Outreach/Evangelism :: 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

What Harvest?

By Ken Hemphill · Comments (0)

Why we are experiencing such poor evangelistic results when today’s church has more resources, tools, and technological toys than at any time in history. Our lack of harvest stands out in bold relief when placed against the context of Jesus’ promise that “the harvest is plentiful” (Matt. 9:37a). While this promise was directed to the first century disciples, I believe it still rings true today. The second half of the verse points to the essential problem we are facing concerning the harvest—“but the workers are few” (9:37b).

So here is the critical question—what needs to be done to mobilize believers to share the good news? This question takes precedence over other questions such as strategies or methods of evangelism for the twenty-first century. The issue is not a failure of programs but a lack of passion. We have grown indifferent or uncertain about the condition of the lost. We no longer have the concern that once drove believers onto their knees and into the streets.

I work from one simple truth that defines all I do and write—“nothing changes anyone’s heart and mind but the Word of God applied by the Spirit of God. Let me make four simple declarations.

Prayer is the foundation for all evangelistic activity.
Evangelism must be the climatic of the church before a strategy will be embraced by the people.
A biblical foundation for reaching the lost is essential to creating an evangelistic climate.
Each church must establish an intentional and personalized strategy based on its unique context.

If we go back to Matthew 9 we will find that Jesus not only gave the reason for such a lean harvest, He gave the solution—“Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest” (38). Evangelistic praying must focus on both the laborers and the potential harvest field. Develop a strategy to pray regularly that God will give people a passion for the lost. Create lists of persons who need Christ and pray for them by name in every small group setting.

Since God’s Word changes a person’s heart and mind, we must develop a sound theological foundation for evangelism. Here are a few doctrinal non-negotiables.

The lost person will be eternally separated from God in hell.
Christ provides the only access to the Father.
The fields are ripe for the harvest.
The Great Commission is a mandate.
Witness is who we are before it is what we do.
The Holy Spirit empowers us to witness.
God produces the results through us.

Each church must have a personalized and intentional strategy that includes building relationships with lost people, equipping everyone to present the gospel, taking the Good News to the streets, inviting people to accept Christ, and assimilating and nurturing new believers.

Here are a couple of new resources from Auxano Press you may find helpful—Splash and V.E.L.C.R.O. Church.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Ministry, Mission, Outreach/Evangelism

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Jan

Outreach: Just Do It!

By Marie Clark · Comments (0)

When it comes to outreach, the advertising slogan, “Just Do It” comes to my mind. Consider these principles and ideas for outreach. Identifying potential class members and securing contact information is essential. But unless you actually do some kind of outreach, all you have is a list of names.

Plan for Outreach – Outreach will never happen consistently unless you lead your group to plan for it. Planning should include who, when and the specific outreach activity.
Variety is the Spice of Outreach – The who, when and what of outreach should rotate regularly to keep outreach fresh. Contacts made in person are most effective, but also learn to make good use of phone calls, e-mails, texting, mail, or even Facebook and Twitter. (See some suggestions below.)
Involve as Many Members as Possible – Harry Piland, a former Director of Sunday School for the Baptist Sunday School Board, stressed this approach by explaining, “Divide the work of a Sunday School class into do-able hunks, then
give each person one hunk.” There is no better area to apply this principle that in outreach.

Invite them to Bible Study – This is the simplest and most direct form of outreach. The ideas below can help you develop a relationship with potential members and make ongoing contacts that are “non-nagging.”

Vacation Bible School Follow-up – Always make a follow-up contact with boys and girls and their parents that are prospects who attended VBS. Idea: during VBS planning schedule a VBS outreach evening or Saturday morning the week after VBS. Go in teams of 2-3 to make a quick doorstep visit and leave a memento of VBS (a VBS Music for Kids CD or deliver a picture made during the week). Be sure to include information about your church and Sunday School.
Be Part of a Church-wide Community Event – Block party, Easter Egg Hunt, Parents Night Out, etc.
Time Change Reminder – Make quick phone calls, to both prospects and members, to remind them to change their clocks in the spring and fall. Leave a voice mail if no one answers, identifying yourself and your church.
Happy Birthday Wishes – If you have a birthdate, send a “Happy Birthday” card, text, or phone call.
Party Invitation – Invite the prospective member to your class social. Offer to pick them up or meet them at the event so you can go in together and introduce them to others.
Work Invitation – That’s right! Invite them to join your class in a work project, such as serving meals at a shelter or raking the yard of an elderly person. Many of today’s adults and teens are attracted to helping a worthy cause. While working, they also get to know others in the group and feel more comfortable with them.

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Marie Clark has served as team leader for the Bible Teaching & Discipling Team of the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists since 1996.

Categories : Flake's Formula, Outreach/Evangelism

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Jan

Everyone Needs a Class!

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)

Bad Lessons run off more people than good outreach programs can bring in. You will literally kill your church visiting if all you ever visit is Chronic Absentees. If you’re not enrolled in Sunday School, you ain’t got no class! Enrollment is the most important statistic in the church.

