Daniel Edmonds :: Sunday School Leaders

Jan

Add Supporting Leaders as you Grow

By Daniel Edmonds · Comments (0)

In starting a new adult group, one could begin with as few as one or two leaders. Numerous classes have been started through the years with a willing teacher and a list of prospects. On the other end of the spectrum, some start classes with a much larger number of leaders and members. Wherever you are on the spectrum, do not miss the opportunity to add supporting leaders as you grow.

Arthur Flake in his book, The True Functions of the Sunday School, speaks of the Sunday School as the employment agency of the church: “With proper executive leadership any Sunday school in any church can be so organized that a place of useful, joyous service may be made for every member of the church (42).” Flake even responds to those who say we should not rush people into a place of service; “It is false reasoning to say that they cannot serve until they have grown in Christian experience. Jesus used the twelve when they were yet immature (32-33).” Giving people an opportunity to discover and grow into the good work for which they have been created is not being “pushy” (Ephesians 2:10).

I co-authored a book with Dr. Lawrence Phipps, Growing Sunday School TEAMS, in which we demonstrated how to help people discover their place in the Body of Christ through “building Bible study groups in the church.” The invitation is for everyone to discover their place on one of the TEAMS. A modern picture of the Body of Christ is a team of people with a variety of gifts, talents, and abilities coming together to accomplish a mission. The five major positions are Teaching, Evangelism, Administration, Ministry, and Service. A variety of roles are available in each position to enable every member an opportunity to grow and serve. Each position should provide “entry-level tasks” so that new members can serve. I have posed the question to leaders, “If a non-believer began to attend your class, would there be an opportunity for that person to serve?” Watching people come to know Christ because they served in a mission project alongside believers who shared their faith is a true joy.

As you add supporting leaders, you are allowing people to take a “baby-step” toward a life-time of service in the Kingdom. These supporting leaders will have the opportunity to grow into the key leaders of the near future.

Arthur Flake said, “As it was in New Testament times, so it is today. In all our churches we have capable people of varied gifts and talents who, if enlisted and trained, will be able to do valiant service for Christ. Let us see how all these may be utilized in a practical way through service in our Sunday schools (34).”
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Daniel Edmonds, State Missionary, Office of Sunday School & Discipleship, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Flake's Formula, Leadership, Ministry, Organization, Sunday School

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Jan

Leaders: The Key for a New Group

By Daniel Edmonds · Comments (0)

Your ability to “Enlarge the Organization,” is contingent on your capacity to expand the leadership base. Jerri Herring and Larry Garner in their book, Five Handles for Getting a Grip on Your Sunday School, state “Leadership is the crucial element. The number of leaders must advance ahead of growing membership and organization.” Leaders are the key for healthy, new groups.

A commitment to start new groups is a commitment to discover and disciple new leaders. In fact, the firm commitment to add new groups (a goal with a deadline) becomes the catalyst to developing new leaders. Too many churches start new groups when they can “find new leadership.” As a result, they do not start many new groups. Healthy churches build an ongoing strategy, à la Arthur Flake, to “enlist and train leaders” because they understand “enlarging the organization” as a biblical, kingdom imperative.

Not only is the quantity of leaders important, but so is the quality of the leader. I remember being in a conference where the leader challenged us to multiply all of our leaders. Sadly, most churches have ‘leaders’ that they don’t want or need to multiply. For example, I have been asked, “What do you do with a teacher who want attend training, tithe, attend worship, and so forth?” My response was, “if those are responsibilities/characteristics of a teacher and you have someone who will not fulfill/exemplify them, then that person is not a teacher.”

Since leaders are the key for new groups, a standard must be kept by all leaders to ensure the continual development of high-quality, new leaders. Herring and Garner in their book site one of the great Sunday School leaders of recent days, Harry Piland, as he revealed “10 Essentials for Excellence” from the Apostle Paul on leadership: The excellent leader:

Makes himself/herself available to God (2 Timothy 2:15a).
Is one who is excellent in example (1 Timothy 4:12).
Focuses upon reaching others for Christ (2 Timothy 2:2).
Majors upon quality in teaching (2 Timothy 2:15b).
Will minister with a loving, caring heart (2 Timothy 2:24-26).
Prays sincerely and fervently with a believing heart (1 Timothy 2:1, 8).
Faithfully does the fundamentals with a flair (2 Timothy 4:1-5).
Has a clear vision of God’s will and purpose (2 Timothy 1:6-12).
Is willing to change – always has a degree of flexibility (2 Timothy 1:13; 3:14-17).
Never gives up – perseveres no matter what (2 Timothy 4:7).

For more information on emerging class leaders visit: http://www.sundayschoolleader.com/characteristics-of-an-emerging-class/

To order Five Handles for Getting a Grip on Your Sunday School by Herring and Garner visit http://cmdpub.com
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Daniel Edmonds is a State Missionary for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Leadership, Sunday School, Training

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Aug

Characteristics of an Emerging Class

By Daniel Edmonds · Comments (1)

A common remark heard in Sunday School meetings is, “I know we should start new classes, but where do we get the leaders?” Historically, there is a tendency to designate leaders rather that to develop or disciple leaders. Nominating committees bestow leadership positions on individuals because of their visibility (attendance frequency) and inability (to say
“no”). Biblically, leaders should be discipled, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” (Mt. 4:19)

As a part of the disciple-making process, every leader should be seeking to discover and develop future leaders. Discover emerging leaders by their:

Passion – an individual who clearly displays a love for Christ, His Church, and for serving.
Participation – inside the class, this individual engages in discussion, asks questions, and displays a love for understanding and living the Word.
Potential – outside the class, in an interview or conversation, the individual reveals leadership potential. Develop a habit of spending time with class members to discover the potential everyone has through their spiritual giftedness. Utilize one of the great varieties of tools that are available to assist in this process.

After the discovery process, all leaders need to be developed or discipled as follows:

Scripturally – As stated earlier, Jesus’ example was to call people to “follow,” and He began both to “do and teach.” (Acts 1:1) Develop an apprentice or mentoring relationship with emerging leadership. Call them alongside before sending them out to serve.
Spiritually – Every leader needs to develop and be held accountable for some basic, daily spiritual disciplines (derived from Acts 2):
A) Studying the Word, B) Spending time in prayer, C) Sharing with anyone as they have need, D) Stewardship of
their resources – time, talent, and treasure, and E) Serving withsincerity of heart [1]
Skillfully – take emerging leaders with you to a wide variety of training events that will hone their skill. Training may be done through the local Church, Association, State Convention, or SBC entity. All leaders are to be lifelong learners!

[1] Phipps, Lawrence H. and Daniel E. Edmonds, Growing Sunday School TEAMS, (Montgomery, For Life Ministries, 2001), 19.

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Daniel E. Edmonds is State Missionary, Director of the Office of Sunday School & Discipleship, Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.

Categories : 31 Days of Transformational Class, Sunday School

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Aug

Expect People to Say “Yes” to Enrollment

By Daniel Edmonds · Comments (0)

I had the opportunity to train a pastor and his church on how to properly enroll people in Sunday School. A few months later, the pastor and I attended a conference together on Sunday School health. The conference leader was sharing different ways to discover prospects. The pastor raised his hand and said, “We never have prospects!” The leader asked him if he had tried a variety of the techniques. The pastor replied, “We have tried them all, but as soon as we discover a prospect we ask them to enroll and they always agree; therefore, they are no longer prospects.” I am certain that I do not get a “yes” every time, but I do expect it.

Why do I expect people to agree to enrollment? Because I do not ask them to commit to the group, but I ask them if they are willing to have a group commit to serve them. Several years ago, I came to the realization that enrollment does not represent an individual’s commitment to the class, but the commitment of the class to the individual. Enrollment is not about a person attending the class, but it is about the class attending to the needs of the individual. Enrollment becomes the way a class extends its’ ministry and mission field by identifying people to whom it can demonstrate the love of Christ.

In general, when I meet someone I ask them if they have a group of people to pray for and support them. I tell them that I have a group that consistently will do that for me and that it brings me joy and comfort in my daily life. I ask them for the privilege of providing them with a group of people who will pray for them, share with them, and care for them if they have a need. I assure them that they have no obligation to the group, but that the group will be obligated to them. Then I ask, “Would you like to have a group of people praying for you, sharing with you, and caring for you and your family if you have a need?” I am not surprised when they say “yes!”

Sunday School has a mission of sharing the love of Christ with everyone. We express a willingness to be on mission when we offer people an opportunity to be enrolled. When they say, “yes,” provide the ministry that has been promised and you will discover that when we live as Christ, He draws people to Himself. Expect people to say, “Yes!” to enrollment, and then complete the mission.

Categories : Great Expectations, Growing your Group, Sunday School

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Aug

Expect Leaders to Be Prepared

By Daniel Edmonds · Comments (1)

I boarded an airplane bound for home and was greeted by an announcement from the pilot who stated that we were going to be delayed while they searched for a co-pilot. A passenger across the aisle from me said, “Why don’t you do it?” I explained that I wasn’t trained or prepared to fly an airplane and would not stay on board if they allowed untrained, unprepared people in the cockpit. None of us would trust our life to a pilot, a doctor, or anyone unprepared to care for us. Wherever we go, we expect that people who serve us will be trained and prepared to do their best. Why should we expect anything less when we are in Sunday School?

Everyone serving in Sunday School, from greeters, hospitality leaders, fellowship leaders, outreach leaders, care group leaders, to teachers and beyond should be in place ahead of time and be prepared to care for members and guests properly. Lack of preparation can lead to poor teaching, wasted time, a bad first impression on guests, poor communication of events, failure to care for members, and decreased participation.

Steps to ensure preparation by all leaders include proper enlistment, thorough training, clear expectations, and accountability. Often in enlistment we downplay the importance of the position or over-emphasize its simplicity. Statements during enlistment like, “it won’t take too much time,” “just give it a shot” or “there’s not much to it” can cause people to be haphazard in their efforts. In enlisting leaders for any position, one should have a clear description of the job and stress its importance in the overall mission of the Sunday School.

Enlistment should come with the promise of thorough training and clear expectations. When I was in management for United Parcel Service, I learned why the company was so successful: employees were thoroughly trained for their position and all expectations were clearly defined. The company made sure the employees knew their jobs and did them to acceptable standards. There was no doubt of what was desired and how important it was for everyone to do their job correctly. If it is a ministry worth doing, then people should know how to do the work and the anticipated results.

Leaders cannot be held accountable unless they are properly enlisted, trained, and given clear expectations. If these steps are taken, accountability will not be resented. In fact, accountability will spotlight the importance of the ministry and highlight the work of the leader.

If you take the proper steps, you can expect leaders to be prepared and the mission of Sunday School to be strengthened.

Categories : Great Expectations, Leadership, Sunday School, Teaching

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