Picture a leaky bucket. You keep adding water, but the water level continues to grow lower. What can you do?
You can certainly work harder to continue to add more water. You can make more trips. You can use a bigger container to carry the water to the bucket. You could bring a hose.
But an additional effort is needed. Along with adding more water, you can work to address some of the leaks. What if you plugged one. That would help. What if you slowed the flow in another leak?
Sunday School is constantly leaking. We lose people to death, to job transfer, and to moves. We lose people to illness, job demands, and life’s busy schedule. And we lose people to conflict, hurt, inattention, and more. We must identify and address the leaks about which we can do something. Care. Minister. Organize.
But we also must continue to reach out. If we don’t, Sunday School will leak out. We must reach out to those who don’t know Jesus. We must reach out to those who need to know His and our love and care. We must reach out to the hurting. Many need an invitation to our classes. Some will come to our homes for a meal or fellowship.
But we also must meet them where they are. We cannot wait until they come to us. We can be sensitive to those around us. We can listen and offer encouragement. We can share a testimony
of how Sunday School has been helpful for us. We can offer time and a hand where needed.
This month on the Sunday School Leader, the focus will be on Sunday School outreach and evangelism. I hope you will read and share every post. I hope you will share your ideas and comments. Most of all, I pray that you will reach out before you leak out!
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Darryl Wilson has served as Director of the Sunday School Department for the Kentucky Baptist Convention since 1997. He served as Minister of Education in five churches in Kentucky and South Carolina. He is the author of The Sunday School Revolutionary!, a blog about life-changing Sunday School and small groups.
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