Archive for Connect

Connect with Prospective Members

By Brad Delaughter · Comments (0)
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022

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

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Categories : Connect, Evangelism, Growing your Group, Outreach/Evangelism, Sunday School

Reaching Young Adults

By David Adams · Comments (0)
Tuesday, January 18th, 2022

I regularly hear church leaders say, “We need to reach young adults,” usually in a church that is struggling to reach and keep young adults. If this is your church, there is hope! Here are three suggestions for reaching young adults.

1. Listen

Listen to God. Why does he want to reach young adults? How has he led you to desire to reach them? How would he have you proceed?

Listen to church members. To whom else in your church might God be speaking about reaching young adults? What wisdom do others have on the subject? (Someone has probably “tried that before,” right?)

Listen to young adults. Build friendships and hear what they are saying about faith and church participation. Avoid the urge to tell them what they should be doing differently. Make sure you are not approaching young adults with a target mentality. Young adults are not a project or a goal to achieve, but individuals to be valued, heard, and loved.

2. Evaluate

What are the possibilities for your church? There certainly nothing wrong with dreaming big, but if there are few young adults in your community or few in your church today, then starting one group or hosting a meal with young adults may be a great start! Your local Baptist association or state convention may be able to provide a demographic study that will help you understand the possibilities, or you can look for yourself at the US Census data for county population characteristics here.

Evaluate the desire of your church’s leaders and members to (1) give up some comfort and control (favorite pew, decision-making, programming, finances, traditions), and (2) mentor and bless new young leaders. These two areas may reveal the biggest barriers to reaching young adults. If you reach young adults but are not ready to invite them into significant ministry and leadership roles, they are likely to go elsewhere.

3. Get to work

Based on 1 and 2 above, recognize that simply starting a young adult class/group or adapting worship style will not reach young adults. Spiritual, relational, and organizational effort is needed.

Spiritual – Invite existing adult groups to pray regularly for young adults as well as you or others who are leading your church’s efforts to reach them. Pray for opportunities to meet needs and share the gospel.

Relational – Weddings, births, kids’ sports, Vacation Bible School, fall festivals, and other events provide natural points of connection with young adults. Be intentional in using these opportunities to begin new friendships. Invite two or three young adults to meet you for breakfast to discuss plans for starting a young adult Bible study. Ask other church members to make a point of getting to know young adult neighbors.

Organizational – Start a new Sunday School class or small group when a core group of young adults are ready to begin. In the meantime, develop one to four young adults through a personal discipleship group or less formal get-togethers. As you reach young adults, invite them to serve in the church. Young adult guests who see young adult greeters, ushers, committee members, and ministry leaders are more likely to believe your church has a place for them, too.

David Adams

Director of Discipleship

Texas Baptists

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Categories : Baptism, Bible Study, Connect, Evangelism, Group Life, Growing your Group, Outreach/Evangelism, Small Groups, Sunday School

Five Ways to Engage Children in Sunday School

By Jennifer Howington · Comments (1)
Tuesday, December 7th, 2021

“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.”  Benjamin Franklin

Research suggests that eighty-seven percent of all learners learn through kinesthetic activities. [1] Children are no exception and thrive on opportunities provided through experiential learning and hands-on activities. With this in mind, classrooms need to be a reflection of how children learn best. Below are five practical ways in which you can actively engage children in your Sunday school classroom:

#1:  Provide an Interactive Environment.  Children learn best when they are involved in the process of learning. Optimal learning can be facilitated by engaging children and encouraging them to be active in the classroom, not merely spectators. Some tangible ways in which we engage students include:  collaborating with other children, problem solving, manipulating objects, and by exercising independence.  Active learning not only increases a child’s performance in the classroom but also helps with the retention of knowledge.

#2:  Plan Ahead with Classroom Preparation.  Bill Emeott states, “The best session is a planned session.”[2] Providing an active learning environment will take time, careful planning and intentionality. Be creative in your ideas and be flexible with the learning process.  For instance, allow children an opportunity to problem solve together, let them move about freely using objects to build, or encourage them to tell the teaching story in their own words. Developmentally appropriate practices will help you determine what is age appropriate and feasible for each child.  Never challenge a child beyond their capability, but lead them towards success.

#3:  Relationships Matter.  An effort must be made to know the children you work with and to understand their unique learning styles. Each child is different and they learn in different ways.  Understanding what communicates best to the children you serve will make the learning experience both meaningful and memorable. A teacher is an observer, an active supporter and actively engages children in conversation.  According to Erika Christakis from The Atlantic, “Conversation is gold.  It’s the most efficient early-learning system we have.”[3]

#4:  Commit to Long-Term Benefits. Children will not comprehend everything you teach immediately. It takes time for information to be processed and each spiritual truth you share will be reinforced by teachings they will receive as they grow older. Be committed for the long-term, knowing that you are an integral part of this process. Making the learning process memorable and interactive will enable a child to recall those moments as they grow older and the teachings are reinforced.

