You prayed and prepared. You met God in your own personal Bible study and put together a great lesson plan. Then you arrived early, ensured things were ready, greeted attenders, and began on time.
Your lesson led participants to encounter God in His Word and to recognize how the truth of the passage applies to life today. Attenders also understood ways to adjust themselves to God’s expectations. The next few minutes are critical as you finish the lesson, lead them to live it out, and prepare for next week’s lesson. The final 5-10 minutes matter as class ends.
As Class Ends
Commit and pray. Don’t stop with leading them to understand the need for adjustment to God’s expectations. Lead them to make a commitment to Him to obey. Have attenders to verbalize that commitment in prayer to God: silently, written, or out loud.
Preview and make assignments. Talk about what next week’s lesson is about and why it is important. Then make assignments either to prepare for next week’s lesson or to live out the truth of today’s lesson.
Thank guests. Without embarrassing guests, express your appreciation to those were part of class and encourage members to do so as well. Invite guests to return and to the next class fellowship or project.
Close in prayer. Focus the prayer in the direction of the lesson. Ask God to help you and class members live out the truth of today’s lesson.
End on time. Allow participants time for relationships and for transition to worship, restrooms, and children.
Giving attention to these five simple actions as class ends will add strength to the closing moments, encourage obedience, point toward next week, and encourage return guests. Make sure not to neglect these important moments as class ends. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
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