Building a R.E.A.L. Sunday
School Ministry
Systems
Relationships
Evangelism
Assimilation Life-Changing
Bible Study
Culture: Your Unique Way of Demonstrating Core Values.
Holistic Ministry
Open Small
Group
Biblical Foundation
Transformationa
l Teaching
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Foundation: Biblical
• Old Testament – Deuteronomy 31:12
Gather the people together,
Men, and women, and children,
And thy stranger that is within thy gates,
That they may hear, and that they may learn,
and fear the Lord your God, and observe to
do all the words of this law.
Foundation: Biblical
• New Testament - Matthew 28:19-20
Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations;
Baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things
Whatsoever I have commanded you:
And Lo, I am with you alway,
Even unto the end of the world. Amen
Systems
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Supporting Pillars:
H.O.T. Core Values
Holistic
Holistic Ministry
Ministry
TheIfGood
Samaritan
Story
Jesus
were your
‘Which
now
ofSchool
theseSunday
three,
thinkest
If Jesus
were
your
School
Sunday
teacher,
thou,
wasHe
neighbour
unto
him
that
Teacher
would
lead
the
class
to
how
would
He
do
ministry?
fell among
thetothieves?’
he said,
minister
the wholeAnd
person.
‘He that showed mercy on him.’ Then
said Jesus unto him, ‘Go, and do thou
likewise’ Luke 10:36-37
Supporting Pillars:
H.O.T. Core Values
Open Small Group
•‘For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost’ Luke 19:10
If Jesus Christ were
•‘For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the
world; but
that the
world through
Him might
be saved’
your
Sunday
School
teacher,
John 3:17
Henotwould
lead
the
•‘…for I came
to judge the
world,
butclass
to save the world.’
John 12:47
to be
open
•‘…for the Son of Man
is not
come and
to destroy men’s lives,
but to save them.’
Luke 9:56
evangelistically
driven.
If Jesus Christ were still incarnate
and here on earth and was your
Sunday School teacher, what
would be His number one priority
for His Class?
Supporting Pillars:
H.O.T. Core Values
Transformational
Teaching
• ‘Search If
the
IfJesus
Jesus
scriptures,
were
for
in them ye
were your
your
think ye
have eternal
life;
and they
Sunday
School
teacher,
Sunday School Teacher,
are
they
which
testify
of
me.’
John
He wouldwhat
lead and
the class
to
search
5:39the scriptures for how
life-changing
would
hetruths.
teach?
Bible
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The Floor: Culture
• Culture is defined as the patterns of
behavior in which a group interacts.
Question:
What Culture Change
• Use the survey of the Fastest Growing
Might
Needed
In Your
Churches toBe
evaluate
the CULTURE
of
your church. What do the survey results say
Church?
about your church’s core values?
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
1.We98%
haveprovide
a systematic plan
systematic
training
for
for equipping our Sunday
Sunday
School
Leaders
School leaders.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
2.
believes
the
Our96%
pastor
is intentional
in
pastor’s support
of the
supporting
and elevating
theSunday
Sundayschool
Schoolisministry.
important to the health
of the church.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
3. Our
96%members
are overcoming
have an
space
Limitations
attitude
of flexibility
regarding room
assignments and schedules.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
We make
it easy toOpen
enroll in
4..
91% practice
Sunday School and are
Enrollment
intentional in expanding the
enrollment each year.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
Our church
5. 85%
use an provides
personal evangelism
evangelism
training
processfor
ormembers
method on a
training
regular basis.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
6. 83%
strategically
We
intentionally
create one
new classes
classes each
orcreate
more new
year.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
have
an aactive
and
7. We
80%
have
weekly
strategic
outreach
ministry
visitation
ministry
that emphasizes face to face
contact.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
We have
a system
8. 78%
maintain
a for
prospect list
identifying,
following up,
and tracking prospects.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
havehave
written
standards
9.We78%
high
standards
theirand
that leadersfor
agree
leadersadhere to.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
Sunday
School is
10. Our
78%
intentionally
organizebased
for growth
organized
on who we
are trying to reach rather
than who attends.
Ten Common Practices of Fastest
Growing Churches
Question:
Evaluate
your Sunday
School
basedChange
on these
What
Culture
Might Befindings.
