Archive for Sunday School

Growing Your Group

When you hear the words, “growing your group,” what comes to your mind? Do you think numerical increase? Or do you think maturational growth, growth as disciples? Can you have one without the other?

Growing Numerically

We should not shy away from adding more people to our groups. Making disciples of all nations gives the mandate to every Christian, group, and church (Great Commission, in Matthew 28:19-20). And what we have to offer new people is a relationship with God and a group of Christian encouragers built around helping one another meet God in Bible study and living changed, caring lives. We want numbers to increase so there is a chance for even more to become disciples.

Here are four key principles to grow a group numerically:

  1. pray and plan expectantly;
  2. add more group caregivers who will challenge and lead group members to reach out with care and invitations to members AND to FRANs (friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors) who are not members;
  3. add more groups who will naturally add add more caregivers to your Sunday School or small group ministry; and
  4. pray for, care for, fellowship with, invite, and enroll new people.

The measure of numerical success is enrolling new people. In the right caring environment, this mobilizes even more members to pray for, care for, fellowship with, invite, and enroll other new people. This is a measure and expression of maturation and growth as disciples.

Maturational Growth

We cannot assume maturational growth is happening simply because a person is attending a group. Instead, we need to look for evidence of growth. Is the focus of conversation on self, others, or God? Are they having Gospel conversations with others? Do they love God and desire to serve out of their giftedness? Is there evidence they are spending time with God in Bible study and prayer between group sessions? Do their lives exhibit a Christian worldview–is thinking and action influenced by Jesus?

What can we do to foster this kind of environment with our groups (in or outside of group sessions)? Here is a starter list of ideas:

  • seek participation by everyone in group sessions and activities (this requires more preparation, but it increases interest, retention, and ownership)
  • in groups larger than 7 people, break group session into smaller conversational groups for a portion of the time (see the previous one)
  • expect group members to prepare (ask questions, give assignments, help them understand why lessons/topics are important)
  • ask every individual to serve (find a place that is fulfilling for them and for the class)
  • follow up every Bible study session by asking what last lesson was about, what was its point, what they were supposed to do about it, and did they do it?
  • set aside extra time occasionally to study topics of relevance and need for the group, such as parenting or finances or spiritual disciplines, etc. (this might be on Saturday morning or a series of week nights for four weeks)
  • remember that leaders and caregivers appear more real and approachable when they are honest and transparent (even leaders are human and have struggles).

Evaluate Your Growth

Is your group growing? Is your growth more numerical, more maturational, neither, or both? What can you do to multiply the work by tying the two together? Lead your group to grow this year!


Darryl Wilson serves as the Sunday School & Discipleship Consultant for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He is the author of Disciple-Making Encounters and two blogs: Sunday School Revolutionary and 28Nineteen.

Connect with Prospective Members

You know the scene. You have witnessed it happen time and again. A church guest walks into your Sunday School class for the first time. The excitement grows, but so does the anxiety. The questions begin to crowd your mind? Did I prepare well enough? Will Jill be pushy as usual? Will the guest feel overwhelmed? Will they enjoy the class and come back?

These questions and more come to our mind when trying to connect with prospective members. We want prospective members to join our class for many reasons, the most important being that we truly desire them to grow in their relationship to Jesus. So how can we connect with these prospective members? Below are a few ways we can connect with prospective members who visit our churches.

  1. Make a Joyful First Impression

While welcoming facilities are important, they are not as important as a joyful first impression. Guests do not expect nor really need a gift bag, but what they do need is joy. From the greeters to the ushers, to the members, show the joy of knowing and growing in Jesus. Joy is inherent in the church and can be felt by those who visit. Help them feel and know the joy of following Jesus through genuine smile, laughter, and insightful questions.

  • Make an Intentional Appeal

Many of our guests do not know the various options for Sunday School and since most Sunday School times take place before the service, they do not have the opportunity visit the same day they attend worship. One of the ways to help people connect is for the pastor and/or person who is making the announcements to share what is happening in Sunday School. Avoid listing classes. Highlight a class each Sunday and share what God is doing through that class. This helps to show the vibrant nature of the class and makes it more appealing to prospective members.

  • Make a Personal Connection and Follow-up

One of the most effective ways to connect with prospective members is for Sunday School teachers to make a personal invitation to the guest to visit the class. Encourage teachers to carry extra lesson guides or handouts with them so when they invite a prospective member, they have something to hand them that will be informative of the next class. Additionally, if a guest visits the class be sure to personally follow-up with that person within 48 hours.

God brings prospective members to our churches and when he does, we can take a simple approach to connecting with them. Let’s make a joyful first impression, an intentional appeal, and a personal connection. These three tips can help take a connection to a marriage between the church and the individual.

by Brad Delaughter, PhD, First Baptist Church, De Soto, MO

Teacher’s New Year Prayer

My Mother went to her heavenly home on February 27, 2016. She taught an Adult Sunday School Class at First Baptist Church Lexington, Tennessee for fifty-two years. Here is a poem that she wrote entitled “A Teacher’s New Year Prayer.”

Give Us, dear Lord, throughout the New Year
A sense of your presence each day
May we trust that you are here with us
And will be each step of the way.


Help us, dear Lord, to be patient and kind
When things seem to go the wrong way
May we seek your wisdom in each circumstance
And trust you to guide what we say.


