Grow Your Sunday School: Part 1, Preparing Your Class to Invite New People

Rodney Pry has written a great article entitled, Inviting New Members to Your Sunday School Class. In the article, he suggests that class growth should begin with self-evaluation. In other words, ask yourself if the class ready to grow.  He said that “wanting to grow and being ready to grow are two different things.”

In the article, Rodney lists four great questions (marked with ***) to consider. I have added four additional questions for each of his to expand your evaluation. Rate your class for each question on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 meaning you are doing a great job.  Then add the points for all twenty questions together to see how ready you are to grow. Before you invite people to your class, consider these questions:

1. ***Is the class open to new [people]?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
2. Are members so involved with each other that they invest no time in guests?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
3. Are they glad to see new faces?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
4. Do they want new people to come to class?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
5. Do they invite new people?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
6. ***Are class members truly willing to welcome new [people]?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
7. Do they give guests their full attention?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
8. Do they listen intently to guests?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
9. Are they genuinely friendly?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
10. Do they try to discover and use the names of guests and new members?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
11. ***Is the class teacher doing everything possible to make each lesson as interesting and relevant to the lives of class members as possible?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
12. Is the teacher prepared every week?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
13. Does the teacher try hard to get everyone involved in the lesson?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
14. Does the teacher use multiple participatory teaching methods?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
15. Does every lesson contain efforts to help attenders apply the truth to their lives?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
16. ***Does the class have planned fellowship activities?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
17. Are new people regularly invited to participate in class fellowships?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
18. Does the class plan quarterly outreach/ministry/service projects in order for members and guests to get to know one another as they work together?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
19. Are fellowship moments before and after class used intentionally to connect with new people?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5
20. Do class members spend time getting to know new people during class fellowships?  SCALE   1   2   3   4   5

Now, total the points from all 20 questions. How did you do? If you scored 75 or more, you are ready to invite new people even though you may want to continue improving your efforts. If you scored 50-74, you will want to raise some issues with the class and be even more intentional when guests attend. If you scored below 50, you need prayerful preparation before inviting guests to your class.

In Part 2, Steps for Inviting New People, we will look at some additional suggestions offered by Rodney Pry in the same article referenced above. In the meantime, evaluate your class. Prayerfully make adjustments as needed. Invite. Be revolutionary!