Name ____________________________________ Date ________________________
Date of Salvation ___________________________ Date of Baptism________________
Were you baptized after you were saved? ____________
Were you baptized by immersion? __________
Believing that the privilege of guiding people in the Christian way of life is worthy of my best, I covenant as a worker in the Sunday School of ________________________ Church, that…
…I have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
…I feel called of God to serve Him through the Sunday School.
…I will order my conduct in keeping with the principles of the New Testament, and seek the help of the Holy Spirit that I may be faithful and efficient in my work (Ephesians 4:1).
…I will be regular and punctual in attendance and, in case of unavoidable absence, give notice thereof as far in advance as possible (1 Corinthians 4:2).
…I will make thorough preparation for the lesson each week (2 Timothy 2:15).
…I will use the Bible with my group on Sunday mornings and help them understand it, use it, and love it (Psalm 119:16).
…I will contribute my tithe (at least 10% of my income) to my church’s budget (Malachi 3:10).
…I will attend the regular planning meetings (Luke 14:28-30).
…I will visit prospects frequently and make a special effort to contact absentees each week
(Acts 2:46).
…I will participate in the church’s training and growing opportunities (Proverbs 15:28a)
…I will cooperate wholeheartedly in the plans and activities of the church and Sunday School (1 Corinthians 3:9).
…I will be loyal to the church by supporting my pastor and church staff and by attending Sunday morning & evening worship services and Wednesday evening activities (Hebrews 10:25).
…I will make witnessing a major endeavor and part of my daily life-style and I will participate in the church’s outreach ministry (Proverbs 11:30).
…I will pray regularly for the church, the Sunday School, the officers and teachers, and for the pupils and the homes from which they come (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
…I will completely refrain from the use of all alcoholic beverages (Proverbs 20:1, 23:29-35; Romans 14:14-23; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Timothy 3:3).
…I have read and agree with the church’s Sunday School Philosophy and will lead my class according to it.
We have one hour each week for Sunday School. We want this time to be used wisely and to be used to fulfill the three purposes of Sunday School. The following usage of our class time will keep us on track to be a purpose driven Sunday School that has an intentional plan to accomplish an intentional purpose!
r 10 Minutes: Fellowship Time
Tips For Using Scheduled Class Time
Using Outreach Time (5 Minutes)
Pray for the class outreach leader
| Touch Group | Ministry Group | Core Group |
| Attends 0-6 Times/Year | Attends 7-23 Times/Year | Attends 24+ Times/Year |
| [Name] | [Name] | [Name] |
| Touch Group | Ministry Group | Core Group |
| These people are presently not | If you want to see immediate | This is the group from which |
| active and involved in your | results in your attendance, | you should be developing |
| Sunday School Class; | then this is the group to | leaders to minister to the other |
| however, when (not if) a | expend your time, energy and | two groups. By the time |
| tragedy occurs in their life, | money on. As you continually | people reach this group they |
| they will be more receptive to | minister to them, you see them | are committed enough to |
| the ministry of the class. We | going from attending 15 times | church to want to become |
| must, therefore, continue to | a year to 20 times a year. | involved. It is here you need |
| reach out to them so that we | Eventually, they move over | to help them fulfill their desire |
| “earn a hearing” when tragedy | into the Core Group. Best | for meaningful service, or you |
| comes. But do not consume a | means of contacting them is | will see at best their |
| lot of time, energy, and money | by personal visit or phone. | enthusiasm dampen, or at |
| here until a crisis occurs. Best | worst, they will leave | |
| means of contacting them is by phone or card. | altogether. |
Sunday School is more than an educational institution; it is a reaching, caring, ministering organization as well. Of the three tasks of Sunday School only one has to do with education. If only one third of our tasks are educationally oriented, then we need to develop a new mentality toward the work and ministry of the Sunday School. Education is definitely part of what we do and we will always continue to put the highest emphasis on the teaching of God’s Word; however, I want you to realize that education is not all that we do! We have to have a mentality and a vision that moves us to reach people. The Sunday School is better equipped to reach people than any other organization in the church. Once God allows us to reach people we must also have a mentality and a vision to minister to people as well. A Sunday School class should be a person’s spiritual support group. If a person can’t get their needs met in Sunday School, than they probably will not get their needs met anywhere else in church. So, we must see Sunday School as something more than a one-hour a day, one-day a week happening. Sunday School is the church organized to carry out the Great Commission!
