Adding a high attendance Sunday to your Sunday School plans can be an effective way to accomplish many things. It can help you make contact with absentees, reach out to prospects, generate excitement about Sunday School, and so much more. See Benefits of High Attendance Sunday for more ideas. Here is a schedule of simple steps for a successful high attendance day:
Prior to Sunday 1 (4-6 weeks before the day):
- Print all HAS (high attendance Sunday) materials a month before your preparation meeting: HAS schedule, posters, attendance commitment cards, friend attendance commitment cards, and reminder postcards
- Announce a teacher/worker preparation meeting at least one week in advance of preparation month
- Preparation meeting agenda:
- take note of teachers/classes who are not present so you can communicate details with them one on one
- thank teachers/workers for the difference they make through Sunday School and for their attendance at the meeting
- explain the benefits of a HAS; see the following blog post for help: Benefits of High Attendance Sunday
- explain the schedule, details, and expectations
- give them the posters, attendance commitment cards, friend attendance commitment cards, and reminder postcards
- answer all questions; pray in small groups for the day
Sunday 1 (three Sundays before the day):
- Place a reminder of all expectations for today in each classroom
- Individual classes set God-sized class attendance goals for HAS
- Each class hangs the HAS poster in the classroom, adding the class goal and HAS date
- Pray for HAS along with class members and guests who will attend
- Ask all attenders (including guests who are present) to sign attendance commitment cards (check with parents of children)
- Count the number of signed commitment cards; color in the circle on the poster representing the number of signed commitment cards (as progress toward the goal)
- Divide the names and phone numbers of the persons not present among the class attenders to call during the following week
- Announce the HAS from the pulpit; place details of the HAS in the bulletin
Sunday 2 (two Sundays before the day):
- Place a reminder of all expectations for today in each classroom
- Call attention to the class HAS poster, goal, and commitments-to-date and pray for HAS and class members and guests who will attend
- Ask all previously-uncommitted attenders (including guests who are present) to sign attendance commitment cards (check with parents of children)
- Count the number of signed commitment cards; color in the circle on the poster representing the number of signed commitment cards (as progress toward the goal)
- Each class announces the details of a fellowship (youth and adult classes) scheduled for the Friday or Saturday before HAS
- At the end of class, pass out friend attendance commitment cards; ask all attenders to invite friends during the next two weeks and return the signed cards of all friends who agree to attend
- At the end of class, pass out reminder postcards with absentee names and addresses; ask attenders to write a short note to absentees inviting them to HAS; mail cards on Monday
- Remind about the HAS from the pulpit; place details of the HAS in the bulletin; pastor/staff announce friends they have invited who have agreed to attend
Sunday 3 (one Sunday before the day):
- Place a reminder of all expectations for today in each classroom
- Call attention to the class High Attendance Sunday poster, goal, and commitments-to-date and pr ay for HAS and class members and guests who will attend
- Ask all previously-uncommitted attenders (including guests who are present) to sign attendanc e commitment cards (check with parents of children)
- Count the number of signed commitment cards; color in the circle o n the poster representing the number of signed commitment cards (as progress toward the goal)
- Each class reminds attenders about the details of the fellowship (youth and adult classes) scheduled for the Friday or Saturday
- At the end of class, again pass out friend attendance commitment cards; ask all attenders to invite friends to the class fellowship and HAS during the week
- Divide the class roll and prospect list among members; develop a plan for every member and prospect to receive a reminder call on Friday or Saturday about HAS
- Announce the greeters who will be for next Sunday
- Remind about the HAS from the pulpit; place details of the HAS in the bulletin; couple of teachers announce friends they have invited who have agreed to attend; share a quick Sunday School testimony and invite worship attenders to attend Sunday School next week (for Sunday School testimony ideas, check out the following blog post: Sunday School Testimony: Powerful Revolutionary Tool)
- On Monday, the pastor writes and mails a letter to all Sunday School and church members and prospects inviting them to join him in Sunday School for HAS
- On Monday, purchase enough name tags for all classes to use on HAS
- On Thursday, teachers call those responsible for calling every member and prospect
High Attendance Sunday:
- Place a reminder of all expectations for today in each classroom
- Arrive early to prepare the room and pray for the day
- Have class greeters in place to welcome members and guests; help all attenders use name tags for the day; make sure all attenders are counted, even late-arrivers
- Get good registration information from all guests; invite guests to enroll in the class; call guests by name
- Celebrate what God has done both in class and worship (that day or next Sunday if worship is before the final Sunday School session); affirm the work of the classes which resulted in increased attendance and guests (avoid making guests feel like a number)
- Follow up within 72 hours and on an ongoing basis with every guest
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