Our mission as churches has been set by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We don’t have to ask if the Lord wants us to make disciples of all nations. We don’t have to ask if He wants us to share the gospel and lead people to faith in Jesus and to obedience in baptism. We don’t have to ask if the Lord wants us to teach believers to obey His commands. Our Lord’s Great Commission to His body, the Church, is clear (Matthew 28:19-20). Sunday School has a key part to play in that mission.
Our vision, however, is as unique as the individual church body and community. The vision is the journey to accomplishing the mission. It is the picture of what it will look like when we step out boldly in faith claiming His promises, presence, and power. Spend time in prayer seeking God’s leadership and direction. Seek to understand what and how He wants to work through you and your Sunday School.
Seek a God-sized vision. Avoid, at all costs, a man-sized, easily accomplished vision. Don’t rush in discerning the vision. Don’t rush in sharing it. Paint it for your Sunday School teachers and leaders. Help them to see it before they pursue it. Even more importantly, help them to pursue God and His will.
How BIG is your vision for your Sunday School? What are you expecting to happen as a result of Sunday School? How would you like God to move in your classes? What do you want to happen in the lives of attenders as a result of Sunday School? What do you want your people to become? What do you want them to do? Where do you want them to go?
Who do you want them to touch, to influence? Who do you want to reach? What will you have to do if you reach needy, hurting people? What if they are not clean? What if they don’t have nice clothes? What if they have earrings and piercings? What if their language is interspersed with profanity? What if they smell of alcohol? What if they have been abused? What if …
What will you need to do if you reach more people? What leaders will you need to train and release? What classes need to be started? What would you do if all of your Sunday School attenders were taught and believed that they need to serve in the Kingdom? How would you use them to influence your community? How would your community be influenced? What if your mayor and local officials came to you seeking your help or support before making decisions? What if preachers and missionaries were being trained and sent out?
What if your Sunday School attenders really sought to be more like Jesus? What if they went to Sunday School to learn how to study God’s Word better? What if they sought to pray better? What if they wanted to grow in the spiritual disciplines? What if they learned about God and His Word? What if they came seeking an encounter in Bible study with God?
How BIG is your vision for Sunday School? I pray that we pursue Him and what He desires to do through us. I pray that our vision is God-sized. I pray for God’s hand to be upon us. I pray that our pursuit of His mission cause people to say about us, like they did of Jesus, that we “increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man.” Be revolutionary!
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