The Kingdom Perspective Look through the kingdom lens. What do you see in your church and Sunday School ministry to give evidence that the focus truly is on the kingdom of God and not the kingdom of self, institutional success, or denominational recognition? The Kingdom Lens 1
The Great Commission Look through the lens of the Great Commission. As you view your church and Sunday School ministry through this lens, can you identify some ways to illustrate that the Great Commission is the driving ce behind your church's ministry plans and actions? The Great Commission Lens 2
Church Functions Now view your church and Sunday School ministry through the lens of church functions. Identify at least one way each function is part of your church practice. Does your church ministry plan demonstrate balance in carrying out these functions? How does Sunday School ministry support each one? Church Functions Lens 3
Community Context and Culture View your church through its cultural lens. Learn about the people in the community and their needs, interests, and hurts. Capture a snapshot of the community geographically, demographically, culturally, and spiritually. A Snapshot of Our Community 4
Sunday School Definition and Purpose Sunday School Definition and Purpose Sunday School is the foundational strategy in a local church leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and building on-mission Christians through open Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship. Look at your church and especially Sunday School ministry through this lens. What does your church s Sunday School ministry look like? Is your Sunday School ministry functioning as a program organization focused on teaching as an end in itself or as a basic framework your church s efts in evangelism and discipleship through Bible teaching? Is your Sunday School built around open Bible study group concepts? Sunday School Definition and Purpose 5
Ten Best Practices 1. Commit to the strategy. We commit to Sunday School as the foundational strategy in our church doing the work of the Great Commission. 2. Organize with purpose. We organize our Sunday School ministry to accomplish the objectives of leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and building on-mission Christians. 3. Build kingdom leaders. We build leaders who demonstrate a commitment to the kingdom, Christ as Lord, the ministry to which they have been called, the church, and the mission mandate Christ has given. 4. Develop soul-winners.we lead all leaders and members to become soul-winners and witnesses Christ in all life settings, including the home. 5. Win the lost. We engage in evangelistic actions that result in winning the lost to Christ as well as in other actions that focus on the unchurched and reclaim the spiritually indifferent. 6. Assimilate people. We assimilate individuals and families into the life of the church and facilitate their growth as disciples of Christ. 7. Partner with families. We partner with parents and families to build the home as the center of biblical guidance. 8. Teach to transm. We engage individuals and families in the biblical model of instruction that leads to spiritual transmation. 9. Mobilize ministry. We take deliberate actions to mobilize people to meet with compassion the needs of individuals and families. 10. Multiply leaders and units. We develop and implement an intentional process continually multiplying leaders and new Bible study groups. Using this lens, take a wide-angle view of your Sunday School ministry. Are all the pieces in the picture? Do you see areas of need? What you doing well? Where do you need to refocus? 6
Ten Best Practices (cont d.) Ten Best Practices Lens Things we are doing well Areas of need Areas in which we need to refocus our attention 7
Church and Community Assessment 1. How many people live in the community and fall under the church s influence? 2. What are the characteristics of the people in terms of age, family structure, education, profession, religion, and so th? 3. What are their values, interests, hurts, fears? 4. What do they already know about the gospel? 5. How does the makeup of your church membership compare to the makeup of the community population? What was the population 10 years ago? Five years ago? What are population projections? Has the growth of the church kept pace with the growth rate of the community? 8
Church and Community Assessment (cont d.) 6. Compare the total resident church membership or Sunday School enrollment with attendance over the past three years. What percentage of the membership/enrollment attend worship services and Bible study? Compare the enrollment and average participation of each age group in Bible study the past three years. Are significant increases or decreases evident in any age group? What implications do these changes have on future ministry directions? 7. Compare the age-group percentages represented in the church with the age-group percentages of the community population. Are there major differences? What actions need to be taken to bring the age-group percentages in line with one another? Take a good look at the snapshot of your community. Now examine the snapshot of your church. How much alike or different are they? Comparing Church and Community Makeup 9
Last Year s Strategic Plan Did the needs identified in last year s plan prove to be legitimate? Was the prioritization of those needs accurate? What new needs and priorities surfaced during the year? Were they merged into the plan? How? Were objectives achieved? Were goals attained? Did achieving the objectives and attaining the goals move the church toward fulfillment of its vision? Were the action plans focused enough to contribute to goal attainment? Did the individuals who had assignments to lead actions actually fulfill their responsibilities? How could greater support have been given to them to help them do their work? Was the work completed in a timely fashion? Take a snapshot using last year s strategic annual plan. What do you see? Did you do what you planned to do? Last Year s Strategic Annual Plan 10
Records By comparing current data with Sunday School and general church records from previous years, we may see patterns or trends that have developed. Here are some statistical areas to examine: Attendance Enrollment New Members Losses Baptisms Other Church Additions Potential Members New Classes/ Departments Started Leaders Trained Other This is an important picture of your church. If you don t see numbers of people involved, that can be a warning sign that something is wrong. Inmation from Records 11
Taking a Look at the Big Picture 1. Is your church functioning from a kingdom perspective? Are your leaders kingdom people who are doing kingdom work the glory of the King? What do you see that makes you believe this is true? 2. Is your church driven by the Great Commission? What do you see in your church picture as evidence? 3. Are the five functions of a New Testament church a balanced part of your church s ministry practice? Is Sunday School ministry an important element helping your church carrying out those functions? Why? 4. How is your church using Sunday School? As one program among many, or as a basic plan carrying out the Great Commission assignment? Do others share your understanding? If not, what needs to be done to cast the vision of the potential of Sunday School ministry? 12
Big Picture (cont d.) 5. How did you assess your Sunday School ministry in terms of the ten best practices (essential actions)? What can you affirm? What needs surfaced? 6. How do you see your church s efts in light of last year s strategic plan? 7. Develop a statistical chart or graph to show gains or losses in enrollment, attendance, new members, baptisms, and losses. Based on those statistics, is your church growing (an increase of 10 percent or more), plateaued, or declining? 8. Continue to study the Sunday School Growth and Evaluation Plan and the summary chart. What do they reveal that other leaders need to see? 13
Big Picture (cont d.) 9. Review the Sunday School Strategy Growth Worksheet. Do you currently have enough units to care those enrolled in your church s Sunday School ministry? Enough leaders the number of teaching-ministry units in your organizational structure? How many new units need to be started to care your people potential? How many new leaders are needed to care this potential? 10. What does the picture of your physical space reveal? How many total meeting spaces do you have available? How many organizational units do you currently have? How many new organizational units do you project? How much new meeting space is needed? What options do you have? 11. According to your furnishings and equipment snapshot, what items are needed this year? Make a list; determine priorities. Develop a plan securing what is needed through the church s budget and purchasing processes. What did you find that needs to be removed because it is inappropriate, unsafe, or not functional? 14