WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The first book that I ever read about Sunday School was Basic Sunday School Work. The author wrote about the Six Tasks of Sunday School. Task number one was to reach people for Bible study. That’s right: Reaching People for Bible Study was the first task. Teach People the Bible was the second task. Many churches are plateaued and declining because the classes and groups are ignoring the first task of Sunday School. We must get outreach and evangelism back into Sunday School.
WHAT DO I DO? Here are three practical ideas to emphasize reaching people with your group:
Challenge your members to…
- Pray for three lost People
- Learn a Gospel Presentation
- Invite five unchurched People to the group
- Share the Gospel at least one time each month
Challenge your group to…
- Enroll three New Members this year
- Conduct regular fellowships (invite every member and every prospect)
- Plan two Missions Activities in the Community
- Sponsor an Evangelistic Bible Study in the Community where lost people live and work
- Adopt a People Group
- Adopt a Harvest Field in your community, such as a school, subdivision, factory.
Conduct an Evangelistic Activity every time the group meets, such as:
- Have a member share their story
- Pray for lost people (have an evangelistic prayer list)
- Plan an outreach event
- Teach the Gospel
- Practice a Gospel presentation
- Memorize an evangelistic verse
- Model sharing the Gospel
Just in case you are curious. The other tasks were witness to persons about Christ and lead them into church membership, minister to persons in need, lead members to worship, and interpret and undergird the work of the church and the denomination.