and attention toward 1-3 unsaved/unchurched/unenrolled individuals. Get to know them.
2. TIME. Care is best expressed through time. Schedule time with lost people. Attend events with them. Take them with you on errands and trips. Build trust.
3. COFFEE/DESSERT. This can be for getting acquainted as well as for ongoing relationship-building. Grab coffee. Get ice cream. Relax. Listen more than you talk. Listen for moments when you can respond in care.
4. EAT. Everyone eats. Invite lost people to a meal. Catch lunch during the busy day. Have a relaxing meal in the home or a restaurant. Plan a picnic. Food has a way of making the conversation more relaxed and casual.
5. COMMUNICATE. Keep in touch. Text. Email. Call. Send a card or letter. Express care. Ask questions. Share concerns. Recommend resources.
6. CELEBRATE. Discover special days like birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Take time to acknowledge those days. Send a note. Make a call. Show up in person. Send a gift. Show you care.
7. AFFINITY. Find out what both of you enjoy doing. It may be biking, bowling, model planes, cooking, or any other affinity. Make time to enjoy the common activity together. Look for the teachable moment when you can share what Jesus and Sunday School mean to you.
8. STUDY TOGETHER. Read books together and discuss them (like Purpose Driven Life). Take a course together at church, in the community, or a college. Study a Bible book or passage together. You will discover much about each other as you study together.
9. MINISTER. Listen for and be sensitive to stress-filled times in life. Reach out in care. Send a card during grief. Mow the grass. Listen to pain. Help find a new job. Pay a utility payment. When appropriate share the love of God. Talk about how you are surrounded by people who care in your Sunday School class.
10. INVITE. Find special reasons to invite to class fellowships, projects, and sessions. Share about upcoming topics and plans. Offer to pick him/her up. Don't pressure or try to guilt. Simply care.

Let me invite you to begin by asking the class to list the relationships in their circles followed by a season of prayer for those individuals. After prayer, help your class practice writing and sharing their salvation testimony (check out this post for more ideas: 101 Ways for Sunday School to Be Evangelistic, Part 9 Testimonies). Then help them learn a simple Gospel presentation. It also helps to learn a simple bridge statement for transitioning from their testimony to the Gospel presentation. Finally, every Christian should immediately begin to teach others what they have learned (teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you, Jesus' words in Matthew 28:19-20).

You can influence discipleship by leading your class to invest in connections, community, and fellowship for the purpose of sharing Jesus. Not only will the lives of those touched be changed, but so will the lives of your class members as they pray, connect, and share. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about connection, community, and fellowship, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 8

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 11:19:00 -0400

In this series thus far, these are the posts with the Sunday School discipling issues addressed in each post:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2 (biblical knowledge and understanding); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3 (Christian worldview); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4 (spiritual disciplines); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5 (obedience); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6 (life and behavior practices); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 7 (spiritual gifts and church body practices).

In Part 8, I will focus on ways a Sunday School class (or small group) can impact discipling through love of God, neighbor, and self. Serving others in Jesus' name is a natural expression of exposure to God's Word and growth as a disciple. In response to people in need (hunger, thirst, homeless, sickness, prison, without clothes), it is important to remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 25:40 (HCSB): "I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me."

How can a Sunday School class encourage the growth of disciples by addressing the needs of people? Consider the following individual and class ideas as idea starters:

regularly ask your neighbors for prayer requests (and make sure you are responsive)
become a regular at one or more restaurant, coffee shop, or store in order to develop a relationship with one or more employees (serve as the volunteer chaplain)
take cold bottled water to the children's soccer field (perhaps with label with prayer request number and invitation to join a group)
volunteer to serve in a soup kitchen, food and/or clothing pantry, homeless shelter, or other organization
consider doing the Love Dare as a class (for ideas, check out Sunday School: Take the Love Dare)
launch a Bible study or discipleship group in a jail or prison
develop a newcomers ministry to welcome new people in your community
work with ministries like Samaritans Purse's Operation Christmas Child, Salvation Army's Christmas Angel Tree, or others to minister to poor children, homeless, and children of prisoners
establish a ministry for widows and widowers
set up a single parent free oil change
consider a thanksgiving ministry project (for ideas, check out Thanksgiving Sunday School Class Ministry Projects)

When your class responds to the needs of people, it gives them a outlet for practicing God's love and possibly for practicing what they have been learning in Bible study lessons. One way to encourage this is to enlist a class service or ministry leader who will seek to get every person involved in serving in some way during the year. A class can also adopt one or more ministries to provide ongoing care and help. This can be attractive to those looking for a class, but more importantly can also touch lives in Jesus' name.

What would you add to this list? Lead your class to discover and mobilize in serving others. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about discipling and spiritual gifts, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 7

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 7 Aug 2012 09:56:00 -0400

Jesus has sent us into our community and world to "make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19-20). Sunday School can have even greater impact upon lives and this discipling effort. In Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 1, I listed fourteen discipling outcomes which have potential to result from Sunday School.

Thus far, these are the posts and the Sunday School discipling issues addressed in each post:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2 (biblical knowledge and understanding); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3 (Christian worldview); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4 (spiritual disciplines); Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5 (obedience); and Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6.

In Part 7, I will focus on ways a Sunday School class (or small group) can impact discipling through spiritual gifts and church body practices. In order to understand why I have connected the two phrases for today (spiritual gifts and church body practices), consider this word from scripture:

And He personally gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God's Son, growing into a mature man with a stature measured by Christ's fullness. (Ephesians 4: 11-13, HCSB)

There are several key words and phrases in this passage: training of the saints, work of ministry, build up the body of Christ, until we all, growing into a mature man, and more. The focus for this post will be on "build up the body of Christ" and "until we all." Discipling in the church is not about the individual as much as it is the body. That is why spiritual gifts and worship and other church body practices are so important.

Well, how can the class impact discipling through spiritual gifts and church body practices? Here are a few ideas:

teach about spiritual gifts
offer a series about spiritual gifts
have special studies about spiritual gifts
offer a spiritual gift inventory
take a class retreat to focus on spiritual gifts and
prayerfully enlist class leaders attempting to best utilize the gifts, abilities, personalities, experiences, and passions of individuals
gather those with the same gifts to talk about those gifts and possible avenues of expression in life and class and church ministry
enlist a class service leader who focuses on helping every class member find opportunity to serve in the class, church, community, and world
offer a variety of class ministry and mission projects in order to utilize the spiritual gift mix of the class
allow knowledge of members' gifts to flavor the application of lessons
as often as possible, adult classes should include preschool, children, and youth teachers who would be in the class if not currently serving, seeking to discover spiritual gifts and mobilize them into service
assign a spiritual gift each month to one or more members who have that gift, and ask them to share describing the gift and possible ways of mobilizing that gift
regularly schedule time (during class, fellowships, or special studies) for members to share testimonies about how they have used their spiritual gifts
ask the pastor to allow the best member's testimony to be shared from the pulpit
during lesson application/invitation, ask members to consider how they might live out the truth of the day's lesson in light of their spiritual gifts

There can be hundreds of expressions of class discipling through spiritual gifts and church body practices. What would you add to this list? Lead them to discover and mobilize their gifts. Help them understand application of their gifts to the body of Christ. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about discipling and spiritual gifts, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 2 Aug 2012 10:56:00 -0400

Thus far, these are the posts and the Sunday School discipling issues addressed in each post:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2 (biblical knowledge and understanding),
Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3 (Christian worldview),
Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4 (spiritual disciplines), and
Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5 (obedience).

In Part 6, I will focus on ways a class can impact discipling in the areas of life and behavior practices. While this discipling issue is related to the previous one (obedience), there are some unique nuances. Consider these additional ways of discipling in order to impact life and behavior practices:

Prayer. Ask for prayer requests. Pray for the each other and requests in class and between. Prayer is powerful. Even bad habits can be changed through prayer.
Special lessons. Periodically it may be helpful to respond to life and behavior issues with special lessons looking at how God's Word addresses these issues.
Studies. Periodically it may be helpful to respond to life and behavior issues with studies between Sundays which addresses these issues. For instance, these might include parenting, money, setting priorities, and more.
Projects. What is you planned a project to address multiple needs? What if you knew members needed to invest in relationships with unchurched people and needed to learn how to share their faith naturally? You could plan an outreach, ministry, or missions project which would meet needs and share Jesus. As part of the required training for the project, you could offer witness training and practice. Check out Grow Sunday School by Sharing Your Salvation Testimony for some ideas.
Accountability partners. See Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5. The emphasis here would not be following up lessons but living in the Spirit (implementing the fruit of the Spirit) and practicing good habits and disciplines daily.
Surveys. Pass out surveys asking members to identify life and behavior practices in which they need help or are struggling. Then plan a strategy based on survey results.
Inventories. Share a discipleship inventory like the Sunday School behaviors survey in Ministry Toolbox (contact me for more information) or the Transformational Discipleship Assessment from LifeWay. Inventories give you an opportunity to address discipleship behaviors through teaching or special studies, but you can also take the inventory again in a year to check on progress.
Listen. Do not underestimate the value of listening and taking note (literally) of what you are hearing. Talk about discipleship. Listen to their stories. Note areas which need to be undergirded. Do this casually and intentionally.
Questions. Ask strategic, discipling questions. Encourage, mentor, and coach members to identify needs and strategies for making progress. This can be done as a group and as individuals or small groups. You might consider using the questions from Coaching 101 to assist you in the process.
Assignments. Invite attenders to help with class activities, projects, and lessons. Ask them to help you with contacts, visits, and ministry. Give them life and behavior assignments to be completed before a report date. Check out Sunday School: Take the Love Dare for some ideas.
Covenant. Invite attenders to join you in creating a class covenant. Check out this covenant. Discussion brings ownership. Ownership gives permission for expectations, encouragement, and correction. This can create positive discipling movement in class and away.
Reports. Set aside time for reports following special lessons, projects, studies, surveys, inventories, assignments, and other events to debrief. What happened? How did they feel? What did they learn? What would they do differently next time? Debriefing can reinforce learning from discipling experiences.

Life and behavior practices may change quickly or take a long time. Work for some quick wins as well as stay persistent in addressing those which require more work and patience. Live in the Spirit. Expect life change. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about discipling through Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 11:16:00 -0400

In Part 4 of this series, I focused on ways a Sunday School class can impact discipling through spiritual disciplines. In Part 5, I will focus on ways a class can impact discipling through helping attenders obey God. I have written about the importance of and methods for obedience previously. Check out a few of the blog posts where I have done so:

Keep in mind that a discipling Sunday School teacher will not limit discipling to an hour on Sunday morning. Because obedience is living out what our Lord has commanded in His Word, it will naturally be practiced during the other 167 hours. Obedience assumes knowledge and understanding of God's Word (which was discussed in Part 2), but it is ultimately about obeying God.

How do we move individuals in a class toward an expectation for and pattern and practice of obedience? Consider the following:

EXAMPLE. The leader's example is powerful. In my class, our teacher modeled greeting each other and guests on a consistent basis before he began teaching about hospitality. The class got it because we had seen it demonstrated clearly.
PRACTICING. In a previous post (Could R.O.P.E.S. Improve Sunday School?), I talked about the importance of taking time to practice what was taught. This is the exercise part of the lesson. While not every lesson and truth can easily be practiced in the course of an hour on Sunday morning, we can often add opportunities to practice a related skill to help in practice through the week. If they cannot practice it in class, how can we expect them to do so during the week. We should give thought to that question as we pray and prepare our lessons.
APPLICATION TIME. Too many lessons are rushed to get finished with everything. When rushed, application time along with time to consider ways to practice the truth are cut short or cut out. We make attenders more guilty of knowing what they should do when we fail to help them plan out a strategy for obedience. This takes time for thinking and response.
INVITATION. A call for commitment often precedes obedience. This is given at the end of sermons. Why don't we offer invitations at the conclusion of Sunday School lessons. We should expect response. As a result, we should extend an invitation, calling for a commitment for obedience. And multiple responses may need to be considered.
QUESTIONS. Asking personal, open-ended questions can be key to leading attenders to consider a course of action, of obedience. It is important to help attenders consider their context, points of resistance, and how to respond as God expects. This may be discussion time, private consideration, or in written response.
ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS. We all need cheerleaders and encouragers to finish well what we commit and desire to do. Accountability partners who pray and ask questions about "how it went" can encourage us to do what we said we would do. These pairs can meet in class or through the week. It can be in person or by phone. Two-way communication is needed.
REPORTS. Consider the example of our Lord with His disciples in Mark 6:30. He sent them out to do what He had been doing: preaching, healing, and driving out demons. In Mark 6:30, the disciples report what happened when they practiced. Report times are essential to encouraging obedience. They are especially essential in the early stages of establishing new habits and practices.

Ultimately, discipling efforts will take a shift in our focus and intentionality, as teachers and as attenders. When teachers focus here, suddenly the class begins to give more attention. When class members begin to share testimonies of what is happening, others will be encouraged to take seriously what is taught and understand they are expected to practice it.

What would you add to these seven ideas for encouraging the development of an expectation for and pattern and practice of obedience? Press Comments below and share your ideas with others. Lead them to obey. Teach to change lives. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about moving attenders toward obedience, consider these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 09:27:00 -0400

In Part 4 of this series, I will focus ways a Sunday School class can impact discipling through spiritual disciplines. I have written about spiritual disciplines previously. Check out the following blog posts:

How can a Sunday School class use spiritual disciplines to impact discipling? Consider the following (many of which received further explanation and treatment in the first series listed above):

Quiet times. Undergird attenders' efforts by teaching about the importance of and techniques for a daily quiet time of prayer and Bible study. Give them resources and suggestions. Offer plans. Make challenges. Set goals. Practice it in class. Have a class retreat focused on quiet time practices.
Prayer. Set aside class time for prayer. Gather together at other times than Sunday to pray. Establish a prayer chain or method for delivering prayer requests to attenders quickly. Teach on different kinds and focuses fo r prayer. Teach them to pray through scripture.
Bible reading. Encourage attenders to r ead the lesson Bible passage prior to Sunday. Assign background passages. Encourage regular intake of God's Word. Annually share a variety of Bible reading plans to encourage daily, balance Bible reading. Teach them a variety of Bible study methods and encourage them to practice them for a period of time.
Meditation. Teach them to listen to God through meditation on His Word. Share passages which reinforce this discipline and techniques for making the most of the time. Practice and debrief.
Silence and solitude. Set aside time in class and longer periods between classes for silence. Meet in a park and encourage attenders to separate for 30-60 minutes with a written devotional guide. Ask them to meet at a set time and place to debrief what they heard.
Service. This can be a class project or individual acts of service. Read passages, like Matthew 25, and focus on serving the hungry, thirsty, poor, prisoners, orphans, widows, or others. This can be especially powerful if connected to a lesson and followed by time for debriefing.
Fasting. Again, this can be especially powerful if connected to a lesson and followed by time for debriefing. Teach about reasons people fasted in the Bible. Establish a purpose, method, and suggested date/time period. Focus on God during the time of fasting. Let hunger focus thoughts toward God as well as any time that would have been spent eating.

