Bright Ideas: Enlightened Ideas for your Sunday School

Periodically, some ideas will be presented here that can help you in your Sunday School leadership.

• Large Screen T.V. Party!
  
  Big screen televisions were a hot item this past Christmas. If you were one of those or if your household owns a large screen television consider throwing a Super Bowl party and invite your Sunday School class. Then tell friends and neighbors that you are having some friends coming over for a Super Bowl party and invite them to join in on the fun.
  
  “Invite people to a party” is the suggestion of Josh Hunt, national speaker, consultant and author of Double Your Sunday School Class in Two Years suggest that, rather than invite people to Sunday School, invite them to a party. Once they are at the party there is the opportunity to develop a relationship that can lead to an invitation to participate in Sunday School.
  
  Don’t let the Super Bowl be your last party. Josh Hunt suggests parties are one of the best ways to get Sunday School members and others together. Few people want to come to your Sunday “school” class. More would be receptive to a party invitation. Once there, people can get to know one another. People are attracted to other people not classes.
  
  Large Screen TV parties! What a great to get people together.
• The sign says it all. Pastor Jim Ensor submitted this idea. His comment, “Hey, whatever it takes!” According to Pastor Ensor this simple action resulted in an increase in Sunday School attendance from 32 to 43 the first week. Morning worship increased from 42 to 54.
  
  The next step for First Baptist Church, Honaker, is to follow up with the newcomers. Those who attend Sunday School should receive a personal contact from a class member before the Wednesday evening prayer service. This communicates appreciation and affirms the guest’s choice to visit the class. An early or mid-week contact also gives more time for the guest to commit to next Sunday before making other pla
• Use Christmas fellowships as an opportunity for outreach.
  
  People are most receptive to Christian invitations during the Christmas season. Some might say that, “everyone is a Christian at Christmas!”
  
  Sunday School classes and groups will participate in many Christmas fellowship gathers this year. Don’t for get to invite friends and neighbors. Josh Hunt, a well known church growth consultant and author suggest that adult classes “throw a party… and invite your friends and neighbors.” The Christmas season is a great time to throw a party and invite your friends. Let your Sunday School class Christmas social be that party.
  
  If the gathering is a “white elephant” present exchange, provide guests with a gift to include in the exchange.
  
  Most people become involved in Sunday School because a friend, neighbor or family member invited them to join in Sunday School activities. Don’t miss an opportunity to reach out to your friends and neighbors.
• Second Baptist Church, Richmond
  
  Big Church. Small world. These were the thoughts of two soldiers when they recently met for the first time in Baghdad. After an engaging conversation, Skip Goodwillie and Lee Stanford discovered that they not only lived in nearby towns back in the states, but they both were members of the same Sunday School at Second Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia.
  
  Second Baptist Church is known as a big church with a small church feeling. As some of the church’s newer members, neither had met the other prior to their deployment. As Skip and Lee serve in Iraq, the class receives updates through their wives and offers personal support to both families.
  
  Debbie Perkins, Sunday School member
• Black Creek Baptist Church and Faith
  
  FAITH strategy – we have just recently implemented the FAITH strategy at Black Creek. The FAITH strategy is equipping 8 teams on Tuesday nights to make visits into our community, preparing our people to share the Gospel and enroll individuals into Sunday School classes. There is nothing quite like seeing a layperson be involved in leading someone to Christ!! FAITH is not just an evangelism program, but a discipleship plan to build on-mission Christians. Each week’s session includes a 15 minutes of team time (3 person teams), 45 minute discipleship time led by our Pastor, 90 minutes set aside for visitation and 15 minutes of follow-up and celebration over the nights visits.
  
  David Walker, Sunday School Director at Black Creek Baptist Church
• Building Relationship with Children
  
  As you begin a new church year and children move into new classrooms with new leaders, consider ways to build relationships with the children. Review the enrollment records for each group or classroom of children. Assign 5 or 6 children to each teacher in that classroom for purpose of contacting, visiting, and mentoring.
  
  Provide the teachers with the addresses, phone numbers, and birthdays of the assigned children as well as their parents’ names for purposes of contacting.
  
  Leaders are more likely to maintain contact (letters, phone calls, emails, visits) when they are assigned a few children rather than several children.
• Children Still Think You Are Important
  
  How would you feel if your pastor phoned you and said “Joey, I’d like to come by your house for a short visit.” Your immediate response would most likely be “Why does the pastor want to come to my house?” Your next response might be “Well, the pastor must think I’m important if he wants to stop by my house.”
  
  Similarly, a child thinks herself to be of value if her Bible study leader wants to stop by her house for a visit.
  
  Here are some hints for visiting with a child:
  • Make an appointment to visit with child and family. Having an appointment saves time.
  • Let the family know up-front that you plan to visit for only 10 minutes.
  • Visit only when adult family member is present.
  • Tell family the purpose of your visit, i.e. “I’m Joey’s new teacher; I plan to visit all the boys and girls in my care group.”
  • Take a magazine or Bible game to leave with child and family.
  • Ask child how he likes to learn (drama, drawing, writing, games, etc.)
  • Take notice of other children and/or persons in the family.
  • Are there pets in the home?
• Ensuring a Good Time for All
  
  As we begin a new church year and as new children enter your classroom/department, consider writing a letter to each family whose child is in your classroom at church house.
  
  First, give brief information about yourself—why you’re teaching; how long been been a Christ-follower; what you enjoy about teaching at church house.
  
  Secondly, share briefly your goals for the new learning year—children learn to cooperate; children learn consideration of others; children have opportunity to make choices; children learn in ways that excite them, etc. You might give the parents your home phone number or email address.
  
  Thirdly, ask parents to let you know important information about their children---child stops his medication on weekends; child’s pet died over the weekend; child visits the non-custodial parent on weekends; child has a reading difficulty, etc.
  
  Fourthly, suggest ways that parents might be involved in the spiritual growth of their children.
  
  Might you write a letter to the parents each month, relating to them the upcoming study---the Bible people to be studied; the Bible ideas/concepts (honesty, integrity, courage, etc.) to be internalized; Bible verses; learning methods (i.e., we’re writing a drama this month.) to be used as well as your joy in having the opportunity to partner with them in helping their children to be like Jesus?
• Preschoolers and cooking experiences. When using an electric skillet with preschoolers, place the skillet in a paper box that is similar in size to the skillet, yet being 2” or 3” taller than the skillet. To stir the ingredients in the skillet, the preschooler must bend his wrist; thus, he avoids touching the skillet with his arm & getting burned.
• Know how to make a circle with preschoolers? Often preschool teachers say to the children, “Join hands and make a circle.” The preschoolers stand still, looking at the leader. A better approach is to say to the preschoolers, “Let’s make a line by joining hands.” The leader then begins singing a song (any song will do.) while moving the preschoolers around the room. In a few minutes, the leader will have the children moving in a circle.
  
  Stop singing; stand still; ask the preschoolers to drop hands. “Look at the wonderful circle you’ve made!”
• What about play-dough? Many teachers choose not to use play-dough with their preschoolers. Why? One reason is that the teachers don’t want play-dough to get into the carpet.
  
  Solution for play-dough in carpet: Purchase 3 or 4 brightly colored plastic trays (avoiding fantasy characters) from a discount store. Talk with the preschoolers that the play-dough remains on the trays. What happens if the play-dough leaves the trays for another “toy” or another part of the room? The preschooler loses the “fun” of playing with the play-dough and must choose another activity.
  
  Preschooler learns to keep the play-dough on the tray; his learning may need 3 or 4 gentle reminders from the teacher/leader. The leader must follow-through with removing the child from the play-dough.
  
  Ever considered making play-dough, especially with older preschoolers, allowing them to do the measuring, pouring, and stirring? You may add wild colors and various scents…..a wonderful, wonderful learning experience for preschoolers! And great fun!
• Tomato Plants. What if we planted tomato plants this time of year?  Would they have enough time to develop a root system to withstand the summer temperatures?  Is there space at your church house to plant a small vegetable and flower garden?  Consider planting such a garden (perhaps in 2007) that older preschoolers and perhaps first & second graders would care for—plant, pull weeds, check weekly, harvest the produce.
  
  Why a garden with older preschooler and younger children?  In addition to children learning math and science concepts, children learn about stewardship of the earth, continuity of the seasons, God’s provisions, joy in God’s Creation—all Biblical and theological concepts. I know one elementary teacher who, each year, planted a garden at the school house with her 4th graders. Diane Smith
• Parents/Children sessions in Sunday School. Since we know that parents/family are the primary faith-shapers for their children, might your church implement a quarterly Parents/Children session on the 5th Sunday of each quarter? Might you swap Bible study space with an adult group for one Sunday? 1) Enlist a group of parents, children, and children’s leaders to help plan & implement a Parents/Children time. 2) Choose a theme or topic 3) Plan experiential activities for families to do Together; parents aren’t sitting “on the sidelines”. Include a Bible story and music. 4) End with light refreshments! Great fun! Great modeling! Great learning! Diane Smith
• Not quite sure what to do in your children’s area on Labor Day Sunday? New quarter begins Labor Day Sunday and many leaders are out of town. What if you planned for the grade schoolers to participate in service/helping-hands projects on Labor Day Sunday?
  
  Here are some ideas of helping-hands projects: 1) wash windows in the educational space. 2) organize the preschool and children’s resource closets. 3) set-up a filing system for the Bible pictures used in children’s area and file the Bible pictures in appropriate categories [filing system is indicated on the Bible pictures, if your church uses Lifeway materials.]. 4) look through and clip from magazines pictures that preschoolers might use (fruit, vegetables, pets, families, plants, flowers, et.) and file in labeled envelopes or clear “shoe boxes.” Diane Smith
• Can’t keep up with puzzle pieces??? Using a fine tip permanent marker, label the sides of the wooden preschool puzzles with the name of the puzzle.  Give a number to each puzzle.  On the backs of the puzzle pieces, using a permanent marker the corresponding number.  When a puzzle piece is lost and found, the appropriate puzzle is easily located, using the matching numbers.
  
  You might store the wooden puzzles in one gallon zip-lock plastic bags.  Storing in plastic bags is helpful when puzzles are dropped or turned upside down.
  
  Remember to wipe the puzzles with antiseptic cloth after use by preschoolers. Diane Smith
• A coffee pot in every adult class room
  
  The adult Sunday School class is an excellent place to network with people and learn more about them. An early class fellowship time is also a time to introduce guest to class members. A coffee pot along with juice, water and early morning snacks help break the ice and help people feel more comfortable talking and “visiting” before the class begins the Bible study.
  
  Enlist class members to bring juice and snack by placing a sign-up sheet on the wall near the class exit. Remind members each week that they can sign up for a date to bring the “goodies”. One those Sundays when no one brings food, juice and coffee will do just fine. It is helpful to have one or two people designated as the coffee preparers on a regular basis.
  
  The class fellowship coordinator can help get this organized. Bill Alphin
  
• Send a card or e-mail to a class member
  
  As we begin the summer season many adult class members will spend more time away from home often including Sunday morning. A great way to let them know they were missed is by dropping a post card in the mail or sending a quick e-mail.
  
  You might say something like, “I missed you in Bible study Sunday. I hope your absence was due to a well deserved need to get away you are doing well. If your absence was due to a life challenge and our class can be of help please telephone me at…. I look forward to fellowship next Sunday.”
  
  It’s good to be missed. Bill Alphin
  
• Expand your Sunday School through a jail ministry. Consider starting a new Bible study group with inmates in a jail.
  
  Many local jails and Juvenile Detention Center have very little discipleship training. Your Sunday teachers and class members could have and eternal affect on many young men and women some who have never been inside a local church? During a service in May of 2006 at Powhatan Correctional center the question was asked, “How many of you have never been in a church service?” Six men raised their hands.
  
  Interested in starting a jail Bible study ministry? The Virginia Baptist Resource Center is fortunate to have a working partnership with Bon Air Baptist Church and their director of prison ministry, Garry Sims. Contact Garry Sims at garrysims@earthlink.net for more information about how your church can get involved in jail Bible studies. Bill Alphin
  
• Preschoolers and Crayons: Know all those preschool crayons and washable markers at are thrown into boxes in your classroom? What if we use these crayons and markers to increase a preschooler's pre-science skills? Using juice cans or plastic containers, indicate on the individual containers, one color per container.---purple crayons are to be placed in container with purple lettering or purple paper; red markers are to be placed in container with red letter or red paper, etc. Follow the same procedure for 8 basic colors. This helps the preschooler with his classification skills. Bill Alphin
  
• Children and Postcards: As you plan for your summer vacation, plan to take a listing of the names and addresses of the names of boys and girls in your classroom at church with you. Send the children postcards of the places you visit on your vacation. Be sure to include a message "I'm praying for you while I'm away. See you soon!" Bill Alphin

• New Classes: Start a new class with a team. It’s lonely to begin a new class alone. Often churches will give a teacher a new room, teaching resources and a list of prospects which can be a menu for failure.
  
  Better to start a class with a team. Start with a teacher, and outreach coordinator and two care group leaders. One of the care group leaders can serve as class secretary. All members of the team help with cultivation of new prospects and worship guest. Bill Alphin
• Teaching Adults: Start teaching preparation early in the week. Once the teacher knows the content and direction of the lesson the teacher can then look for life stories and illustrations to complement next Sunday’s Bible study.
  
  Newspapers and T.V. offer great sources for introductions to the Sunday School Bible study. People are interested in what’s happening in their word. To find these stories one must begin early preparation.
  
  It is really frustrating to read the lesson on Friday night only to remember that there was a story in B8 of the local paper that was thrown into the trash on Wednesday! Bill Alphin

Submit your ideas!

Do you have something that worked well in your church? Let us know, and you might see your idea on this page! E-mail them to bill.alphin@vbmb.org.