Well, that’s it! That’s all you need to know about beginning your journey toward a faithful and fruitful Sunday School ministry. Now, just get out there and do it! Right? Of course not, it could never be that easy. So, here are a few points to remember, an initial set of steps to take as you begin to digest this wealth of material over the next several months.

 Remember that God is more interested in what He does in you than in what He does through you. Stay close to Him, and you will flourish as a leader.  

 Remember that prayer is your greatest tool. The more you pray, the more you will see God do the miraculous in you and through you.  

 Remember that Sunday School is a strategy, not a program. Constantly revisit the definition of Sunday, and continually cast that vision before people.  

 Remember that Sunday School is about people – make everything you do to be to God’s glory and for the good of others.  

 Remember that no man is an island. Even if you could do all this by yourself that would not be the best you could do. Enlist others invest in them, empower them, encourage them and then celebrate with them.  

 Begin by forming an inner circle of friends and co-laborers. Infect them with your vision for the class, and delegate responsibility to them.  

 Be intentional about the three tasks of Sunday School, especially the first one, reaching people. The more contacts you make, the more growth you will experience as an individual and as a class.  

 Recognize the good in others and the blessings of God. Acknowledge them both publicly and privately and maintain an attitude of celebration in Christ.  

 Avail yourself or all internal and external growth opportunities. If you don’t grow, your class won’t either.  

 Make Sunday class time extraordinary. It should be the highlight of every class member’s week. It should be the kind of place that the lost and un-churched are looking for. If you can accomplish that, then you will experience Heaven on earth.  

The following are ten points that are of critical importance on Sundays. To ensure the foundation is laid for the best possible Sunday class experience, be sure that these items are given priority in thought and practice.

• Be early.  As the leader, you set the pace.  Others will follow.  

• Be sure to have all of your administrative items ready. Your roll is the list of people God has assigned to your ministry. Treat it as a very important document. Be familiar with all of your announcements to be made.  

• Wear nametags. This may seem simple and inconvenient, but it is vital to the growth of the fellowship in your class.  

• Touch as many people as you can. The personal touch is what most people are missing in today’s culture. Be appropriate, but provide that touch, and you will win friends for a lifetime.  

• Be time conscious.  Start and end class on time.  

• Recognize and welcome visitors. If you want to grow your class, treating visitors royally is the best way. Once you have them, keep them.  

• Pray. At the appropriate time, pray for God’s blessings on your class time and on your class members.  

• Let leaders lead. The more people involved in the Sunday morning class experience, the stronger your leadership will be. Don’t rob your Outreach Leaders and Care Group Leaders of class time.  

• Engage the class. Don’t preach! Design your lesson so that attendees are forced to handle God’s Word on their own. Provide time for feedback and discussion.  

• Be sure administrative items are completed and turned in. It is important to the planning and development of the entire Sunday School department that our records are completed, accurate and returned on a timely basis.  

  Motivation comes from within.  

• Most motivational speakers will admit that if you do not want to be motivated, you will not be motivated.  
• Motivation, however, can be improved if you model motivational behavior/  
• Leaders can encourage people to get excited and to volunteer for class tasks or leadership teams.  
• Leaders must recognize the benefit of motivational actions they can demonstrate.  

         Here are some motivational ideas for you to consider:           

Participate in all aspects of Sunday School work

Help other team members understand the challenges of Sunday School work Teach the biblical basis for the tasks we face in evangelism, discipleship, ministry, fellowship, and worship

Encourage and affirm learners and other class leaders whenever possible.

                          Find opportunities for beginners

Meet the expectations others have for you. If you fall short, apologize and try again

Concentrate on achieving goals

Demonstrate self-confidence and a positive attitude

Look carefully at issues and the real conditions of the world around you Look for potential in all learners

Train workers and potential workers personally, and become a learning model by asking them to join you for training events

Look at every relational and ministry event as an opportunity to enlist and equip

• God has placed you in your church all the potential you need for transforming people and leading them to spiritual maturity.  

Don’t miss these opportunities.  

While we enjoy the blessing of new Sunday school members who come to _______________ Church because of our wonderful choir and the preaching ministry of our pastor we must not become dependent upon their provision. A class that desire to be its best for God’s glory will look for prospects in many ways. There are prospects all around us, inside and outside the walls of the church. A class that desires to grow will not only acknowledge these prospects but also reach out to them aggressively. Sunday School growth is very much about making contacts, touching people who need a spiritual family. The more contacts a class makes the more people will be enrolled and the more attendance will increase.

