In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20), Jesus sent out His disciples (missionaries) with these words, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (ESV).
Think about those words, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” He commanded us to make disciples of all nations. So this means that we are to win people to Jesus and then teach them to do what He commanded: “make disciples of all nations.”
Charles Spurgeon was a nineteenth century English pastor and popular preacher who was also instrumental in starting Sunday Schools and churches. In one of his early sermons back in 1873, Spurgeon said, “Every Christian here is either a missionary or an imposter.” Society is looking to see if we are imposters today. Let’s be His “sent ones,” His missionaries.
To get to that place, Sunday School classes should be training vehicles for Christians to learn to be missionaries. But for this to take place, Sunday School must be more than an academic exercise. Classes must be more than lecture sessions.
What if we measured the success of a Sunday School class less by what participants knew and more by what participants did? What if we measured success not by how many came to class but by how many went out into the world to share, care, and serve? Those measurements might lead us to change what we do on Sunday morning.
Then lessons become preparation for action. Then lessons become training sessions for members as missionaries. Part of the lesson would naturally be time to practice what we are learning. And part of the lesson would be reporting on what happened when we lived out last week’s truth/lesson.
How else would Sunday morning class time change? Press Comments below and leave your thoughts. Begin moving in that direction, one lesson at a time. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!
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