Awakening The Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
Sabbath School Presentation
by
Pastor Buford Griffith, Jr.
Southwestern Union Conference
Burleson, Texas
Drifting From Bible Landmarks
• “Many know so little about their Bibles that
they are unsettled in the faith. They
remove the old landmarks, and fallacies
and winds of doctrine blow them hither
and thither…and those who were once in
the faith drift away from the Bible
landmarks, and divorce themselves from
God, while still claiming to be His
children.”
» R&H, December 29, 1896
Is Sabbath School a Dinosaur in
a Technological World?
• Can the Sabbath School still function as a
church growth tool in the 21st century? If
so, why are so few Sabbath Schools
growing?
• Has Sabbath School become a relic of the
past, a dinosaur, as it were?
Sabbath School is the heartbeat
of your church!!
• If the Sabbath School
throbs with the spirit of
prayerful Bible study,
harmony, and practical
activity, the church will
possess the same
elements.
• “The influence growing
out of Sabbath School
work should improve and
enlarge the church…”
• Counsels on Sabbath
School Work, p. 9
Interesting Facts To Ponder
• The population in the U. S. is rapidly
outpacing the evangelistic results of the
church in North America.
• We might conclude that the Sabbath
School as a growth tool has reflected the
lack of evangelistic growth in the church at
large.
• Why has a tool that once worked so well
become seemingly unplugged?
The Sabbath School Must be
Ministry-Driven!!
• Four aspects needed
to have a vibrant,
growing Sabbath
School:
– Fellowship
(inreach/outreach)
– Community Outreach
(outreach)
– Bible Study
(inreach/outreach)
– Mission (outreach)
Exploring the Problem Areas
• Problem 1: Loss of
evangelistic focus.
– “The Sabbath School
should be one of the
greatest
instrumentalities, and
the most effectual, in
bringing souls to
Christ.” CSS 10
• Problem 2: Loss of
emphasis and
commitment.
– “The Sabbath School
work is important, and
all who are interested
in the truth should
endeavor to make it
prosperous.” CSS 9
Exploring the Problems -2• Problem 3: Loss of
vision for the total
work of the Sabbath
School.
–
–
–
–
Study of the Word
Fellowship
Outreach
Mission emphasis
• Problem 4: Lack of
a clear purpose
statement.
– Matt. 28:18-20, our
statement of purpose.
– When the SS loses its
emphasis on fulfilling
the Great
Commission, all
programs start to
flounder.
Exploring the Problems -3• Problem 5: Fear of
innovation.
– A new set of dynamics
has changed the
playing field for the
church today.
– We must cling to the
principles of SS work
but be willing to
change our methods.
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
• Keep the Great
Commission
strategy balanced.
– More than just a
Sabbath morning
gathering for study.
– The real work begins
outside the Sabbath
School arena.
• Keep good records.
– Know who is present
or absent.
– Each class appoint a
Care Coordinator to
direct the fellowship
and nurture of class
members.
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
--2• Schedule regular
class fellowship
gatherings.
– Planned
– Spontaneous
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
--3• Pay attention to the
physical
surroundings.
– A challenge for most
of our churches but
every effort should be
made to create a
classroom
environment.
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
--4• Make sure guests
are welcomed.
– Look at your Sabbath
School class through
the eyes of a
newcomer.
– Overwhelm visitors
with kindness and
attention.
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
--5• Commit yourselves
daily to the study of
the Word of God
and the Sabbath
School lesson.
– Memorize the memory
verse.
– Practice the principles
you study.
Revitalizing the Sabbath School
--6• Keep the Sabbath
School classes
small enough to
minister.
Sabbath School, not a relic of
the past
• “The object of the Sabbath School should
not be lost sight of in mechanical
arrangements…we should ever be
guarded against forms and ceremonies
which will eclipse the real object for which
we are laboring…the Sabbath School
should be a rest, a refreshment, and a
blessing.” CSS151
Why Sabbath School Is the Growth
Tool of the Future, Which is Now!
• Reason #1: Sabbath School provides a centralized and
simplified strategy
• As the church grows, the need to centralize and simplify will become more
critical.
