Sunday School Class: Will You Decide to Grow?

Over the years of serving churches and working with the 2,400 churches of the Kentucky Baptist Convention, I have occasionally heard Sunday School teachers tell me they don’t want their classes to grow. In other words, they decide not to grow. Usually the explanation is simply that they like things the way they are.

Decide

Here are some questions to counter that thinking:

• What if your current class had closed before accepting you?
• What other class will men or women your age attend if they cannot attend yours?
• What lost or unenrolled person do you know for whom you may be the best person to reach them?
• If Jesus wanted to attend your class, how would you respond? If Jesus sent someone to attend your class, how would you respond?

Fear and selfishness sometimes drive our church and Sunday School work. Being on mission with Jesus means we must be revolutionary. We must not just want change, we must decide the change. If we do not continually decide to grow as a class, we decide not to grow.

Decisions

Make a commitment as a class to make growth decisions. Pray together. Talk together. Teacher, lead the class to follow through on their commitments. If you don’t lead, class growth will likely stall and stop. Speak up. Challenge. Encourage. Remind.

What decisions will lead toward growth? Consider the following:

• PRAY. We will pray for people who need Jesus and should be part of our class.
• CARE. We will focus our attention and care on people who need Jesus and should be part of our class.
• INVITE. We will reach out to and invite people who need Jesus and should be part of our class.
• FELLOWSHIP. In making fellowship and project plans, we will include people who need Jesus and should be part of our class.
• GREETERS. We will enlist class greeters to welcome members and guests, register guests, and help guests have a good first impression.
• ENROLL. We will ask people who need Jesus and should be part of our class if we can add them to our class prayer, fellowship, and care list.
• OUTREACH LEADER. We will enlist a class outreach leader to help us carry out these actions so we can be deciding to grow.

What would you add to this list of continual deciding? Keep in mind that if you decide not to do even one, you are deciding not to grow. Make these commitments as a class. Then lead the class to stay true to the commitments. Make disciples. Decide to grow. Be revolutionary!