Consider these quick ideas for focusing on spiritual disciplines in and through the Sunday School class:

Invite the class to arrive early on Sunday for a time of prayer.
Set aside a special time in place of a class fellowship for service and remember to debrief the experience.
Teach on fasting and then set aside a time and remember to debrief what they experienced and learned.
Pair off to have daily devotions together (five days each week) for three weeks.
Set aside four hours on a Saturday for a mini silent retreat with some simple instructions in advance and no music or talking during and debrief afterwards.
Assign scripture passages along with some simple reflection/meditation questions.
Debriefing each experience helps to reinforce what was learned and capitalize upon these discipleship efforts.

What additional spiritual disciplines has your class practiced? What ideas would you to these for practicing spiritual disciplines through your class? Press Comments below to add your experiences and thoughts. Make disciples. Be revolutionary.

For more ideas about making disciples through Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 09:35:00 -0400

In Part 2, I will focus on ways a Sunday School class can impact Christian worldview. Consider the following:

CHRISTIAN WORLDVIEW. In order to impact individuals' Christian worldview, learning has to go deeper than biblical knowledge and understanding. To impact worldview requires addressing further stages in Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning: application, analysis, and synthesis. Application is understanding how truth and issues impact people, life, and self. Analysis, on the other hand, is examining all the parts of issues and ramifications of application. Then synthesis is creating that new pattern of thinking and acting that becomes the worldview.

There are some key phrases for each of these steps or stages of working toward a Christian worldview:

	Key Word	Question
Application	Applying	Can I use the information in a new way?
Analysis	Analyzing	Can I distinguish between a Christian worldview and a nonChristian worldview related to this issue?
Synthesis	Creating	How has my point of view changed as a result?

ILLUSTRATION. Let's put this into a Sunday School class context. You are studying 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter. You examine the passage and context to gain knowledge and understanding. Then you move toward application, analysis, and synthesis. (1) APPLICATION: You lead the class to consider the impact of loving actions in their setting at home, work, and the marketplace. You ask how they would have handled a situation differently? You share case studies for applying the learning. You keep pointing back to Jesus and the Word. (2) ANALYSIS: Focus on the differences between eros, phileo, and agape love. Focus on the differences between the practices of love today versus a Christian expression of them. Discuss differences between love of self and love of others. (3) SYNTHESIS: What will be hard for you about shifting to this point of view? What will require more effort, thinking, and new behavior in order to move toward agape love? What adjustments do you need to make? Where do you need to start? What will you do? What did you do? (accountability question for implementation)

The bottom line is that Sunday School has to go beyond entry stages of biblical knowledge and understanding if we want to see discipling progress. We may need to slow down our teaching-learning process. We may need to ask more questions. We will definitely need to allow more time for the application part of the lesson.

One other issue must be stated. Not all learning has to take place in the walls of the class on Sunday morning. Make assignments. Follow up. Send emails, texts, cards, or letters. Make phone calls. Call for reports at the beginning of the next lesson. Review is great for reinforcing knowledge and understanding, but it can also reinforce action, application, and change.

How could you adjust your lessons to impact your discipling results? What do you need to change or add in order to make your Sunday morning encounters laboratories in Christian living, application, and change? Slow down. Adjust your plan. Focus. Apply. Analyze. Create. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas on making disciples, check out these blog posts:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 9 Jul 2012 15:20:00 -0400

In Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 1, I listed fourteen discipling outcomes which should result from Sunday School: biblical knowledge and understanding; Christian worldview; spiritual disciplines; obedience; life and behavior practices; spiritual gifts and church body practices; love of God, neighbor, and self; connection, community, and fellowship; leadership training; service; mission/ministry; inviting and sharing Jesus; tithing, stewardship, and money practices; and leadership and organizational multiplication. For additional information, check out a previous post: Questions about Making Disciples Through Sunday School.

While a book could be written around these topics, I want to introduce the areas and begin the thinking. In Part 2, I will look at the first Sunday School discipling outcome: biblical knowledge and understanding. My intent is to focus on practical ways Sunday School should impact this discipling outcome area. Consider the following:

BIBLICAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING. In order to impact discipling, more than teaching will occur. Learning will take place. Participants will be led to understand relevance to life today and to them as individuals.

This will most assuredly involve the use of multiple teaching methods to address the varied learning styles in every group. This absolutely requires prayerful preparation. Check out Crafting a Sunday School Lesson to Lead to Learning AND Action. Attenders will be led to meet God in Bible study during the session and to apply the truth beyond Sunday morning. Class members and guests will be led to consider four questions: what did God say, what is my response, am I willing to do it, and did I do it? For more explanation, check out Leading Attenders to Meet God in Bible Study, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 , and Part 5 and Make Them Think in Sunday School!.

Androgogy means that adults will build biblical learning upon previous knowledge and experiences. And they will value and benefit more from Sunday School which involves them in the learning. Good questions are natural aids to retaining knowledge and to deeper understanding. These will be offered both by the teacher as well as by learners. Discussion can also be a useful tool, but it must be planned and executed with intention. Check out Effective Discussion in Your Sunday School Class, Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

While retention is essential, understanding and application leading to relationship (with God and man) and obedience are the goal. Check out Sunday School Teaching Methods for Impacting Discipleship, Part 1 and Part 2 and Sunday School: Telling the Bible Story, Part 3 Retention.

Much more could be said here. Check out the following blog posts for more information about how Sunday School impacts biblical knowledge and understanding:

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 1

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 5 Jul 2012 14:07:00 -0400

In Question about Discipleship Outcomes from Sunday School, I asked these questions:

What are the discipling results we should expect from attenders (particularly adults) in our Sunday School classes? What should happen in their lives? How should they be different as the result? How should they be becoming more like Jesus? What should they be doing in the church, community, and world? What will others experience and see in their lives as a result of the discipling efforts that take place in and through Sunday School?

These are some heavy duty questions about Sunday School mindset and practice. I believe Sunday School has so much more potential impact than is currently being experienced in most lives, classes, churches, and communities. I want to share a few of the areas I have identified as expected discipling outcomes as a result of Sunday School. Consider the following:

biblical knowledge and understanding
Christian worldview
spiritual disciplines
obedience
life and behavior practices
spiritual gifts and church body practices
love of God, neighbor, and self
connection, community, and fellowship
leadership training
service
mission/ministry
inviting and sharing Jesus
tithing, stewardship, and money practices
leadership and organizational multiplication

I am unsure at the moment how long this series will be in order to address this list. And I remain open to additional thoughts and conversation about discipling outcomes from Sunday School. Press Comments below to add your thoughts. Let's give our Lord and His bride, the Church, our best efforts through Sunday School. Make disciples. Be revolutionary.

For more ideas about discipling through Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Question about Discipleship Outcomes from Sunday School

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 08:00:00 -0400

Since my role with the Kentucky Baptist Convention will shift in a few days to include Discipleship, my mind is naturally already thinking about the new responsibility. There are many natural connections between Sunday School, small groups, and discipleship.

But for the last several days, my mind has especially focused on the discipleship outcomes from Sunday School. What are the discipling results we should expect from attenders (particularly adults) in our Sunday School classes? What should happen in their lives? How should they be different as the result? How should they be becoming more like Jesus? What should they be doing in the church, community, and world? What will others experience and see in their lives as a result of the discipling efforts that take place in and through Sunday School?

I have already begun a list including scriptural support, but I am convinced that I have only scratched the surface. Help me think through this issue and these questions. Press Comments below and leave me your thoughts. My plan is to write a series of blog posts (might be a long series) focusing on discipleship outcomes from Sunday School.

I look forward to hearing from you.

For more ideas about discipleship and Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School Director Job Description, Part 2

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 09:41:00 -0400

This spring, I led a conference for planning teams focused on growing the Sunday School. During the training time, one of the Sunday School directors told me she had been enlisted to deliver curriculum and pick up attendance records. She thanked me for helping her to understand the full scope of her work. (I was afraid I was overwhelming her!)

In this two-part series, I began in Part 1 by looking at the relationships and broad scope of the work of the Sunday School director. In Part 2, I will focus on major duties or areas of responsibility. I will not be covering the many Sunday morning duties. For a look at those, check out What Does a Revolutionary Sunday School Director Do on Sunday Morning?.

Part 2 will be more focused upon the director's leadership toward Sunday School growth and effectiveness. Consider these areas of responsibility:

MISSION. Lead teachers and workers to understand and pursue the biblical purpose, mission, and vision of Sunday School. This is part of the spiritual preparation for the annual growth retreat and of teacher/worker training.
DEFINITION. Together with teachers and workers, develop a comprehensive Sunday School strategy statement.
RETREAT. Plan and conduct an annual Sunday School growth retreat. The planning team in attendance should include the director, pastor, teachers, workers, and general leaders. Steps include spiritual preparation, evaluation, need identification, prioritization, goal-setting, and action planning. Check out Giving Sunday School Direction Through a Planning Retreat. This is essential for consistent impact and growth.
PASTOR. Develop a strong relationship with the pastor and regularly meet to evaluate and plan Sunday School work. Check out The Pastor Coaching a Winning Sunday School Team.
ACCOUNTABILITY. Gather the planning team monthly to evaluate progress on annual retreat goals, to make adjustments, and for training and communication. Check out Calendaring Sunday School Growth and Improving Attendance at Monthly Sunday School Workers Meetings.
ENLIST. Invest in prayerful and personal Sunday School teacher and worker enlistment and care. Seek God-called leaders. Check out Enlist and Train God-Called Sunday School Leaders. Encourage leaders. Keep promises.
BUDGET. Following your retreat, determine how much money is needed to carry out Sunday School growth plans. Present your requests to your budget/finance team.
TRAINING. Plan and conduct Sunday School teacher and worker growth training at least twice annually. Make it creative. Check out Creative Ways to Train Sunday School Teachers.
PRAYER. Set aside time (at least quarterly) to pray for Sunday School.
ENROLL. Lead classes to pray for, pursue, care for, and enroll new, lost, and unchurched people. Establish and practice good enrollment policies. Check out Using Sunday School Enrollment to Grow, Part 1 and Using Sunday School Enrollment to Grow, Part 2.
ORGANIZE. Lead classes to enlist workers to carry out growth actions. This includes a secretary, outreach leader, care group leaders, greeters, and others. Check out A Simple Two-Part System for Getting Sunday School Class Ministry Done, Part 2.
CONTACT. Challenge classes to make weekly contacts (visits, phone, letters/cards, and electronic) with every member and prospect. Lead members to report to ensure accountability and in order to measure progress. Check out Sunday School Contacts Make a Difference!.
IMPRESSIONS. Enlist and train Sunday School and class greeters to greet and care for guests and members. Register guests. Encourage name tags. Check out Great First Impressions for Sunday School Guests, Part 1 and Great First Impressions for Sunday School Guests, Part 2.
PROMOTE. Lift up Sunday School by talking about it during worship, establishing special days, and communicating about it with members and the community on a regular basis. Share testimonies. Check out Marketing Your Sunday School Class.
FELLOWSHIP. Be a champion for monthly class fellowships and projects. Strengthen connections between members through regular times of fun, fellowships, and ministry/mission projects. Invite prospects and guests to begin connections with them. Check out 101 Ways for Sunday School to Be Evangelistic, Part 3 Fellowship.
APPRENTICE. Expect every Sunday School teacher and worker to apprentice another one every year. This is an important step in discipleship for the leader and the apprentice. It also makes growth more natural. Prepare the apprentice to be launched on their own. Check out Coaching a Successful Sunday School Teacher Apprentice.
START. Add more Sunday School classes at church and away. Send out the teacher or an apprentice and a seed group of one to five persons to help launch the new class. Identify space. Select and order curriculum. Pray for, care for, invite, and enroll new people. Coach leaders of the new class. Check out Grow Your Sunday School Class by Starting a New Class.

This list is not intended to be comprehensive, but it has many essential leadership actions for the Sunday School director. What would you add to the list? Where do you personally find the greatest challenge of those items on the list? Where do you need to invest more time and energy in the coming months? On which of the items will you commit to improve this year? Give our Lord and His body your best efforts! Make disciples. Lead in Sunday School growth. Be revolutionary!

Sunday School Director Job Description, Part 1

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 09:08:00 -0400

I have written around this topic many times over the years. Here are some of the many posts which are related:

In this two-part series, I will begin by looking at the relationships and broad scope of the work of the Sunday School director.

RELATIONSHIPS. The Sunday School director works with nearly everyone in the church directly or indirectly. Here are a few of the main ones on the list.

The pastor. The pastor and director are a team. Working together, they are able to lead the Sunday School toward increasing effectiveness. They keep the vision for Sunday School before teachers and leaders. They lead in evaluating, goal-setting and pursuit, and in trouble-shooting. In a larger church, the director may also relate to the minister of education.
Teachers. Teachers are naturally a key part of the team the pastor and director lead. This includes teachers of all ages, from preschool through adults. The director prays for, encourages, plans with, challenges, trains, and leads teachers. The director listens and helps. Teachers would include apprentices as well.
General leaders. This includes the pastor and the Sunday School secretary, outreach leader, perhaps an associate director, and others. The director works to avoid duplicating efforts. The secretary may focus on records and curriculum ordering and distribution. The outreach leader may keep outreach records updated and lead classes to make weekly contact assignments and participate in outreach activities. An associate director is needed when there is more than one session of Sunday School and the number of classes have increased making weekly contact with teachers difficult. Age group directors (one each for preschool, children, youth, and adult) may also be included as general leaders and part of the planning team.
Class leaders. This will include class secretaries, substitute teachers, outreach leaders, care group leaders, prayer leaders, fellowship leaders, service leaders, and any other positions which enable the classes to carry out their work. The director works with teachers to ensure needed leaders are enlisted, trained, and mobilized into service.
Planning team. The size and make up of the Sunday School planning team depends on the size of the church. In a large church, the team may be made up of the pastor, director, minister of education, and age group division directors. In most churches, the team will include all teachers and perhaps all class leaders. The purpose of the planning team is annual goal-setting and strategy for growth which is checked on and adjusted as needed during monthly meetings.
Finance team. The director works with this group to develop and present and administer a Sunday School budget which may include Vacation Bible School and/or outreach.
Facilities team. The director works with this group to ensure that appropriate rooms and equipment are provided for current and new classes. The director helps the facilities team anticipate needs.
Discipleship director. The Sunday School director may also work with the Discipleship director to ensure that workers (and members) are trained. This may include offering teacher/worker job training. It may include biblical studies, outreach and evangelism training, and more.
Nominating team. The director works closely with the nominating team to ensure enlistment of God-called people in current and new places of service. Depending on church practice, teachers may enlist class leaders without the involvement of the nominating team.
Greeter team. The director works with this team to ensure a positive first impression for Sunday School members and guests. Guests are registered and led to appropriate classes.

