Archive for Growing your Group – Page 2

Sunday School in a Transformational Church

By Phil Stone · Comments (2)
Thursday, September 13th, 2012

This is article two of a ten part series. Click here to view the previous article.

Making Disciples

(a repost but essential to this series)

We’re finally taking seriously our great Co-Mission from Jesus to Go, make disciples.  It seemed that the church had forgotten these final words of the Lord, but making disciples is on the lips of every speaker, leader, and preacher you hear today.  Frankly, it’s about time!  That is what He told us to do, but what does making disciples mean in today’s world.  The word, disciple, is not a normal, 21st century term used in business or corporate ventures.  It’s a church word that had largely been eclipsed except in programmatic language for what you do on Sunday nights or if you’re really creative, Wednesdays in place of the old Prayer Meeting format – Disciple-ship Training.  I’m glad we’re rediscovering this good word and putting it in the right context of an intentionally relational lifestyle of making disciples.

However, I fear that those of us in church leadership want to define a disciple in such glowing terms that our average layperson’s reaction is, “I can’t make one of those!  I’m not one of those, yet.”  What we’re asking our people to do is more than Jesus asked. He said Go, make disciple not Go, make super Christians!

What, exactly, did He mean by disciple?  What is a disciple?  Let’s look at what Jesus did when he made disciples.  In Matthew 4 when he called his disciples, He simply invited them to come learn from Him.  After all, he was a rabbi, a teacher; and it was common for rabbis to attract students, learners to follow him and to study his way.  It’s evident that Jesus had already built a meaningful relationship with these men or they would never have left their livelihood or their fathers to follow Him.  He promised to teach them how to transform their fishing.  What Jesus did was to make students, learners; He called for them to “Come, learn with me.”  When Peter and Andrew, James and John left with Him, they were not believers, but they were disciples; learner disciples. Transformation came later.

I see, in Jesus’ Great Commission a simple, three step transformation process for making disciples:

 

Step 1.  Go, make disciples – Learner Disciple

Making super Christians is not our job.  Jesus asks us simply to make learners.  The best way to do this is by building meaningful relationships with people who are in “our world”.  Research shows that 85% of people are willing to have an honest conversation about spiritual things these days, so in conversations, introduce them to the One you follow.  This can be done over a cup of coffee at work or a bowl of ice cream at your home.  Then eventually connect them with a small community of fellow followers at a cook out with your care group, or a class or small group fellowship.  As the relationship deepens, introduce them to your practice of gathering as a small group each Sunday morning or weeknight to discuss spiritual things using the Bible as the basis for conversations.  Invite them to Come learn with us.  A learner disciple is not perfect; s/he’s rough around the edges, unfinished, a work in progress; s/he’s not a Bible scholar or a spiritual giant, but a learner.  Sounds like Peter, doesn’t it?   But it took some time for him to be able to say, Thou art the Christ!

 

Step 2.  Baptizing them… – Believer Disciple

I truly believe that the gospel is so winsome that if a learner disciple hears the Word and experiences it lived out in you and the small group, he cannot help but become a believer disciple; one who makes the conscious choice to be a follower of Jesus.  For this to happen, however, the group of fellow followers must experience community, that closeness of relationships seen in Acts 2.  It must be Word driven, beginning with, returning to, and ending with God’s Word.  It has to be small enough for personal discovery and interaction where personal experiences and the biblical passage intersect.  It needs to be a “safe-zone” where the hard questions can be asked without threat.  Just as Barnabas was to Paul, the mature believer’s job is to be a spiritual friend and mentor to this new believer.

 

Step 3.  Teaching them to observe… Fully Devoted, Reproducing Disciple

When something is observed, it is being demonstrated which means change or transformation has occurred. The work of transformation is not complete when learner disciples become believers.  It is the job of the mature believers to continue to be mentors and coach them to become fully devoted, reproducing disciples.  The small community is at its best when even smaller groups are formed.  Care Groups can introduce the idea of ministry and outreach to new believers.  Small triads and one-on-one mentoring groups can be formed within the small community to strengthen the devotion of the new believer.  The communities’ job is not just making disciples but also maturing them.