Bless us, dear Lord, with your Spirit of Love
Give us love for each student we teach
And may in our lives they see Jesus
And in us see His love and His peace.


Thank you, dear Lord, for the privilege we have
Of knowledge and truth to impart
May we make a difference in lives this year
As we teach from our head and our heart.


Nell Miller

Top Tips for Men’s Ministry

For many churches men’s ministry is either non-existent or the ministry consists of quarterly breakfasts and an annual cookout. I have talked with pastors and leaders from normative size churches, medium, and large churches, and all struggle to some degree with launching or sustaining a vibrant men’s ministry. Why is this the case? What makes men’s ministry so different and subsequently difficult from the rest of the ministries of the church? I have wrestled with this question, read blogs, went to trainings, and scoured books to find the answer. The answer is simpler than we might expect. Men’s ministry seems so difficult because we make it more complex than needed.

For a successful men’s ministry, a ministry that glorifies Christ, strengthens the body, and engages people, it needs to have at least three components.

Events
Yes, men like to do things. I know this may rub some of us practitioners the wrong way, but events are fun, and they allow people to connect in ways they cannot connect in a formal church setting. We are not trying to win men to an event. No event should be a stand-alone ministry. Each event should serve to connect men to the DNA of the church.

Groups
As men get older, they tend to isolate themselves more. Find ways to plug men into groups. This can be done many ways, but make sure that within these groups, men can share their lives honestly, have the confidence of confidentiality, and the opportunity to pray with one another.

Projects
Finally, a successful men’s ministry will include some type of project at some point during the year. The project can be anything from building a wheelchair ramp to helping with VBS. Projects allow men to come together and serve alongside one another. As men serve beside one another with a shared goal, a bond is created and strengthened that draws men to one another and to Christ.

Remember, there is no need to put so much pressure on yourself or your ministry. Simple is better. Get your team together and brainstorm how these ideas can be put into place in your ministry.

Written By Brad Delaughter, First Baptist Church De Soto, MO

Ministering to Members Going through a Crisis

It’s time.”

I knew exactly what that statement meant, even at 2:30 in the morning, because I was ready for the call. The young couple that I ministered to in my church had begun to experience a nightmarish, tragic scenario as their newborn son became sick. In fact, within the first two weeks of his life, his health went from bad to worse, and day after day he was attended to by the staff at the hospital, a long two-hour drive away.

As their pastor, I visited them often, making the four-hour round trip to and from the hospital just to pray, read Scripture, and minister to them by being present. Yet I knew that I couldn’t be there all of the time, and so they had an open invitation for the parents to call me anytime during this crisis, day or night, especially if things took a turn for the worst.

Thus, the call: “It’s time.

Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I jumped out of bed, got dressed, and started to head out to the car to make the two-hour drive. My wife joined me, and we made the trip to the neonatal ward with the intent to comfort and console the distraught parents and grandparents. As the two-week-old breathed his last, there we were together, praying, crying, and loving on each other in the presence of God.

That was over fifteen years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Every year, the mom mentions her son’s birthday on Facebook, and every year, I am reminded of God’s grace through such a difficult time. But how should someone minister to someone in a crisis such as this?

Here are five takeaways that may be helpful:

  1. Be present. There is something to be said about the ministry of presence in a crisis. It doesn’t mean that you need to be there all the time, but you do need to be there from time to time. Strategically being available and easily accessible (at least on a short-term basis) to those in a crisis can be helpful and a comfort to those in need.
  2. Share the Word. In my rush, I didn’t bring my Bible and it was before smartphones existed. However, I was thankful that I memorized several meaningful passages of Scripture, including Psalm 23. This proved to be such a soothing experience as I spoke the words of Scripture from the heart to their hearts. Sharing Scripture allows those in pain to hear words of comfort and peace straight from the heart of God.
  3. Pray peacefully. We prayed, but I made sure that as I prayed, that my love for the family was felt. Thus, they heard my words as I prayed to the Lord and heard my heart as it broke for them. Also, I made sure that my prayers were subservient to the will of God. In other words, we laid the request at the foot of the cross, but we did it with a desire for God to bring us peace, no matter the outcome.
  4. Show emotion. Some would disagree, but I believe that it is normal and natural for the caregiver to show emotions with those who are grieving. After all, Jesus did (see John 11:35). Don’t be afraid to shed a tear with those you love, yet be sure to make this about you comforting them rather than the other way around.
  5. Follow up. Often when a crisis occurs, a short term means of support is needed for the family to walk through it. However, a longer means of support might also be needed. Weeks, months, or even years after the crisis, the family still needs ministry. This is especially true when holidays, birthdays, or anniversaries come around. Be organized and set yourself up with reminders to follow up periodically and during those occasions with the member, whether it’s by means of a card, a call, or some other point of contact.

Ministry isn’t easy, and crises occur all around us. If you set a plan to minister with both short and long-term perspectives in mind, you will be able to love those through the tragedies that they may be going through. Most of all, you will be able to point them to the One who comforts them most of all, Jesus Christ.


Dr. Fran Trascritti is a husband, father, and grandfather to 13 beautiful children. He is the Growth Team Leader for the Illinois Baptist State Association. He and his wife, Teresa, live in Springfield, IL.