What other relationships did I miss? I will focus more on duties in Part 2. Enlarge your relationships and lead your Sunday School to be effective. If you are busy and have no time to read additional posts, check out What Does a Revolutionary Sunday School Director Do on Sunday Morning? for specific duties for the director for Sunday. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

What Can I Do to Increase Sunday School Class Involvement?

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 16:07:00 -0400

I talk to Sunday School teachers often who complain they cannot get people to step up to a position of leadership. No one wants to serve. No one is willing to "do anything." We can do so much more together than alone.

Before responding to these teachers, I usually ask one or more of these questions: Have you asked for specific roles to be filled? How have you asked, publically or privately? Did you pray before enlisting? Did you ask the class to be in prayer for who will assume the responsibility? What have you done personally to prepare people to take on new roles?

Let me say that it helps for the class to be exposed to higher and higher expectations over a period of time. But high expectations must be preceded by prayer and an understanding of "ownership" of the work the class must accomplish. The class must understand that the teacher cannot do all the work. In fact, the class benefits by involvement and investment in the work. Consider the counsel of Jethro to his son-in-law, Moses.

In response to the above questions, there are often indicators of why there is a leadership vacuum in the class. Let's examine responses to each question:

Have you asked for specific roles to be filled? Sometimes there has been no attempt to enlist for a specific responsibility. If it is everyone's responsibility, no one will often do it. Enlist to a job. Make sure there is understanding of why the role is needed and how it will contribute to the work of the class.
How have you asked, publically or privately? Frequently, teachers respond that they asked the class on Sunday. They complain they are busy and say that is the fastest way. But no one responds. In reality, each person in the class expects someone else to do it. Enlisting privately makes it a personal issue and response.
Did you pray before enlisting? Enlisting the first person that comes to your mind is not the best approach. Your mind may have seen skills and personality that might lend themselves to doing the job well, but your mind may also have simply selected a "popular" person. Pray for God to lead you to the individual He desires to carry out the responsibility. Don't be surprised when it is someone unexpected.
Did you ask the class to be in prayer for who will assume the responsibility? It is helpful to sensitize the class to the need for the responsibility to be carried out. They can join you in prayer, and they will be more sensitive to the movement of the Holy Spirit in their own lives in response to the need.
What have you done personally to prepare people to take on new roles? Don't overlook this one. Take people with you to make visits. Give contact assignments. Ask for help in teaching part or all of the lesson. Ask for help with a fellowship. Take people with you as you carry out the work. Over time, involve as many class members as you can. Watch how they respond. This will sensitize your heart and mind to the person the Holy Spirit may be pointing out for a needed role. It may also give the individual confidence to step up, especially if you point out what you have observed as they have served.

Have you had success in getting people to step up to new roles? What have you done that has worked? What would you add to what has been said? Share your thoughts below by pressing Comments. In order to make disciples of all nations, everyone must go, everyone must carry out their responsibility. Pray. Ask the class to pray. Ask. Be specific. Take people with you. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about increasing class involvement, check out these blog posts:

Enlist and Train God-Called Sunday School Leaders

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 5 Jun 2012 14:16:00 -0400

For the many Sunday Schools who begin their new year in September, June is the time to begin enlistment. To enlist needed leaders effectively, enlistment needs to begin at least three months prior to the new year's start. What are the steps needed in order to discover and enlist God-called leaders? Consider the following:
1. begin early enough to enlist personally and well
2. begin with a season of prayer (perhaps the entire first nominating team meeting)
3. consider the organizational needs (who will be returning, vacated positions, and new positions being created)
4. put together a list of all potential people who meet church qualifications for service
5. then prayerfully determine the individual who is needed in each position
6. avoid considering backups in case the first choice declines
7. make enlistment visits (not in church hallway)
8. explain the opportunity, expectations, and resources
9. allow time for discussion and answering questions
10. set a time (usually a week) to allow for prayer and check back on a decision
11. follow up, checking on questions and a decision
12. when individuals decline an opportunity for service, begin the process again

What is the key for enlisting "God-called" leaders? Without a doubt, the answer is prayer. Spend time prior to meeting together and during your process in prayer. Seek God and His leadership. Avoid pursuing people based on popularity. Seek more than one nominating team voice. Don't rush the process. Rushing tends to enlist "warm-bodies" to fill openings. Ask candidates to spend time praying over the opportunity. Investing well can result in big dividends for your Sunday School ministry.

After you have enlisted your leaders (including returning leaders), provide training related to the assigned task and overall Sunday School work. Again, that means you need to begin your enlistment process early enough to have leaders in place prior to your training event. There are many ways to provide training. Check out Creative Ways to Train Sunday School Teachers for 33 ideas about how to train your leaders. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Get everyone involved. Make it fun and relevant. Provide food and childcare. Consider providing training more than once every year. This is because you want to train every leader every year, and some will naturally have conflicts.

Give God your best effort in enlisting and training leaders. Seek and train "God-called" leaders. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about enlistment and training of leaders, check out these blog posts:

Ready, Aim, Fire: Become a Sunday School Marksman

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 29 May 2012 13:15:00 -0400

As a teen Scout, I earned the Rifle & Shotgun Shooting merit badge with a near perfect score. There is much to learn about "how" to shoot well. Knowledge and even practice alone, however, do not make perfect shooting. Right practice makes perfect.

According to Dictionary.com, a "marksman" is "a person who is skilled in shooting at a mark." The definition actually needs a little rewriting or clarification. In reality, a marksman is not a person who is skilled in "shooting at" a mark. Rather, a marksman is a person who is skilled in "hitting" a mark. My Scout experience makes me believe that nearly everyone attempts to be a marksman at some time. Almost every person aims to hit (or accomplish) something.

Combining these two thoughts (right practice and actually hitting the mark), I want to offer some Sunday School reflections:
1. READY. Become an expert on Sunday School by reading, conferencing, and observing Sunday School. Ask questions of Sunday School leaders from other churches. Know what you should be aiming for. Get familiar with the target(s). Prepare well. Scouts have a buddy system in play for swimming, shooting, and many activities. This is a helpful practice for Sunday School work. Seek a mentor. Apprentice others. Hold each other accountable to give your best effort. Think and prepare together.
2. AIM. You can be prepared and ready to fire, but without aiming you will likely not hit the mark. In fact, someone may get hurt. In rifle shooting, it is essential to get comfortable with your weapon. Appropriate grip, breathing, and sighting are necessary. In a similar way, it is essential to get familiar with Sunday School and to ensure that plans actually lead toward accomplishing your goals. What are you aiming your Sunday School to accomplish? Lessons or changed lives? Mediocrity or revolutionary excellence? Maintenance or leadership? Survival or growth? As needed, adjust your sights in order to ensure you hit the mark.
3. FIRE. When you have prepared and aimed your Sunday School work well, fire. Make sure you check your results frequently. Insanity is continuing to do the same things over and over while expecting different results. If efforts are not producing the desired results, make adjustments and go through the three steps again. Don't just talk about good Sunday School work. Do it. Good intentions need implementation to produce results.

Now, what do you need to read, attend, or learn in order to be a better leader this year? What do you need to need to accomplish this year? Break it into specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely goals and action plans. Make assignments. Set deadlines. Establish regular times to report on progress and to make adjustments as needed. Fire. Launch the work. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School goals, check out these blog posts:

Attitudes That Cripple Sunday School Class Growth

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 23 May 2012 11:31:00 -0400

It would have been easy to have changed the word, "attitudes" in the title to "actions." I believe, however, that attitudes are the source of those actions, and the attitudes can be more subtle and therefore deadly. Consider the following list and check your attitudes and those of others in your class:

I DON'T NEED HELP. Few teachers can accomplish alone all the class work needed for growth: great teaching-learning, fellowship, reaching, ministering to needs, missions projects, and more. Besides that, the class, church, and Kingdom will benefit from "all hands on deck."

I DON'T NEED TRAINING. When we stop learning, we stop growing, teaching, and leading. The Lord and His bride, the church, deserve our best efforts. Training reminds of why we do things and challenges us to try new things.

I AM TOO BUSY. Each of us has the same 168 hours each week. The potential impact of Sunday School deserve prioritizing some of our time. At the same time, busyness also demands that we enlist some help within the class to carry out this important work because more needs to be done than only teaching.

I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOALS. Everything we do has some goal. Our work has goals, even if it is only to secure pay. Grocery shopping has the goal of bringing home needed food. The goal of Sunday School is to reach and make disciples of my assigned age group. In that effort, several actions deserve focus and specific goals can be helpful in motivating yourself and class members.

PLENTY ARE COMING. This is a sign of space or relationships that are full. It is inward focused. It is ignoring those who are not in class who are dying without Jesus or not growing as Christians. It may also be a sign of poor class organization.

THEY KNOW WHERE WE ARE. Thom Rainer discovered that 82% of the unchurched are at least somewhat likely to come to church if invited. Few come without invitation and it will likely take multiple invitations and expressions of our genuine care for them.

CLASS TIME'S TOO SHORT. Not everything has to be done on Sunday, but the investment of a few minutes in class growth actions makes a huge difference. Managing those few minutes well is, of course, key.

WE DON'T NEED GREETERS. Often when something is everyone's job, no one does it. Greeting members and first impressions with guests is important. Greeters are essential for leading the class in this effort.

WE DON'T KEEP RECORDS. Records of attendance along with member and prospect/guest contact information are essential for caring for each other and for reaching out. They help to focus immediate and ongoing care. A secretary is the key in keeping good records and notifying class leaders of the need for caring action.

These are but a few of the attitudes that make class growth challenging, difficult, or impossible. What attitude would you add to the list? Which one(s) listed are you and your class struggling with the most? What can you do to address this attitude in order to make growth more likely? Take steps this month. Reach and make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your class, check out these blog posts:

Sixth Anniversary: Top Twenty Sunday School Revolutionary Posts

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 11 May 2012 11:12:00 -0400

I began writing posts for The Sunday School Revolutionary back in April 2006. Since that time, I have added more than 1,070 posts and readers have added nearly half a million hits (should reach that mark in early July). Comments by readers left on the blog, by email, and by phone have encouraged me to continue this work when many Sunday School blogs have ended. Thanks for your interest in giving God your best effort through the tool of the Sunday School!

To celebrate the beginning of the seventh year of this blog, I wanted to share the top twenty posts since the blog began (followed by hit totals):

TOP POST:

Unique Names for Sunday School and for Sunday School Classes (20,692)

MORE THAN 5,000 HITS:

MORE THAN 3.000 HITS:

Revolutionary Sunday School Invitations (Postcards) (4,169)
Plan Your Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day (3,762)
Improve Sunday School Through Evaluation (3,738)
Promotional Tools for Sunday School: Don’t Keep It to Yourself! (3,567)
Creative Ways to Train Sunday School Teachers (3,103)

MORE THAN 2,000 HITS:

Nine Reasons to Use Icebreakers in Sunday School/Small Groups (2,349)
Sunday School Teacher Qualities (2,320)
Qualifications of a Sunday School Teacher, Part 2 (2,265)
Three Simple Strategies to Increase Sunday School Attendance, Part 3 (2,214)
Characteristics of a Good Sunday School Teacher, Part 1 (2,159)
5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year (2,158)
Characteristics of a Good Sunday School Teacher, Part 1 (2,148)
Invitation to Sunday School (2,105)
What to Name a New Adult Sunday School Class? (2,057)
Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Month: Is It May or October? (2,044)

Check out these top posts. Email them to other Sunday School leaders. Print them out and share them. Give Christ and His bride your best effort through the Sunday School. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

Plan Now to Avoid the Summer Sunday School Slump

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:39:00 -0400

People are busy today. They are mobile. During the summer months, there are many reasons members may not be present:

vacations
family visits
children's summer sports leagues
recreational outings, such as a weekend at the lake
late Saturday evening activities
and many more.

So what can we do to make up for more frequent "irregularity" of member attendance during the summer months? Don't limit your thinking to the following suggestions. Rather allow this list to lead you to brainstorm your own list and to adopt a summer Sunday School strategy:

invite your absentees each week
implement Saturday night calling of every member, guest, and prospect (perhaps by class care group leaders)
focus on inviting guests every week
have a class or Sunday School-wide photo Sunday (work to have the whole class present)
conduct a contact contest during one month or the entire summer between two halves of your Sunday School
have a monthly class fellowship with strong encouragement to invite guests (before the end of the fellowship, invite everyone to be present in class)
plan a meal and fellowship immediately after Sunday School and worship
have a teacher/worker appreciation Sunday and encourage members to bring appreciation gifts to teachers/workers
provide a breakfast for everyone 45 minutes before the official start of Sunday School (end promptly)
add the names of your Sunday School members to the 90 days of the summer to pray for them by name throughout the summer (have seen this work great!)

What would you add to this list? What have you done that worked? You may not be able to avoid some Sundays with lower attendance, but with a strategy, you can keep your average attendance high and make it fun at the same time. Remember, it is difficult to disciple people who are not present. Work to get people present. Do so because you care. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Expressing Appreciation for Sunday School Teachers/Workers

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 2 May 2012 14:26:00 -0400

Assume that a teacher has spent at least five hours of lesson preparation and/or other class work or ministry each week. When added to the hour on Sunday morning, that would be an investment of six hours for 50 weeks, meaning that 300 hours have been invested by each teacher. Other class leaders may not have invested as many hours but their contributions add up as well over the course of each year.

May is a common month for recognizing the time, effort, and commitment of Sunday School teachers and workers. It is before summer and after several months invested in teaching, caring, and reaching together. It is always a good time to pause to express appreciation for those involved in our church ministries, and especially for Sunday School teachers and workers.

I have written about expressing appreciation previously:

I want to make sure that I remind church leaders to recognize not only the teachers but others who have served faithfully in Sunday School through the year. Remember to express your appreciation to the pastor, minister of education, Sunday School director, and Sunday School secretary. Express appreciation to any age group leaders, department leaders, Sunday School greeters, or other general officers. Express appreciation to other class leaders such as outreach leaders, care group leaders, and class greeters.

