Sunday School: The heart of teaching, reaching

Recently, I have been asked by several churches about having discipleship classes during the Sunday School hour on Sunday mornings. Is it OK to do that? Will it work? Should we offer just discipleship classes or a mixture of Sunday School classes and discipleship classes?

With the cost of gasoline increasing almost daily and family time becoming more and more precious, it is getting harder and harder to get people to come back to church on Sunday and Wednesday evenings. But Sunday evening has been the traditional time for discipleship training. So, is Sunday morning the right time to do discipleship training classes?

To answer that question, let me ask another question, then give some explanation. The question is – what is the purpose of your Sunday School?

Now, let me tell you what I see as the purpose of the Sunday School. I believe the purpose of Sunday School is to lead people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and to develop mature Christians through open Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, ministry, fellowship and worship. I emphasized “leading people to faith” to stress that we should be bringing our lost friends, relatives and co-workers to Sunday School so that they can be exposed to God’s Word through a simple, easy-to-understand Bible lesson and hopefully respond to it by receiving Christ as their Savior. I also underlined “open Bible study groups.” An Open Bible study is a lesson that stands alone and is open for anyone to attend. Our Lifeway Sunday School literature is designed as an Open Bible study because each lesson is simple, and easy enough for even a lost person to understand.

On the other hand, a “Closed Bible study group” is usually referred to as a discipleship class. These are classes designed for Christians who want to mature in their relationship and walk with the Lord. As Southern Baptists, we have lots of great discipleship courses to offer and I believe that every Christian believer needs to be involved in them and that churches should offer them, understanding the closed group concept. Closed groups are just that ... they usually are designed to last from six to 13 weeks and each lesson builds on what was learned and experienced by the group the week before. After just two weeks or so, a newcomer would be hard pressed to understand and enjoy the class because they have not experienced the first few lessons. Thus the name “closed group.” Once the class begins, new members are usually not accepted. The lessons are designed for those who already have experienced the saving grace of Jesus Christ and may be too deep in theology and doctrine for a lost person to understand.

So, I go back to my question – what is the purpose of your Sunday School? If you want your Sunday School to be an evangelistic tool to reach lost people for Christ, then I would be against making any of your classes into a closed group. Instead, I would encourage all of your classes to catch the vision of the purpose that I have stated above and start reaching out to lost people and inviting them to Sunday School. As your classes start growing, then you will have the pleasure of starting more and more new classes. (Perhaps some home Bible study groups meeting at different times of the week.) As people start getting excited about seeing lost people coming and responding to God’s Word, they will want to grow in their own faith and they will be willing to attend discipleship classes at times other than on Sunday morning.

There are some churches that offer discipleship classes during the Sunday School. But, to my knowledge, I do not know of any that are really growing using that approach. Many times it draws away people that are badly needed in places of leadership in the Sunday School classes. Plus, once you allow them to get started, it will be hard to stop. I would love to hear from pastors or Sunday School directors that are offering closed group studies during their Sunday School hour. Please email me at mdonnell@mobaptist.org with your comments of how this is working in your church. I may use them in a follow-up article.

I acknowledge that this is becoming an important issue in the life of our Missouri Baptist churches. If you do allow some classes to become closed groups, then you must make sure that you offer Sunday School classes for lost and unchurched visitors to attend since they cannot attend the closed group class.

Have you heard the news? Our first Statewide Sunday School High Attendance Campaign in several years is scheduled for Oct. 26. The theme is “Show-me Sunday” and John 15:8 is our theme verse. Do we really want to glorify the Father this year with our Sunday School and small group Bible studies? It won’t happen unless we see Sunday School classes getting serious about reaching new people. And that will mean some new classes and units will need to be started! Let’s make a commitment to quality teaching and outreach in all of our classes. Your Missouri Baptist Convention Sunday School/Discipleship Team is available to help with training and resources to equip and motivate your leaders. Please call on us for help. Materials for promoting “Show-me Sunday” will be mailed to all churches in August and will be available on our website – www.mobaptist.org/ssd. Watch for more details. (Mark Donnell is Sunday School Specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention.)