• Teaching, outreach and assimilation can be performed via the Sabbath
School.
• You can’t do everything in Sabbath School, but you can organize to do much
of your growth work through the Sabbath School.
• Reason #2: Sabbath School is familiar
• In a rapidly changing culture it is comforting to know that some things are
stable.
• It is easier to get people involved both as participants and workers in an
organization with which they are somewhat familiar.
• Reason #3: Sabbath School is a solid foundation for innovation
• Innovation is always built on the foundation of fundamental principles.
• Sabbath School serves as the foundation of the church.
• A strong Sabbath School is not a deterrent to innovation, it is the foundation
for innovation.
Why Sabbath School Is the Growth
Tool of the Future, Which is Now!
• Reason #4: Sabbath School provides the
small-group experience every Christian
needs.
• Everyone who comes to your church asks two questions:
– Am I wanted?
– Am I needed?
• Involvement in a small group says, “You are wanted; you
belong.”
• Opportunities for service made available through the smallgroup structure of the Sabbath School says, “You are
needed.”
• Christians were never intended to live in isolation.
• Reason #5: Sabbath School is a natural
companion to an exciting worship service.
Why Sabbath School Is the Growth
Tool of the Future, Which is Now!
• Reason #6: Sabbath School gets people
involved in service.
• People who become involved in the church’s ministry will
progress more quickly in their spiritual walk and will have a
deeper commitment to the work of the Church.
• Reason #7: Sabbath School has a proven
track record.
• Year in and year out, the Sabbath School structure, properly
used, has given solid results.
• If we were to do away with Sabbath School, we would
have to build something very much like it to replace it.
Why not build innovative strategies on the proven
historic principles of Sabbath School growth?
Awakening The Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
Part II
“Building the Sabbath School Team”
Building the Sabbath School
Team
Pastor Buford Griffith, Jr.
Sabbath School Director
Southwestern Union Conference
Burleson, Texas
Basic Team Building Principles
• 1. The upper and lower division Sabbath School
must see themselves as a team and not totally
independent of each other.
– “Team” – working together as a unit; divided only by
age grouping.
– Note: This implies that the upper and lower division
of the Sabbath School is not an “us” vs. “them”
attitudinal position.
Team Building Principles
-2• 2. Share a common purpose.
– Commonly called “purpose” or “mission
statement.”
– Broad based, not measurable but gives a
general direction.
Team Building Principles
-3• Objectives
– Being specific about what it will take to
achieve the purpose of the Sabbath School.
– It is the process of moving from general to
specific concepts.
Team Building Principles
-4• Goals – “every goal
needs a plan to make
it work.”
– Calls for even more
specific thinking.
– Each objective may
have multiple goals.
Team Building Principles
-5• Implementation
– Answers the question
of “how?”
– Write statements that
can be evaluated by
simple yes or no
responses.
Tools for Effective Planning
• Time
• People
• Communication
• Resources (literature,
location, teaching
aides, etc.)
Necessity of a Sabbath School
Council
• Sabbath School “think”
tank.
• MUST meet on a regular
basis for planning and
implementation of ideas.
• Recommends strategies
and solicits support of
entire church.
• Should make a report to
the Church Board
monthly.
Sabbath School Council
Makeup
• Adult and Lower
Division SS Supts.
• Pastor and/or Elder
• Church Ministries Dir.
• SS Secretary
• SS Teachers (upper
and lower division)
• SHOULD MEET
MONTHLY
• Getting the council
together is a challenge
within itself. Helpful
hints:
– Sabbath Potluck or Sunday
Brunch
– productive agenda
– timely meetings; no longer
than 2 hours
Sabbath School Action Units
How To Begin
• Assign every member on
the church membership
roll to a Sabbath School
class.
• Establish more classes
with the purpose of
keeping each class small.
• Or, utilize the present
structure and add
members to it.
• Assign a Care
Coordinator to each
class.
• Each class set goals for
evangelism.
• Each class set goals for
Mission giving and
Investment involvement.
• Report progress
regularly.
Role of the Care Coordinator
• Reminds class of their
plans and goals.
• Calls for witnessing
experiences related to
class plan.
• Leads in outreach
promotion.