Expressions of appreciation do not have to be expensive, but they should be well done. Inexpensive options include worship recognition, testimonies from class participants, certificates of recognition, and notes of appreciation. Additional options which do not cost the church budget can be asking class participants to express appreciation through giving teachers and workers gifts. Other options are well covered in the blog posts shared above: from appreciation banquets/meals with or without speakers to church gifts of book, mugs, and other expressions.

It is never too late to express appreciation. Make plans now to make your expression of appreciation special! Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

Suggested Sunday School Launch Week Activities

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:24:00 -0400

When does your new Sunday School year begin? Is it September or October or June or another time? What are you doing to make launch week special? What are you doing to promote Sunday School? Press Comments below to share things you plan to do this year or have done previously to launch the Sunday School year well.

Allow me to share some experiences, thoughts, and suggestions for making Launch Week special. Consider the following:

CLEAN UP. Set aside one or more days for teachers/workers to prepare for the new Sunday School year by cleaning up teaching-learning space. Ask them to throw away used literature. Ask them to take down old posters. Invite them to dust and clean space, including windows, doors, and more. Invite them to rearrange the room. Make the room feel special and new.
NEW SIGNS. Provide new signs, even if old ones are fine. Add color, logo, or graphic. Make sure accurate age groups are included on signs to help guests. Make sure all rooms have room numbers (include on sign if not otherwise available). Make wording large and bold. (Signs might also include other groups that meet in the room during the week.)
TRAINING. Train every teacher and every worker during the week. Provide childcare and a meal. Start and stop on time. Make it fun. Make it relevant. Be creative. Give it a theme. Do it well. Promote it well.
INVITATIONS. Call, text, visit, and/or send postcards to every member and every prospect inviting them to attend Sunday School. Send invitation cards out with members for them to give to friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. Invite attenders from the pulpit the previous couple of Sundays.
CLASS FELLOWSHIP. Encourage classes to plan fellowships (avoiding the date for teacher/worker training). Expect them to invite guests. Before the fellowships begin, stop long enough to say thanks to all fellowship attenders and invite them to come to class the following Sunday. Make sure the group connects well with guests who attend.
NEW GROUPS. Plan to start one or more classes during Launch Week. Promote the new class for the month prior to Launch Sunday. Ask the church family to invite to and pray for the new class(es). Invite people after worship to meet with the teacher(s) of the new class(es).
PROMOTION. Make it a big emphasis on your church website. Make it a big emphasis from the pulpit. Emphasize it in classes for two weeks prior. Encourage members to invite friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. Set up a table near worship to help attenders find out about Sunday School classes, where they meet, what they are studying, and who is teaching. Share a simple classes brochure.

What else would you add to these ideas? Help the new Sunday School year start off with a BANG! Clean up. Change signs. Provide training. Invite. Fellowship. Start new groups. Promote. Make it exciting and special. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School launch week, check out these blog posts:

Has Worker Attrition Caused Your Sunday School Decline?

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:24:00 -0400

There are several contributing causes for Sunday School decline. For a great new resource outlining several of those causes, check out George Yates' book, Reaching the Summit: Avoiding and Reversing Decline in the Church. Here is what George says about decline from his website:

Churches do not intentionally walk away from their purpose (first love). Decline is certainly not in the motives or objectives of any church.
It is imperative that church and ministry leaders take an objective evaluation of the reality of all aspects and facts of their ministry setting.
Leaders of a declining organization must come to the realization that the organization is in decline and know there is hope.
There are principles and steps to reverse the trends of decline. First, there must be a "want to" attitude among the leaders first, and the members of the organization.
This book identifies five phases of decline and provides eight principle areas any church or organization can address to avoid or reverse decline of the organization.

I simply want to point out one significant unintentional contributing cause for Sunday School decline: worker reduction. When a church starts Sunday School, few workers are needed to care for few people. There is a natural focus on reaching out to new people. But as a young church grows, frequently the span of care provided by teachers and workers can stretch toward ineffectiveness in providing contact and ministry with members and prospects.

Without regular doses of leadership and training, teachers can become focused on the major repeated responsibility of their role: teaching. They may fail to remember other important class actions and the benefit of class leaders. They will likely fail to enlist (or fill vacancies for) class leaders: outreach leaders, care group leaders, greeters, fellowship leaders, prayer leaders, and more. In the absence of these individuals leading the class to focus on respective responsibilities, the teacher becomes responsible for the missing role and work. Because life is busy and effective class work takes work in many directions, the teacher without class leader assistance will tend to neglect everything but teaching.

As a result of class worker attrition, members are not cared for, guests are not followed up, and ministry projects and fellowships are not planned. Without care, follow up, and plans, the class will struggle to maintain attendance. Decline eventually is inevitable.

As a side note, the lack of adult class leaders contributes toward fewer people in the church who are willing to step up to serve in some capacity in the church's ministry. Fewer people are willing to serve in key roles as committee/team members, Deacons, church greeters, missions and discipleship leaders, preschool and children's ministry leaders, and in other capacities. This can make church ministry, growth, and progress difficult.

Not only is the growth and ministry of the adult class at stake, but the church is impacted by the lack of leadership development through enlisting, training, and mobilizing adult class leaders. Enlist and train class leaders intentionally. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about class growth, check out these blog posts:

Updated: Free Training Materials for Sunday School Teachers

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 3 Apr 2012 13:10:00 -0400

Training to give God and His Body our best effort is essential. I could spend days and lots of blog posts highlighting great materials you can purchase and conferences you can attend. But we live in a great day of technology. Much information is available to us for free. Some of it is very helpful and comes with a variety of tools for putting it to effective use.

Here are several free LifeWay Christian Resources training resources (books, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and teaching plans) for each of the following resources. Rather than print the books, I would recommend purchase since the cost of paper and ink to print them will likely exceed the US cost of $1.00 to $1.50 for the books plus shipping.

Free download of the book: Missionary Sunday School: One Mission. His Story. Every Person
Free teaching materials for all age groups for Missionary Sunday School: General leader resources
Free download of the book: Transformational Class: Transformational Church Goes to Sunday School
Free teaching materials for all age groups for Transformational Class: General leader resources
Free download of the book: Great Expectations: Planting Seeds for Sunday School Growth
Free teaching materials for all age groups for Great Expectations: General leader resources

Free download of the book:
The 3D Sunday School: A Three Dimensional Strategy
Free teaching materials for all age groups for The 3D Sunday School: General leader resources
Free download of the book: I-6 Invite: A Six-Lane Strategy Toward an Inviting Sunday School
Free teac hing materials for all age groups for I-6 Invite: General leader resources
Free download of the book: The Discover Triad: Three Facets of a Dynamic Sunday School Class
Free teaching materials for all age groups for The Discover Triad: General leader resources
Free download of the book: Connect3: The Power of One Sunday School Class
Free teaching materials for all age groups for Connect3: General leader resources
Free download of the book: The 5-Step Formula for Sunday School Growth
Free teaching materials for all age groups for The 5-Step Formula: General leader resources

LifeWay also provides a set of supplemental current event/illustrations and teaching plans for Bible Studies for Life and for Explore the Bible. You can find those free materials at www.lifeway.com/extra. This list could go on and on. I want to include one more resource that those using LifeWay's literature, Bible Studies for Life, may find helpful. It is a set of support materials developed by Dr. Steve Armstrong who is a professor at LaTourneau University and a senior adult teacher at Mobberly Baptist Church in Longview, Texas.

For more training ideas to go with those training materials, check out these blog posts:

My friend, Josh Hunt, has many great free articles and some great books (for sale) along with great questions to go along with LifeWay lessons. You can find Josh's website at www.joshhunt.com.

Need to provide teacher training? Don't have much money? Now you don't have an excuse. You can train your teachers with these high-quality, free materials and ideas for months and years to come. Start planning now. Raise your expectations. Increase your training. Release workers into the harvest. Give God your best. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

Highest Praise for a Sunday School Teacher

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 2 Apr 2012 12:46:00 -0400

Pause a moment to reflect on your favorite Sunday School teacher ever. Who was it? Why was he or she your favorite? What did he/she do to earn your praise and appreciation? Allow me to challenge you to write down a few of your responses in a note, letter, or email to that teacher (if he/she is living). The month of May is a month in which some churches choose to express appreciation for the investment of Sunday School teachers and workers. Save your appreciation for May or send it now while it is fresh on your mind!

What is the highest compliment you could pay to a Sunday School teacher? Beyond your favorite teacher, what are some characteristics which come to mind of teachers worthy of high praise? How would his/her greatness be demonstrated or measured? What would be true of his/her relationship with God? with class members? with the church as a whole? with the community and world beyond the church?

Allow me to put the shoe on the other foot. Teacher, what would you most like to hear your class members say about you? What would you most like your pastor to say about you? What would you most like people in the community to say about you? What would you most like God to say about you?

Do you realize that highest praise sometimes comes in the form of a stretching request? For instance, I sometimes receive preaching requests after a conference or a speaking request after writing a blog post. For pastors, sometimes they are asked by someone in the community to conduct a funeral or a wedding after being heard on Easter, the radio, or at a community event.

When a class has been blessed with growth, the teacher is sometimes asked to serve as a Deacon, on a committee, or in another capacity. Sometimes the pastor will approach the teacher with the highest praise by making a request for the teacher and class to train an apprentice and send out two or three individuals to start another class. What a compliment!

The pastor has seen what God has done through the teacher and the class. The pastor recognizes some excellent class organization and practices that need to be replicated. And the pastor extends a stretching request with full knowledge and expectation that the teacher and class are up to the challenge.

How will you respond to this praise? Jesus said, in Luke 12:48b (ESV), "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more." Your faithfulness will be rewarded with additional responsibility: "His master said to him, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master'" (Matthew 25:21, ESV).

I challenge you to be revolutionary! I dare you to take the challenge! Stretch to multiply yourself and your class. Stretch to enlarge the work of the Kingdom! Step boldly where God is leading so you can be in dependence on Him! Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas on teacher appreciation and starting new classes, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School Growth through Evangelism Training

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 10:55:00 -0400

Without inviting people, Sunday School will seldom grow. Without sharing Jesus, seldom will people get saved. Without evangelism training, seldom will Christians take steps to invite and share. My friend, Bob Wood of Baptist State Convention of Michigan, has written a great post on the Sunday School Leader blog. I share it in full:

I believe in evangelism training. It’s personal for me. For years I struggled to share my faith and was frustrated with the lack of results. Then a pastor trained me in personal evangelism (using Evangelism Explosion) and it made all the difference how often I shared my faith and how effective I was.

As I served churches, I found the same to be true. When we mobilized persons to share their faith through personal evangelism training, we saw many people come to faith in Jesus. I found that evangelism training leads to a growing church with a growing Sunday School. Let me mention some resources I’ve found useful to disciple persons in personal evangelism.

FAITH Evangelism Strategy (LifeWay Christian Resources, www.lifeway.com/faith)

FAITH uses a memorized gospel presentation and on-the-job training with an experienced team leader and two learners. It requires commitment, but produces persons who are serious about sharing their faith. Someone has said that evangelism is more caught than taught. I’ve found that to be true; evangelism training that includes on-the-job training makes the difference. FAITH not only strengthens evangelism, it builds Sunday School. It is designed to tie evangelism training closely to Sunday School outreach and ministry. We used FAITH in a church of 500 with good results; one semester we saw at least one profession of faith among our teams each week.

The NET (North American Mission Board, www.namb.net/thenet)

The NET is built around using one’s personal testimony with selected Scriptures. It is simpler than FAITH, but still provides on-the-job training with a trained mentor and two apprentices. We used the NET in a smaller church (about 50) and saw a greater percentage of conversions (converts per member) than in the larger church mentioned above.

Becoming a Contagious Christian (Willow Creek, www.contagiouschristian.com)

This is basic evangelism training for every member. It doesn’t require going out and sharing one’s faith. It doesn’t require memorization. There are a number of basic evangelism training resources, but this is my favorite. I’ve found you can use this to equip all your members with tools for personal evangelism and identify those who are ready to take the next step through on-the-job evangelism training.

Growth that makes a difference for eternity is conversion growth. Do you want to grow your church and class by conversion? Use evangelism training.
___________________________
Bob Wood serves the Baptist State Convention of Michigan assisting churches to fulfill their potential in making disciples.

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 3 Application

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:14:00 -0400

Lessons with great preparation and presentation can still be failures. Jesus commanded us to make disciples. This process of transformation begins with salvation and moves toward increasing levels of submission and obedience. But lessons which fail to lead learners to apply and live out the truth only make them more guilty of disobedience.

What does it take for a Sunday School lesson to be excellent? In Part 1, I focused on elements of lesson preparation excellence. In Part 2, I focused on elements of lesson excellence related to presentation. In Part 3, I will lead us to examine essentials related to applying and obeying God in His Word. Consider the following application essentials:

Plan for it. Intentionally invest a significant portion of your preparation and presentation time in application efforts. Consider what can be done to lead participants to move from head knowledge to taking steps of obedience in their own contexts.
Don't teach too much. It is common to try to cover too many verses and too much material. That results in not having time for important "last things." Application is worthy of receiving significant attention and time. So focus teaching on important verses, background, and concepts.
Allow enough time. Save an appropriate amount of time. Each lesson and method will cause the need for application time to vary. But don't skimp or "cheat" on the time. Stop examination of scripture and truth early enough to lead learners to conduct self-examination and make plans for taking action as a result of meeting God in Bible study.
Allow time to think/reflect. A portion of the time that needs to be saved for application in almost every class will be for learners to think/reflect. Some will be able to respond off the top of their head immediately, but others will need time to think and reflect on questions and self-assessment. Give them time.
Focus on one truth. Avoid trying to teach every possible point and truth and focus on the one God has in mind for that group of people at this point in time. Then continue to reinforce that truth in everything taught and every method used. Lead learners to focus on and respond to that one truth.
Focus on the needs of 2-3 learners. When preparing for the lesson time of application, think about 2-3 specific learners in the group. Why is this passage and truth important for them? How do they need to respond? What are possible actions they could take? Next lesson, consider 2-3 other learners from the group. This makes the application more personal and concretely helpful.
Pause to pray. Do not be afraid to stop at application time to pray for the class and the Spirit's help in moving from head knowledge toward obedience.
Extend the "invitation." Be direct with application. Like in a sermon, point the lesson toward the truth that learners need to understand and obey. Then share 1-3 possible ways they can respond. Or give them time to write down responses. Lead them to make a commitment during class about living it out (in a concrete way) during the week ahead.
Ask "What did you do?" At the beginning of next week's lesson, ask learners how they did at living out last week's lesson/truth. Hold them accountable to obey. Lead them to grow as disciples.