So, when you hear someone pontificating about our great Co-mission of making disciples, think process:  From Learner to Believer to Fully Devoted-Reproducing Disciple.  All of this starts with the simple act of intentionally building a meaningful relationship, developing a new friend, introducing him/her to a small community of friends, and saying, Come learn with us.

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Phil Stone is the State Sunday School Director for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Comments (2)
Categories : Growing your Group, Learning, Ministry, Mission, Outreach/Evangelism, Small Groups, Sunday School, Teaching

Sunday School in a Transformational Church

By Phil Stone · Comments (1)
Thursday, September 6th, 2012

This is article one of a ten part series.

Transformation

 

There’s a little praise chorus that has almost become the “Amazing Grace” for a new generation. Nearly everyone, young and old knows the words. Let’s sing it together

 

Lord, I lift your name on high.

Lord, I love to sing your praises.

I’m so glad you’re in my life.

I’m so glad you came to save us.

You came from heaven to earth

To show the way.

From the earth to the cross,

My debt to pay.

From the cross to the grave;

From the grave to the sky;

Lord, I lift your name on high.

 

What did we just sing? The transforming gospel of Jesus! Those of us who have experienced this transformation understand its power; we’re different people than we were or would have been had we not heard and accepted this gospel. Now, look outside of your four walls. Just beyond them are people who have not yet experienced this transformation. It is for them that Sunday School exists; not for us. Our job is to make disciples of them so they, too, can experience transformation. What is transformation?

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word Transformation? The answer most people give is Change. Some use the term Metamorphosis as in the change from caterpillar to butterfly. Change is a good word; it means fixing the past. A colleague of mind recently shared with me a new definition of transformation. It’s more than change; it’s creating a new path for the future. I like that!

What Scripture passages come to mind when you think about Transformation? The two most quoted are:

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Transformation: change; creating a new path for the future; from old to new… by the renewing of your mind. The word mind implies learning as a pre-requisite for transformation. Sunday School is a learning place; a place for the renewing of your mind; a place where transformation can happen. That’s why I think that Sunday School ministry is well suited for Transformational Ministry.

In their book, Transformational Church, Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer use the acronym B.A.R. to describe a transformational ministry.

BAR is a little unusual term for a Baptist church, but I’d like for us to think of it as a transformational church raises the BAR of what it means to be church. LifeWay research discovered that in a Transformational Church:

  • People Become more like Jesus.
  • Churches Act more like the Body of Christ.
  • Communities Reflect more of the Kingdom of God.

If Sunday School is to become a transformational ministry, its mission must be to make disciples that become more like Jesus.

I have a friend that exemplifies this mission. She lived a hard life of alcohol, drugs, and biker-bars. To look at her you can still see the effects of her past, but what a sweet and gentle person she has become. She came to know Christ because someone dared to build a relationship with her and invite her to come learn with them at church. Her life was not just changed or fixed; it was transformed with a new path for her future. Usually, when you ask her on Sunday how her week has gone, she humbly shares about

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how she was able to meet someone’s need that week, even though she is a woman of limited means. She’s a regular participant in the small group/Sunday School class and is constantly helping out at the church and on mission trips. For her, old things have passed away, behold all things are become new; and she keeps the transformation going by the renewing of her mind weekly in small group Bible study with fellow believers. She has become and is becoming more and more like Jesus.

