Having a Growing and Vibrant Sunday School

We all envision and desire a great Sunday School in our church.  We want to see people saved, lives changed, and our Lord to be given His rightful due in our lives.  But desire and realization don’t always meet up when it comes to our dreams.  So how do we ‘make it happen’ as we say in today’s lingo?  We tend to analyze and complicate the process when in fact Jesus made it very simple for His Church.  The first Sunday School wasn’t started until the 1700’s in England, but the principles are dominate in God’s Word.  Let me give you four basics for having a growing and vibrant Sunday School in the 21^st century.

1.     We understand that the Mission is to Make Disciples.

Do we remember the Great Commission of Christ to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8)?  Do we remember that He called us to go and compel them to come in that His house would be full (Luke 14:23)?  When we get a mindset of ‘us four and no more’ we miss His calling on our lives.  More than that, others are deprived of an opportunity to know Christ.  To use a quote from the Lorax movie, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get better. It's not.”

2.     We need to develop a Ministry Mindset

In the wording of today it’s called building community.  Ecclesiastes 4:12 says, “a three fold cord is not easily broken”.  Sometimes we say it as “there’s strength in numbers”.  However we phrase it, we all know that we need each other in this world.  Let’s make sure our classes are open and inviting to each and every guest we have.  Let’s keep our eyes open for opportunities to minister to those within the class and those without.

3.     We share the Message of Christ

I remember a survey done a couple of years ago in preparation for the GPS emphasis of the North American Mission Board.  People were questioned as to what they were looking for in life and the top four answers were these:  Hope, Purpose, Peace, and Life.  Our Bible Study should always seek to uplift Christ and His message, because His message is one of Hope, Purpose, Peace, and Life.

4.     We understand we are to Multiply Ourselves

We are not just to teach His truth, but to teach and train others to teach His truth (2 Timothy 2:2).  Our classes should always be striving to apprentice new teachers, to create new classes, and to multiply ourselves by mentoring and discipling others.  If our Classes don’t have a kingdom vision they will become inward focused and self-centered.

Jesus took twelve men and changed the world.  What can He do with us if we let Him?