Sunday School Revolutionary: Eight Years in Review

When I began this blog in the spring of 2006, I never dreamed it would meet the needs of so many pastors, staff, Sunday School directors, teachers, and small group leaders. The truth be told, I had not thought about blogging. Then Brenda Smith offered an informational training event about blogging, and she encouraged several of us to consider launching a blog.

I have always enjoyed writing. When I served churches, I wrote many newsletter articles. When I worked on my Doctor of Education degree (2000-2003), an outlet for writing was provided. In fact, I have the dubious distinction of having the longest EdD dissertation in the history of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Even the title should have been a clue: An Analysis of the Impact of Learning Environment Factors on Retention and Attrition in Adult Sunday School Classes.

I remember going to Brenda after a few months and several blog posts to find out if there was a way to see if anyone was reading what had been written. Since the blog is not intended to be controversial, I was not getting many comments. When she told me the blog had gotten a few hundred hits, I was hooked. What was written was getting read. Since the launch of The Sunday School Revolutionary, over 1,140 posts have been written. The blog has had over 787,000 hits (pageviews) during that time.

This year marks eight years. When I began my anniversary review of the blog, I noticed that 91 blog posts had received over 1,000 hits (pageviews). Wow! The top post has also generated the most comments. Unique Names for Sunday School and for Sunday School Classes has had 68,123 hits and 95 comments. In my quick overview of those 91 posts, I noticed they fell in four broad categories: Sunday School growth, teaching, job/duties, and miscellaneous. Here are those posts categorized in that way (along with the hits):

GROWTH

• Set God-Sized Goals for Sunday School Growth (2,002) and Grow Your Sunday School: Set Goals This Year (1,383)
• Steps Toward a Sunday School Outreach Lifestyle (1,046) and 101 Ways for Sunday School to Be Evangelistic, Part 1 Prayer (1,030)
• Biblical Images from Starting New Classes/Groups (1,874); Five Types of Sunday School Classes You Can Start Next(1,406); What to Name a New Adult Sunday School Class?(3,522); and Nine Actions for Starting New Sunday School Classes, Part 1 (3,625)
• Grow Your Sunday School by Following Up VBS (1,929)
• 5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year (3,766); 5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year, Part 1 (2,823); and 5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year, Part 2(1,221)
• Plan for Your Sunday School to Grow This Year, Part 1(1,582)
• Invitation to Sunday School (2,903); Favorite Post: Invitation to Sunday School (1,060); and Christmas Invitation to Sunday School (1,549)
• Top Ten Actions to Increase Sunday School Attendance(9,823) and Five Essentials of Sunday School Growth (1,411)
• Revolutionary Sunday School Invitations (Postcards) (5,507) and Sunday School Invitations (Postcards), Updated (2,960)
• Sunday School Testimony: Powerful Revolutionary Tool(1,098)
• What Is the Key to Unlock Sunday School Growth? (1,254)
• Increasing Interest and Attendance in Sunday School, Part 1(1,008); Three Simple Actions to Increase Sunday School Attendance (2,340); and Three Simple Strategies to Increase Sunday School Attendance, Part 3 (4,732)
• Incentives to Increase Sunday School Enrollment (1,657)
• Steps to Start a Sunday School, Part 1 (1,689)
• Increasing Sunday School Class Attendance, Part 1 (1,505) and How Can I Grow My Sunday School Class Numerically?(1,238)
• The 3-5-10 Formula for Sunday School Growth (1,007)

TEACHING

• Adult Sunday School Teacher Evaluation, Part 1 (1,875) and Adult Sunday School Teacher Evaluation, Part 2 (1,178)
• Setting up an Effective Sunday School Class Timetable(2,009)
• Sunday School Lesson Planning Tips (1,009) and Writing Your Own Sunday School Lesson (1,475)
• Wisely Choosing Sunday School Teaching Methods, Part 1(2,758) and Learning Styles in Adult Sunday School (1,417)
• Learning Styles in Adult Sunday School (1,521)
• Nine Reasons to Use Icebreakers in Sunday School/Small Groups (3,429); Five Suggestions for Using Icebreakers Well in Sunday School/Small Groups (1,126); and Using Icebreakers Purposefully in Sunday School/Small Groups(1,874)
• Evaluation of a Good Sunday School Lesson, Part 1 (1,027) and Sunday School Teacher Self-Evaluation (1,334)
• Could R.O.P.E.S. Improve Sunday School? (1,222) and Presenting a Creative Sunday School Lesson (2,667)

JOB/DUTIES

• Top Priorities of a New Sunday School Director (1,603) and Where Can a New Sunday School Director Turn for Help?(1,220)
• Characteristics of a Good Sunday School Teacher, Part 1(5,226); Characteristics of a Good Sunday School Teacher, Part 3 (2,113); and Sunday School Teacher Qualities (4,511)
• Qualifications of a Sunday School Teacher, Part 1 (3,522) and Qualifications of a Sunday School Teacher, Part 2(3,755)
• Reasons to Teach Sunday School (1,534) and Job Description: Sunday School Teacher (1,697)

MISCELLANEOUS

• Planning Sunday School Fellowship Activities (1,741); Sunday School Fellowship: More Than Food and Fun (1,210)
• Creative Ways to Train Sunday School Teachers (5,710); Free Training Materials for Sunday School Teachers (17,799); Updated: Free Training Materials for Sunday School Teachers (1,222); Training Sunday School Teachers for Change (1,763); and Grow Your Sunday School by Teacher/Worker Training (1,383)
• Benefits of High Attendance Sunday (2,356); Sunday School Growth Contest or Campaign? (2,204); March Madness Sunday School Contest (1,221); and Simple Steps for a Successful High Attendance Day (1,467)
• Evaluate the Past Year before You Set New Sunday School Goals (1,502); Sunday School Effectiveness Begins with Prayer and Evaluation (2,158); and S.W.O.T. Your Sunday School Work (1,633)
• Sunday School Leader Appreciation Is a Must! (2.342); Plan Your Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day (6,457); Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Month: Is It May or October? (2,652); Offer a Gift of Encouragement to Your Sunday School Teachers and Workers (1,377); Favorite Post: Plan Your Sunday School Teacher Appreciation Day (9,850); and Expressing Appreciation for Sunday School Teachers/Workers (1,576)
• 25 Ways to Recognize Sunday School Workers, Part 1(1,453); 25 Ways to Recognize Sunday School Workers, Part 2 (1,820); and 25 Ways to Recognize Sunday School Workers, Part 3 (1,080)
• Improve Sunday School Through Evaluation (8,043); Annual Sunday School Progress Report (1,787)
• Plan an Exciting Launch to the New Sunday School Year(1,920) and Sunday School New Year’s Resolutions (3,732)
• Promotional Tools for Sunday School: Don’t Keep It to Yourself! (7,226)
• Sunday School Growth Spiral (2,019)
• How Do I Develop a Sunday School Budget? (1,062)
• How Should an Adult Class Be Organized? (1,796)
• How to Sunday School Manual by Wayne Poling (1,007)
• Mission Project Ideas for Taking Sunday School Ministry Beyond the Walls (1,670)
• Statistics about the Sunday School and Worship Attendance Gap (1,129)