These were just a few of the snappy little sayings by Andy Anderson. Everyone needs a class, but If you’re not enrolled in Sunday School, you ain’t got no class! It is so powerful to hear someone share how a class of people ministered to them in their time of need and brought them to Jesus. In September of 2006, I arrived at my classroom to find a message from the pastor on the marker board: Pray for Beth Smith. I had no clue that Beth was sick. On Saturday, I had chaperoned the High School Band to a Band Contest and we returned at 2:00 in the morning. Both of Beth’s daughters were in the band. When they arrived home, Beth had responded to them. Beth’s husband, Chuck, was accompanying a terminally ill boy on a Elk hunt as a part of an organization like Make a Wish. The next morning Beth was very lethargic and was rushed to the hospital. The majority of the members of Sunday School class spent that day and Monday morning with Chuck, Jordan and Jessica at the hospital. Beth never came out of the diabetic coma that she was in and died on Monday afternoon. During the next few days, our class took the lead and ministered to the family and continued to do so to this day. That experience led me to the conclusion: That my desire is that every Tennessean would have a Sunday School class like mine to minister to them in a time of need.

Andy is shouting from the grave: If you’re not enrolled in Sunday School, you ain’t got no class! Sunday School leader do you understand the importance of enrolling people in Sunday School? In my opinion, every church member should be a member of a Sunday School class. After someone has been won the easiest and most efficient way to assimilate them is a Sunday School class. In fact, Thom Rainer’s, President of LifeWay Christian Resources, research indicates that if we get someone connected to a Sunday School class or small group that 85% of these people will still be connected to your church 5 years later, compared with only 15% of those who only attend worship. Join me in believing that every person needs a class.

As a young minister of education, Andy convinced me that enrollment is more important than baptisms, church membership, and attendance. He would declare, “Enrollment is the most important statistic in the church.” In fact, I agree with my friend Bob Mayfield who says, enrollment is the forgotten factor in evangelism today. Churches are dropping people from the rolls instead of adding people to the roll. When your enrollment increases, your attendance increases. When you enroll lost people, your baptisms increase. When your enrollment increases, your offerings increase. When your enrollment increases, your membership increases. A pastor from West TN recently took the Power Up Your Sunday School Challenge and his church enrolled 41 new members in 7 weeks and the attendance grew from 80 to 120.

Daniel Edmonds, the State Sunday School Director in Alabama, has a great definition for enrollment. He says that enrollment is a covenant making, attendance increasing, relationship building, evangelistic opportunity. Everyone needs a class that will enter a covenant to pray for them, to love them, to minister to them, to challenge them in their spiritual journey. But if they’re not enrolled in Sunday School, they ain’t got no class.
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Mark Miller, State Sunday School Director, Tennessee Baptist Convention

Categories : Flake's Formula, Ministry, Outreach/Evangelism, Prayer, Small Groups, Sunday School

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Jan

Are you having trouble relating to your neighbors?

By Tom Belew · Comments (0)

A Sunday School can easily lose its edge of effectiveness if it loses touch with the community it intends to reach. In the following paragraphs I will share a few things I have found helpful in knowing your community. They include:

Prayer Walking
Windshield Tours
Interviewing Community Leaders
Demographic Study

Prayer Walking – Today, many churches and classes have found it valuable to develop a strategy to prayer walk their community. Nothing substitutes for what leaders and members will notice in the neighborhood when they slowly move through it street by street. Over the years, I have discovered ministry opportunities in the form of poverty, children and apartments. Prayer walking provides focused prayer and surface ministry opportunities.

Windshield Tours – Early in my ministry, my wife and I did a lot of door-to-door surveying. Every effective effort began with mapping the area. The second step was to take the map and drive down all the streets counting the number of housing units. This process reveals traffic patterns, unnoticed housing, areas where children and senior’s live and opportunities for ministering. Your neighborhood will look different after a windshield tour.

Interviewing Community Leaders – Your church is not the only organization concerned about your community. To get the “under the hood” view of your community some interviews are in order. Set up interviews with school principals, the police department, the fire department, the mayor and a few other key community leaders. Ask these leaders about the major in your issues in our community, the needs of (children, youth, seniors), and where they could use some help.

Demographic Study – From my rich consulting experience, I have learned demographics can help a church get the big picture and see the potential. Here are some questions to guide your demographic study:

How many people live in the church area?
Is the population in the church area growing or declining? At what rate?
What is the ethnic diversity in the church area? Is there an ethnic group that warrants a new Sunday School, Bible study class or new work?
How much lifestyle diversity is in the church area?
What are the major generational groups in the area? Are the generational groups growing or declining?
How traditional are the family structures (two-parent families, blended families, single parent, single)?
How educated are the adults? Does this reveal ministry concerns or opportunities?
What is the blend of home owners, renters, and vacant properties? What are the ratios for housing structures (single family home, apartments, group quarters, etc.)? What does this tell you about your community?
How does the average household income and individual income affected ministry in your area?
What can be learned from information about occupations (professional, service industry, blue collar, academic)? What percent of women are in the work force?

Answering these questions can quickly surface people and places with potential for new Bible studies or Sunday School opportunities.

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Tom Belew has served as Small Groups and Childhood Specialist for the California Southern Baptist Convention since 2002. He previously served as Minister of Education in churches in Arizona and California.

Categories : 5 Weeks of Flake, Flake's Formula, Ministry, Outreach/Evangelism, Sunday School

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