• Coordinates class
fellowship.
“We Missed You At Sabbath
School” cards & envelopes
Pacific Press Publishing
• 1-208-465-2500
• Ask for Mr. Ryder
• The cards are available in Espanol
• No charge; order as many as you need.
Sabbath School Resources
• 1. Adventist Mission DVD’s
– Website: www.adventistmission.org
– Sent to every church in NAD free of charge; paid by the NAD.
– Not yet in Spanish but will be available by 3rd or 4th quarter of
2008.
– Drawback to DVD is that it is not as strong in its promotion of
Sabbath School offerings i.e. citing the projects to be sponsored.
– Alternative mission DVD is: “Project Sunlight.” A quarterly
Mission DVD out of Collegedale, TN. This is a subscription
DVD.
• 2. Other Helpful websites:
– www.guidemagazine.org
– www.gracelink.org
– www.whiteestate.org/vez
L.E.A.D.
Leadership Education Advent Discipleship
• A quarterly Sabbath School resource
magazine.
• Can be included as a part of the standing
order for Sabbath School materials
through Review and Herald Publishing.
• Cost: $34.95 per year.
• Important feature: “Legacy of the SDA
Church”
Awakening The Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
Part III
“The Necessity of the Pastor’s Sabbath
School Class”
The Pastor’s Sabbath School
Class: the New Believer’s Class on
Doctrine
• A must for a growing church.
• Roots and grounds new members.
• Serves as a shield of protection for new
members from spurious doctrines.
• New members should be retained in the pastor’s
class for a minimum of one (1) year.
Pastor’s Sabbath School Class: A
Necessity
• New converts must be protected:
– From “strange” doctrines.
– From other church members who can give a distorted point of
view of the gospel with their individual extremism and impatience
with the growth of the “new babes” in the truth.
• Spirit of Prophecy quote: “Satan is no idler; he
watches his chances, and takes advantage of every
opportunity to win souls to his side. He constantly sows
his tares in every heart that is not barricaded with the
truth.”
» Home Missionary, 1890-02
Which Lessons Study Guides Are
To Be Utilized?
• The study material will vary from the other
classes within your church’s SS.
• Utilize prepared Bible studies such as:
– Discover Bible School lessons from the Voice
of Prophecy.
– Amazing Facts
Creating Your Own Lesson Series
(Pastor’s Class)
• Advantages:
– Flexibility
– Encourages deeper study on the part of both
members and pastor.
– Pastor is able to move at a pace that assures
complete understanding of the “pillar” doctrines of the
SDA Church.
– Engenders stronger bonds of brotherhood among the
members of the class via study and fellowship.
Creating Your Own Lesson Series
-2– Encourages members to invite and bring family
members and friends to class. Thus, the pastor’s
class becomes evangelistic without being called a
baptismal class, which can be intimidating to a nonmember.
– Enables pastor to intercept spurious doctrines before
they become a problem for the new member, as well
as helping new members release their hold on
teachings adopted from affiliation with their former
faith.
Creating Your Own Lesson Series
-3• Challenges the pastor’s own creativeness in
lesson preparation.
• Encourages attendance at the mid-week prayer
service. Series started in the pastor’s SS can be
continued at prayer meeting; thus, benefiting
the entire church.
• The pastor is leading and encouraging by
precept and example and the whole SS
becomes revived.
Use of the Regular Sabbath School
Quarterlies
• Used at the discretion of the
pastor as to relevance for
class at the time of distribution.
• Even when not used as the
primary lesson source, every
member is issued a quarterly
and encouraged to study daily
to promote regular Bible study
and be in harmony with the
rest of the church.
Sample Course Outline:
Adventism and the Sanctuary
• The Earthly Sanctuary – Part I
• The Earthly Sanctuary – Part II
• The Sanctuary Services: Daily/Day of
Atonement
• The 2300 Day Prophecy of Dan. 8:14
• The Antitypical Day of Atonement/The Judgment
Message
• The Sanctuary as it pertains to the 3 Angel’s
Messages of Revelation 14.
