Sunday School Leadership Meetings General Period Suggestions Summer 2013 by Judi S. Hayes For leadership meetings this summer, consider Bruce Raley's and David Francis' book Extreme Sunday School Challenge. You can download this free 46-page booklet free and print it for all your Sunday School leaders, email them the PDF, or purchase copies for $1.50 each. Ridgecrest Conference Center in North Carolina will host the Extreme Sunday School Conference July 19-22. You and your Sunday School leaders will benefit from attending this event. June 5: A Sunday School Challenge Direct Sunday School teachers and leaders to form groups by the age group they lead or teach and by department. Instigate a little summer rivalry among age groups, departments, or classes by suggesting that groups come up with a challenge. Examples might be: Adult leaders challenge student leaders to see which group can have the highest percentage attendance during the three summer months. One adult class challenges another to see which can provide the most teachers throughout the 2013 2014 Sunday School year. Two children s classes challenge each other to make the most contacts. Each challenge should have some sort of reward that the loser provides the winner, such as a fellowship meal for both groups. After all the challenges are issued and accepted and the goals and dates clarified, point out that although a challenge is fun, it is really just another way to help the Sunday School grow. Introduce the new book by Bruce Raley and David Francis, Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Distribute copies to each person or explain you will send them instructions for downloading a free copy. Challenge them to read the first chapter of the book before your next session. Pray for your Sunday School leaders to accept the challenge of continuing a vibrant Bible study ministry, even during the summer weeks when many faithful members may be away.
June 12: What Kind of Group? Direct leaders to form four small groups. Assign each group one of these group types to discuss: (1) an open group, (2) an ongoing group, (3) a balanced group, (4) a discipleproducing group. You may want to provide a copy of Extreme Sunday School Challenge for each group, or in advance remind leaders to bring their printed copies or electronic readers. Call for each group to explain their assigned topic. Be ready to call for or add comments about how each type of group applies to various groups in your church. Ask the two questions on page 9 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge: 1. How would you define a disciple of Jesus Christ? 2. What are the qualities of a disciple? Follow these questions by asking: What does our Sunday School do to reproduce disciples? Invite the four small groups to share concerns about their Bible study groups, and to pray for one another and the Sunday School at large. June 19: The Sunday School s Real Potential In advance, gather this information: The number of inactive church members The number of inactive Sunday School members The number of people who come to worship but do not attend Bible study The number of unchurched people in your community Print these four bulleted items (without answers) and give a copy to each person as leaders arrive. Direct them to work in groups of two or three to give their best guess for each item. After everyone has had opportunity to participate, share your answers. Then ask: What kind of challenge does our Sunday School face with numbers like these? Welcome and affirm responses. Follow with a summary of content from page 10 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Direct groups to share with one another the names of particular people they would like to reach through Bible study. Ask them to pray in their groups for the people they name.
June 26: Real Potential for Evangelism Direct leaders to form three groups. Tell the groups to read the first paragraph of A Case Study on page 12 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Then assign each group one of the points following the case study: 1. The Lord drew the Ethiopian to Himself. 2. The Lord drew the Ethiopian to Himself through the Scriptures. 3. The Spirit led Philip to instruct the Ethiopian in the Scriptures. Direct groups to look up and read any relevant Scripture and to discuss their point in light of the case study with a focus on evangelism. Before groups report, summarize content from page 11 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Call for the three groups to report. Direct participants attention to the four points at the bottom of page 12 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Invite them to comment on how your Sunday School does each of those. Ask: Where are we strongest? Where can we improve? Direct small groups to discuss the evangelism effectiveness of their Bible study groups and to pray that they will grow in reaching their evangelism potential. July 3: Freedom to Grow as Disciples In advance, write the title of this session with a red felt-tip marker on a white poster board or tear sheet. On another poster/paper write the title: "Bible Study Responsibilities". Provide blue felt-tip markers. As leaders arrive, direct them to write on the first sheet at least one freedom they enjoy in Bible study. After everyone has arrived, enlist one or two people to read what has been written. Comment that all people who enjoy freedoms must also assume responsibilities. Display the second. Enlist someone to write on the poster as leaders call out responsibilities for those who lead Bible study and for individual Christians. Pray, thanking God for the freedom of religion we enjoy. Ask God to help Sunday School participants to be responsible for growing individually and together in studying God s Word.
