Allan Taylor: A vision for Sunday School

Every church must decide what it will do with the Great Commission and how it will do it.  The fact is, the Head of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, has already decided what we are to do:

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  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” (Matthew 28:18-20).

It is now up to us to determine how we should accomplish it.

Sunday School Vision Statement

To lead my local church to be a New Testament church by involving our people in the twofold mission of the Great Commission:

1. Evangelizing the unsaved.

2) Discipling the saved.

Every organization must have a vision or dream that gives it a purpose and mission.  This vision gives direction and sets the agenda for the work of the organization.  What then is the mission of the Sunday School?  Its number one purpose is to fulfill the Great Commission.  The Sunday School is the church organized to do the work of the Great Commission.  All other organizations within the church (discipleship training, choirs, etc.) recruit its people from those who are already part of the church fellowship.  The Sunday School alone is the organization with the task of reaching people.  Therefore, it is imperative the main objective for the Sunday School be reaching lost and unchurched people.  We must have a heart for the Great Commission.  If we do not, then not only will the Sunday School regress but so will the other organizations within the church which enlist those who have been brought in through the Sunday School ministry.  Therefore, if the Sunday School does not reach people, then the whole church suffers.

When we lose sight of our purpose, then we become maintenance-driven instead of mission-driven.  As someone has put it: "The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing!"

How we view our Sunday School will have everything to do with what we do with it.  I believe we need a new vision of what Sunday School is and what it can do.  Sunday School is not just a program; it is a ministry.  Sunday School is not just a weekly event; it is a strategy.  You see, we would all agree that we are to be about the Great Commission.  But the real issue is how.  Sunday School is how.  It is how we tangibly and practically flesh out the Great Commission.  Question:  If Sunday School is not how you flesh out the Great Commission, then how do we accomplish it?  Is this method as effective as Sunday School?  This I know, Sunday School has a track record that has been proven over the decades.  Many say Sunday School is no longer effective and now fails us.  My question is: Has Sunday School failed us, or have we failed Sunday School?

Sunday School Vision Strategy

The Sunday School Vision Strategy will answer the question how.  How can we go about fulfilling the Great Commission?  I see two crucial elements within the Sunday School structure that are musts if we are to effectively become more involved in the work of evangelizing and discipling.  They are:
1) Developing New Leaders
2) Birthing New Units

If we have a vision statement which is the driving force behind a purpose-driven Sunday School, then we must have a strategy to bring this vision into a reality--the strategy being the small steps we must take in order to accomplish our predetermined goal.  The two steps we must take are developing new leaders and birthing new units.

Step 1: Developing New Leaders.

If the key to reaching new people is new units, then what is the key to birthing new units?  Having new leaders!  We must always be in the process of developing new leadership within the Sunday School organization.  Groups created based on need alone will soon fizzle out.  Genuine need must be coupled with genuine leadership for a new unit to survive.  Leadership is the foundational support of any new unit.  Everything rises and falls with leadership.  Many new units which are birthed often are placed in an environment to fail instead of succeed because the leadership base was not in place.  I strongly believe in birthing new units in order to grow, but I just as strongly believe the leaders must first be developed and in place.

Step 2: Birthing New Units.

If the Sunday School  is to continually reach lost and unchurched people, then we must be creating new units (new classes)--whether new classes or new care groups within those classes--to facilitate new people.  New units grow faster than old ones.  The old formula is still true: New Units = New People = New Growth.

Allan Taylor is the author of Sunday School in HD and The Six Key Values of Sunday School. He will will be doing an All Star Sunday School Training event July 26 - 27 in Oxford Mississippi. He also scheduled to do an All Star Training in Ohio April 11, 12, 2014

To schedule an All Star Sunday School Training event, see http://allstarsundayschool.com/ or contact Josh Hunt at josh@joshhunt.com 575.650.4564