Sample Course Outline:
Adventism and the Sanctuary
• The Sanctuary and the Sabbath
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part I –
The Second Coming of Christ
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part II –
Sabbath Discovery
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part III –
The Sanctuary and the Sabbath
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part IV –
Righteousness by Faith; Revisiting 1888
Sample Course Outline:
Adventism and the Sanctuary
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part
V – The 1,000 period of Rev. 20
• Early Adventism and the Sanctuary: Part
VI – The Seven Last Plagues
• Adventism Today and the Sanctuary: Why
am I a Seventh-day Adventist?
Expanding the Sabbath School:
Emphasis on Biblical Doctrine
• Establish a Sabbath afternoon class to
study Bible doctrine:
– Once or twice per month.
– Open to all members of the church.
– Allows for more time to be spent studying
and understanding bible doctrine.
– Survey members of class to ascertain the
order of doctrines to be studied.
Awakening The Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
Part IV
“Teaching Strategies for the Adult
Sabbath School Class”
Teaching Strategies for the Adult
Sabbath School Class
• Questions:
• 1. What do you want your
class to leave with at the end
of the study?
• 2. How are you going to
achieve this goal?
• 3. What methods will you use
to achieve class participation?
• 4. How will you connect the
study with every day life
issues?
Instructional Objective
Task Analysis
• Identify the learning/objective
*Memory Verse
*Key Thought
*Teachers Aims
• Teach to the objective
*Lesson Outline
*Summary/Commentary
Active Participation
Definition: the consistent mental involvement of
each person while the content is being
presented.
Four Elements
1. Overt behavior (physical behavior)
It is observable.
a. Writing
b. Speaking
c. Performing
Active Participation - 2
2. Covert behavior: NOT observable - it is
mental:
“Imagine”
“Think About”
3. All members should be involved or engaged
simultaneously/consistently.
4. There needs to be a good mixture of
covert and overt. Never be a lecturer!
Strategies for Increasing Active
Participation
• Always begin with prayer!
• How to set up questions:
*open ended
*then ask “why?”
*ask the question, then wait
*proceed with discussion
• Handle wrong answers: create a risk-free environment.
• Wait time: this gives people time to gather their
thoughts.
Strategies for Increasing
Active Participation - 2
• Avoid a pattern.
• Periodically check for understanding.
• Move around in order to reach everyone –
never involve just one area of the class.
• Remember that people learn in different
ways – so do something differently each
week.
Steps in Lesson Preparation
• Prayer
• “ASK and it shall
be given to you;
SEEK, and you
shall find;
KNOCK and the
door will be
opened to you.”
(Matthew 7:7)
TR 2-21
Have a Teachable Attitude
• “In searching the Scriptures,
you are not to endeavor to
interpret their utterances so
as to agree with your
preconceived ideas.”
(CSW, p. 25)
TR 2-22
Study the Bible texts for the
week’s lesson
• Say the Bible text over and
over from different
translations. Read the
verses within the context so
as to get the full intention of
the writer. Let God speak to
you. As truth is revealed,
and the meaning comes to
your mind, write down key
points.
TR 2-23
Study Other Resources on
the Same Subject
•
•
•
•
Use a Concordance
Look at a Bible Atlas
Study Bible Commentaries
Read the Spirit of
Prophecy
• Use different Bible
translations
TR 2-24
Plan Your Lessons to Cover :
• The goal of the lesson
• Three or four key points to be
covered
• Application to life experience
TR 2-25
Have a Checklist
• 1. A comprehensive knowledge of
the lessons (much more than
would be used)
• 2. Planned introduction
• 3. A planned track of discourse
• Find pivotal points
• Sequence of thought
TR 2-26
Have a Checklist
• 4. A planned spiritual application
made personal
• 5. Selected points for illustration and
suitable illustrations
• 6. Carefully prepared questions
• 7. Carefully prepared timing
• 8. An appeal
TR 2-26a
Points to Note When
Preparing a Lesson:
• Think for Yourself
• “Teachers should not be
satisfied to take the
product of the
researchers of other
minds, but they should
investigate truth for
themselves.” (CSW, p. 32)
TR 2-27
Closure
• Connect the study with every day life
issues. Each lesson is equipped with a
section entitled “Apply!” Helping your
class members to answer the question:
“What can I do with what I have learned
from this lesson?”