These are but a few of the essential elements for lesson application excellence. What would you add to these application elements in striving for lesson excellence? Press Comments below and leave your thoughts. Al low enough time, focus Teach for life-change. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching for life-change, check out these blog posts:

The Fruit of a Sunday School Class

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 9 Mar 2012 10:26:00 -0400

What is the fruit of a Sunday School class? How do you measure Sunday School success? Before you answer those questions, let me suggest that your answer to those questions will answer another question: Is your Sunday School "an event" or "strategy?"

EVENT. If the fruit of a Sunday School class is about attendance on Sunday morning and attenders who know more about the Bible, then Sunday School is an event. The focus is on what happens on Sunday morning. The focus is more on those who are already gathered.

STRATEGY. If the fruit of a Sunday School class is obedience, ministry, missions, mobilization into service, and changed lives, then Sunday School is a strategy. The focus is on a plan for developing lives and leaders and setting them loose on the harvest. It is about how Sunday School can help the church carry out the work of the Great Commission. The focus is more on those not involved and how attenders can impact them.

In a recent newsletter edition of ChurchSmart Resources, I read the following statement:

Leadership cannot be measured by the performance of the leader, but by the fruit of those who follow.

Let that sink in. How can you measure the leadership of a Sunday School teacher? How can you measure the leadership of a pastor or Sunday School director? The answer given is clear: "by the fruit of those who follow." A corollary statement is that if there are no followers, there is no leadership and thus no fruit.

Pastor, director, and teacher, what are you expecting from Sunday School? Where are you leading? What is the fruit of your class? How are you measuring success? How are you leading your followers to measure success?

It is not too late to make adjustments in your leadership and expectations. It is not too late to make course correction. The work is too important to give up or grow weary in well-doing. Shift attention to the fruit, to the outcomes that should result from revolutionary Sunday School efforts. Your leadership matters. You matter. Your Sunday School is depending on you. There is still work to be done in making disciples of all nations. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about fruit of Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 2 Presentation

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 5 Mar 2012 10:52:00 -0400

How many Sunday School lessons would be considered excellent that had no or poor preparation? In no way do I want to dismiss the work of the Holy Spirit in the teaching event. I also believe, however, that our preparation can be Spirit-led as the group leader prays, has a personal encounter with God in His Word, and seeks His leadership. On the other hand, I have seen great preparation result in mediocre lessons through ignoring several elements of presentation excellence.

What does it take for a Sunday School lesson to be excellent? In Part 1, I focused on elements of lesson preparation excellence. In Part 2, I invite you to think with me about elements of lesson excellence related to presentation. Consider the following presentation elements:

Prayerwalk, gather supplies, and prepare room prior. Arrive 15-30 minutes early. Prayerwalk the space. Attenders likely sit in the same seats. Pray for learners by name and for guests who may attend. Gather your supplies and prepare your room early. Be prepared prior to the first learner walking into the space.
Start their thinking upon entrance, greet, and listen. Start thinking early about the truth for the day by passing out assignment cards, writing a question on the board, or arranging chairs with group assignments. Relationships matter between learners and the group leader. Invest well by greeting and listening to learners.
Create interest. Start strong when it is time to start the lesson. That is why some teachers have opted to move announcements and prayer to the end of the lesson. Tell a story, share an illustration or object lesson, or ask a captivating question. Get their minds in the room toward the truth and topic for the day.
Get them talking early. Within the first ten minutes, work to get everyone in the room to talk. If the group is large, that will mean you need to divide them into smaller groups with an assignment. If they talk early, they will be more likely to apply and talk about the deeper truths later.
Focus on one truth and reinforce it. For most lessons, it would be better to focus on fewer verses and one truth which is remembered and applied than it would be focusing on twelve verses which learners don't remember or obey. Teachers often try to teach too much and learners often absorb little or none. If they cannot remember the lesson or truth, they are unlikely to live it out. Instead, focus on one truth and reinforce it through using more than one method.
Engage learners by with teaching methods to address learning styles. The key here is to get learners involved. Lead them to engage the scripture. Lead them to meet God in Bible study. Engage as many of their senses as possible. Discover their learning styles and then use a variety of teaching methods to address their learning styles. Check out the blog post, Learning Styles in Adult Sunday School. Work to involve learners orally, visually, and actively. Seek to lead them to discover and apply the truth.
Preview and review. Give them a preview of where you are heading at the beginning of the lesson and review what was covered at the end of the hour. These overviews not only reinforce learning, the preview focuses attention and the review sends them out to live the lesson's truth.
Application and testimony. This is the reason for the lesson. The goal is life-change. The goal is producing disciples who are obeying. That means that no lesson should ignore application, nor should application time be reduced by spending too much time on earlier matters. Learners need time to reflect and apply this week's truth along with making a plan for living it out in their context. One powerful way of starting each lesson is having learners share what they did to live out the truth of last week's lesson. Doing so also builds expectation into the lesson for doing so next week.

These are but a few of the essential elements for lesson presentation excellence. What would you add to these presentation elements for lesson excellence? Press Comments below and leave your thoughts. Pray, arrive early, start thinking early, and create interest. Focus, engage, preview/review, and apply. Teach for life-change. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching for life-change, check out these blog posts:

Transform Sunday School Training, Louisville, KY, April 28

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 1 Mar 2012 09:34:00 -0400

The LifeWay-sponsored training event, TRANSFORM Lives Through Teaching, will be offered in four locations around the country: Arizona, Missouri, Georgia, and Kentucky. I want to invite all Sunday School teachers and small group leaders to attend TRANSFORM to get equipped, build groups, and impact lives!

Kentucky Location:

Valley View Baptist Church, 8911 3rd Street Rd, Louisville, KY 40272

Conference Tracks Focused on Specific Age Groups:

Babies - Two Year Olds
Three Year Olds - Pre-Kindergarten
Kindergarten
Grades 1-2
Grades 3-4
Pre-Teen (Grades 5-6)
Younger Students
Older Students
Young Adults
Median Adults
Senior Adults
Pastors
Ministers of Education
Sunday School Directors

These high quality, interactive conferences will concentrate on the specific age group segment you teach. Step-by-step guidance will be offered for how to teach and minister in a way that sees genuine transformation. Teachers will leave with practical ideas and understanding they can put to work immediately.

Emphasis will be given to:

The meaning of transformational teaching
How to teach with the goal of transformation
Practical methods that can be put to use in teaching
Understanding how those they teach learn
Planning and preparing to teach
Class room dynamics

Schedule:

8:00-8:30	Registration
8:30-9:15	Rally with David Francis
9:30-11:30	Teaching That Changes Lives
11:30-12:15	Lunch (Provided)
12:15-2:30	Teaching That Changes Lives

Registration:

The cost of $29 per person includes lunch. Reservations are required. To register, call 800-254-2022 or go online to www.lifeway.com/transform. Want a flyer about the Louisville location? Go here.

Sunday School Training and More at Growing Ministries Tour 2012

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 10:12:00 -0400

Training in Seven Strategic Ministries

Are you seeking positive improvement in the overall health of your church? Do you desire to grow strategic ministries in your church?

At the Growing Ministries Tour, church leaders in the areas of Assimilation, Discipleship, Leadership, Preschool/Children’s Ministry, Stewardship, Sunday School and Youth Ministry will be challenged and equipped to grow these ministries and, as a result, their congregations

Locations/Dates

Choose the date and location that works best for your group:

March 12, Blood River Association Office, Hardin, KY
March 13, First Baptist Church, Madisonville, KY
March 19, Graefenburg Baptist Church, Waddy, KY
March 20, Northside Baptist Church, Elizabethtown, KY
March 26, Immanuel Baptist Church, Pikeville, KY
March 27, Unity Baptist Church, Ashland, KY

Schedule

Keep in mind that all times are local.

6:00-6:30 PM Registration
6:30-6:45 PM Opening Session
6:45-7:45 PM Session 1
7:45-8:00 PM Break
8:00-9:00 PM Session 2

Registration

The registration fee covers only a portion of the cost of this training; additional funding is provided by Kentucky Baptists’ gifts through the Cooperative Program.

The registration cost is just $10 per person, with a maximum of $50 per church.

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 1 Preparation

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:45:00 -0400

What does it take for a Sunday School lesson to be excellent? Think with me about elements of lesson excellence related to preparation, presentation, and application. In Part 1, we will look at elements of lesson excellence that take place prior to the presentation of the lesson. Consider the following preparation elements:

Relationship. Relationships matter. Relationships are strengthened between teacher and group members by time spent together during and between meetings. Where good relationships exist, trust can develop. Where there is trust, teachers can lead, encourage, and challenge group members. Trust in turn impacts the preparation investment for the lesson.
Prayer. Prayer for group members, their needs, and God to speak to the teacher and members is an investment that results in powerful, life-changing lessons. Prayer begins in advance of opening God's Word and continues through the teacher's confession of sin and seeking God's will for his/her own life. All of that is in advance of putting a lesson together.
Bible Study/First Encounter. When we open God's Word, God speaks. The teacher seeking lesson excellence, opens God's Word seeking to hear a personal message from God in advance of preparing a lesson for his/her group attenders. This is the first encounter, the teacher meeting God in personal Bible study. (The second encounter is when the teacher facilitates the group to have an encounter with God in His Word.)
Personal Truth Application. What response does God expect from the teacher as a result of this encounter with Him in His Word? This makes the lesson personal and passionate, adding to lesson excellence.
Context Understanding. It is essential to set the lesson focal passage into context. What is the setting in history and geography? Who are the author, characters, and the original hearers? What was the reason for the writing of the passage? Understanding the passage context helps us to avoid misunderstanding or misapplying the truth. Because lesson time is limited, lesson excellence demands advanced preparation here.
Passage Mining. Beyond the context, it is important to notice the words and phrases of the verses. How can the passage be better understood through preparing an explanation of key words or phrases?
Lesson Planning. Only after previous steps is it appropriate to invest in planning for a group-impacting second encounter/lesson. Since much of that will be detailed in Part 2 of this three part series, I won't go into much detail here. But it is important to build a flexible plan for lesson excellence.
Reminders/Assignments. In the course of lesson preparation, it may be appropriate to remind attenders about something and/or to make assignments to the entire group or individuals. This can create greater anticipation and investment in the lesson, further adding to excellence.

What would you add to these preparation elements for lesson excellence? Press Comments below and leave your thoughts. Build strong, trusting relationships. Pray. Meet God in Bible study. Seek His truth. Mine the passage. Prepare the lesson. Make assignments. Teach for life-change. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching for life-change, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School: Event or Strategy, Part 2

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 15:26:00 -0400

In my previous post, Sunday School: Event or Strategy?, I shared a baker's dozen ways to move Sunday School thinking and action from event to strategy. They included the following:

proper enlistment, job descriptions, apprenticing, span of care, outreach, ministry, follow up, fellowship, training, affirmation/rewards, new classes, dreaming/goal setting/planning, and accountability.

I want to add three more essentials for making the move from Sunday morning event to Great Commission strategy. Upon these three, all the other depend. Add these three to previous list and make the move this year:

PRAYER. We can do nothing without God's help. We are not working on the Great Co-mission, if we do so in our own strength. Invest in prayer. Set aside time to pray for God's leadership and help. Follow His lead. Act out of relationship and dependence on Him.
DESIRE TO GROW. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus challenges us to pray for harvesters. He says in John 10:16 that not all of the sheep are already in the sheep pen. There is still Great Commission work to do. To follow Him is to desire to reach and make more disciples. Sunday School is a great tool to help us do so. We must desire to grow not for the sake of Sunday School, but we must desire to grow for the sake of the impact upon the church, the community, and world for Jesus.
LEADERSHIP. Without leadership, there is seldom any forward movement. Without leadership, plans are not made and carried out. Without leadership, Sunday School will never be more than an event. Leadership begins with the pastor but cannot stop there. It must filter through Sunday School and include the director, teachers, class leaders, and members. Every person has a part to play, relationships to impact, and influence and commitment to live out.

Will you stop for a minute and assess these three essentials? Is one or more of them missing in your Sunday School? Does one or more have a weak pulse? What can you do to resuscitate that essential? Where do you need to begin? Here is a closing thought: Why not exert some leadership to invest in a time of prayer for Sunday School and see if that might not revive a desire to grow. Do you have another idea or essential, you'd like to add? If so, press Comments below and share it.

For more ideas about Sunday School growth, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School: Event or Strategy?

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:41:00 -0400

Is Sunday School an event or a strategy? Don't rush to answer that question. How would the people in your Sunday School or class answer that question? Do they think of Sunday School as one hour each week or as a strategy for reaching, teaching, and ministering?

Without regular communication and leadership, Sunday School work tends to focus only on the Sunday morning event. It becomes primarily about prayer requests, the lesson, and a dash of fellowship. It becomes more about being together at the church on Sunday morning. Thinking and acting become event-driven.

What can we do to raise the level of understanding and expectation related to Sunday School? How can we change mediocre Sunday School thinking into revolutionary Sunday School thinking? How can we move Sunday School thinking and acting from event to strategy?

I want to share a few ideas, but this is not intended to be an exhaustive list. Press Comments below to add your thoughts to the conversation. Here are some ideas:

PROPER ENLISTMENT. Perception of the purpose of Sunday School begins early. Many assumptions are made simply by observation. Personal enlistment can begin a shift in expectations for Sunday School being more than an event.
JOB DESCRIPTIONS. Without a job description, leaders rely upon observation and perception rather than expectations to measure success in what they do.
APPRENTICING. The best way to impact practice and expectations is to apprentice new leaders and pass along the "strategy" DNA.
SPAN OF CARE. When the teacher tries to do all the work of the class, he/she is cheating class members from opportunity to be equipped to "serve" and to practice what they are learning. Also, when the teacher tries to do it all, he/she cannot do everything well alone. That means the job gets reduced to and event for the survival of the teacher's sanity.
OUTREACH. Enlisting class outreach leaders to lead the class to seek people who are lost and unenrolled in Sunday School is a concrete action that moves thinking and acting to beyond Sunday morning and beyond the church facility. This is always aided by the presence of an up to date prospect list for every class that has names equal to the number enrolled in the class.
MINISTRY. Enlisting class care group leaders to lead their groups to make weekly member and prospect contacts for fellowship, ministry, and prayer moves members to be trained in shepherding others and to act and think beyond Sunday and the classroom.
FOLLOW UP. This goes two ways. First, when the class is mobilized to follow up on guests, thinking and practices move beyond Sunday and classroom. This could include making visits and calls as well as inviting for meals. Second, when a need is expressed, the class should be organized (perhaps through care groups) to respond to meet the need expressed whether in class or between classes.
FELLOWSHIP. There is not adequate time on Sunday morning to successfully build great relationships. Time is needed between Sundays (at or away from church) to get members and guests together in social and ministry project opportunities.
TRAINING. What is important should be the focus of training provided for leaders in order to challenge them to give their best for their Lord and the sheep He has entrusted into their care. This should raise expectations and affirm progress related to the items in this list. In addition, it should offer fresh ideas in these areas as well.
AFFIRMATION/REWARDS. What is important is rewarded. If the only thing rewarded is attendance on Sunday morning, then that is where they will aim. Instead, reward and affirm actions which lead class es to reach out, mobilize members, minister, and grow. Catch classes doing something good beyond the walls of the church, and share their stories.
NEW CLASSES. Starting new groups points toward reaching out. It includes new leaders. It develops new relationships. It demands balanced, effective work beyond Sunday and church.
DREAMING, GOAL SETTING, AND PLANNING. Set aside an annual time for a Sunday School growth retreat for fresh spiritual preparation, evaluation and visioning, need identification, prioritization, goal setting, and planning. Include training in the event. Work toward "ownership" of the plans by participants.
ACCOUNTABILITY. Without regular times to check on progress of the goals and plans from the retreat, all the effort and work will fizzle. Set aside monthly growth planning meetings to debrief progress, celebrate victories, and adjust plans. Continue to raise the vision, expectations, and focus of your efforts.

