George Yates of SonC.A.R.E. Ministries has recently relocated to Kentucky. I have enjoyed getting to know George and his passion for the church and specifically for Sunday School. I have already had opportunity to utilize him in an associational Sunday School training event. And you will want to pick up his book, Teaching That Bears Fruit.
In a recent GROWING TIMES newsletter, George wrote an article entitled Attendance Records vs. a Head Count. That article set my mind to thinking about the issue of this blog post. Before you dismiss this post as irrelevant to your Sunday School, read further. Sometimes, attitudes are better reflections of realities in your Sunday School than practices. Allow me to give an example: just because attendance records are kept does not mean that those records mean anything or result in needed revolutionary response. In other words, the attitude may still only be “counting heads.”
Consider the following table comparing counting heads or keeping good records:
|
Counting Heads |
Keeping Good Records |
|
| Person Responsible | Sunday School Director or Secretary | Class Secretary; Care Group Leaders |
| Amount of Time | 15 seconds per class | 2 minutes for records; 5 minutes for care/reach plans |
| Records Available | Sunday School attendance totals | Class, member, prospect, and contact/care records |
| Assignment | None | Weekly contacts with absentees, members, and prospects |
| Follow Up | Casual; none planned | Weekly assignments and reports; records kept |
| Report Time | Worship or board of attendance total | Weekly report of contact results |
| Inreach Results | Absentees not contacted; attendance drops | Members and absentees contacted and needs met; attendance stable |
| Outreach Results | Uninvited guests occasionally attend or join | Prospects invited/welcome, attend, and join regularly; attendance grows |
Where do your classes and Sunday School fall? Are you more on the counting heads side or keeping good records side? What can you do to move your class or Sunday School toward mobilizing needed ministry in response to keeping good records? Pray. Keep good records. Reach out. Care. Be revolutionary!
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