Archive for New Groups

5 Ways to Get Your Sunday School Ready for Great Ministry This Fall

Summer is in full swing and many church members are away on vacation, mission trips, and camps. However, now is time to get your Sunday School and Small Group ready for the fall season of ministry. For many churches, August/September is the beginning of a new year of ministry. Here are some thoughts to use the summer wisely to prepare for a great season of ministry this fall, plus create less stress among your church members and leaders.

Here are five suggestions to help you prepare for a great fall for your group:

1. Get some training
Consider partnering with your state convention or local association for training opportunities. Or consider training your leaders at your own church. Also, an excellent tool for local church training is using the online training that may be available through your state convention or LifeWay. Most online training that you will find through your state convention is targeted directly for Sunday School and small group leaders. In Oklahoma, our ReConnect Sunday School website has almost 200 training videos are available.  As group leaders, we should always be improving our own skills as a leader so that we can better lead and minister to our group.

2. Spruce up your room
When you invite someone to your home for dinner, you are likely to do a little extra cleaning than normal. Use the same principle with your church building. So what does your Sunday School room look like? Could it use a fresh coat of paint? How clean are the floors? How about the furniture? What does the sign outside your room look like? And… how much out-of-date curriculum do you have piled up in a corner?

3. Enlist leaders to help you
You probably have a few leadership opportunities that need to be filled, plus some other important spots that need leaders. Begin the enlistment process as early as possible so that people do not feel pressured to take a leadership role at the last minute. Organize your group for ministry, fellowship, and outreach. Enlist someone to greet every person that walks into your room. Enlist one leader for every 5 people on your ministry roll. Delegate these leadership opportunities, because it is not your place to shoulder the all of the responsibilities of your group alone.

4. Start a new group (or two)
New groups provide room for new people. It is called the “Power of 10”, because every new group the church starts increases average attendance by about 10 people. Early fall is a great time to start a new group since many people view the new school year as a chance for a fresh start in a church as well.

5. Re-establish your group’s priorities
According to Hebrews 2:1, it is the natural state of humankind to “drift away”. Also, the longer people drift from the church’s primary mission, the more difficult it becomes to get them focused back on the church’s #1 priority, making disciples. Take the opportunity at every leadership meeting to re-visit the purpose and mission of your church’s small group strategy. A consistent reminder of the purpose of your church’s groups will help prevent mission-drift.

6. Contact everyone that is a member of your group (I know I said five, but this is a bonus idea)
As stated above, people tend to drift away over time. Life gets busy and things happen. But when it comes to church in general, and Sunday School/small group in particular; busy-ness or lifechanges can become personal fast. From my experience, I have discovered that if a group members misses six meetings in a row, it is very difficult to get them to come back to the group. So make an all-out effort this August to contact every member of your group (not just the attendees). The longer the group waits to reach out to absentees, the more difficult and awkward it becomes.

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Bob Mayfield is the Sunday School/Small Group specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Bob also has his own blog at bobmayfield.com.

Twitter – @bobmayfield

Instagram – @rpmayfield or @reconnectss

3 Ways to Commission New Groups

prayingoverWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?

The Great Commission calls for us to make disciples. From Jesus’ follow me example, we know relationships are a key factor in disciple-making and that relationships are built in small groups. So why is it important to commission new groups? If we are going to follow the model of our Master, we will commission leaders and groups to create new groups of disciples.

WHAT DO I DO?

  • Come and See Groups

One way to create new groups is to commission group members to start a group in their home. The focus of the group would be to invite neighbors to ‘come and see’ or come and explore the claims of Christ. In Acts 2, the church went from house to house “breaking bread,” “praising God,” and “enjoying the favor of all the people.” In recent days, churches have experienced revival through evangelistic home groups that connect people to Christ and to His church. Some churches have commissioned or challenged class members to start a Backyard Kids Club to reach families. Don’t miss the opportunity to challenge your group to be on mission by commissioning groups in their communities.

  • Follow Me Groups

Groups should be aware of people who have never attended a group or have dropped out of church or groups because of some type of ‘disconnect’ from others. Some leaders create a ‘paper class or group’ from a list of church members and community members who are not in a group. Many of these people need someone to invite them to “follow me.” There a numerous people not in groups because they attended and did not find anyone who tried to intentionally connect with them. Help your group members discover people who would follow them into a new group.