What else would you add to this list to help Sunday School thinking and planning to move from event to strategy? Join the conversation by pressing Comments below. Give your best. Raise expectations. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School as a strategy, check out these blog posts:

Three Great Sunday School Preparation & Delivery Questions

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:08:00 -0400

In the February 6, 2012 edition of the Daily Hope by Rick Warren, he shares three great questions for pastors, Sunday School teachers, or small group leaders as you prepare. The questions in bold are Rick's but the comments are mine:

What did this Scripture mean when it was written? What is the context and background for the passage? Who was the original audience? What was the point to the original characters and original hearers?
What is the timeless truth behind what God is saying? Why was it important to pass along this passage to us? While there are often several facets to biblical passages, what is the truth that has stood the test of time as relevant for all people everywhere?
How does it apply now to me? God's Word was given as a living book. It is intended to bring about life-change. The passage has a personal application in your personal context. What does God want you to do as a result of encountering Him and what He had to say in this passage? How are you supposed to be different as a result of the encounter?

These are not only great study/preparation question, they are also great questions devotional questions as well as great lesson delivery questions. Use them to listen well to what God has to say to you. Use them well to study and prepare for a great lesson. Use them well to lead your class or small group members to move toward the change God desires for them.

Encounter God in His Word and lead His people to do the same. Make disciples. Be revolutionary! For more ideas about preparing life-changing lessons, check out these blog posts:

Marketing Your Sunday School Class

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 3 Feb 2012 10:53:00 -0400

What are you doing to get the word out about your Sunday School class? What are you doing to remind your members about the values and benefits of the class? What are you doing to invite and encourage prospects to try it? What are you doing to connect your class with worship guests?

Before you read the list which follows, I challenge you to write down your current practices and then write a list of possible practices that fit your class and your church. Then check out this list:

teach class members to share their Sunday School testimony (check out Grow Sunday School by Sharing Your Sunday School Testimony)
consider having a Sunday School class open house (check out Sunday School Open House)
talk to your pastor about sharing about your class from the pulpit, perhaps as an interview by the pastor (check out Pulpit Sunday School Promotion)
write a brochure about your class with age group, study topic, ministry projects, etc. to share in worship or give to members to share with friends through the week (check out Barn Quilts, Sunday School, and Tourists (Guests))
have a Sunday School class sign up table before and/or after worship to talk to guests about your class, share a brochure, and/or lead them to your classroom
give printed invitations to members for your class, fellowships, or projects (check out Sunday School Invitations (Postcards), Updated)
set a goal for making prospect contacts (check out Sunday School Contacts Make a Difference!)
invite guests to class fellowship activities (check out Reach and Assimilate People into the Kingdom Through Sunday School Fellowships)
use a church bulletin board in a strategic location to share pictures and information about your class
print business card size class invitations about the class with space for the member to add name and personal contact information
add friends, prospects, and inservice teachers (who are working with preschool, children, or youth) to your prayer, fellowship, and ministry list and communicate weekly with the group through email
use the church bulletin or newsletter to promote special class studies, projects, and fellowship activities
look for community opportunities to share printed or promotional information about your class

By the way, the list above is also a great way to promote a new class start! There are also many more ways to market and promote your class. Don't keep it to yourself! Invite. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about promoting Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School, IMAGINE, and the Gospel Project

Darryl Wilson — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:47:00 -0400

Over the years on The Sunday School Revolutionary, I have focused on general and adult Sunday School. Revolutionary general Sunday School, however, also is interested in youth, children, and preschool Sunday School. When there are problems in younger age groups, it impacts the whole. When growth slows or stops for some reason in younger age groups, it tends to slow or stop total growth. Pursuing the Great Commission (Matthew 28:28-20) demands that we invest well in younger ages because of the foundations and impact on spiritual progress.

With that in mind, I want to point out a valuable event and a valuable resource. First, let me focus on the event. IMAGINE is a conference designed to raise the vision, leadership, and impact of preschool and children's ministry. IMAGINE will be at Parkway Baptist Church, 2380 Springfield Rd, Bardstown, KY on Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, 2012. The cost is $25 per person through February 6 and $35 thereafter. You can register yourself and your group at www.kybaptist.org/imagine. A list of hotels can also be found there along with details of the 28 breakout sessions from which to choose.

One of the many reasons to attend IMAGINE is that you will have opportunity to discover the newest curriculum line from LifeWay. The Gospel Project examines the whole of Scripture and reveals how Jesus is present in every story, theological concept, and missional truth. With components for adults, students, and kids, the entire church will discover what it really means to be a part of God's gospel project.

The Gospel Project features a three-year study plan with 13-week units, each designed with the appropriate voice, depth, and course of study for each age group. Resources are available in multiple formats, including print, downloadable, and e-reader and app formats. The Gospel Project is designed so that individual age groups, entire churches, small groups, and even Christian schools can use it for in-depth, Christ-centered Bible study.

Invest in great preschool, children's, and youth Sunday School. Offer great curriculum in order to lead God's people to study the Word. Make disciples. Be revolutionary! For more about younger ages, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School Growth Actions

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:34:00 -0400

I am in the middle of a six month, multi-stop tour around Kentucky training pastors and Sunday School director teams in how to grow their Sunday Schools. Response after three stops has been great. These pastor-director teams have left confident about the knowledge they gained and the planning we did. They believed they could take steps that would lead to Sunday School growth: maturational, leadership development, numerical, organization, and more. That is exciting.

I wish I could replicate here the six hours of training and planning provided. Due to the interaction, that is just not possible. But I do want to share some of the essential elements. What does it take to grow your Sunday School? Consider the following:

Prayer. No need to ask if our Lord wants us to grow. He has commanded us to make disciples of all nations. Pray for workers. Pray for people reached. Pray for lessons to impact life-change. Pray for organization and training that leads people to minister and care for members. Pray for Sunday School.
Growth Desire. I have had leaders tell me they don't want to grow. Almost no Sunday School will grow whose leaders lack growth desire. Prayer and study of God's Word should lead to compassion for the lost and unreached.
Planning. Without planning, most Sunday Schools will produce the same results or less. This includes evaluation, need identification, prioritization, goal setting, calendaring, delegating, and reviewing/adjusting plans. This begins with an annual retreat and leads to monthly meetings were goals and plans are checked on and adjusted.
Goals. Annual goals will naturally include attendance, new members, new classes, new leaders, contacts, and prospects. The keys are enlisting and releasing new leaders in new classes and enrolling and caring for new people.
Plug the Leaks. Every Sunday School has "churn." These are people lost every year that must be replaced just to keep attendance the same. These people may die, move, or leave for any other reason. Care and ministry efforts should address as many sources of leak as possible: illness, grief, divorce, schedule, and more.
Care Group Leaders. Every adult and youth class needs care group leaders for small groups of members and prospects. They contact their care group weekly to pray and minister to discovered needs. This helps to address the leaks.
Prospect List. On whom should our care and ministry efforts focus? Without a target for our efforts, we can be less effective. Age groups should be assigned to every class. Then they should list the friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors who are not enrolled in Sunday School.
Class Outreach Leader. Every adult and youth class should have one. This person is not to make all the contact efforts himself/herself. Instead, the outreach leader's job is to assign contacts to class members (equip the saints).
Apprentice New Leaders. Sunday School cannot expand to care for more people without more leaders. The best way to train and prepare more leaders is through apprenticing. Every Sunday School leader should be apprenticing someone. Sunday School should naturally be the largest leadership development organization in the entire church, not just for Sunday School.
Start New Classes. We need more shepherds and more sheep pens in order to care for more sheep. Even if your current classes have space, new classes tend to be more evangelistic and inviting than existing classes. And it expands the care through more leaders. New classes grow faster and will tend to spill some people they reach into other classes.

There are many more growth actions, but these are the ones that come to my mind today . What would you add? Do you have a success story you would like to share related to one of these growth actions? Press Comments below and share your story. Give God your best effort. Grow. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your Sunday School check out these blog posts:

Chewing on Sunday School Issues

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:27:00 -0400

Want to be stretched? What to make Sunday School even more effective? Then I want to challenge you to read a series of posts about Sunday School on the 9Marks website. Warning (as Garrett Kell's post is titled): These are "Not Your Grandma's Sunday School."

Check out the introductory editors' post: Don't Be Too Cool for Sunday School by Jonathan Leeman and Trevin Wax. Then the posts are divided into three categories: Reclaiming Sunday School, Reforming Sunday School, and How to Do Sunday School. Check out the posts:

Reclaiming Sunday School:

Why You Want Sunday School by Jonathan Pennington with Bobby Jamieson: Are you thinking about ditching Sunday school? Consider what you might be missing in light of this theological and pastoral argument for Sunday school. Read more >
Why Sunday School Lost its Edge by Ed Stetzer: How did Sunday school go from staple to sidelined? Read more >
How Sunday School Can Change Your Church’s Culture by Jamie Dunlop: Changing the entire culture of a church is a crucial but complex task. Here’s how Sunday school can help. Read more >
How Sunday School Can Help Your Preaching by Jamie Dunlop: Sunday School frees up time for exposition and beefs up your ability to do application. Read more >
Sunday School and Its Rivals by Trevin Wax: What are the pluses and minuses of different discipleship contexts? Read more >

Reforming Sunday School:

Not Your Grandma’s Sunday School by Garrett Kell: Here is a Sunday School model that systematically moves people through a five-year curriculum that covers different areas of life and doctrine. Read more >
How to Reform a Sunday School Program by Juan Sanchez: Here’s how one pastor both modified a traditional Sunday school program and started a new one from scratch. Read more >

How to Do Sunday School:

Whatever the Model, Don’t Be Afraid to Teach by Jonathan Leeman: No matter what approach you take to Sunday school, be sure to teach. And consider how to balance out the weaknesses of your model. Read more >
Sunday School for Dummies: How to Use and Develop New Teachers by Jamie Dunlop: Do you have more teaching slots than teachers to fill them? Here are some guidelines for using and training new teachers. Read more >
Five Things Every Group Leader Should Do by Michael Kelley: How can you grow as a Sunday school teacher? Here are five simple steps. Read more >
The Advantages of Curriculum by Bobby Jamieson: Curriculum can save time, serve new teachers, and generate interest among the congregation. So why reinvent the wheel! Read more>

Five Essentials of Sunday School Growth

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 6 Jan 2012 09:21:00 -0400

This month on the Sunday School Leader blog, my peers and I (state Sunday School directors) are sharing a month-long emphasis focusing on five areas of Sunday School growth that have become known as Flake's Formula: (1) know the possibilities, (2) enlarge the organization, (3) provide space and equipment, (4) enlist and train leaders, and (5) go after the people. There will be a different great post every day.

Check out these great posts:

I want to encourage you to sign up for the Sunday School Leader blog by subscribing with your email (on the right side of the blog page) so you won't miss a single post this month!

Here are a few of the previous posts that I have written there:

I have written here previously about Arthur Flake and Flake's Formula. Check out these blog posts:

Make a fresh commitment to giving God your best effort through Sunday School. Allow mediocre Sunday School efforts to fade into the past. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

Do You Need Sunday School Blueprints?

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 5 Jan 2012 14:28:00 -0400

If you are in or near Kentucky, I want to invite all pastor and Sunday School director teams to attend one of the Blueprints for Sunday School Growth events. They are scheduled through June of 2012. Here are the details:

WHY: Too many Sunday Schools have stopped growing. Leadership, knowledge, and a strategy are needed. Blueprints for Sunday School Growth has been designed to help Sunday School teams learn, raise expectations, calendar growth actions, set goals, and lead their Sunday Schools to realize new levels of growth and Kingdom impact.

WHO: Designed for pastor and Sunday School director teams. Can include other members of your core Sunday School planning team.

WHAT: Six hours of training and team planning to lead your Sunday School to grow. Planning times are built into the event schedule to enable team calendaring and goal setting. Here are the topics which will be covered:

Biblical purpose/mission of Sunday School
Grow Through an Annual Sunday School Growth Retreat
Pastor and Sunday School director relationships
Monthly Sunday School growth meetings
Sunday School leader enlistment and care
Sunday School growth budgeting and leader training
Add new people to the Sunday School bucket
Organize for Sunday School outreach and care
Sunday School enrollment and contacts
Promotion of Sunday School
Deepen relationships through Sunday School fellowship, projects, and meals
Add more Sunday School buckets: apprenticing
Add more Sunday School buckets: seed groups, off-site groups, and space

In addition to these General Session topics, participants will be able to choose from two Elective Conferences: "Teaching That Bears Fruit" and "101 Ways for Sunday School to Reach Out."

WHEN/WHERE: Since many do not know association names, the cities listed below are shared so you can know the area of the state. Unless an address is listed, call the number listed for an exact location for your choice. Due to meals, reservations are required. Call early to reserve your team's spot for this training.