The following is a list of places a class can look for prospects to invite into their class for ministry and spiritual growth:

• Class members can serve in the parking lot, or as greeters in order to have first contact with visitors and church members not enrolled in Sunday School.  
• Class members could serve as ushers or as alter counselors in order to increase their awareness to visitors, new members and members not enrolled in Sunday School.  
• Teachers can train their class members to be intentional in the worship service. If you see somebody you do not know, introduce yourself and invite them to come to your

  Sunday School class.  

• Often time visitors bring children to VBS or some other event but they only attend worship. Adult classes can partner with children, or preschool classes and visit the parents of the children who have come.  
• Teachers and Outreach Leaders may obtain a prospect list from me at any time. This list includes church members who are not enrolled in Sunday School, inactive church members enrolled in other classes, and/or other prospects who have visited the church.  
• FAITH Opinion Polls, conducted during the visitation time will be an outstanding source of prospects for your class. These touches will often times lead to the discovery of new people in the area or people who are looking for church that really cares enough to go looking for them.  
• Attending the numerous special events (VBS, Student Conference, Christmas Program, etc…) conducted each year through the church is a wonderful experience, but also attending them for the purpose of meeting prospects for your class is strategic.  
• Your own class role is a wonderful place to start looking for prospects. Every class is bound to have people enrolled that never attend Sunday School.  
• The members of your class know an abundance of prospects for your class. Their family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc… are excellent prospects for your class.  
• Our new member’s class is a great place to find out some more information about prospects.  
• Have your Sunday School class host a block party in your neighborhood to discover the prospects that are living right around you every day.  

Spontaneous encounters are the greatest opportunity for finding new prospects for your class. As you meet people try to evaluate their spiritual condition and church background. This may lead you directly to an evangelistic opportunity. If not, then consider inviting them to your class for fellowship and Bible study. Every person you meet is a prospect for your class, but you must be intentional!!

In Sunday School classes, wonderful, lasting relationships are formed and nurtured. Although this is a desired benefit of Sunday School classes, one adverse side effect can emerge. Classes can become so relationship focused that they lose focus on the mission; that is the Great Commission. To counter this potentially damaging mindset from forming, we will use the FAITH Sunday School Evangelism Strategy to help keep us focused on the mission.

What is the FAITH Sunday School Evangelism Strategy?

The goal of FAITH training is to encourage people to reach out to lost souls with the message of salvation through Jesus Christ. Sunday School represents the strongest unity of lay people in a church. It is time to mobilize these people for an eternal purpose. FAITH places these people in visitation groups with others from their Sunday School classes. These teams consist of three people, a team leader, and two team learners, and asks them to make weekly visits for evangelism and ministry.

The FAITH gospel presentation is a brief presentation which uses simple terminology and concepts that allows the lost to understand how to receive heaven and eternal life. Winning souls is a wonderful thing. We are also called to minister to these people, move beyond the regular to the exceptional, join God in His mission of reaching out to lost and hurting souls with His good news of salvation in Christ, and help every person begin a lifelong journey of faith. You will want to organize your class to participate in the FAITH strategy. The best way to do this, of course, is to lead by example. You will want to be trained as a FAITH learner, and then become a FAITH leader. Your class Outreach Leader should be given the responsibility and opportunity to motivate your class to form FAITH teams and follow your example. FAITH training classes for leaders and learners and Sunday School visitation will be held on one specific evening of each week. This is so that the class members and leaders can commit to a specific time and place to be trained and participate in evangelism.

Welcoming visitors is an aspect of a class’ Sunday morning experience that must be planned and prepared for. It doesn’t happen automatically, and the longer classes stay together, the less inviting they tend to do. Classes often times give the perception of being “cliquish” and closed to outsiders. The antidote to this is intentional planning on the part of the leadership team to welcome visitors. Ultimately, the goal of welcoming visitors is assimilating them into your class by enrolling them as members. This is usually much easier to accomplish than people think. Here are a few things to keep in mind to help your class be open and receptive to welcoming visitors and enrolling them in your Sunday School class.

How’s Your Welcome?

1.  Guess whose coming through your Sunday School class door? 

• Prospects!  