Needed In Your
Church?
Systems
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Ministry
Strategies
E
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Culture
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The “Early Church” is a good
model to follow for Building a
R.E.A.L. Sunday School.
Listen to the biblical accounts of
the ministry strategies of these
early Christians to discover the
R.E.A.L. Purpose of the Sunday
School for today.
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RELATIONSHIPS
• Acts 2:46-47 “They followed a daily
discipline of worship in the Temple
followed by meals at home, every meal a
celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they
praised God. People in general liked what
they saw. Every day their number grew as
God added those who were saved.” The
Message
RELATIONSHIPS
• Question: How do you think the “People”
liked what they saw? What might have
been happening? Josh Hunt calls it Ice
Cream Evangelism. Don’t invite people to
church/Sunday School, invite them to your
home for ice cream. No body doesn’t like
ice cream.
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EVANGELISM
• Acts 1:8 Ye shall be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea,
Samaria, and to the uttermost
parts of the earth! KJV
EVANGELISM
• How do you think the early church fulfilled
this mission?
•
Peter’s sermon in Jerusalem
•
Peter’s witness to Cornelius
•
Paul and Barnabas mission trips
EVANGELISM
• The early church took Jesus’ command
seriously. They started at home, then they
turned their eyes externally to the world,
i.e. local gentiles, and world missions.
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ASSIMILATION
• Acts 9:25-17 Back in Jerusalem he
(Paul) tried to join the disciples,
but they were all afraid of him.
They didn’t trust him one bit. Then
Barnabas took him under his wing.
ASSIMILATION
• He introduced him to the apostles
and stood up for him told them how
Saul had seen and spoke to the
Master on the Damascus Road and
how in Damascus itself he had laid
his life on the line with his bold
preaching in Jesus’ name. The
Message
ASSIMILATION
• Barnabas did two things: He connected
Paul to the small group of believers and he
connected him to a ministry. Paul was
already preaching.
• If we want to close the back door of the
church, those two things are essential –
connect people to a small group and to a
ministry they can perform.
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LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
• Acts 8:30-35 Later God’s angel spoke
to Philip: ‘At noon today I want you to
walk over to that desolate road that
goes from Jerusalem down to Gaza.’
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
He got up and went. He met an
Ethiopian eunuch coming down the
road. He was riding in a chariot and
reading the prophet Isaiah.
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
• The Spirit told Philip, ‘Climb into the
chariot.’ Running up alongside,
Philip heard the eunuch reading
Isaiah and asked, ‘Do you understand
what you’re reading?’
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
He answered, ‘How can I without some
help?’ and invited Philip into the
chariot with him….
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
• The eunuch said, ‘Tell me who is
the prophet talking about: himself
or some other?’ Philip grabbed
his chance. Using this passage as
his text, he preached Jesus to him.
The Message
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
Teaching is a life-style,
not just something we
do on Sunday Morning
at 9:45.
LIFE-CHANGING
BIBLE STUDY
Do your best to present
yourself to God as one approved, a
Teachingthat
takes
skill, need
study,toand
workman
doesn’t
be
commitment
excellence.
ashamed
and whotocorrectly
handles the Word of Truth.
2 Timothy 2:15
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is not all about us;
it’s not just about those already
attending.
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is not an internally
focused church program. It’s
externally focused; it’s all about
those not yet coming.
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is more than a
program that must be kept alive
or a Sunday morning event;
Here’s My Heart…
…it’s a ministry strategy, a way of
living as the “body of Christ”.
It’s about being the “presence of
Christ” in our world.
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is not a closed
group for in-depth Bible study
where disciples come to grow
“fat on the Word”,
Here’s My Heart…
…but rather it is an inclusive,
open ministry through which
growing disciples “do”
discipleship.
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is disciples building
relationships (with people in their
world) into friendships,
Here’s My Heart…
…and then connecting and
assimilating those new friends in a
small, open group where they can
find compassion, hope, and
community.
Here’s My Heart…
Sunday School is a ministry for
the whole person; a welcoming,
open environment where people
can discover friends,
Here’s My Heart…
…a personal relationship with
Christ and experience lifechanging Bible study.
Let’s Pray
Together