July 10: Real Potential for Maturing Disciples Direct leaders to form groups of three. Instruct everyone to think of a teacher they admire. In their small groups let them tell one another about that teacher, answering these three questions: What were the qualities of that teacher? What made that teacher unique? How did that teacher disciple you? Using the content from page 13 in Extreme Sunday School Challenge, lead a discussion about the Sunday School teacher s role in growing and maturing disciples. You may want to refer to responsibilities listed last week. Pray, thanking God for teachers who make a difference in people s lives. July 17: Real Potential for More People Engaged in Ministry Direct leaders to read one of the following three Scripture passages: Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-16. Ask them to list the gifts in their assigned passage on the chalkboard, whiteboard, or tear sheet. After all have been listed, read 1 Peter 4:10-11. Say: All Christians have gifts. The Sunday School provides opportunities for believers to discover and use their gifts. Not everyone has the gift of teaching, but that s not the only gift needed in Bible study groups. Look carefully at the list written on the board/paper. How can these gifts be used in Bible study groups? Use the list on page 14 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge for assistance. Remind participants of the old saying about Sunday School: A place for everyone. Point out that this means not just a place to belong or learn, but also a place for everyone to serve. Thank God for giving believers a variety of gifts to serve one another in His kingdom. July 24: Real Potential for More Resources for Kingdom Work Provide a copy of the budget as it relates to Christian education in your church. Focus on Sunday School and on literature. Discuss the percentage of the church budget that goes to this important ministry. Then lead discussions around these topics: Ways to use personal study guides during Bible study sessions. List these on the board or a large sheet of paper. Ideas for using curriculum resources after the quarter ends. Record these ideas. Ways to encourage a lifestyle of stewardship during Bible study sessions. Email these recorded ideas to teachers. Pray, thanking God for the wealth of resources available for Bible study. Pray that all will be responsible stewards in giving and using available resources.
July 31: The Essentials Direct leaders to form two groups. Assign group 1 Essential 1: Catalysts from pages 18-19 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Assign group 2 Essential 2: Leaders from page 19. Tell the groups to define the word assigned and explain why those types of persons are essential in Sunday School. Use your study of Extreme Sunday School Challenge to add to the discussion. Pray for Sunday School leaders in the essential role they play in growing disciples. August 7: Expanding Leadership In advance, write the statement from page 21 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge on a tear sheet: "The success of a Sunday School leader is not measured by how large the class grows but by how many leaders are sent out." Point out that all Sunday School leaders have a home base. Each comes from a Sunday School class where they could have remained as contributing members. Acknowledge that letting members go to become leaders is sometimes difficult, but the word from last week fits here. Calling these people to teach is essential. It is essential for their own growth as disciples, for other groups to learn and grow, and for the class they leave. That last statement may seem odd. But as leaders develop and are sent out from a class, those who remain step up in participation to become leaders, growing so that they, too, may be sent out to serve new classes. Continue by presenting a brief lecture from pages 20-23 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Direct participants to form three groups. Assign group 1 Step 1. Pray from pages 23-24. Assign group 2 Step 2. Enlist from page 25. Assign group 3 Step 3. Equip from pages 24-26. Tell them to summarize this content and apply it to your church. After groups have had time to prepare, call for reports. Affirm and comment to add to the discussion. Pray, thanking God for preparing leaders for expanded growth through your Sunday School.
August 14: Leader Training Before this session enlist people to prepare these reports to share with the group: Online learning resources from LifeWay and from websites that offer Bible study resources, such as MyStudyBible.com and BibleGateway.com. Leader training resources available at your church has a library or bookstore. Curriculum resources for leaders. Sunday School training opportunities in your association, state, and at Ridgecrest Conference Center. Direct leaders to share with a partner the best training they ever received for serving as a Sunday School leader. When everyone has arrived, invite volunteers to call out the kinds of training that helped them. List these on the board. Then call for reports about available training. Point out that God s workers should be equipped. Your church wants to partner with Sunday School leaders to ensure the best training possible is made available to them. Take time to identify opportunities for training being made available in the next six months. August 21: Enrollment Place leaders into small groups. Ask them to share stories about how they came to be a member of your church s Sunday School. As people talk about their experiences, write on the board the ways people were enrolled or joined your Sunday School. If they don t include this information, ask them. Highlight how the stories differ from one another. Following this discussion, review the ways people are currently enrolled in Sunday School in your church. Check those already listed and add any additional practices. Use the content on pages 29-30 of Extreme Sunday School Challenge to talk about the importance of enrolling people in Sunday School. Encourage discussion. Thank God again for an organization and ministry that truly has a place for everyone.
August 28: The Opportunities During this final quarterly session, guide leaders through ideas about forming new Sunday School classes. Focus on chapter 3, The Opportunities, of Extreme Sunday School Challenge. Lead the group to explore the options listed on pages 38-42. Point out that new Bible study groups can begin at any time, whenever leaders are ready to start. Let the discussion about options continue until a few ideas seem to be the best fits for your church and community. Then, turn the discussion toward potential leaders, times, and places for the new groups. Review the high points of what the group has studied this quarter. Affirm the value of growing through new units. Challenge leaders to continue praying about how to make this happen. Pray, petitioning God to lead the church toward accepting the extreme challenge of Sunday School: expanding the ministry in every way possible to make a place for everyone to grow as believers and leaders. Judi S. Hayes is a freelance writer in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.