  • Be Fruitful and Multiply Groups

Every group should be challenged to develop new leaders in order to commission a new group every 12 – 24 months. The Great Commission is a reminder of the first words God said to mankind, “be fruitful and multiply.” Disciples have been recreated by Christ in the image of the Creator who expects them to be fruitful and multiply. Groups should create new groups. When you launch a new group, do so with the commission to be “fruitful (grow in faithful obedience) and multiply (grow in number).”

Each time one of these groups are launched, conduct a commissioning service to celebrate!

Two Words that Will Determine Your Group’s Destiny

groupsI believe that your Sunday School class or small group will grow proportionally to the degree you embrace, advance, and insist that your class/group always remain SMALL and NEW!

There are some jumping for joy because their class/group has been small for fifty-seven years and they think that’s good.  Well its not good.  Every group, every class and even all churches should be reaching new people.  If your class, group and church are not adding new people then something is wrong.  Don’t use the excuse of staying small for the reason of failing at evangelism.

The most effective size of a group is 8 to 12 in weekly attendance.  If your class/group is larger than 12 then it is difficult to really connect.  Your class/group must be small in order for real disciple making to occur.  Jesus preached to the crowds but he spent more time with a small group of disciples.

Your class/group needs to be small enough for people to open up and share what’s going on in their lives.  It needs to be small enough for people to be engaged in discussion during the Bible study.  The members should know each other and also be willing to encourage as well as receive encouragement from others.  If your group is larger than 12 it will be nothing more than a class and based on my experience that’s all you will ever have, a class that meets on Sunday.

The way you keep your group small and stay faithful to the mission of reaching others with the Gospel is by starting new groups.  If your class is stuck and you’ve not added a new person in the last three years, then it’s time for you to start a new group.  If your class has been growing and the average attendance is over 12 then it’s time for y’all to start a new group.  If it’s been five years since a new class was started in your church then it’s time to start a new class.

Churches, classes and groups that start new classes/groups are reaching more people than those that refuse to multiply.  They are seeing more people saved and baptized.  Not only are they growing numerically but the churches, classes and groups that focus on the SMALL and NEW are growing spiritually as well.

The first step toward NEW and SMALL is you as the leader/teacher enlisting an apprentice.  Pray.  Ask God to give the name of the person, then go to them personally and share what God is doing.  Begin leading your group as a team.  Train the apprentice modeling for them and then allowing them to lead.  Start the new group.  You take one and your apprentice takes the other.  Repeat the process.

Every year your church must have NEW and SMALL.  Every year your class/group needs to start a NEW SMALL group.

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Dr. Smith serves as a state missionary with the Georgia Baptist Convention and is the Sunday School/Small Groups Specialist.  Visit their website at gabaptist.org/groups for more information and other resources to aid your Sunday School or small group ministry.  You can also connect with Dr. Smith at gabaptistgroups.org, facebook.com/GABaptistGroups or twitter.com/GABaptistGroups.

Stage 2: Declare and Resolve

ResolveMost of us have good intentions. We mean to keep our New Year’s Resolutions but our resolve is not as strong as our hopes. When it comes to starting NEW GROUPS; your resolve must be strong. New Groups are rarely started by accident. They don’t typically happen on their own. New Groups in most cases happen because of a catalyst. That is usually one or more people who have decided that a new group is not a possibility but a definite. The key is figuring out the right timing.

Growing things are healthy and healthy things grow. That’s not my opinion. It just happens to be true. Face it, if you haven’t started a new group (especially an adult group) in a long time; it will not be easy. Oddly enough, the more new groups you start the easier it gets. The first barrier to starting a new group is your resolve. Adopt this phrase: “it’s not if we will start a new group, it’s when we will start a new group”.

In the book, Countdown: Launching and Leading Transformational Groups, David Francis and Rick Howerton use the statement “a declaration phase”. When your plan to start a new group gets to the point that you have set a date, chosen a leader, selected a curriculum and put a sign on the door of a room; you are there. As a matter of fact, if any one of those items mentioned above are true, you are well on your way. This philosophy of name and claim it I can embrace.

Flake’s Formula reminds us that after we have “imagined the possibilities” it is time to “enlarge the organization”. In order to enlarge the organization, you need to start new groups and enlist and train new leaders. New Groups and New Leaders are the two most powerful forces in creating the dynamic of change in a stagnant culture.

Don’t settle for less. Name it and claim it for the kingdom of God. Determine today that you WILL start a new group and declare it to your church. That might seem like a lot of pressure but then again accountability sure goes a long way in helping you keep your resolutions.

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Sean P. Keith is the Sunday School/Discipleship Strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention.