Lewis MillerFlorida Baptist Convention Sunday School Department
LifeWay Ministry Multiplier
Five StepFormula for
Sunday School Growth!
Fact Fiction?OR
How Well Do You Know Sunday School?
How Well Do You Know Arthur Flake?
Arthur Flake settled in Winona Mississippi as a traveling salesman in 1894.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Arthur Flake birthed the idea for the Broadman Holman Publishing Company.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!
The Sunday School Movement began in Britain.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Arthur Flake was the first Sunday School department Director at the Sunday School Board in Nashville, Tennessee.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Sunday Schools were first established by Robert Raikes in the 1780’s to teach children to read using the Bible as the text.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Sunday Schools were never intended for adults.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!By the early 1800’s Sunday School classes were organized for working
class men and women.
Just prior to his death in 1952 Arthur Flake added a sixth step in the Sunday School formula.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!
In 1895 Arthur Flake led Winona Baptist Church to form the first Training Union in all of Mississippi.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
From the beginning Sunday Schools have been outreach-oriented small groups that enjoy fellowship and the study of God’s Word.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Once a Sunday School class begins meeting for several sessions, new people won’t be able to join.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!New people can join a class or group at anytime.
For the believer, the primary purpose of Sunday School is deeper Bible study.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!Sunday School is a place of service for the believer as they study the Bible.
Sunday School ministry takes place on a long-term and ongoing basis.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
Foundationally, Adult Sunday School’s cannot address the five purposes of the church.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!The ministry’s purposes include, foundationally, all five purposes of the church.
The primary textbook for Adult Sunday School is the learner guide or quarterly.
Fact Fiction?OR
Fiction!
The primary style of ministry for Adult Sunday School is relational.
Fact Fiction?OR
FACT!
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PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
GO
POSSIBILITIES
SPACE
ORGANIZE
X
WORKERS
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
Provide the Space
Enlist and Train Workers
Go After the People
PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
POSSIBILITIES Know the Possibilities
Just Look!
“When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” Matthew 9:36-38 (HCSB)
Census Data
Primary Ministry Area
Prospective Member Possibilities• Telephone surveys and mail follow-up• Church membership roll• Inactive Sunday School members• Summer and school Ministries• Special events• Newspaper notices—especially in “hometown”
publications; newly born, wed, widowed• Newcomers• FRANs—Friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors.• Advanced demographic profiles• Religious Census—door-to-door asking residents about
church involvement, gathering names and ages of all within the household
• Worship guests
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PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
POSSIBILITIES
ORGANIZE
X
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
You can’t keep doing the same
things you’ve always done
and expect different results!
“Unless the present Sunday School organization is enlarged, practically all of the work done in Knowing the Possibilities will come to naught. It
will be necessary to enlarge the organization in order to take care of all the people on the church roll as
well as those discovered in the census.” —Arthur Flake
Four Reasons for Age-Grading
• To reach those who ought to be in Sunday School
• To teach those who are in Sunday School• To enhance personal responsibility for reaching
the lost• To provide a system for assigning prospects and
guests for follow-up
Time to Start a New Class?
• The class has too wide an age span (10 or more years).
• There are more than 40 people enrolled in the class.
• The meeting place is filled with members, regardless of the number enrolled.
• Needs are not being met consistently.
• Prospects have been found, but there is not a class to which the prospects can be assigned naturally.
• The number of adults in an age group has suddenly grown.
• New church members are not currently being enrolled in classes.
• People drift in and out of the class, and no one in the class notices.
Essentials for Excellence CD-ROM,
LifeWay Church Resources
PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
POSSIBILITIES
SPACE
ORGANIZE
X
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
Provide the Space
“There is no such thing as
building a Sunday School
in great numbers in
small cramped quarters.”
Arthur Flake
Nice facilities, adequate space, safe, easily accessible children’s and preschool space, and clean space were all issues of importance to unchurched people surveyed by Dr. Thom S. Rainer.
Surprising Insights from the Unchurched
Focal Wall• Make sure that everything on the focal wall points to the lesson
that is being taught. Announcements, pictures, or bulletins should be placed on a bulletin board somewhere away from the focal wall.
• Place something on the focal wall—a poster, a question on the board, an outline, a statement, or a quote—related to the lesson topic.
• Remove all old posters from previous lessons.• You don’t have to have walls to have Sunday School. All you need
is the learners’ attention.
Room Set Up
Chairs Anticipate the number of chairs needed for class members
plus any guests. Always have more chairs than participants. Practice the
empty chair principle—there is always room for one more. Arrange the chairs—don’t create relationship or learning
barriers. Consider changing the chair arrangement from time to
time.
Room Set Up
Tables Avoid using tables if they create a barrier between you and
others. Don’t use tables if they keep you from adding people. If tables are used, there should be enough room for
everyone. Consider using tables if you have adults with physical
disabilities.
Room Set Up
Never let SPACE dictate your ministry!
CLASS FULL NO ROOM
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PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
POSSIBILITIES
SPACE
ORGANIZE
X
WORKERS
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
Provide the Space
Enlist and Train Workers
“The enrollment potential of any Sunday School is seldom higher than 10 times the
number of workers.” Arthur Flake
12 Workers X 10 = 120 Enrollment Potential
25 Workers X 10 = 250 Enrollment Potential
50 Workers X 10 = 500 Enrollment Potential
100 Workers X 10 = 1000 Enrollment Potential
Adult Sunday School Ratio
1 worker for every 4 adults enrolled.
Where will all the workers be found?
Adult Classes!Adult Classes!
Keep it Sim
ple—Start
with the B
asics!
• TeacherTeacher
• Ministry CoordinatorMinistry Coordinator
• ApprenticeApprentice
Class Organization
Class Organization
Basic• Teacher
• Ministry Coordinator
• Apprentice
Expand as leaders are developed and as the class grows.
• Visitation/Evangelism
• Care Group Ministry
•A.C.E.
•Organize by gender
•Maximum of seven individuals in a group
•Mix of actives, in-actives, and members-in-service
• Fellowship
• Prayer
• Missions
ExpandedExpanded
“The importance of proper enlistment of teachers cannot be overstated. . . . We really do enlist about ninety-five percent of our problems. If we will enlist workers properly, it will save many headaches in the future.”
Allan Taylor Six Core Values of Sunday School, minister of education, FBC Woodstock, GA
Three Steps for Enlisting Workers
• Praying publicly and privately for workers.
• Making a list of prospective leaders.
• Securing the consent of those selected to serve.
“Then about five he went and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’ ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him. ‘You also go to my vineyard,’ he told them.”
Matt. 20:6-7 (HCSB)
Don’t say “No” for
someone else!
STOP You Can’t
Serve!
Everyone is a potential leader!
Answer Three Questions When Enlisting
• Why me?
• Is this job important?
• Will you provide training and resources?
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PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
GO
POSSIBILITIES
SPACE
ORGANIZE
X
WORKERS
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
Provide the Space
Enlist and Train Workers
Go After the People
“In a sophisticated, technological
society like ours, isn’t visitation a little
old fashioned?”
“There is absolutely no substitute for face-to-face contact with the customer
or the prospective customer.”
Arthur Flake
Making the Sunday-Guest Connection
• Definite Time
• Definite Prospects
• Definite Reporting
PEOPLEQUESTPEOPLEQUEST
GO
POSSIBILITIES
SPACE
ORGANIZE
X
WORKERS
Know the Possibilities
Enlarge the Organization
Provide the Space
Enlist and Train Workers
Go After the People
“So we must not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, we must work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.” Galatians 6:9-10 (HCSB)
