Contact every person…every week! Really! In Transformational Class, David Francis writes, “I’m often asked, ‘Did you mean contact every absentee every week?’ No I mean contact every member every week! We’re not contacting them to get them to attend; we’re contacting them to let them know we care, to learn of needs that may require prayer or care, and to share opportunities for them to participate in praying and caring for others in the group or class.’”
A conference leader once shared the Bill of Rights for Sunday School members:
Every member has a right to:
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- To be called by NAME.
- To be missed when absent.
- To be encouraged when faithful.
- To be admonished to grow in Christ likeness.
- To be ministered to in time of crisis.
- To be prayed for regularly.
One of the research findings from Transformational Church was that the churches studied were intentional about relationships. Transformational Churches have a desire to move from being friendly to being relational. Attendees and members and guests are encouraged to belong to a class or group. Why? This is so that people would know them by name, miss them when absent, encourage them when faithful, admonish them to grow in their faith, be ministered to in a time of crisis, and be prayed for regularly. These were not just rights…they were essential actions. Actions that could all be accomplished with one simple idea: Contact Every Persons Every Week.
For many years, I taught a Sunday School class, but during the last few years, the opportunities to preach in various churches made it impossible to continue teaching a class. Since I was traveling, my wife began searching for a new Sunday School class. After several months, she stopped attending a one class to attend another class with a friend. In the weeks following, she was not contacted by the old class to determine if she was sick or mad. She was never called to see what’s was going on. In other words, no one missed her. She has never returned to that class…why would she? This class needed a process to contact every person every week.
Through the years, I have seen lots of systems to ensure that every member and every prospect is contacted every week. Being a Saturday Night Caller was one of my favorites. Neal Jackson used to advocate that every teacher should be a Saturday night caller. The goal was to simply call every member every Saturday night. I practiced this as a Minister of Education and would contact every teacher every Saturday and as a teacher, I made it a practice to contact every member, every Saturday. It works.
A preferred way is to organize every adult (and youth) Sunday School Class into care groups of 5-7. Ideally, the care groups are divided by gender. Each care group would have a Care Group Leader. What’s the job of a Care Group leader: Contact every member of their group every week.
The bottomline is Transformational Classes value Relational Intentionality. Do you have a strategy to contact every person, every week?
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Mark Miller is the Sunday School Director for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. You can also read Mark’s personal blog at http://drmarkmiller.wordpress.com.
I like the idea of calling with such frequency and consistency. But what exactly do you do with these conversations for all those who were not absent. Need a little guidance here. *
Jay, Marie Clark, the State Sunday School Director for Kansas/Nebraska, share some great ideas. This is an article that she published and is available on http://www.sundayschooldirector.com.
Idea a Month for Care Leaders
Contributed by Marie Clark, Bible Study & Discipleship Team Leader
Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists, Topeka, Kansas
mariec@kcbaptist.org
•SEPTEMBER – Ask the person being called to pray during the month for a specific prayer request.
•OCTOBER – Give a report on the outcome of last month’s prayer request and thank them for praying! Ask them to help with children’s carnival (Example: donate candy, food, etc.’ sign up to help run a booth; pray for families who attend.)
•NOVEMBER – Take a Thanksgiving survey: “One thing you are thankful for.” Invite them to Bible study and worship during this Thanksgiving season and to bring a Christmas gift for the needy. Then compile the results and share in class; mail postcard with results to those not present.
•DECEMBER – Invite to the class Christmas party and other special Christmas events at our church.
•JANUARY – Call to invite to an “After-the-Holidays” fellowship; don’t forget to ask them to bring something. People want to feel like they belong!
•FEBRUARY – During “Super Bowl Month” ask members/guests to bring canned soups to Bible study to be donated to a local food pantry.
•MARCH – Class is preparing a Wednesday night dinner in March; ask for help and/or encourage them to make reservations.
•APRIL – Invite to Easter Cantata and ask them to bring kids/grandchildren and/or friends to Easter Egg Hunt the Saturday before.
•MAY – Share some good news from our church (Celebrate a decision for Christ, a special event, a missions offering, or a ministry project).
•JUNE – Encourage members to work in Vacation Bible School or members and prospects to attend the Adult Vacation Bible School group.
•JULY – Take a freedom survey: “What one freedom are you especially thankful for?” Compile the results and share in class; mail postcard with results to those not present.
•AUGUST – Share the Bible study topic for the month, “What on Earth Are You Doing for Heaven’s Sake?” and how it could apply. EX: “No matter how young or old we are, we like to know that our life is making a difference. But how? What can we do? Hope you will join us for four important Bible studies this month.”
NOW MAKE A CONTACT CALENDAR TO FIT YOUR CHURCH FOR THE COMING YEAR!
Mark,
This works! I did this with a Paper class and the class grew. Calling and caring works!