HOW TO HAVE A SUMMER JUMP
INSTEAD OF A SUMMER SLUMP
Dr. Tim S. Smith, State Missionary
Sunday School/Open Group Ministries
Georgia Baptist Convention
Title
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The Barna Research Group found
19 percent of church members attend
that: • Only
Sunday school. That figure is relatively
•
•
•
•
unchanged since 1991.
Thirty-three percent of born again
Christians and 60 percent of evangelicals
attend Sunday school in a typical week.
Married individuals are more likely than
single adults to attend a Sunday school
class in a typical week.
Sunday school remains a draw primarily
in the South, where nearly three out of 10
adults attend weekly.
Contrary to popular opinion, there is
virtually no drop off in Sunday school
attendance during the summer.
What’s really happening and
1. There are more WHY?
options for people and the
growth of leisure time has impacted
churches.
2. Many churches have leaders that become
more inconsistent in their attendance
during the summer.
3. Even some ministers and pastors are taking
the summer off!
4. Growing churches do not loose the
momentum they have gained during the
year.
THE TRUTH IS THAT
WE’VE GOT TO MAKE
OUR SUNDAY
SCHOOL WORTH
COMING TO!
You Must a SUMMER
Emphasis!
• Attendance
• Contacts
• Outreach Participation
• New Members
• Prospect Discovery
• Vacation Bible School
Attendance
• Set a weekly attendance for each class.
• Calculate the classes’ average attendance
since the first of the church year.
• This would make a great weekly goal or you
may want to decrease the goal just below the
year-to-date average attendance.
Contacts
• A contact is a ministry touch to a member or
prospect.
• These can be made through a home visit, a
phone call, an email or a random encounter.
• It could a conversation that lasts an hour or it
could be just a few seconds.
• The goal is to express love and concern for the
person and to invite them to Sunday School.
• Set a weekly goal for each class.
Outreach Participation
• Don’t stop having weekly outreach during the
summer!
• At outreach night ask the participants to sign
in and next to their name to write in their
Sunday School.
• Have prospects for the classes to contact that
would fit in their class.
New Members
• Set a goal for each class to enroll a specific
number of new members during the summer.
• Encourage the class to begin inviting but also
to be aggressive in enrolling new members.
• Ask guest to join the group on the first
Sunday that they attend.
• Reward both the new member and the
member that invited them.
Prospect Discovery
• The key to success is preparation
and communication.
• Inform the class several weeks
before.
• Encourage the class members to
be prepared.
Vacation Bible School
• VBS is not intended to just be a
one week event for the children
of the church.
• Emphasize promotion,
involvement and follow-up.
The Summer Slam
• Every class is a team; Braves, Cards, etc.
• Every week the team can score runs.
– Enroll a new member = 3 runs
– A guest in Sunday School = 2 runs
– A home visit to a prospect =1 run
– Contacts through cards =1 run per 4 cards
– Contact through phone calls = 1 run per 2
phone calls
– Discover a new prospect = 1 run
– Attendance at VBS = 1 run per day
– Class fellowship = 3 runs
C.I.A.
• Contact Every Member & Prospect
Each Week
• Identify New Prospects
• Action Plan for Friend Day
Every Home 4 Christ
1. Every home will attend worship
and life group 4 Sundays a
month.
2. Every home will have a family
devotion at least 4 days a week.
3. Every home will invite at least 4
people per week.
4. Every home will do something 4
each other every week.
Every Home 4 Christ
• To get a brick…
…did you attend LIFE Group and
Worship this week?
…did you have a family or personal
devotion this week?
…did you invite someone to attend
Noonday this week?
…did you do something for someone
in your family this week?
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Round #1
– Every tribe (class) that exceeded their
YTD average attendance today survives
for the next week.
– Every tribe that reported a
representative at outreach last week
survives for the next week.
– Every class that reported a guest
present today survives for the next
week.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Round #2
– Every class that turns in the names of
two new prospects today survives for
the next week.
– Every class whose teacher has read Ken
Hemphill’s “Bonsai Theory of Church
Growth” survives for the next week.
– Every class that reported contacts that
were equal to their enrollment this week
survives for the next week.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Round #3
– Every class that has had a fellowship
since Memorial Day; other than Sunday
mornings, survives for the next week.
– Every class that has enrolled a new
member since Memorial Day by survives
for the next week.
– Every class that reported contacts
totaling double their enrollment this last
week survives for the next week.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Round #4
– Every class that had their highest
attendance since Memorial Day today
survives for the next week.
– Every class that exceeded their YTD
average attendance today survives for
the next week.
– Every class that reported contacts
totaling double their enrollment this last
week survives for the next week.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Tribal Council Sunday
– For each week that your class survives you earn
points based on the round that you are in; Round 1 =
1 point, Round 2 = 2 points, etc.
– In order for your class to enter Tribal Council Sunday
you must have at least 24 points. Total possible
points is 30.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
– The classes in the Tribal Council Sunday that can
check most of these in succession are the final
survivor(s).
We met or exceeded our YTD average attendance today.
 Our contacts this week are equal to or greater than our
enrollment.
 We had two or more guests today.
 We enrolled at least three more people since Memorial Day.
 Our class has a prospect file.
 Our prospect file has as many prospects as we have members.
 There was someone in our class today who has been baptized
since Memorial Day.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Final Tiebreaker: Our summer average
attendance (June 3 – August 26) has increased
_____ % over our YTD average attendance
(September – May). (Highest percentage increase
is the final survivor).
• Note: If there is a week prior to the final Sunday
of each round when all classes are eliminated,
those that survived up until that week are allowed
to continue.
Sunday School Survivor’s of the Summer
“Don’t Let Your Class Get Voted Off!”
• Immunity: Any class that has an attendance
equal to or greater than their YTD (September –
May) highest attendance will receive an
“immunity token” which can be turned in to avoid
being voted off. When used you earn the points
from whatever round you are in. A class can earn
a maximum of two of these during the summer.
Their immunity cannot be used on Tribal Council
Sunday.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NO
FEAR FACTOR
• Each class is to complete a challenge
each week.
– Our class identified a prospect for
every member present today.
– Someone in our class shared the
gospel with a lost person this past
week.
– Our class set a target date for starting
new class from our class within the
next 6 months.
SUNDAY SCHOOL NO
FEAR FACTOR
– Half of our members made an in-home visit
to a prospect or inactive member this week.
– Our class had a fellowship within the last
three weeks with one or more prospects
present. The Gospel was shared at the
Fellowship.
– Every member of our class made a contact
this week.
– Three-Fourths of our members present today
have read through the New Testament since
week One.
&
Answers
Dr. Tim S. Smith,
State Missionary
Sunday School/Open Group Ministries Specialist
Georgia Baptist Missions & Ministry Center
6405 Sugarloaf Parkway
Duluth, GA 30097-4092
770.936.5287
1.800.746.4422 ext.287
FAX: 770.452.6580
E-mail: tsmith@gabaptist.org
Website: ssog.gabaptist.org
HOW TO HAVE A SUMMER JUMP
INSTEAD OF A SUMMER SLUMP
Dr. Tim S. Smith, State Missionary
Sunday School/Open Group Ministries
Georgia Baptist Convention