Growing your Group :: Sunday School Leaders

Feb

Sunday School Growth = Evangelism + Ministry + Discipleship

By Darryl Wilson · Comments (0)

We can easily make a case for the value of Sunday School helping the church carry out all five purposes: evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship. Worship would be included not because of a worship service following Sunday School. Worship would be included because when we open God’s Word, He speaks. And that is an open invitation to worship.

I can also make a case for fellowship due to the relationships and the importance of assimilation. But for this post, I am including fellowship as a natural part of ministry. We cannot effectively minister to people and care for their needs without a relationship. I am going to assume fellowship in order to narrow the focus of this conversation.

Here is the equation for this blog post:

Sunday School Growth = Evangelism + Ministry + Discipleship

EVANGELISM. Growing Sunday School cannot exist when any one of these ingredients is missing. Many Sunday Schools are trying to operate without evangelism. They are not focused on reaching out to new people. They are not prepared when new people show up. They do not follow up. They may care about each other. They may minister to one another’s needs. But they don’t really care whether new people come to class or not. They don’t care enough about lost people to invite them to Sunday School or Jesus.

MINISTRY. Growing Sunday School cannot exist without ministry. We may be inviting new people all the time. We may have guests show up every Sunday. But if we are not ministering to the needs of members, they won’t stay connected. We will miss some of the prospects if we fail to reach out in their times of stress and need. Our caring connects. But when our back door (people leaving) is as big or bigger than our front door (new people), we cannot grow.

DISCIPLESHIP. Finally, growing Sunday School cannot exist without discipleship. If the group is inviting and ministering but is not teaching God’s Word, the group is nothing more than a social club. If the group is reaching out and meeting needs but not “making disciples,” then the members are not personally growing. We are to equip the saints for works of service (Ephesians 4:11-12). Even if the numbers for the Sunday School are increasing but the lives are not becoming more like Jesus, the Sunday School is unbalanced in its growth and is likely destined to decline.

How is your Sunday School doing on this equation? If you had to identify one area in which your Sunday School is weakest, which would it be? What needs to be done to shore up that weakness? What steps can you take this month to begin to address that area? Sunday School growth equals evangelism, ministry, AND discipleship. Pray. Evaluate. Address. Grow. Make disciples. For more ideas about growing your Sunday School, check out these blog posts:

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Darryl Wilson has served as Director of the Sunday School Department for the Kentucky Baptist Convention since 1997. He served as Minister of Education in five churches in Kentucky and South Carolina. He is the author of The Sunday School Revolutionary!, a blog about life-changing Sunday School and small groups.

Categories : Growing your Group, Ministry, Outreach/Evangelism, Sunday School

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Jan

How to Effectively Group People in Sunday School/Small Groups

By Kenneth Priest · Comments (0)

There are several primary considerations for effectively organizing groups for Sunday School/Small Groups. Before developing your structure, account for the total active church membership. Second, determine whether the groups will be offered on-campus, off-campus, or both. Finally, evaluate community and church demographics. Once the primary considerations are determined, you can begin grouping people for effective community.

Grouping people effectively requires intentionality. Whether using on-campus or off-campus groups, focus should be given to creating genuine community. This is accomplished by modeling the biblical principles of Acts 2:42; “And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayers.” (HCSB). When a group focuses on studying God’s Word, praying for one another, spending quality time getting to know one another, and meeting together consistently, an environment is cultivated for community. Once community is created, there is a natural attraction for persons to connect with the group. The genuine community which exists is a warm, inviting atmosphere.

Simple group dynamics state persons connect with others persons of affinity. Effective grouping, therefore, works best through these considerations. There are several options to group persons.