• Summarize the content of the lesson.
• Use the “Witnessing” section of the lesson.
• Always end the lesson with prayer.
Ellen White recognized that teachers need to
continue their skill training
“The true teacher is not content with
dull thoughts, and indolent mind, or
a loose memory. He constantly seeks
higher attainments and better
methods. His/her life is one of
continual growth.” Counsels on
Sabbath School Work, p. 103.
Keep the Great Commission
Strategy Balanced
• The Sabbath School class is more than a
teaching unit; it is a tool for outreach,
assimilation (fellowship), mission, and
teaching.
• The teacher or facilitator of the class is the
key to the effective functioning of the class
objectives. He/she should lead the class
through prayer, coordination, and
inspiration.
Keep the Great Commission
Strategy Balanced
• There should be regular evaluation to ensure
that the work of the Sabbath School class is
balanced. The teacher or facilitator must ask
critical evaluative questions.
• Are members bringing unsaved friends?
• Has anyone been led to Christ through the ministry of the
class?
• Are members being contacted regularly?
• Are care needs being missed?
• Are members attending regularly?
• Are members frequently lost from the class? Why?
• Does the teaching address the spiritual needs of the class?
• Do members prepare for the study of the lesson?
• Do they participate in class discussion?
Enlisting Teachers
• Pray to the Lord of the
harvest.
• Form a teacher
recruitment committee.
• Personally enlist workers.
• Call for commitment.
• Exalt the work of the
Sabbath School.
• Start with those gifted to
teach.
• Ask teachers to enlist and
train teachers.
Awakening The Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
Part V
“Rediscovering Investment and
Outside Projects for Sabbath School
Classes”
Mission Projects for the Sabbath
School Class
• Adopt a senior member
of the church.
–
–
–
–
Do their yard work.
Clean their home.
Do their grocery shopping.
Enjoy a leisurely visit.
• Hospital visitation to
class members’ nonAdventist family members
and friends.
Mission Projects
-2• Visit the homeless
shelters; spend a few
hours with a
homeless family.
• Visit the nursing
homes where
members of the
church may be
residents.
Sabbath School Investment:
Developing a Partnership With God
• Extension of mission
offerings.
• Increases God’s
storehouse to fund
existing mission
endeavors and new
expansion projects.
• Teaches practical
application of trusting
God.
Awakening the Sabbath
Morning Dinosaur
• Part VI
• The Ministry of Assimilation
Sabbath School is a Soul Winning
Ministry
• “Entire consecration of soul must be maintained
as much by the teachers and superintendents of
our Sabbath Schools as by the ministers in our
pulpits, for all alike are engaged in the work of
bringing souls to Christ. Each in his place is to
work, as did Christ, in the spirit of love, for the
erring and impenitent. This is what Christ would
see in the Sabbath School work…”
» Counsels on Sabbath School Work, p. 157
The Ministry of Assimilation
• The closest thing to Heaven, while living this
side of the Kingdom of God, should be the
fellowship of Christians living in community.
• Believers should be bearing burdens, sharing
joys, and richly enjoying the good things of God
with the hope that someday, maybe soon, joy
will no longer be mixed with pain and suffering.
But for now, “a grief shared is half a grief; a joy
shared is a greater joy.”
» The Church in Ruins, p.45
William Crabb and Jeff Jernigan
Not All That We Claim to Be
• The Church rarely offers the sort of biblical
community it advertises and alone has the
potential to provide.
• The book of Acts serves as the model for
Christian community, all of which serves as the
basis for the goals of an effective Sabbath
School:
•
•
•
•
Teaching
Christian fellowship
Worship
Prayer
(Study of the Word of God)
(Fellowship)
(Community Outreach)
(Mission Emphasis)
Who’s Responsible for Ministry?
• Without exception, rapid evangelistic
advance and continuous church growth
are the result of the work of the laity.
• Who are the laity? The term laos, the
Greek root of our word laity, occurs in the
Bible in its singular form only. In the
scriptures, laos is one single,
indivisible unit.
Who’s Responsible for Ministry?
