Archive for Sunday School ministry

Ministering Through Class Leaders

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Monday, July 19th, 2021

By Brad Delaughter, Lead Pastor, FBC De Soto, De Soto, MO

During our church’s last quarterly teacher training I was reminded again of the blessing Sunday School teachers are to the church. Teachers get an opportunity to participate in an Ephesians 4:12 ministry week after week as they, “equip the saints for the work of the ministry [and] build up the body of Christ.” There are at least three ways class leaders can minister to those they teach.

  1. Go to the Lord

Class leaders can regularly intercede for the class as a whole and individually by name. Praying for class members’ needs, spiritual formation, and their understanding of God’s word is a critical part of effectively ministering to the class.

  • Guide in the Word

Class leaders can minister to the class by correctly guiding the class in the word of God. Through diligent preparation, intentional facilitation, and utilizing trustworthy curriculum the teacher can help class members grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God’s word.

  • Guard the Heart

Many teachers make the classic mistake of thinking responsibility to the group ceases at the end of class. This is a crucial error. While class leaders are not in the role of senior pastor, they are, for all intents and purposes, shepherds to the group. Shepherd the heart of the class by contacting them during the week, showing up at the hospital, and cheering in the stands. Guard the heart of the class members by being there for them.

God has afforded me many opportunities to minister in his kingdom, but one of my favorite posts God has allowed me to be is Sunday School teacher.

Class leaders have such a wonderful privilege to invest in the lives of the saints and equip them for the ministry. May we continue to do so with joy and excellence.

To contact Brad DeLaughter and more information on the ministries at First Baptist Church De Soto, Missouri, visit www.fbcdesoto.com.

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Creating Care Groups That Serve Others

By Clint Calvert · Comments (0)
Friday, April 24th, 2020

Now more than ever people need care. How can the church effectively provide this care? People in the church need to be organized and trained to care for one another, their neighbors, and isolated, hurting people.

In the past, Sunday Schools or small groups might be organized in terms of care groups. These care groups were designed to discover the needs of people in the Sunday School class or small group to be sure the needs got met. The expectation to meet these needs might be shared with other church leaders or the pastor.

Two shifts are needed. The first shift needed is for the group itself to respond to the need once it is discovered. The second shift is for the needs of people who have never attended the group to be considered as a means of ministry and outreach to them. The pressure people are now experiencing presents an opportunity to address church and community needs differently.

Care groups may not be a new idea to your church. But shifting the expectation for service to the care group itself might be. Consider these steps in re-framing your care groups from needs discovery to needs meeting groups:

  • Determine the number of care group leaders needed and expectations for them
  • Enlist care group leaders and provide training for them.
  • Create care groups by organizing people by geography, life situation, or interest.
  • Balance the care groups mixture of regular, sporadic, and never-attenders.
  • Provide regular feedback for care group leaders so they can learn through serving

The need for care is not the only need people have. People also have a need to serve. People need the spiritual growth that comes from serving others. If the need for serving others is understood as a means to spiritual growth, people may start finding value in serving.

Written by Clint Calvert, Church Leadership Catalyst,  Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

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Training Care Leaders

By David Ludwig · Comments (0)
Thursday, April 23rd, 2020

Since the goal of Care Teams is to help others grow through serving, the best way to make sure that happens is to train the Care Leaders. As mentioned in “It Begins With Prayer” by Dwayne McCrary, even making simple phone calls requires some training.

We always want volunteers to have a good experience serving, which is why it’s always a good idea to provide a clear ministry description and training. Here are some things to consider including in your training:

  • Talk about the importance of confidentiality. When people share prayer needs or family concerns this information should always be considered confidential unless they have been given permission to share it.
  • The length of the call. There is no hard-set rule for this, but always be considerate of other people’s time. I’ve found that people appreciate it when you ask them at the beginning of the call if they have a few minutes to talk.
  • Listen to discover needs. The purpose of your call is to provide care, and there may be a specific need that you can’t help them with but someone else can. Again, before sharing any information about the person always ask permission.
  • Remember to pray for them before you get off the call. One of the greatest ways to say we care is to lift their concerns up to God in prayer. Take time and pray for them on the call, this is the best way to be sure that you won’t forget. 

These are just a few of things to consider for your training, as you develop the ministry description consider what skills are needed and look for ways to help your Care Leaders develop them.

