Sunday School is not an event. It is not simply a Bible study that happens on Sunday morning. Rather it is an important strategy to help the church to accomplish the Great Commission to “make disciples of all nations.” A strategy is a plan. Without a plan and evaluation of progress, even events fail.
How do you evaluate your Sunday School efforts? What questions do you ask? What do you measure? How do you know if you are making progress?
Allow me to share a simple visual evaluation tool. It is the picture for this post. I am calling it the Sunday School Spiral. It is different from the Growth Spiral even though it has a similar intention.
Key Spiral Questions
Here are a few questions to ask using the visual Sunday School Spiral:
- Reach and Enroll New People. How are we doing at connecting with, caring for, and inviting new people? Does every class have a prospect list with names and contact information equal to the number attending the class? Are contacts being assigned and reported weekly? Are efforts made to follow up every guest with care? Do you regularly ask guests to enroll? Are new classes started annually?
- Teach for Life-Change. Are efforts made to involve every attender in the lesson? Are teachers trained annually? Do teachers arrive weekly prepared and early? Are participants encouraged to prepare? Are attenders challenged to apply the lesson and to live obediently in response to the truth of the lesson?
- Involve and Keep Members. Do members know each other well? What system is in place to contact faithful members and absentees regularly for prayer and care? How does the class respond when a member has a need? In what ways are deepening relationships being encouraged? How often are fellowships and projects planned? How are members involved in planning and serving in the class?
Balance
If any of these three parts of the Spiral are not functioning well, it is like a tire that is out of balance. It causes every other part to function poorly. When we don’t reach and enroll new people, classes cannot grow. Eventually losses (death, transfers, etc.) will empty the classes. If teaching is poor, no one comes. If we don’t involve and keep members, they won’t grow or be fulfilled, and attendance will decline.
Use the Spiral. Answer the questions honestly. Take steps to address your weakness this month. Share the vision. Lead. Focus on one of the three areas at a time. Enlisting help in each area is a huge step in the right direction. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!
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