People feel involved. Most of them talk. In a worship service we sit in straight rows and watch something happen on the stage. In a Sunday School class we sit in a circle and we connect with one another. Ephesians 4:16 says we grow as we are, "joined and held together by every supporting ligament." We don't grow alone. We don't grow in straight rows. We grow in circles. We grow as we are joined and held together.

C.S. Lewis has a fascinating piece on the Inner Ring. He talks about this incredible desire we have, from birth till death to be in the Inner Ring. We might use the phrase, "In crowd." Everyone wants to be in the in crowd. In Sunday School, you should make everyone feel like they are on the inside.

This is one of the reasons I love writing Sunday School lessons that are question-based. Questions include. Questions involve. Questions allow people to put their two cents worth in.

Technology can help us with this. Encourage everyone in the group to have the phone number of every other person in the group. Put them in your cell phones. It makes people feel connected. Facebook can help us keep up with each other on a day to day basis. Does your group have a Facebook group? It is quick, easy and free to set up. 

If you have an electronic calendar, collect up the birthdays of everyone in your group. And, don't just do it yourself.  Encourage everyone to have the birthday of everyone else in their calendar. 

Email you people during the week. I often suggest you email the group and do a little Googling on this or that before class.

Do some spontaneous dinners with invitations sent via text. Just text everyone in the group and say, "Who feels like Pizza? Pizza Hut on Missouri at 7.00. Be there." Even if people don't come it will make them feel a part of the group.

Josh Hunt
Writer, Good Questions Have Groups Talking

P.S.
In case you didn't get the word, I am publishing Good Questions to Kindle. Check them out on www.amazon.com. I'd love to have your positive review on one of the series.

P.S.S.

If you would like a free trial subscription to Good Questions, email me at josh@joshhunt.com