Age-grade

This category groups persons who are at the same age. Smaller churches typically have larger age-spans in these groups which creates part of the challenge in dynamics to grow a particular group. Twenties typically do not have much in common with forties, yet the smaller the congregation, a young adult class may span the ages of 20-49 year old. Whereas critical mass is important, a healthier balance may need to be considered with emphasis given to the group-size:age-graded ratio., (ratio is philosophical, most off-campus groups will be below 15, on-campus groups will vary in size based on leadership abilities).

Life-Stage

This category groups persons who are at a similar life-stage. This may be determined by age of the children, grandchildren, retirement, the fact of being a boomer, etc. An example is a group may be for parents of elementary age children. The effectiveness of this model is most persons are going through similar experiences whether professionally in the marketplace or personally in home life.

Note: when using the age of the children to group parents, you may have older 40s in the class as persons who married and had children later in life compared to couples in their 20s or early thirties with the same age children. Using the age of children may disregard couples without children which are an ever-increasing portion of the population.

Interest

This category groups persons around interest. Categories may include men only, women only, sportsmen, outdoors men, marketplace women, etc. The effectiveness of this model is inherent in the “interest” itself. The challenge of this model is using the “interest” group to connect while keeping the study focused on God’s Word.

Proximity

There are two options in using off-campus groups. You may choose a similar structure as the on-campus for creating community groups centered around age, life-stages, and/or interest. The other option is proximity groups. If your demographics draw from all over the community, an off-campus group may be organized with persons who live in the same neighborhood or proximity. This option may bring together varied generations into community groups. This multi-generational approach creates inherent mentor-mentee relationship opportunities. A challenge to this approach is the participants do not have a common-bond of going through similar “life-stage” milestones together. A positive is an older person in the group has “been there, done that” and can share from his/her life experiences.

Effectiveness for either group, on-campus or off-campus, weighs on intentionality of the leadership team. Leadership development is core to either option succeeding. Leaders must be prepared and equipped to reproduce themselves as the group connects and grows. Effective groups have an outward focus. As group leaders insure all persons are connecting, caring environments are created and ministry occurs.

More information regarding this topic can be found in Missionary Sunday School by David Francis.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Flake's Formula, Growing your Group, Leadership, Ministry, Organization, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

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Jan

Basic Home Group Space Principles

By David Bond · Comments (0)

My family has relocated several times over the past fifteen years. While numerous tasks accompany this experience, one of the most important is finding a new home. Factors such as location, cost, proximity to school, work, and church, neighborhood, must all be considered. Deciding on the best home is the result of careful evaluation, establishing priorities, and wise management of resources.

What about finding a home for your small group family? For many churches, accelerated growth and limited space may require new groups to meet away from the church building. When churches seek to find off-campus locations for groups, many factors must also be considered.

The Purpose of the Group

For this post, assume the home group is an extension of the Sunday School and is designed to function as an open group. Assist the group members in identifying their target people group whether it is families in the neighborhood or already identified acquaintances from the social circles of group members. Some groups may not choose to meet in a home at all but rather a more neutral location such as a coffee shop in order to engage those who are completely unreached. Home groups should be able to clearly identify their people group.

The Environment of the Home

The host home should be warm and welcoming. While every host wants to be ready for guests, the message should be that real people still live in the house. No one wants to have a small group meeting in a museum. Furnishings, décor, and overall atmosphere should invite group participants to feel at home and in the company of others to whom they can relate. Space should be sufficient for a seating arrangement that allows group members to view each other’s faces. Other considerations such as ease of locating, access, and parking should also be kept in mind.

Participants in the Group

Who will attend the group meeting? Ten single people will arrive in a different number of vehicles than five married couples. If children will be present at the meeting, teenagers will require different space than preschoolers. If the group has children of all ages, the variety of space needs increases again. Access for disabled group members may also need to be considered.

Proximity to the Church

In some cases, groups may meet in a home while their children participate in a program at church. This solution may work, but travel time between the host home and church must be factored into the overall time allotted. Also, consider the strategy you will use to eventually connect small group members to worship and service in and through your church.

