How do you disciple people who don’t show up? How much can preaching, Sunday School, or small groups help new Christians and disciples grow when they are irregularly present? Commitment is a sign of maturing but is often missing today. In Why Church Members Are Attending Less Frequently, Thom Rainer lists…
In my previous post, Turn Sermons into Discipleship Experiences, I shared 11 actions you can take to grow as a disciple through worship, particularly sermons. In this post, I want to take the same approach and apply it to Sunday School lessons (or small group time). Consider these 14 simple…
I read an interesting article last week by Bob Allen called, “Can Sunday School be saved?” The title of the article caught my attention for two reasons. One, I have been greatly impacted by Godly Sunday School teachers who loved me and made a huge difference in my life and two, if…
You may have read this Barna study, but I think it is worth looking at again as we try to reverse the tide of the declining effectiveness of our churches on the culture. These six shifts should wake us up and cause us to think, plan, and lead in a…
This is the second of our five part series on making disciples. The most overlooked opportunity to enhance disciple making in a local church is through the Sunday School! For this to happen Sunday School teachers and leaders must see their role as not just “teaching the Bible” but “making…
Robert Raikes is known to be the father of the Sunday School movement. He believed that education was an effective tool to battle moral decline and determined to develop an experimental school to test his theory. Initially, he was legally barred from developing the school until England passed the Enabling…
In a recent post called Offer Multiple Connection Points, I discussed the important role that Sunday School and small groups play in connecting newcomers and new members to the church. I also recommended other ways to connect people since some will not become involved in Sunday School or small groups.…
In his1995 Broadman & Holman book, Giant Awakenings, Thom S. Rainer shared nine surprising trends he saw in the church world that could benefit the church. Let’s look at a couple of the trends here…. A movement towards prayer. Rainer believed that the trend towards prayer was the most important of…
Is a person who teaches a Bible study class on Sunday morning a Sunday School Teacher or a Disciple Maker? I believe they are both! I commend men and women who faithfully teach the Bible every week in our churches. After preparation during the busy week, they share information from…
Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.