#5:  Repetition Is Vital. Children enjoy and need repetition. Allow children the opportunity to tell and retell the story in their own way. Have them recite a verse or an important concept over and over again.  Make it fun and exciting.

[1].  Donna Walker Tileston, “What Every Teacher Should Know about Learning, Memory, and the Brain” (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin, 2004).

[2].  Lifeway Church Resources, Wholly Kids:  Guiding Kids to Life in Christ, (Nashville: Lifeway Ministry Publishing, 2015), 121.

[3].  Erika Christakis, “The New Preschool is Crushing Kids:  Today’s Young Children are Working More, But They’re Learning Less.”  Last modified (January/February 2016).  Accessed on December 3, 2021.  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/01/the-new-preschool-is-crushing-kids/419139/

Jennifer Howington  is the Childhood Ministry Specialist for Texas Baptists

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Categories : Connect, Small Groups, Sunday School
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Connect through others: Share with your one

By Rick Hughes · Comments (0)
Monday, September 2nd, 2019

Is your church eating itself?

Author and management consultant Peter Drucker once said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

As a pastor, you experience it when you step on the platform and attempt to motivate your congregation. You see heads nod in agreement and even hear a few say “Amen!” But then enthusiasm fizzles out in a short time.

“Who’s your One?” may be the most significant initiative Southern Baptists have ever undertaken. What would it look like if you utilized a strategy that got your groups on and off campus involved in “Who’s your One?” as a group strategy?

Mark Clifton of the North American Mission Board says, “If you want your church to become a congregation that makes disciples that make disciples, you have to get your people into discipling relationships with one another.”

It’s more efficient and effective to teach evangelistic tools like the “3 Circles” in a group setting. It’s even more important to teach not only what the gospel is but what the gospel does. The gospel restores our relationship with God, our relationships with others and our relationship to ourselves. Relationships are important — not only to those inside the church but to those outside as well.

Groups decentralize your church. In group life people are more focused on “being” the church in everyday life rather than “doing” church. People outside of the church are not looking for religion. They are looking for relationships.

In an article for Lifeway’s Facts & Trends, Alex Himaya wrote:

“Starting with love and relationship rather than religion doesn’t change my beliefs; it changes how I communicate my beliefs. Everyday I’m trying to mimic the same manner that Jesus used when he talked to people. When he encountered the woman at the well (John 4) he didn’t start with her multiple marriages and adulterous lifestyle. He started with a simple request that began a relationship, ‘Can I have a drink of water?’

Why is this important? The Bible says so.

Scripture teaches us to be disciples and to live and share the gospel. A new strategy is to use your groups to create action for “Who’s Your One?” initiative in your church. Here are a few ideas:

  • Train your group leaders and teachers in the “3 Circles.” Teach them what the gospel is and what it does.
  • Have every member of your group identify one person they know. Encourage them to love and build an authentic relationship with that person.
  • Invite those individuals to the group and group functions so they can experience relationships instead of religion.
  • Have gospel conversations with the new people you have established trust with.
  • Fight for them and not against them.

John O’Brien, co-author of The Power of Purpose offers an additional insight into Drucker’s famous quote about culture eating strategy for breakfast. O’Brien writes, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast, but culture gets its appetite from purpose.”

Going beyond an understanding of what the gospel is to what the gospel does will significantly impact your congregation and those with whom they share the gospel.

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Categories : Bible Study, Connect, Conversation, Disciplemaking, Evangelism, Leadership, Outreach/Evangelism, Prayer, Small Groups, Sunday School, Tell your story, Training, Who is your One?

Connect through Others: Identify Your One

By David Adams · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 31st, 2019

To my delight, my oldest son recently got engaged. My wife and I already love his fiancée and welcome her into our family. I’m also excited about the prospects of becoming a granddad, finally catching up with many of my friends who tell me how wonderful it is. There’s something about knowing your family will continue for another generation that feels good and right, isn’t there?

The same thing could be said spiritually. When someone we helped to follow Jesus begins to show someone else how to follow him, we know our faith will live for another generation. It’s the Great Commission come to life!

The Who’s Your One? process has now come full circle in this series of August posts for group leaders.

You helped group members identify “their one”—the person God has placed in their lives who needs Jesus. You encouraged members to tell the stories of transformation week by week in these relationships. You affirmed members’ faithful obedience and celebrated new birth in those who have trusted Jesus as Savior.

End of story, right? Hardly! It’s just another beginning!

Ask your group members:

  • Who has God put in my life that needs to meet and follow Jesus?
  • What needs do they have that Christ and/or the church can meet?

Now is the best time to help a new believer identify “their one.” It’s also the best time to help a more mature believer identify their “next one.” Tomorrow we’ll think about prayer as a catalyst for this process.

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Categories : Connect, Disciplemaking, Outreach/Evangelism, Teaching
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