____________________________
Phil Stone is the State Sunday School Director for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Comments (1)
Categories : Bible Study, Evangelism, Growing your Group, Learning, Ministry, Mission, Sunday School

Coffee with my Homeboy

By Jason McNair · Comments (1)
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012

Arthur Flake:  Sunday School Missionary

A couple of years ago, as a way of recognizing state Sunday school directors, Bob Mayfield of Oklahoma provided coffee cups with Arthur Flake’s picture on it and the phrase “Arthur Flake is my Homeboy!” and his picture on the side.  The back contained the five principles that have become known as “Flake’s Formula”.  The previous year, we received T-Shirts with the same design.  As I wore the shirt in the halls of the LifeWay building, I bumped in to Ed Stetzer who commented that “there may be only 1000 people in the world that think that’s an awesome T-Shirt, and half of them are in this building”.    I don’t know if I totally agree with his research and analysis, but the point is, many people have forgotten the impact this great missionary had on the Sunday school movement in its early days. What is most amazing about his impact is the timeless relevance of the five principles he came up with as a strategy for organizational growth.  Nearly every time these principles are tried, they work and the result is numerical and spiritual growth.

So who is this man we call our homeboy?  Arthur Flake was a department store salesman in Winona, MS in the early part of the 20th Century who gained such success as the Sunday school director at First Baptist Church, Winona that he was asked to travel the state and beyond inspiring others to expand their ministries.  In 1920, he was asked to join the Baptist Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (now LifeWay) as their first national program leader of Sunday school for Southern Baptists. Flake would conduct and teach others to conduct enlargement clinics leading to what some would be called Sunday school revivals.  Part of these clinics centered on a five-step formula now famously called “Flake’s Formula”:

  1. Know the possibilities.
  2. Enlarge the organization.
  3. Enlist and train the workers.
  4. Provide space and resources.
  5. GO after the people!

If you take the first letters of each of the five steps or principles, they spell the acronym KEEP-GO. The formula still works, over 90 years later! Perhaps Flake’s greatest contribution to the Sunday school movement was the idea that the organization should be expanded in anticipation of growth (based on the possibilities), not just in response to growth.*

On days when I feel like I have run out of good ideas to encourage and strengthen the Bible teaching and reaching ministries in the churches I serve, I pour me a cup of coffee in my little mug and am reminded that the best new ideas are often the time tested ones that are not new at all, thanks to my homeboy.

* portions of this article are taken from David Francis’ book, Missionary Sunday School, pp 45-46
©2011 LifeWay Press
________________________________
Jason McNair serves as the Religious Education Consultant for the Utah Idaho Southern Baptist Convention. He also enjoys teaching an adult Sunday school class with his homeboys at First Baptist, West Valley City, UT.

 

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Categories : 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School, Bible Study, Enlistment, Evangelism, Flake's Formula, Growing your Group, Leadership, Learning, Ministry, Sunday School, Teaching, Training
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Our Commission: Go after the People

By Jason McNair · Comments (2)
Monday, August 27th, 2012

This is day 27 of 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School

Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood. Tell them that the kingdom is here. — Matthew 10:6-7 “The Message”

As Christians, we hear a lot about “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:16-20).  Churches and denominations often base their missionary focus and organization around these final words of Jesus as he commissions his followers to “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” This article is in no way discounting the vital importance of those words and the weight that they have on the missionary movements of the past and of today.  I just think we miss something, as believers, if we think this is the ONLY time Christ told his followers to GO after the people.

 

Earlier in Matthew (Chapter 10), we read about a more personal commissioning of Jesus’ closest followers.   You might call this passage “The Lesser Commission” (but that is in no way minimizing its importance).  In this case, the “lesser” refers to the number of people whom this commission was intended; the disciples.  Matthew 10 (the entire chapter) gives step-by-step instructions to this rag-tag group of disciples who left everything and followed Him.  He warns them of setbacks they will face and challenges them to overcome expected persecution because of the name of Jesus, whom they are about to bear witness of, to an unbelieving world.  These disciples are commissioned to go after the people, unashamed and unhindered by the burdens of this world, knowing that Christ will go before them and that, no matter the outcome, Christ has assured His followers an eternal reward.

