NASHVILLE, Tenn. — “If
Sunday School isn’t good, isn’t worth the time, how can we expect people to
come back?”
It’s a crucial question, said Art Groomes, one of the speakers at the National
Black Sunday School Conference sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources of the
Southern Baptist Convention.
About 250 pastors, church Sunday School directors, leaders and teachers from
across the United States — and even one from Bermuda — attended the sessions at
LifeWay’s home office in Nashville, Tenn.
Groomes, bivocational pastor of First Family Baptist Church in Antioch, Tenn.,
underscored the importance of great expectations for Sunday School in sessions
he led for conference veterans.
“People of faith need to be people of great expectations,” Groomes said. In
their Sunday Schools, he said, they should “expect new people every week;
expect people to say ‘yes’ when asked to participate; and expect classes to
grow and reproduce as every healthy thing does.”
Photo by Russ Rankin Mark Croston Sr., pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, Va., preaches God’s Word with passion during the National Black Sunday School Conference. |
Achieving great expectations entails planning for good things to happen,
especially having teachers who are prepared with the lesson, Groomes said.
“You never know when someone will show up for the very first time to Sunday
School, someone you never expected to see,” he said. “You have to have thought it
through before they get there. Is there fresh coffee made? Are there enough
chairs? Are there people there to greet them? Are there enough books and extra
Bibles? Are there people who will ask them to sit with them?”
Follow-up also is crucial, Groomes said.
“Follow up with a phone call or visit that very day,” he said. “At least don’t
let it be more than a couple of days. Answer their questions. Ask them to join
you for a meal.
“For many new people in Sunday School, it’s never as much about the place as it
is about relationships,” Groomes said. “Help them feel like Sunday School is a
safe place, a place they are wanted, a place they are loved.”
Elgia “Jay” Wells, director of LifeWay’s black church relations area, told the
leaders that Sunday School is the best way to help people get involved in a
church.
“They come into your Sunday School and you … let them know they are welcome
and important,” Wells said. “They like that. Then, you invite them to your
worship service where the pastor supports the Sunday School.”
Wells introduced Mark Croston Sr., pastor of East End Baptist Church in
Suffolk, Va., calling him a Sunday School-loving pastor.
“If you want to see what a Sunday School pastor looks like, look at Mark
Croston,” Wells said.
Croston, reiterating that Sunday School is where relationships are formed,
encouraged participants to look for people who are wounded and carrying guilt
and shame.
“Time doesn’t necessarily heal all wounds,” Croston said. “Sometimes the wounds
are self-inflicted. Sometimes they fester because we don’t appropriately deal
with them. At the same time, sometimes guilt can just weigh us down. We groan;
we’re weak. We feel completely overwhelmed by our sin.”
Sunday School leaders and members can offer the touch that helps healing begin,
Croston said.
“Just love on these people,” he said. “Help them out.”
Participants at the October conference had the opportunity to choose from 35
sessions in addition to a large group track for conference veterans and one for
new attendees.
Topics included the nuts and bolts of choosing effective Bible study curricula
for Sunday School classes; learning how to teach for transformation;
age-specific helps on teens in Sunday School; media technology; and developing
an effective adult outreach team.
A good Sunday School curriculum is an important means to an end for teaching
people to become followers of Christ, but the Bible is the textbook.
David Francis, director of Sunday School at LifeWay, in leading a session on “Teaching
for Life Change,” highlighted three facets of teaching in a way that leads to
life change in individuals, “three intertwined facets (that) are part of every
great Bible study experience”:
- Scripture: “The Bible is the textbook for our Sunday Schools,” Francis said,
while curriculum is a means to teaching the Bible in a comprehensive, focused
and theologically appropriate way. “The key to discovery teaching and learning is asking questions,” Francis
added. “Asking questions is a learning method that is appropriate for all ages
and learning styles.”
- Story: “People don’t just ‘have’ a story; they ‘are’ a story,” Francis said,
noting that stories help connect experience with Scripture. “To discover someone’s story, ask ‘What’s your story? How does your story
intersect with God’s story?’”
Jesus is the perfect example of a storyteller, Francis noted. “If you look at
how He answered questions, many times it was not with a direct answer, but with
a story, a parable. This led people to discover the answer to their own
questions.”
- Shepherding: People need to be led; there is security in knowing that
someone is looking out for them, Francis said, describing shepherding as the
24/7/365 ministry of Sunday School.
“As a Sunday School teacher or leader, you need to know your sheep, your flock,”
he said. “Just like the Good Shepherd, you may have to go out of your way to
locate a missing one.”
Free downloads for Sunday School leaders and teachers are available at
(EDITOR’S NOTE — House is a corporate communications specialist with LifeWay
Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention.)