 ) Relatives, friends, new people in town, or local resident old-timers  

• Out-of-town visitors on business or vacation    ) Chronic absentees, faithful members   2.  Whose saying “Hello” when they come? 
• Enlist greeters for the outside door and for inside the room. Put your best person with a sincere smile and a warm handshake at the main entrance to your classroom!  
• Enlist on time people.  
• Teacher, be in your class 10-15 minutes early! Prepare yourself and your classroom before the first person arrives.  
• Think about what needs to be done before you arrive. Have the supplies needed for registration and/or enrollment of visitors. Look sharp. Be positive! Be happy! Be enthusiastic!  
• Turn on a tape player and play some uplifting Christian music. Music sets the tone for the entire event!  

3.  Smile and register your visitors! 

• Welcome the visitors  
  • First, at the door  
  • Second, take the visitor where people are gathered and introduce him/her to those present or seated close by  
• Register the visitors
  • Make sure a visitor’s registration card has been filled out accurately.  
• Tag the visitors
  • Use name tags.  The sweetest sound to a person’s ear is his own NAME!!  
• Inform the visitors
  • Visitor packets should contain information about general church activities.  

 ) Introduce the visitors  

• Introduce the visitor to as many people as possible before the class begins, especially the teacher, outreach leader, and care group leader. Introduce them to as many people as possible because it usually takes seven contacts before a person starts to feel comfortable.  
  • During the class period the outreach leader can introduce the visitor to the class. Using different people gives variety.  
  • When class is over someone should escort the visitor to the Sanctuary. This person should sit with him/her and share their Bible with the visitor (if necessary) or assist him/her in locating the Scripture Verses (if necessary).  
• Enroll the visitors
  • All you have to do to enroll new members in your Sunday School class is ASK! The majority will say “yes”.    5. Real test of a friendly Sunday School Class. 
• Take the visitor to the worship service or assign someone to sit with him/her.  
• The teacher & outreach leader should be at the classroom door as the visitors/members leave.  

6.  After Sunday School. 

• Your follow up on every visitor is important (imperative!!!!).  Call on Sunday afternoon!  
• Write.  On Monday mail a card or letter to every visitor.  Keep it brief and personal!  
• Visit. Assign someone from your class to visit them during the Monday night visitation time. A follow up visit must be made before the next Sunday!  

Blessed is the class that realizes that reaching more souls is a divine imperative, for it shall find great satisfaction for those who know not Christ. 

Blessed is the class that keeps its activities geared to prospects visitation, for it shall grow and prosper gloriously. 

Blessed is the class whose group leaders contact their absentees weekly, for its love and concern invariably will produce growth. 

Blessed is the class that continues to visit lovingly and persistently those who show no interest in Bible study, for it shall eventually reach those persons. 

Blessed is the class that realizes that its outreach must be spiritually motivated, for it shall not be burdened with spurious devices for enlistment. 

Blessed is the class whose fellowship is based on Bible study and soul winning. 

Blessed is the class that refuses to be drawn into the quantity vs. quality controversy, for it shall achieve both by keeping the unreached in its heart. 

Blessed is the class that is dedicated to enlisting the lost, for it shall win souls, produce leaders and earn the “well done” of both Lord and the church. 

Starting new classes requires an understanding and acceptance of our overall Sunday School Philosophy. It is imperative that all teachers intentionally lead their classes to set specific goals and make concrete plans to start a new class every 18 to 24 months. The plan should be formulated and communicated soon after each new class start so that the class knows what it is working toward. Following is a guide to intentionally lead the class to plan its next new start.

Current Class

Teacher: _______________________________________

Enrollment goal: _________________________________

Attendance goal: _________________________________

Leadership team goal: _____________________________

Visitation team goal: ______________________________

New Class

New Teacher: ___________________________________

New class start date: ______________________________

New class start location: ___________________________

New class target age group: ________________________

New leader goal: _________________________________

New class enrollment goal: _________________________

New class attendance goal: _________________________

Maintains Christian environment 1 2 3 4 Integration of biblical principles 1 2 3 4 Integrates life application  1 2 3 4

Teacher mannerisms:                                                                                                                               

                 Voice                                                                                            1            2          3        4

                Movement                                                                                    1            2          3        4

                Gestures                                                                                       1            2          3        4

                Eye Contact                                                                 1            2          3        4

Teacher Comments: (Continue on back if necessary)

Teacher Signature _____________________             Observer Signature ___________________

How Can I Help You Conference Date ____________________

Teacher _____________________                              Date Observed _______________________

Checking Your Bible Teaching

Grade yourself as a teacher by circling beside each question the number which you feel is most accurate. Add up the total of the circled numbers. A score of 85 or above would be an excellent score and 40 or below would be a score that needs improvement. In between would range from fair (41-60) to good (61-84).