-2• In the Bible, believers are never called
“laymen.” The word laikos, where our
term “layman” is derived, does not occur in
Scripture at all; it is of a non-Biblical origin.
• The Bible uses only the term laos. It only
knows of the laity as one single, indivisible
unit, and individuals are referred to as
members of that one body. (I Corinthians
12:4-13; Romans 12:3-5)
Who’s Responsible for Ministry?
-3• In the Bible, the term laity is never used in contrast to
other groups or individuals in the church, such as
pastors, leaders, etc.
• The entire church is the laity!
• Where Scripture speaks of special functions in the
church, such as those of apostle or prophet or evangelist
or pastor or teacher, these functions are defined in terms
of the nature and calling of the laity.
• The major role of the pastor or administrator is to assist
the laity in carrying out its calling and commission in the
world. His role is really that of a facilitator or enabler,
helping the members to develop and use their gifts for
the task of ministry.
Who’s Responsible for Ministry?
-4• Laos means “a special people;” “God’s own
people,” a people of His choosing. The laos are
God’s chosen people, but that election is for a
particular purpose.
• “The Church is God’s appointed agency for the
salvation of men. It was organized for service,
and its mission is to carry the Gospel to the
world…The church is the repository of the riches
of the grace of Christ; and through the church
will eventually be made manifest…the final and
full display of the love of God.” (Acts of the
Apostles, page 9).
Who’s Responsible for Ministry?
-5• The call to join God’s people and to become a
member of the laos, is in fact a call to the
ministry.
• Who is responsible for ministry? We all are!
• Ministry, in the Scriptures, is not an “exalted
office” of a few, but the calling of the whole
people of God. It is not status within the church,
but the function of every believer who has
accepted the work of Christ.
Co-Laborers With Christ
• “The Saviour’s commission to the disciples
included all the believers. It includes all the
believers in Christ to the end of time….All to
whom the heavenly inspiration has come are put
in trust with the Gospel. All who receive the life
of Christ are ordained to work for the salvation of
their fellow men. For this work the church was
established, and all who take upon themselves
its sacred vows are thereby pledged to be coworkers of Christ.”
(The Desire of Ages,
p.822)
Acts 1:8
• The church is a
community of power.
• All of the members of
the community are to
share in this divine
resource.
Sabbath School Must Be MinistryDriven
• Must not be
program-driven.
– Fails to take into
account changing
circumstances and the
needs of the people.
– Ministry addresses
the needs of people
and adjusts for those
needs in the context of
changing
circumstances.
4 Key Components to Assimilation
#1:
#2:
#3:
#4:
Keep people involved
in small groups and
build relationships.
Meet their needs.
Avoid making them
mad and/or help
them resolve their
anger.
Overcome the
perception that no
one cares.
Membership Circle: Every member is within this
circle
Fellowship Circle: Members who feel
a sense of belonging and who feel fully
accepted into the fellowship of that
called-out community.
The Motto of Sabbath School
• To Win
• To Hold
• To Train
TR 1-5
Assimilation Design
• Utilize the Sabbath School
• Churches with effective programs of assimilation
utilize the standard age-graded Sabbath School.
– A. Creates both homogeneity (similar in nature) and
receptivity.
– B. Keeps the small groups from becoming stagnant and
thus calcifying. (Every study on small group dynamics
indicates that the longer a particular group stays
together, the harder it is for a newcomer to penetrate that
group. The regular promotion of all Sabbath School
classes will counteract the tendency toward fossilization).
Assimilation Design
• Use the Power of
Personal Invitation
– Statistically, between 79%
and 86% of the people who
join a local church do so
because of the invitation of
a friend or family member.
– Therefore, if someone
invites a new member to
join their Sabbath School
class, the chances of
involvement are greatly
increased.
– The invitation must be
personal, genuine, and
immediate.
Conclusion
• Your Sabbath School can prove to be the
unifying growth tool you need. You must keep
the focus and purpose of the Sabbath School in
mind as you develop and implement your
program.
• Don’t be afraid to draw outside the lines.
• Remember, it is God who works through us
to grow His Church.
• Be a faithful leader as you advance God’s
kingdom through the Sabbath School.