Archive for Sunday School – Page 4

When my small group can’t meet!

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Thursday, March 19th, 2020

by Brian Upshaw  /  Disciple-Making  /  Baptist State Convention of North Carolina

“How do I disciple our small group when we can’t meet?”

That was the question that went through my mind when I received yesterday’s news that our church was putting our groups on “hiatus” due to COVID-19. This is the right call since our government leaders have asked us to keep our distance.
Many are saying this is new territory for the church. But is it?

We are not the first generation to have to disciple over a distance. After all, the New Testament epistles were written to churches or church leaders for the purpose of discipling them even over a long distance.
Just because we cannot be in the same room does not mean our group has to stop. Here are some tips to help you keep leading while your group is on hiatus.

1. Keep caring.
Group leader, you are on the front line of pastoral care in your church. Check in with group members frequently during the crisis. Ask how they are doing and how you can pray for them. Make sure they have their needs met. Personal touches, even by text message, are priceless in uncertain times.

2. Keep teaching.
People need the encouragement of the Word of God now more than anything else. Your group can still meet for Bible study virtually. Use Google Hangouts, Zoom or another meeting platform to meet at your scheduled time via video.

3. Keep reaching.
Encourage your group members to serve their neighbors. Suggest that they reach out to at-risk or elderly neighbors to see if they can run errands for them. They can also offer to help via their neighborhood’s Facebook or Nextdoor groups. Encourage them to use these times to verbally share the gospel as they are meeting needs.

4. Keep praying.
Invite your group to pray together virtually throughout the week using the platforms already mentioned. Host a virtual meetup and pray through the Psalms, interceding for the power of God. You can also pray missionally for your neighbors using an app like Bless Every Home.

5. Finally, keep your group informed.
Group messaging apps like Band or GroupMe enable you to check in, share prayer requests and give information about what’s happening. You could also start a private Facebook group.

Keeping your distance doesn’t have to keep you from discipling. You can leverage technology to stay in each other’s lives and stay in the Word!

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Why Make Disciples?

By Sean Keith · Comments (0)
Friday, August 10th, 2018

The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 was the final request by Jesus to His disciples. It indicated the completion of everything that Jesus had taught them and trained them to do. Now it was their turn to make disciples in the same fashion that Jesus did.
So as a disciple or follower of Christ, why should we make disciples? These three passages from the New Testament best describe why I should take the time to pour into other people’s lives the way that God has used others to pour into my life.
The first reason we should make disciples is because that is what Jesus did. In Matthew 4:19 – Jesus called the disciples to come and follow Him and He would make them into fishers of men. There is a long tradition in the Jewish faith of the Rabbi and his followers. The Rabbi would only select those who showed the greatest potential for being a Rabbi themselves one day. Jesus chose fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot and others. These were average, everyday people. These were people like me. Jesus didn’t choose me because of what I had to offer Him. He chose me because of what He had to offer me.
We need to make disciples because that’s what Jesus did. Someone saw the potential in me and discipled me. Therefore, I should allow God to use me to disciple others too. That goes for you to.
Secondly, we should make disciples because that is what Jesus has “commanded” us to do. In Matthew 28:19 – Jesus called His disciples to make disciples of all the nations. And they did. The call to make disciples is every believer’s responsibility. That is the only way to “make disciples of all the nations”. In every tribe, every people group, every country, every ethnicity, every Language; we are to make disciples. This is God’s plan. You are part of God’s plan—so make disciples
Lastly, we are to make disciples because that was the pattern of every disciple before us. 2 Timothy 2:2 – Paul wrote to Timothy to teach others the things that Paul had taught him, but to do so in a way that those you teach will teach others also. We are to make disciples who will make disciples, and so forth and so forth. Multiplication of the gospel into every heart and in every land.
These three verses illustrate not only the responsibility of the believer to make disciples but also the urgency of making disciples. If not me and you; then who. If not now; then when.
Making disciples is more than a responsibility of the believer—it is a privilege.
Sean Keith is the Sunday School/Discipleship Strategist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. Sean has free resources available at www.louisianabaptists.org/churchgrowth and www.revseankeith.com. Follow me on twitter @revseankeith.

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Categories : Bible Study, Disciplemaking, Ministry, Sunday School
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The Ask (Asking A Guest to Join the Group)

By Bob Mayfield · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 26th, 2017

Mark 1:17 reads, “Follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fish for people.” (HCSB)

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus asking people to follow Him. Jesus wanted people to join Him on His mission to seek and save the lost, but to accomplish this mission Jesus made the habit of asking people to join Him.

