“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” 2 Timothy 2:2
One of the first skills a good Sunday School teacher must develop in their own heart to be effective in growing a strong class is that of giving themselves away as they multiply themselves in the lives of those in their class. Good Sunday School teachers find ways to encourage, motivate, equip, inspire, and challenge their class to see how grow to reach others to reach others. This will mean consistent discipline and discipleship on the part of the teacher and the members of the class. There are several challenges to this process.
- Are we really trying to reach new members on a regular basis, or are we just satisfied with our class?
- Are we challenging each member to pray for and reach their friends?
- Are we building into the DNA of our class the reality of multiplication?
- Do we understand we are “Commissioned” to multiply?
- Do we welcome new members as we try to get them fully connected?
If we cannot affirmatively answer these challenges, then we are just looking to keep ourselves happy. We have either lost our Kingdom perspective or we are just satisfied with our own little kingdom. We may be like the little lady who very proudly stated to her pastor, “We do not have one unsaved member in our Sunday School class.” She was trying to say we have made sure they are all Christians, but in reality she was saying we are not consistently bringing new people into the class.
A mind-set for multiplication keeps us concentrated on building up and sending out. We want to develop and atmosphere where every member learns to reach friends, grow in the Lord, and disciple others to do the same.
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This post was written by Kiely Young who serves as Director of the Sunday School Department, Mississippi Baptist Convention.
Great words. Thanks for the reminder and encouragement. SS is an invaluable tool for the Great Commission.