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3 Ways to Lead Your Group to Pray for Each Member

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Sunday, October 30th, 2016

prayerWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Paul wrote in Colossians 1:9: “For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you.”  Every group needs a prayer strategy that encourages members to contact one another and to share special prayer concerns.

WHAT DO I DO? Here are three ways:

  1. Develop a Prayer Strategy. Three possible strategies:
    • A prayer chain. A member would contact the prayer coordinator.  The prayer coordinator would contact the first person in the chain and then the second person would contact the next person, and so on.
    • A prayer pyramid. A prayer pyramid is similar to a prayer chain. The prayer coordinator contacts the first two persons and they contact the two persons each, etc.
    • A prayer circle. The prayer coordinator enlists and maintains contact with prayer captains, who in turn enlist and maintain contact with other group members. Be sure that all group members are assigned to a prayer group.
  2. Use a Prayer Concerns Sheet. Pass it around at each group meeting. List specific concerns such as prayer for spiritual concerns, physical healing, family and friends, persons who are grieving.  Special needs and circumstances, unspoken prayer requests, other.  Email the list to each member following class.
  3. Text. Many groups use text messages to remind people to pray and to send updates on prayer requests.

A verse to remember: 1 John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us.”

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Sunday School
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Measure and Reward What You Want to Accomplish

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Friday, October 28th, 2016

measuringWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? What you believe about Sunday School (primary purpose; why it exists) determines how you see Sunday School (what it is or does). How you see Sunday School determines how you lead Sunday School (focus or emphasis) and how you measure it’s success.

WHAT DO I DO?  Which of these purposes is most descriptive of your group?

  1. If the primary purpose of Sunday School is teaching, then you will see Sunday School primarily as a group with members primarily as students. You will emphasize attending the study event.  The key measures of success will be how many show up and did we get through the lesson.
  2. If the primary purpose of Sunday School is friendship and fellowship, then your focus will be on community. You will lead your Sunday School to establish and build relationships.  The key measure of success will be having a good group experience.
  3. If the primary purpose of Sunday School is care and support, then you will focus on service and helping with your members as ministers. You will emphasize praying for each other and supporting each other.  The key measure of success will be meeting needs of group members.
  4. If the primary purpose of Sunday School is outreach and missions, then you will be a team of people on mission with God and your members will be missionaries. You will lead in equipping members to live on a mission field and be engaged in missions and outreach events.  The key measure of success will be lives being saved, reached, and changed.

A church can do Sunday School for many reasons. Make a decision to frefocus on the primary purpose of Sunday School:  life change. Teaching the Bible, building relationships, and caring for people are not the primary goal of Sunday School—these are done in order to bring people into a personal encounter with Jesus. He is the one who can change their lives here and for eternity and grow them to serve Him in their daily lives and relationships. Measure and reward what our Lord wants your group to accomplish!

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Sunday School
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Emphasize Reaching People with Your Group

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Saturday, October 22nd, 2016

reachingWHY 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…

  1. Pray for three lost People
  2. Learn a Gospel Presentation
  3. Invite five unchurched People to the group
  4. Share the Gospel at least one time each month

Challenge your group to…

  1. Enroll three New Members this year
  2. Conduct regular fellowships (invite every member and every prospect)
  3. Plan two Missions Activities in the Community
  4. Sponsor an Evangelistic Bible Study in the Community where lost people live and work
  5. Adopt a People Group
  6. Adopt a Harvest Field in your community, such as a school, subdivision, factory.

Conduct an Evangelistic Activity every time the group meets, such as:

  1. Have a member share their story
  2. Pray for lost people (have an evangelistic prayer list)
  3. Plan an outreach event
  4. Teach the Gospel
  5. Practice a Gospel presentation
  6. Memorize an evangelistic verse
  7. 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.

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Enrollment, Evangelism, Outreach/Evangelism, Prayer
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3 Ways to Use Social Media to Build Relationships

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Tuesday, October 18th, 2016

fbconnectWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? One word: Relationships. Every group leader should consider utilizing today’s media to connect with group members. And every group should consider which forms of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, etc. will work best.

WHAT DO I DO? Here are three ways to use social media to increase connections:

  1. View, create and share information. Groups of all sizes are utilizing facebook, twitter, and other forms of social media to communicate.  They communicate upcoming activities, prayer requests, and concerns.  Every group member is a person who needs a place to belong and be loved just for who they are.
  2. Share interests and passions. God has made each member unique.  One of the great things about social media is hearing the passion of group members.  Group are most effective in reaching beyond their classroom wall, when they mobilize around group members’ passions and interests.  Every group member is a missionary with gifts, talents, and passions.
  3. Continue the lesson after the group meeting. Reinforce the central point or life lesson that was taught by sending out a tweet, an email, a link, or a challenge during the week.  Seek input from group members on how they are taking the truth of God’s word and applying it in their everyday life.  Every group member is either exploring Christ or on a life-long journey of discipleship to become like Christ.

Social media is one way to build a more connected group and a foundation to build stronger relationships and groups.

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Sunday School
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Using a Teaching Style Different from Your Natural Preference

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Monday, October 17th, 2016

creativeWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Most teachers will teach the same way this Sunday that they taught last Sunday.  They will teach the same way the next Sunday that they taught this Sunday.  Why? Because that’s how they teach.

But how did Jesus teach?  Did he teach the same way every time? What kinds of methods did Jesus use?  Shouldn’t all of us want to teach the way that Jesus taught?

WHAT DO I DO? Intentionally plan a lesson each month using a teaching style different from your natural preference.  Consider studying these three topics:

  1. Examine how Jesus taught. As you read the Gospels, identify the methods that Jesus used.  Bruce Wilkinson in Teaching the Jesus Way said that when he determined that Jesus rarely used the same method. His teaching was different every time based on the outcome that he desired and the audience that he taught.
  2. Study how people learn.  Most groups will have people who prefer to learn differently from how the teacher teaches.  The Eight Learning Approaches are: Physical, Verbal, Visual, Musical, Natural, Relational, Logical, and Reflective.
  3. Read a book on teaching.  Your teaching style will determine the likely learning outcome of your lesson.  A good book is TEACHER: Creating Conversational Communities.

My favorite definition of teaching is: Teaching is creating an experience in which a person changes in some lasting way his knowledge, understanding, attitude, skills or values. So get creative and teach a lesson each month different from your natural teaching preference.

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Bible Study, Learning, Teaching
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