Written by David Ludwig, Associate Director of Healthy Churches, Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania and South Jersey

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Rethinking & Creating Care Teams

By Jeff Ingram · Comments (0)
Wednesday, April 22nd, 2020

            Adult Sunday School teacher, if you try to do it all, your class members will gladly let you do it all! Well, maybe that’s a little cynical way to look at service through your Sunday School or Small Group Bible study, but the truth is most people prefer to be served rather than serve.

            Care Teams, Care Group teams, ministry teams, whatever you want to call them, can play a key role in helping your group fulfill the Great Commission Jesus gave in Matthew 28:18-20, to go into all the world to make disciples. Most adult Sunday School classes and Small Groups are already organized for Bible study. The great need of the hour is the personal touch of these ministry teams, making certain all the members and non-members alike, are loved and cared for.

            Although every adult class or group is different in its unique ministry context, a good strategy in organizing the class is to enlist a care leader for every 4-6 people. These leaders may difficult to enlist at first, but as the class/group experiences new opportunities for ministry and service, as people see the value of service to others, it is probable servant-leaders will step up to help.

            Teacher, start enlisting small, setting a goal of enlisting a new care leader each month until you have the number of teams needed for effective ministry in your class. Too many members in a care group will tend to overwhelm a leader. It’s best for men to be with men, and women to be with women in care groups/teams, if it’s a couple’s class.   

As your class or group organizes itself for ministry to members, non-members, members in service and inactive members, needs will be met, and servants will mature. The teams can each include a variety of these “members.” Adult teachers enlist others to share the ministry God has called them to.

            In closing, Jesus taught His disciples (and teaches us) in John 15:13-14, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.” It’s through service, ministry to others, inside the church and outside the church, that we grow in our obedience to Christ. This does not mean, of course, that we are saved through our obedience, but that our salvation is evidenced by our love for God and service to others.

Care teams are still an effective strategy for classes and groups to help the teacher share the ministry load, but also for members to invest their lives in eternity. Who can you prayerfully enlist today?

Written by Jeff Ingram, Adult Ministry Specialist, Louisiana Baptist Convention

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Prayer as a catalyst for a focus on serving others

By Tim Turner · Comments (0)
Monday, April 20th, 2020

Think back to when you first met Jesus. Would it not have been easy to selfishly grab hold of only what salvation had to offer you? Security. Eternal bliss. Future promises. Walking with God. But what about focus on others? What? One could easily be caught up in the things that God has in store for their life or family, but what about the people of whom God has placed around them? Prayer should actually lead to that type of discipleship mindset. When one humbly comes before Holy God, the main focus cannot be self only. Initially, yes, the heart is drawn to God, but will eventually bend thoughts toward others’ needs – completely outside of oneself.

Consider the passage in Mark 10:37 when James and John asked Jesus, “Allow us to sit at your right and your left in glory.” — asking for a place at the table of glory! We tend to think, “How could they ask such a selfish question?”. In reality, all Christians are capable of such selfish behavior because of a Genesis 3 world. Outside of Christ, no one would be able to live unselfishly. Jesus replied, “On the contrary, whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be slave to all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (CSB)

Then one should ask, if that is true, where is that biblical principle expressed with prayer. Two strong examples come to mind. First, we find Jesus in the upper room with the Twelve. Jesus knows exactly what is about to unfold, yet He prays a prayer over them instead of himself. In John 17:11-16, “Holy Father, protect them . . . that they may be one . . . joy completed in them . . . so that they may be sanctified by the truth”. (CSB)This narrative is an amazing example of selfless servanthood. Through Jesus’ intimate prayers, He called upon the Father to minister to these men who would become future pastors, leaders, and martyrs.

Secondly, the greatest example is found in Mark 14:36, “Abba, Father! All things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will but what you will.” (CSB)It could be quite easy for a believer to simply wash over these verses and go on to another activity in their life. Jesus not only placed the Twelve at the top of His priority list, but the entire world of sinners. He died to show that servanthood was more important than glorification.

What does it take for a believer to come to the realization that serving others trumps glorification? Answer: Prayer that leads to humility. When one prays, unworthiness rises to the top. That unworthiness subsequently points to others and challenges one not to serve themselves. Therefore, the goal is to resist selfishness through vibrant prayer that leads to true servanthood.

Written by Dr. Tim Turner, Dir.of Evangelism & Discipleship, WV Convention of Southern Baptists

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