In large adult Sunday School classes where there are many attenders (25+), it is essential to organize the classes with as many places for people to serve as possible. That is an important assimilation principle. In smaller classes, however, a system that works well in large classes can be overwhelming. It can be difficult to enlist enough people to fill all of the places of service.
One alternative that works well in all size classes is utilizing teams. In a small class of six people, you can still have three teams of two people on each team–perhaps a reaching team, a teaching team, and a caring team. In a large class with thirty attenders, three teams many not be enough since ten attenders (and twenty enrolled) may be too many on each team. But moving toward five teams could work–perhaps a team for each purpose of the church: evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship.
But in medium classes with 15-25 in attendance, I want to recommend a simple, two-part system. For a quick overview, check out Balancing First Impression and Connection in Sunday School. The two parts are class greeters and care group leaders. Here’s how Part 1 works. Each class should have at least two class greeters (in case one cannot be there and in case you have more than one guest). Four would be even better with two serving one month and the other two the next month. Don’t rotate greeters weekly. Irregular service is too confusing and results in less knowledge of who is absent.
Class greeters welcome and register guests. They sit with guests during Sunday School and introduce them to members. After Sunday School they walk the guests to find their children, restrooms, and the sanctuary. During worship, they sit with the guests and introduce them to those around them. This additional time beyond the class session extends the relationship beyond Sunday School. At the end of worship, class greeters thank guests for attending, ask if they had any questions, and walk them to find preschoolers and the parking lot.
Then in 48-72 hours, greeters call guests. By phone, class greeters let guests know how much they enjoyed having them in class and worship, invite them to a class fellowship, share and ask for prayer requests, and pray together. After the call, greeters pass the baton (contact information and responsibility to continue care) to class care group leaders.
In Part 2, we will look at the second part of this two part system recommended for a medium class. And in Part 3, I will also quickly suggest a way to adjust the two-part system so it works slightly more simply in a small class (under 15). In the meantime, what are you doing to involve your class members, connect with your guests, and make sure your class ministry gets done? Enlist, train, and deploy class greeters immediately. Touch every life. Be revolutionary!
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