Yet many Sunday School classes and small groups often forget to ask a guest participating in their group if they would like to join it!

People will rarely enroll in a group unless they are asked. An informal survey of people joining the church’s small groups or Sunday School are often people that are joining the church and are simply taking the next required step of membership. Asking someone to join your group is so simple…

Ask them!!

Here are a few helpful ideas…

  • Make sure enrollment cards are available at every meeting. That also includes a writing utensil that works.
  • Combine the guest and enrollment cards. Simply add a checkbox to the guest card that states: “I would like to join this group.”
  • Whoever is responsible for taking roll in the group should ask every guest to fill out the guest card, and be sure to ask them if they would like to join the group.
  • If possible, the person responsible should offer to fill out the guest card for the guest. Not only does this lead to asking the above question, but it also means that someone can read the handwriting on the card!
  • Use the proper verbiage and attitude. “Would you like to join our wonderful group?” sounds so much better than, “You wouldn’t want to join our group… would’ya?”
  • And… a guest does not have to be a church member or attend three consecutive times to join or enroll in the group!

All it takes is “the ask.”

_____________________________

Bob Mayfield is the Sunday School/Discipleship specialist at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Bob also has his own blog at bobmayfield.com.
Follow Bob on Twitter at @bobmayfield and on Facebook at facebook.com/thebobmayfield

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Categories : 31 Ideas of Outreach & Evangelism, Evangelism, Outreach/Evangelism
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Connecting Your Group and Guests on Facebook

By Tony Brooks · Comments (0)
Thursday, August 24th, 2017

To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (I Corinthians 9:22-23 NIV)      

Have you ever considered how Facebook can help your class reach new people and share Good News? Here are some ways you can do so:

  1. Advertise a Sunday School page for your church. The Millennials will find you on technology before they come to your church or class. Have a page that highlights every class with pictures, what you enjoy doing together, and what you are studying. They will feel more comfortable coming to your class if they see faces, and know more about the class.
  2. Advertise special fellowship and outreach events. Did you know that you can target groups on Facebook for $5-$10 in your area? I have a church in a small town that used Facebook for advertising a children’s event and gathered between 300-400 people. You can target age groups, affinity groups and more.
  3. Use Facebook to follow up your lesson that week. I have used posts starting Sunday evening through Wednesday to follow up a lesson with more questions, video links and stories so learners will keep reflecting on how the passage applies to life. An added bonus was when they responded. It goes to their news post as well. Of course, this means all of their friends including unchurched get to read them. (Please keep them positive and focused on Scripture!)

If we are to be all things to all people so we might win some, Facebook can be a tool to do just that!

Dr. Tony Brooks is the Sunday School/Discipleship Specialist for the Baptist General Association of Virginia. You can see his weekly blog at: https://bgav.org/sundayschool/
Facebook- @ https://www.facebook.com/btsrdoc
Twitter- @TonyBrooks7

 

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Categories : 31 Ideas of Outreach & Evangelism, Evangelism, Outreach/Evangelism
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100 Small Changes Later…

By Jason McNair · Comments (0)
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016

100hashtag At the beginning of this series, David Francis introduced our blog to what would be 100 daily posts that provoke conversations about little things all of us can do to make our groups better.  These were not game changers or radical transformations of teaching methods.  These were small changes that could lead to minor course corrections in the direction of your group.  Most of them were not new ideas but simply reminders of things that need to be done.

We want to reflect back to the first post in this series, David Francis’ introductory article on August 1 of this year.

Sunday School is a system. It’s a bunch of things—big and small—that make a Sunday School excellent instead of mediocre.  Each relates to another and that to another and so on and so on. So what if every little thing you improved resulted in just one more person coming to Sunday School, coming back to Sunday School, enrolling in Sunday School, attending regularly in Sunday School, serving in Sunday School, and inviting another to Sunday School? Each of the 100 ideas you’ll read about in the next several weeks may seem inconsequential taken alone. But put 50 or 60 or 70 or 80 into practice and see what happens!

So, here we are.  100 articles later.  You now have 100 ideas from which you can draw for solutions to little roadblocks you may face while leading your group. Come back to this site often and refer back to these posts when you seeking answers.  We are here for you and will continue to be here with fresh insight and ideas to strengthen your group ministry.

The contributors of this blog will continue to add posts–only not as frequently as every day.  When a good idea comes to mind, we will share it here with you, the leaders of the movement.  Stay connected with us on Twitter and Facebook. Thank you for joining us on this journey of discovery. Keep making #SmallChanges that will grow your groups and help make disciples.

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Categories : 100 Small Changes, Ministry, Small Groups, Sunday School
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