Monday-Tuesday, February 6-7, Crosswoods Baptist Church, 4991 Harrodsburg Rd, Nicholasville, KY, 859.254.7747
Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, Logan-Todd Association, 196 W 3rd St, Russellville, KY, 270.726.2392
Friday-Saturday, February 17-18, Blood River Association, 47 Aurora Hwy, Hardin, KY, 270.437.4203
Saturday, February 25, Campton Baptist Church, 52 South Johnson St, Campton, KY, 859.398.5737
Saturday, February 25, Lynn Camp Baptist Church, Lynn Camp Church Rd, Corbin, KY, 606.549.4497
Friday-Saturday, March 2-3, Ohio River Association, 221 W Main St, Salem, KY, 270.988.2204
Saturday, April 14, Mayslick Baptist Church, 5105 Main St, Mayslick, KY, 606.763.6260
Saturday, April 21, First Baptist Church, 1570 N Danville Bypass, Danville, KY, 859.238.7624
Monday-Tuesday, April 23-24, Fort Mitchell Baptist Church, 2323 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, KY, 859.727.6522
Monday-Tuesday, April 30-May 1, Cloverport Baptist Church, 314 W Main St, Cloverport, KY, 270.788.3241
Saturday, May 5, First Baptist Church, 560 Main St, Hazard, KY, 606.439.4339
Monday-Tuesday, May 7-8, Williamstown Baptist Church, 214 N Main St, Williamstown, KY, 859.824.7755
Saturday, May 12, First Baptist Church, 149 Lawrence St, Brandenburg, KY, 270.828.2421
Saturday, June 2, Gasper River Association, 530 Helm Ln, Morgantown, KY, 270.526.6913

SCHEDULES: The schedules vary according to the day of the week. Here are the three schedules:

Mond ay-Tuesday: 5:30 - 9:00 PM both nigh ts (sandwich meal provided both nights)
Friday-Saturday: 6:30 - 9:00 PM on Friday and 8:00 AM - Noon on Saturday (sandwich meal provided on Friday night)
Saturday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM (sandwich lunch provided)

COST: The cost ranges from $15-25 per person. The price difference is due to meals. Contact the local association for an exact price. Of the cost, $15 is for conference materials and five Sunday School resources to help as you take these growth steps:

Sunday School That Really WORKS, Steve Parr
3D Sunday School: A Three Dimensional Strategy to Help Leaders and Members Full the Great Commission, David Francis
I-6: A Six Lane Strategy Toward an Inviting Sunday School, David Francis
Discover Triad: Three Facets of a Dynamic Sunday School Class, David Francis
Connect³: The Power of One Sunday School Class, David Francis

FACILITATORS: Blueprints for Sunday School Growth will be led at each location by two of these experienced Sunday School practitioners:

Darryl Wilson, Director, Sunday School Department, Kentucky Baptist Convention and Blogger, The Sunday School Revolutionary!
George Yates, Director, SonC.A.R.E. Ministries, and Author, Teaching That Bears Fruit
Bill Ellis, Discipleship Pastor, Crestwood Baptist Church, Crestwood, KY
Todd Beasley, Minister of Education, Parkland Baptist Church, Louisville, KY
Howard Fuller, Minister of Education, First Baptist Church, Lone Oak, KY

This growth training/planning event is provided by the Sunday School Department of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and is financially supported through the generous Cooperative Program giving of Kentucky Baptist Convention churches.

Sunday School Teacher Self-Evaluation

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:30:00 -0400

God deserves our best effort all the time. This is even more true for those who are called to be teachers. We should remember the warning given in James 3:1 (HCSB):

Not many should become teachers, my brothers, knowing that we will receive a stricter judgment, for we all stumble in many ways.

With that in mind, we should pay special attention to the words of Paul in 2 Timothy 2:15 (HCSB):

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

As we approach a new year, it is a good time to pause and evaluate your calling and efforts with the purpose of improving so you can give God your best. In that vein, I share the following self-evaluation tool. With minor additions, the tool comes from my friend, Robert Stewart, who is the former state Sunday School director for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. It comes from his personal website in an article entitled How Well Am I Doing in Fulfilling My Calling to Service? You will want to check out Robert's whole article.

Evaluate your effort as a Sunday School teacher by placing a mark on the scale which represents who well you are doing. Consider these self-evaluation statements:

Check #1 if you feel you have not really done very well at all.
Check #2 if you feel your work this year has been passable but mediocre.
Check #3 if you feel your ministry has been okay, not bad, but nothing really special either.
Check #4 if you feel your work has been fairly good, you've worked hard and are seeing results.
Check #5 if you feel you've done your very best.

Evaluation Area	-1-	-2-	-3-	-4-	-5-
Prayer: Am consistent with daily devotions. Seek a personal encounter with God. Pray for members and leaders regularly. Lead class in prayer.
Preparation: Begin preparation early and am always ready to guide interesting and life-changing study experiences with God in His Word.
Learning Styles: Am aware of members' needs and select methods to address those needs using their preferred learning styles (verbal, visual, and experiential).
Transformational Teaching: I teach and lead in ways that move learners from where they are toward their potential in Christ.
Member Care: Maintain regular ministry contact with my members. Make contacts regularly, especially on birthdays and special days.
Reaching Out: Lead the class to pray for, relate to, and invite guests to class fellowships, projects, and Bible study sessions. Focus on follow up.
Organization: Enlist and train class leaders to serve as a class leader to enable the class to be more effective in growth and ministry.
Growth/Learning: Attended a worker training event and/or read a book about teaching, caring, or reaching. I am open to new ideas and more effective ways of teaching and leading the class to grow.

Review your results. Where do you need to focus in the coming year? What actions can you take to give greater energy and effort in the area deserving focus? Write out an action plan and share it with someone. Ask him or her to encourage you to maintain your focus by asking you how you are doing every month during the year ahead. Give God your best effort. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about evaluation, check out these blog posts:

Who Is Leading Disciple-making in Your Sunday School Class?

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 19:01:00 -0400

Who is helping your class focus on making disciples? This is far more than teaching a lesson. This is far more than teaching and learning. Disciple-making is a process of becoming more like Christ. It is a process of obeying and practicing Jesus' commands. It is a journey of working out our salvation daily. It is denying self, taking up the cross, and following Jesus.

How does this happen? How can your class encourage this to take place? This effort will benefit from a person who leads this to happen in the class. I want to challenge classes to enlist a Discipling Leader. What might a Sunday School class Discipling Leader do? I want you to realize this is a fresh thought for me, but here are some early reflections on my part:

lead attenders to practice a daily quiet time, including prayer and Bible study;
give them spiritual growth experiences through exposure to spiritual disciplines;
enlist accountability partners or triads within the class;
spend part of class time in smaller groups, such as accountability partners/triads, small group discussion, etc.;
invest a portion of class time on leading class members to exercise (practice what they are learning about God's will and Word);
challenge attenders weekly to focus on a way to live out the Bible truth learned on Sunday and call for reports at the beginning of the next week;
study Christian living and discipleship issues further when appropriate and needed between Sundays;
ask every member where they are serving in the church and community to serve our Lord, the body, and the community;
and more.

What would you add to this beginning job description? What would you suggest that a class Discipling Leader do? How can we help attenders in our classes take steps of becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ? Add your thoughts by pressing Comments below. Ask questions and start a conversation. Let's help focus on this issue. Let's grow our people. Let's grow our classes and churches. Let's impact our world for Jesus! Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School and discipleship, check out these blog posts:

Simple Sunday School Class Efforts Produce Significant Results

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 5 Dec 2011 11:16:00 -0400

My friend, David Bond serves as Adult Sunday School Strategist for the Evangelism and Church Growth Team of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention. David wrote a recent great post for the Sunday School Leader blog that was entitled Simple Strategies for Building Community. In the post, David offered seven simple class efforts which can make a huge difference.

Here are the seven (but you will want to read his whole blog post):

Get to know each other.
Provide time for interaction in class.
Name tags.
Contact each other during the week.
Come up big during crisis.
Get together outside of class.
Utilize groups within the group.

Deeper relationships increase trust which results in the potential for greater assimilation and disciple-making. Invest time in these seven actions. Organize to carry them out. Keep them in front of your class. Raise expectations. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about building class community, check out these blog posts:

Does God Expect Sunday School to Grow?

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 13:45:00 -0400

Does God expect Sunday School to grow? I have to smile just to type this question. My answer would be in the negative but with a caveat. (CAVEAT: While I don't believe God expects Sunday School to grow, I do believe our Lord expects us to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). And without hesitation I believe that Sunday School WHEN DONE RIGHT can greatly help Christ's body to carry out the Great Commission.)

What do we need to do to enable Sunday School to carry out the Great Commission? What can Sunday School do to prepare and mobilize God's people to "make disciples of all nations?" How can Sunday School help in baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded us?

Part of the answer is in setting goals. If we set the wrong goals, we will focus our people, classes, and work in the wrong directions. But if we fail to set goals and expectations, we will also not be providing the leadership God expects and His people need. If we set unrealistic goals, we can demotivate our people. On the other hand, we are about a God-sized task that can only be accomplished in His power.

My friend, Mark Miller, wrote a great blog post in September entitled, Realistic Expectations for Sunday School Growth. I want to encourage you to read the entire post, but here are Mark's closing two paragraphs:

My philosophy of Sunday School and church growth was impacted by the late Ron Lewis. In my first church as minister of education in Little Rock Arkansas, he led a Church Growth Conference and served as our church’s consultant. He stated that a church would double every 10 years if they just grew at 7.5% a year. In other words, a church averaging 100 in Sunday School would need to average adding 7-8 new members plus replace its churn. David Francis estimates that the average church loses 20% of its attendance every year to deaths, relocations, transfers, etc. So for a church averaging 100 in Sunday School, they would have to discover 20 new attendees simply to maintain plus 7-8 to begin the process of doubling every 10 years.
Let’s dream big, but set realistic timetables for growth. Unrealistic goals develop unrealistic expectations. Realistic goals and realistic expectations provide energy and motivation. I am sure that one day Tennessee will beat Alabama again and win a national championship, but realistically it probably will not happen in 2011.

Does God expect Sunday School to grow? Maybe not, but we will benefit from using effective tools to carry out His work. Let's make Sunday School a tool that works well and works right. Give your best effort. Lead. Set goals. Expect. Grow. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about growing your Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

How Should an Adult Sunday School Class Be Organized?

Darryl Wilson — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:54:00 -0400

In advance of responding to the question asked in the title of this blog post, allow me to share two assumptions. First, the work of the Sunday School is to assist the church in carrying out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), to "make disciples of all nations." Second, the work of the teacher is "training of the saints in the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ..." (Ephesians 4:11-12, HCSB).

With those two assumptions, it is essential that the strategy of revolutionary Sunday School be three pronged:

reaching people beyond the walls of the church,
caring for people who join the class and church,
and helping members make spiritual progress in becoming like Christ through teaching and serving.

In order to carry out that strategy, classes will be more effective when organization exists with leaders who are enlisted for specific responsibilities. While every class member has a responsibility related to each part of the strategy, enlisted leaders help classes maintain intentional balance, focus, and energy.

By the way, every organization or structure deteriorates when it is ignored. Maintenance requires regular doses of leadership, encouragement, training, enlistment, communication, goal-setting, and more. In the adult class, the teacher is the leader or the class organization, unless another person has been enlisted and given that responsibility.

Over the years, I have seen Sunday Schools and adult classes organized in many ways. Here are a few of those many ways:

teacher, assistant or substitute teacher, secretary, outreach leader, care groups (A Simple Two-Part System for Getting Sunday School Class Ministry Done, Part 2)
all members divided into three teams: reaching, caring, and discipling/teaching
teacher, secretary, and leaders for evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship (Sunday School Carrying out the Purposes of the Church)
teacher, secretary/administrator, and leaders for prayer, outreach, care groups, and fellowship (Sunday School That Really Works)
leaders for teaching, evangelism, administration, ministry, and service (Sunday School Class TEAMS)
leaders of fellowship, intercession, instruction, service, and hope (Sunday School Class FISH Team Training)
leaders for service/starting new classes, ministry, assimilation, reaching, and teaching (Revolutionary Adult Classes Are S.M.A.R.T.)

So how should an adult class be organized? Is one organization more effective than others? My simple answer is that the best one is the one that works in your setting. I recommend you avoid complicated or complex. Think simple. Think purposeful. Think about your people and context. Then make it fit and work. Seek feedback and input. Strive for ownership of the vision and plan.

And enlist to the vision and plan. Keep the plan and organization flexible as you fine tune it. Allow for trial and error. Learn along the way. Dream and pray big. Raise expectations.

I do recommend striving for a consistent organization or structure within all adult classes in a Sunday School. This helps in training and communication. But some classes who are doing effective work using another organization or structure could be "grandfathered" in and allowed some flexibility as you adopt a strategy.

How are your classes organized? Press Comments at the bottom of this blog post and share your organizational ideas and successes with others. Let's give God our best effort in carrying out the Great Commission and training the saints in the work of ministry! Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about class organization, check out these blog posts:

How Much Time Should the Teacher Talk during the Sunday School Lesson?

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 7 Nov 2011 12:51:00 -0400

Over the last fourteen years, I have had the privilege to talk face-to-face with Sunday School teachers, pastors, and directors from all over the country as well as Germany, Italy, Tanzania, and England. From these thousands of interactions, I have learned many things. Some have affirmed basic Sunday School principles. Others have pointed out needs. Still others have led to considerable mental debate and paradigm shift.

One of those has to do with the amount of time a teacher spends talking on Sunday morning. In most churches, Sunday School is scheduled between 45 and 75 minutes. In many of these churches, attenders arrive late. In some of these churches, an assembly time precedes Sunday School with a brief welcome, announcement, and/or devotional time. The impact of these two issues is often a loss of 15 minutes from the Sunday School session. So in effect, we are already down to 30-60 minutes.

In many of the adult classes, someone at minimum leads the class in a time of announcements, prayer requests, and prayer--usually prior to the lesson. In other classes, there may also be a time for prospect assignments, care group gathering/reports, and other class business. The net effect is that the time for a lesson in many classes is further reduced to 20-45 minutes.

Many teachers spend hours preparing lessons, so they desire to share what they have learned and prepared. Reduced time often leads to frustration by the teacher and participants. It would be appropriate for Sunday School planning/training teams to address the issue of time management on Sunday morning. But I want to address a different issue.

QUESTIONS. Of the time available for the lesson, how much time should a teacher talk? In order to answer that question, I believe there are additional questions that should be considered first. Consider the following:

What are you trying to accomplish? Are you keeping them busy, feeding them content, or challenging them toward life change?
How large is the class? The larger the class, the more challenging it is to get everyone to participate in the lesson. On average, the more participants are involved, the greater likelihood will be retention and obedience.
What learning styles are present in the class? A learning style is how learners prefer to learn and how they learn best. Of the eight learning styles (verbal, visual, physical, natural, musical, relational, logical, and reflective), most classes will have all eight represented.
What would be the best way to encourage spiritual progress or life transformation? Think about how to help an individual attender as a result of the lesson to take one or two steps toward the goal of spiritual maturity.
What teaching method(s) will result in the greatest retention (remembering) and application (obedience)? Each age group, class, and learner is unique. Avoid teaching generic lessons. Customize the lesson to the realities of one or more participant.

