Is your Sunday School great? What if I could offer seven ways to measure your greatness? What if one of the ways helped you to know what you needed to address in order to take Sunday School to the next level? Leith Anderson wrote an article entitled, 7 Ways to Rate Your Church, that has great implications for Sunday School. I’d like to share his seven points as ways to rate your Sunday School.
-
SENSING THE PRESENCE OF GOD. When members and guests attend your Sunday School, do they sense the presence of God? Where two or three are gathered in His name, He is in their midst (Matthew 18:20). Can they sense your love of Him and your desire for His presence? When you open His Word, are attenders led to encounter Him in Bible study?
-
OTHERS-CENTERED. Can guests of your Sunday School tell you care about each other? Are some of your best friends in the world in your class? Can attenders tell you care about them and about people who are not members? Do they sense a loving environment that is attractive? Do they sense that you want to be friends with them?
-
UNDERSTANDABLE TERMINOLOGY. Does your Sunday School expect to have guests attend who may not understand church, Bible, and Christian terms? These terms include walk the aisle, blood of Jesus, salvation, Old and New Testament, WMU, Lottie Moon, and lots more. Do your teachers and classes take time to explain these terms to members and guests? Even long-term members often act like they understand terms when an explanation would help.
-
PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME. When guests attend your Sunday School, can they look around and see people who look like them? I remember my family visiting a church. My wife and I were taken to a class that was supposedly for our age. When we got there, everyone in the class was a decade older. We enjoyed the time of Bible study, but we were still looking around after class to see if there were any people our age, wearing clothes like ours, etc. Make sure your class age groups are honest.
-
HEALTHY PROBLEM HANDLING. Conflict and problems are common when more than one person gathers. The issue is not having problems; it is what you do about them. If you ignore them, do nothing about them, or overreact to them, that is not healthy. Members and guests won’t mind finding problems if you they know you will deal with them.
-
ACCESSIBILITY. Leith addresses more than handicapped accessibility. Is your Sunday School open? Can anyone attend and become a member? Do members, teachers, and leaders make themselves available to guests? Are guests encouraged to participate in class sessions, planning, and leadership? Are they invited to attend fellowships and to serve in projects?
-
SENSE OF EXPECTANCY. Is there a genuine sense that something is going to happen? Do attenders expect God’s presence and work in class and in their lives? Is there anticipation of God’s blessing? Do they believe Sunday School will make a difference in their lives? Are they expecting change?
Wow, how did your Sunday School rate? Which area needs attention? Where do you need to start? Don’t allow your Sunday School to be mediocre. Give God your best. He deserves your best. Be revolutionary for Him!
Leave a Reply