Minister of Education – Gives oversight to the Sunday School ministry Division
Directors – Guides the ministry efforts of a specific age division Teachers/Ministers
– Teach God’s Word and serve as the leader for the class Outreach
Leaders/Evangelists – Lead the class in reaching the lost and un-churched Care Group Leaders/Shepherds – Care for and pastor the people in their class
The Sunday School must be structured to carry out the tasks of the Sunday School. If the Sunday School vision statement is to evangelize the lost and disciple the saved, then the Sunday School needs to be structured in a way which makes that possible. As mentioned in the Sunday School Vision statement, the number one task of the Sunday School is to reach the lost; however, there are two other tasks that are equally important. We should focus on these three tasks, commit them to memory, and communicate them regularly. The three tasks of the Sunday School are:
The three tasks of the Sunday School must be aligned with a leader who will be responsible for that task. This is why we need the Teachers/Ministers, Outreach Leaders/Evangelists, and Care Group Leaders/Shepherds. The responsibilities and purpose of each role is as follows:
¾ Responsibilities
¾ Title
Traditionally this role has been called “Sunday School Teacher”. The idea behind the name change is to emphasize the philosophy behind the responsibilities. The philosophy is as follows: the class is a miniature congregation and thus the teacher/minister is a miniature pastor. The pastor must do certain things for a church to grow; be active in evangelism, proclaim God’s Word, organize the church for growth, etc… Likewise, the teacher/minister must be involved in these same things for the Sunday School to grow.
The title “teacher” conveys the idea that, “I will show up on Sunday morning and teach.” The term “minister” conveys the idea that, “My responsibilities are more than just Sunday morning; my responsibilities are more than just a once-a-week job.” This title also emphasizes the shepherding ministry of Sunday School, while not forsaking the teaching ministry.
¾ Responsibilities
¾ Title
This name emphasizes the philosophy behind outreach – to see lost people come to know Christ. All of our ministry must have soul-winning at its heart. Evangelist is a Biblical name, whereas outreach is not even found in the Bible.
¾ Responsibilities
) Title
This title emphasizes the caring or shepherding aspect that must be extended to each and every member. The Care Group Leaders/Shepherds handle the pastoral care duties in their class
Conclusion
Every Sunday School class will have a ministry team consisting of a Teacher/Minister, an
Outreach Leader/Evangelist, Care Group Leaders/Shepherds, and a Secretary, who will be responsible for overseeing the class record keeping system. The Secretary, the Care Group
Leaders/Shepherds, and the Outreach Leader/Evangelist all report to the Teacher/Minister and the Teacher/Minister would be accountable to the Minister of Education, who is accountable to the Senior Pastor.
The Sunday School Vision Strategy answers the question how. Once we have a vision statement that establishes our purpose and our mission then we must have a strategy in order to make this vision a reality. The strategy is a step by step process to be sure we achieve our goal.
First Step
The key to reaching new people is new units. If the key to reaching new people is new units, then the key to birthing new units is new leaders. The Sunday School must always be in the process of developing new leadership within each class. In order for a new unit to survive two elements must be present; a genuine need and genuine leadership. However, new units based on need alone will eventually fizzle out and die. For a new unit to succeed strong leadership must be coupled with and precede the need.
Second Step
For the Sunday School to be able to continually reach the lost and to continually be able to minister to all the needs of the church, it must continually birth new units. New units are the only way to facilitate new people! New units will certainly grow faster then old ones, and new units mean new people, which mean new growth!
Third Step
One of the largest parts of Sunday School should be to train workers in evangelism. If the church is to carry out the Great Commission then the Sunday School needs to train its members how to be soul winners. The program best suited to help the Sunday School achieve this goal is
F.A.I.T.H., which is an evangelism strategy specifically for the Sunday School. F.A.I.T.H. helps the Sunday School to be what it is intended to be; the foundational strategy in a local church for leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for building Great Commission Christians through Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry and worship.
[Enter Sunday School Vision Statement]
To help lead my local church to fulfill the Great Commission by:
Every organization, no matter what it is, must have a vision which gives it purpose and focus.
The vision which you establish gives the much needed direction for the work of the organization. What are the purpose and the mission of the Sunday School? The priority of the Sunday School is to lead the church to become a New Testament church by fulfilling the twofold mission of the Great Commission. Sunday School is the foundational strategy in a local church for building Great Commission Christians through Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry and worship. The Sunday School is the only organization in the local body with the specific task of reaching people; therefore, it is critical that our main objective should be reaching the lost and un-churched. If the Sunday School does not reach the lost and un-churched people then the Sunday School and ultimately every other organization in the Church will regress. If the Sunday School does not reach people, then the whole Church will suffer.
Sunday School is the foundational strategy in a local church for leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for building Great Commission Christians through open Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, ministry, fellowship, and worship.
In other words, Sunday School is a strategy that guides people to come to know Jesus and then begin to deepen their lives in evangelism, discipleship, ministry, fellowship, and worship. The goal of the teaching that takes place during the Sunday School hour is to lead people to encounter the life-changing experience of knowing Jesus and learning what it means to follow Him! The Sunday school is an open group because it serves as an entry point into the church for unbelievers. An open group is primarily an evangelistic Bible study group or event comprised of unbelievers and believers. Bible study groups that are designed primarily to reach lost people are open groups and Bible study groups that are designed primarily for moving saved people toward spiritual maturity are closed groups. Sunday School as an open group is recommended as the best proven organizational framework for involving families and individuals in the evangelistic work of the church.
Duomo Sant'Andrea - "I Knew You'd Be A Girl! 