DANGERS. There are dangers to avoid:

Do all the talking. Then you will miss many learning contributions from others in the room. Learning is less likely to be "owned" and applied.
Not listening. Learners will check out if you pay no attention to them.
Read parts. About 60% do not like to read; some of those cannot read. Reading without supplementary action often has low retention.
Ask for opinions. Opinions are not our goal. What does God's Word say? This may be a sign that the teacher did not spend time preparing the lesson well enough.
Common language. Hearing language and phrases often enough that teachers assume learners understand what it means. It is better to explain things thoroughly.

So what is the right balance? How much time should a teacher talk during a lesson? First, let the Spirit speak through you as much as you can. Second, talk as little as you can in order to steer the course of the learning experience toward the desired outcome. Third, in most lessons, that means most teachers should work to reduce the amount of time they talk.

In a recent series about storytelling the Bible, I mentioned the goal for the teacher/leader to talk no more than 25% of the time. If you talk 100% or 75%, I want to challenge you to begin now to make an intentional, gradual shift toward balance. Reduce your talking time by 25%. If you are already somewhat balanced, assess what you are doing and consider how you might make changes that will propel learners toward greater growth and discipleship. Pray. Prepare. Teach to change lives. Involve them. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching, check out these blog posts:

Blueprints for Sunday School Growth

Darryl Wilson — Fri, 4 Nov 2011 09:03:00 -0400

WHO: Designed for pastor and Sunday School director teams. Can include other members of your core Sunday School planning team.

Biblical purpose/mission of Sunday School
Grow Through an Annual Sunday School Growth Retreat
Pastor and Sunday School director relationships
Monthly Sunday School growth meetings
Sunday School leader enlistment and care
Sunday School growth budgeting and leader training
Add new people to the Sunday School bucket
Organize for Sunday School outreach and care
Sunday School enrollment and contacts
Promotion of Sunday School
Deepen relationships through Sunday School fellowship, projects, and meals
Add more Sunday School buckets: apprenticing
Add more Sunday School buckets: seed groups, off-site groups, and space

In addition to these General Session topics, participants will be able to choose from two Elective Conferences: "Teaching That Bears Fruit" and "101 Ways for Sunday School to Reach Out."

WHEN/WHERE: If an address is not listed, call the number listed for an exact location for the training. Due to meals, reservations are required. Call early to reserve your team's spot for this training.

Monday-Tuesday, February 6-7, Crosswoods Baptist Church, 4991 Harrodsburg Rd, Nicholasville, KY, 859.254.7747
Friday-Saturday, February 10-11, Logan-Todd Association, 196 W 3rd St, Russellville, KY, 270.726.2392
Friday-Saturday, February 17-18, Blood River Association, 47 Aurora Hwy, Hardin, KY, 270.437.4203
Saturday, February 25, Campton Baptist Church, 52 South Johnson St, Campton, KY, 859.398.5737
Saturday, February 25, Lynn Camp Baptist Church, Lynn Camp Church Rd, Corbin, KY, 606.549.4497
Friday-Saturday, March 2-3, Ohio River Association, 221 W Main St, Salem, KY, 270.988.2204
Saturday, April 14, Mayslick Baptist Church, 5105 Main St, Mayslick, KY, 606.763.6260
Saturday, April 21, First Baptist Church, 1570 N Danville Bypass, Danville, KY, 859.238.7624
Monday-Tuesday, April 23-24, Fort Mitchell Baptist Church, 2323 Dixie Highway, Fort Mitchell, KY, 859.727.6522
Monday-Tuesday, April 30-May 1, Cloverport Baptist Church, 314 W Main St, Cloverport, KY, 270.788.3241
Saturday, May 5, First Baptist Church, 560 Main St, Hazard, KY, 606.439.4339
Monday-Tuesday, May 7-8, Williamstown Baptist Church, 214 N Main St, Williamstown, KY, 859.824.7755
Saturday, May 12, First Baptist Church, 149 Lawrence St, Brandenburg, KY, 270.828.2421
Saturday, June 2, Gasper River Association, 530 Helm Ln, Morgantown, KY, 270.526.6913

SCHEDULES: The schedules vary according to the day of the week. Here are th e three schedul es:

Monday-Tuesday: 5:30 - 9:00 PM both night s (sandwich me al provided both night s)
Friday-Saturday: 6:30 - 9:00 PM on Friday and 8:00 AM - Noon on Saturday (sandwich meal provided on Friday night)
Saturday: 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM (sandwich lunch provided)

Sunday School That Really WORKS, Steve Parr
3D Sunday School: A Three Dimensional Strategy to Help Leaders and Members Full the Great Commission, David Francis
I-6: A Six Lane Strategy Toward an Inviting Sunday School, David Francis
Discover Triad: Three Facets of a Dynamic Sunday School Class, David Francis
Connect³: The Power of One Sunday School Class, David Francis

FACILITATORS: Blueprints for Sunday School Growth will be led at each location by two of these experienced Sunday School practitioners:

Darryl Wilson, Director, Sunday School Department, Kentucky Baptist Convention and Blogger, The Sunday School Revolutionary!
George Yates, Director, SonC.A.R.E. Ministries, and Author, Teaching That Bears Fruit
Bill Ellis, Discipleship Pastor, Crestwood Baptist Church, Crestwood, KY
Todd Beasley, Minister of Education, Parkland Baptist Church, Louisville, KY
Howard Fuller, Minister of Education, Lone Oak First Baptist Church, Paducah, KY

The training is provided by the Sunday School Department of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and is financially supported through the generous Cooperative Program giving of Kentucky Baptist Convention churches.

Sunday School: Telling the Bible Story, Part 5 Teacher Multiplication

Darryl Wilson — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:59:00 -0400

What if a teaching method could train more teachers? What if every lesson gave attenders practice on parts of teaching? What if attenders at the conclusion of a lesson believed they could teach next week?

In Part 1 I asked, "What if I could suggest a Sunday School lesson method which will increase involvement/participation, retention (remembering), evangelism, and preparation of new teachers? Would you be interested in the method?" In Part 2, I overviewed steps of the Bible story telling method and pointed out times which increase involvement and participation. In Part 3, I shared how the method improves and increases retention (remembering) of the Bible teaching and truth. In Part 4, I shared ways this method increases the potential for reaching out and evangelism. In Part 5 (the final part of this series),

MOMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY. There are several times and ways in which this method of story telling the Bible trains members and potential teacher. Consider the following:

REVIEW. Ask what the scripture story was about last week. Ask what the truth or point of the story was. Then ask what they did to live out the truth. This reinforces the fact that you are expecting more than knowledge gain. Not everyone may participate, but several will. [The teacher can give this job away.]
PRAYER. Focus this prayer upon help for listening and focusing on God and His word. Ask God to help you to hear and apply scripture to your life. You may want to call on someone in the class to pray this prayer, but emphasize that the prayer is to ask God to help you listen to Him and His Word. [The teacher can give this job away.]
INTRODUCTION. Get the attention of those in the class. Help them shift toward thinking about the session, truth, and passage. This can be done by helping them understand the context for the story. It can be done by asking them to listen for an answer to a question. It can be done in many ways, but help them prepare to listen. [This will be difficult for the teacher to give away early enough.]
STORY. Tell the story. Do not read it. Do not memorize it. Tell it as accurately as possible. Practice telling it (out loud) with emphasis, gestures, and emotion where appropriate. This won't take as long as you think. Ask someone to check you as you practice. Look at everyone in the room as you share the story. Done well, storytelling will capture the imagination as well. [The teacher should give this job away after three or four weeks.]
REBUILD. As review and to reinforce the story, ask what happened first. Then what happened next. And so on through the whole story. Don't tell them; get them to tell you. If they get something out of order, ask what happened before that. Make sure the story is rebuilt sequentially with nothing left out. Done well, this can get lots involved. In fact, work to avoid the same one or two doing all the responding. [The teacher should give this job away after a couple of weeks.]
QUESTIONS. There are several key questions which should be asked here. Consider these: Who are the main characters? What do we learn about them? What do we learn about God/Jesus/Holy Spirit in the story. This one is important: To which character in the story do you most relate, and why? (Try to get everyone who is willing to share an answer to this question, even if they have to do so in small groups.) What does God want you to do as a result of the story? What will you commit to do? Again, done well, questions can get nearly everyone involved. [The teacher can give this job away by providing a set of standard questions. And the teacher can always add to the questions.]
POINT TO SCRIPTURE. When someone asks a question that you cannot answer, ask the group. Or more importantly, ask them what the passage says. Keep focused on the passage. If other scripture is appropriate, feel free to share it. But look for answers in God's Word rather than personal opinions. [The teacher can give this job away by encouraging the class to do this.]

If you give these jobs away in small installments over the weeks, eventually nearly everyone in the class will have experience and confidence. And the feedback from the class when they do these jobs will encourage them to try again. In nearly every class, new teachers will step forward.

Pray. Prepare well. Give God your best. Tell the Bible story. Use this method, and come back to this post with a report of the response of your group. Or ask questions or share your comments. Give God your best effort in leading His people to know and live out His Word! Train more teachers and release them into the harvest. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching to impact lives, check out these blog posts:

Sunday School: Telling the Bible Story, Part 4 Evangelism

Darryl Wilson — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:11:00 -0400

In Part 1 I asked, "What if I could suggest a Sunday School lesson method which will increase involvement/participation, retention (remembering), evangelism, and preparation of new teachers? Would you be interested in the method?" In Part 2, I overviewed suggested steps of the Bible story telling method and pointed out times when the method naturally increases involvement and participation. In Part 3, I focused on times when the method improves and increases retention (remembering) of the Bible teaching and truth. In Part 4, I will examine ways this method increases the potential for reaching out and evangelism.

MOMENTS OF METHOD OPPORTUNITY. There are several times and ways in which story telling the Bible makes reaching out and evangelism more likely and more natural. Consider the following:

MEMORABLE. Stories tend to be memorable for most people. While this is especially true for oral learners, a good story captivates most hearers. It pulls in their attention. They can "see" the story in their minds while listening to the story. That combination of "seeing" and hearing adds retention. That makes a well-told Bible story more likely to impact listeners, including those who are lost.
POWERFUL. We have this promise: "so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it" (Isaiah 55:11, ESV). Since Avery Willis Jr. identified 888 stories in scripture, story telling the Bible must have been important. God is drawing people to Him through His Word.
TRANSMISSIBLE. Partly because stories are more memorable, they are also more easily transmissible for most people. We will seldom tell others what we do not remember. When we tell the story, it becomes even more alive for us. And telling means more people will hear the Bible story. Encouraging hearers on Sunday morning to share the Bible story during the week is a natural follow up and expression of the learning experience.
ASSIGNMENT. The natural result of every Bible study session should be personal application of God's Word and commitment to obey. Lessons will tend to be stronger when they allow participants time to exercise obedience in class and to consider doing so during the week. One way to encourage this is to ask learners to share the story. This could be done first with family, then with friends, and then with others who cross our path during the week.
REVIEW. One part of every lesson is to ask (at the beginning of the session) what the scripture story was about last week, what the point of the story was, and what they did to live out the truth. This allows attenders to tell their own story about sharing God's story. As learners get more comfortable telling their story, they will be even more comfortable sharing God's story with unchurched and lost people in daily interactions.
POINT TO SCRIPTURE. When someone asks a question about the story that you cannot answer, it is natural to point to the Bible. It is an open door to check out together what the passage says. If other scripture comes to mind or is appropriate, feel free to share it. But look for answers in God's Word rather than personal opinions.
NOT INTIMIDATING. Using the proposed method of story telling the Bible does not intimidate listeners. They don't feel like they have to be experts to understand. This makes those who have little exposure to God's Word more willing to listen and participate in a Bible study session. And it helps attenders feel more comfortable inviting friends.
TEACHABLE MOMENT. Since stories are so memorable, God can use these stories in conversation as you walk through life. When a conversational door opens, it will be natural to share what you remember that is appropriate to the context. This also opens up doors to talking about the class and its benefits that you have received.

How would you implement story telling the Bible in your class? You might begin by using the principles above to tell the Bible story without adding the other method elements suggested. Then you might add the rebuilding and continue as normal. Then you might add the questions. I have not yet been with a group that has a negative reaction to any part of this method. And participants have been open and honest in response to the questions. They enjoyed participating.

In Part 5 of this series, I will conclude with a look at how story telling the Bible can lead to an increase in new teachers. Pray. Prepare well. Give God your best. Tell the Bible story. Use this method, and come back to this post with a report of the response of your group. Or ask questions or share your comments. Give God your best effort in leading His people to know and live out His Word! Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about teaching to impact lives, check out these blog posts:

The Sunday School Revolutionary!

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 10

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 9

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 8

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 7

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 6

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 5

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 4

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 3

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 2

Discipling Outcomes from Sunday School, Part 1

Question about Discipleship Outcomes from Sunday School

Sunday School Director Job Description, Part 2

Sunday School Director Job Description, Part 1

What Can I Do to Increase Sunday School Class Involvement?

Enlist and Train God-Called Sunday School Leaders

Ready, Aim, Fire: Become a Sunday School Marksman

Attitudes That Cripple Sunday School Class Growth

Sixth Anniversary: Top Twenty Sunday School Revolutionary Posts

Plan Now to Avoid the Summer Sunday School Slump

Expressing Appreciation for Sunday School Teachers/Workers

Suggested Sunday School Launch Week Activities

Has Worker Attrition Caused Your Sunday School Decline?

Updated: Free Training Materials for Sunday School Teachers

Highest Praise for a Sunday School Teacher

Sunday School Growth through Evangelism Training

Top Post: Top Ten Actions to Increase Sunday School Attendance

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 3 Application

The Fruit of a Sunday School Class

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 2 Presentation

Transform Sunday School Training, Louisville, KY, April 28

Emphasis will be given to:

Sunday School Training and More at Growing Ministries Tour 2012

Elements of Sunday School Lesson Excellence, Part 1 Preparation

Sunday School: Event or Strategy, Part 2

Sunday School: Event or Strategy?

Three Great Sunday School Preparation & Delivery Questions

Marketing Your Sunday School Class

Sunday School, IMAGINE, and the Gospel Project

Sunday School Growth Actions

Chewing on Sunday School Issues

Five Essentials of Sunday School Growth

Do You Need Sunday School Blueprints?

Sunday School Teacher Self-Evaluation

Who Is Leading Disciple-making in Your Sunday School Class?

Simple Sunday School Class Efforts Produce Significant Results

Does God Expect Sunday School to Grow?

How Should an Adult Sunday School Class Be Organized?

How Much Time Should the Teacher Talk during the Sunday School Lesson?

Blueprints for Sunday School Growth

Sunday School: Telling the Bible Story, Part 5 Teacher Multiplication

Sunday School: Telling the Bible Story, Part 4 Evangelism