 

As Sunday School leaders we, too, have been given this same commission.  While “The Great Commission” still applies to all of us, we have the added responsibility of partnering in the disciple making process for those whom we have been called to teach.  This added responsibility puts us under the challenge of “The Lesser Commission”, as well.  I encourage you, as Sunday school leaders, to take a few minutes and pull out your Bible (or pull up the Bible app on your phone or tablet). Read Matthew 10:1-42 with an eye toward how these verses apply to your given call to go after the people in your assigned people group. What is He commissioning you to do? Go after the people.

_______________________
Jason McNair serves as the Religious Education Consultant for the Utah Idaho Southern Baptist Convention. He also enjoys teaching an adult Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in West Valley City, UT.

 

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Categories : 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School, Bible Study, Enlistment, Evangelism, Growing your Group, Leadership, Learning, Ministry, Mission, Outreach/Evangelism, Sunday School, Teaching, Training

Enlist and Equip Leaders

By Bob Wood · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 25th, 2012

This is 25 of 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School

A growing church needs to continually develop new leaders.  The number one reason I hear for not starting new groups is, “We don’t have enough leaders.”  Do you have enough leaders?  How do you develop new leaders?  Do you have a process or pathway for developing new leaders?

Developing leaders is a two-pronged process: 1) disciple-making, and 2) skill development.  An intentional process for disciple-making will produce maturing believers who are experiencing the power of Spirit-filled living and are ready to serve based on their Spirit-giftedness.  Following are ideas for helping these maturing believers find a place of leadership and develop leadership skills.

 

Enlist Leaders

Personal enlistment is the key to recruiting new leaders.  Announcements are fine to create awareness, but most people won’t respond to an impersonal announcement.  And often those who do respond are not the ones you really want. The goal is not to “fill slots” but to help people find places of ministry.  Get to know people.  Discover their gifts and passions.  Prayerfully consider where God would have them serve.  Ask them personally when you can honestly say, “I think you’re the right person to serve in this place.” Be honest in your enlistment.  Give them all the information they will need about their places of service.  Challenge people.  If “there’s nothing to it,” why would they want to do it?  Challenge them with a vision for what could be done for the Lord.  And don’t put people on the spot.  Give them time to pray about their response  (There are a number of excellent previous blogs on the Enlistment Process).

Equip Leaders

Every leadership position has a set of skills which are required for the leader to be effective.  For a leader in Sunday School these include skills in reaching their people group, ministering to their people group, and teaching their people group. How do you equip your leaders?  Letting them serve as apprentices is effective.  They get on-the-job training from skilled leaders.  One-on-one training can be effective.  I’ve trained a number of leaders like this over the years, but it produces leaders in smaller numbers.  Classroom training for potential leaders works well.  As a young adult I learned a lot in a potential teacher class led by Mildred Wade.  “Turbo groups” are another approach.  You enlist a group of potential leaders for a small group with the expectation that when the group finishes, they will enlist and lead their own groups.

Empower Leaders

If you want people to do their best for the Lord, you have to turn them loose.  You have to give them freedom to serve their ways, which will not necessarily be your way.  Sure you want clear goals and guidelines for what is acceptable.  However, when you enlist maturing believers to lead, you must trust that they can follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit just as you do.  Empower leaders.  Give them freedom to lead and serve in the ways God has gifted them.

Encourage Leaders

Inexperienced leaders can easily become discouraged.  Things don’t always go well.  You need to keep in touch, ask how things are going, and encourage leaders to keep moving forward. Even experienced leaders need encouragement.  Often Satan’s attacks are strongest against the most effective leaders.  Your words of encouragement can help your leaders stand strong.

Your church cannot grow without new leaders.  What’s your next step to develop new leaders? ­­­­
______________________
Bob Wood is a State Missionary with the Baptist State Convention of Michigan, assisting churches to become more intentional and effective in making disciples

 

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Categories : 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School, Bible Study, Enlistment, Evangelism, Group Life, Growing your Group, Leadership, Learning, Ministry, Mission, New Groups, Organization, Outreach/Evangelism, Small Groups, Sunday School, Teaching, Training, Transformation
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