Elements of the Meeting

If a meal is a part of the meeting, preparation and serving space should be considered. If the Bible study content is video driven, quality picture and sound is a must. Should the group desire to break off into smaller groups for prayer/accountability, this also may need to be thought through.

Be thorough when selecting a home for your small group family.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Growing your Group, Mission, New Groups, Small Groups, Space and Facilities, Sunday School

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Jan

Lead your Group to Start a New Group

By Kiely Young · Comments (0)

“We have a great idea. Let’s encourage ALL of our classes/small group Bible studies to birth a new group with their group.” I shared that idea with one class one day and I was told immediately that I could leave room. They wanted no part of this plan.

New groups do not just happen because we think they should happen. This must be built into the DNA of each new group from the beginning. They must know that the optimum maximum size for a small group is not more than twenty five. When a class or group gets larger, it loses the small group dynamic.

So just how is this done. We must develop disciples within the group to make this happen. We have found a structure of five leaders can best begin a new group: Teacher, Evangelism Leader, Administrative Leader, Ministry Leader, and Service Leader. These leaders seek out those individuals within their group who can best fit their same position as their group grows. They will be seeking to reach their friends and those who are attracted to this group. As the group begins to reach the optimum size of twenty to twenty five, they need to intensify their work of discipling and equipping prospective leaders for the new group. The whole class must be in prayer about this opportunity. This does not “divide” or “split” the class. Rather, you have the joy of birthing a new class with whom you will continue to have fellowship, ministry, and sharing together. You may or not meet at the same time or even the same location. But, you will share mutual vision, purpose, and passion for reaching and nurturing believers in Christ. You may even work together to start more new classes from within both groups.

All new leaders must be prayerfully and carefully enlisted, equipped and encouraged in their new responsibilities. They must never be left alone to fend for themselves. That could result in failure in their minds. Rather, we must continue to encourage them and work with them to see them reach their friends as they were reached by their class. This really can be contagious!.
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Kiely Young
Mississippi Baptist Convention Board

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Growing your Group, New Groups, Small Groups, Sunday School

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Jan

How to Keep a New Group Growing

By Kiely Young · Comments (0)

This week I sat in a meeting talking to a Pastor and Minister of Education whose church has regularly started new groups over the past several years. They have done so in an environment of declining population in the heart of the Mississippi Delta region. Their church has experienced steady growth. I asked them to explain how they have done this and how they have help keep these groups growing.

They quickly responded. “We have not seen success with ALL the groups. It depends on the leadership team we have enlisted and their passion for the group we are trying to reach. Those with passion to reach those in need grow spiritually and numerically. Those who are just enlisted and equipped to teach a class do not always put their hearts into the work of the class.”

Those statements say a lot. When we begin new groups we must ask some key questions if we want success in meeting the needs of the group we are trying to reach.

Who are we trying to reach?
Why are we trying to reach that group?
When are we trying to reach them?
Where are we trying to reach them?
What do we plan to do for them when we reach them?
How will we measure success in reaching and ministering to them?
Do we have a plan for nurturing them to multiply and reach others through another new group?

Far too often, we just enlist a teacher, give them a list of “suspects” and expect that person to do all the work. That class will often be doomed to fail because of lack of purpose and organization.

But, if those enlisted, understand their roles, the purpose of the class, and they have a passion to reach the people they are trying to reach, they are far more likely to succeed. They must add prayer, hard work, determination, patience, and persistence to their efforts. As my friend Daniel Edmonds, from Alabama states, “Start small, do it right, build it strong”. Another pastor friend was asked by a dear senior adult lady how long they were going to continue to use this strategy of starting new groups to reach more people. He quickly responded, “Until Jesus comes, that was His Commission to us.” Let’s keep up the strong work of growing new classes and small groups.
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Kiely Young
Mississippi Baptist Convention Board

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Growing your Group, New Groups, Small Groups, Sunday School

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