• Home
  • About
  • Resources
  • Contact

Sunday School Revolutionary

Sunday School matters. Be revolutionary!

Expect New People Every Week

August 1, 2010 by Bob Wood 1 Comment

New people make connections through open groups.  “An open group expects new people every week.”[1]  Are we ready every week for new people?  As I’m writing this, we have a guest in our home.  How we treat house guests can be a model for how we treat Sunday School guests. 

1.    Clean Up the Clutter

When no one else is here, we get used to things lying around.  When a guest is coming, we pick things up and clean things up.  View your classroom like you’re expecting guests; clean up the clutter. 

2.    Have What They Need

We make sure guests have what they need, like clean sheets on the bed and clean towels in the bathroom.  Do you have everything you need for guests, like extra chairs and enough quarterlies? 

3.    Watch for Them to Arrive

When we are expecting guests, we open the front door and watch the driveway.  Who is watching for guests to arrive at your church?  Is there someone in the parking lot, at the church door, and at the door of your classroom?

4.    Welcome Them Warmly

When guests arrive, we give them a hug or a handshake and tell them how good it is to see them.  How do you greet new people in your class?

5.    Pay Attention to Them

When we have guests, we don’t ignore them and go about our regular business.  We spend time with them.  We talk with them.  Do you have a way to make sure that someone pays attention to guests in your class? 

6.    Introduce Them to Others

We introduce our house guest to our other friends.  Does a new person to your class get introduced to all those folks they don’t know?

7.    Give Them a Good Experience

We eat better when we have guests.  We want to make sure they have a good experience.  We try to make sure our guests aren’t bored by finding things for them.  In your class, will a guest be fed with an excellent Bible study?  Will the Bible study experience be interesting and relevant (not boring)?

 Expect, and be prepared for, new people every week.


[1] David Francis, Great Expectations: Planting Seeds for Sunday School Growth, (Nashville: LifeWay Press, 2009), 13.

Bob Wood is the Church Growth Ministries Team Leader, Baptist State Convention of Michigan.  He seeks to help churches build up believers and in doing so build up the body of Christ.

Related posts:

Share the Story: Sharing Personal Testimonies in the Group

Partner with Families

Our Commission: Go after the People

Connecting with People

Filed Under: Great Expectations, Outreach/Evangelism, Sunday School

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention Expect New People Every Week :: Sunday School Leaders -- Topsy.com says:
    August 1, 2010 at 6:23 am

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Josh Hunt, Sunday School Leader. Sunday School Leader said: Expect New People Every Week http://bit.ly/aNJ4Kr #sundayschool […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Looking for Something?

Subscribe

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Connect With Me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Order Copies of Discipling and Caring

 

Two encounters are critical. First, the leader encounters God in His Word and is changed. Second, the leader guides the group to have a life-changing encounter.

Order Your Copy Today!

In John 13:34-35, three times Jesus said, “Love one another.” Your group is the ideal place to practice and launch the kind of love for one another that shows the world that we are His disciples.

Order Your Copy Today!

Categories

  • 100 Small Changes (103)
  • 30 Days of Prayer (2)
  • 31 Day Countdown (31)
  • 31 Days of 3 Roles for Guiding Groups (30)
  • 31 Days of Extreme Sunday School (26)
  • 31 Days of Missionary Sunday School (29)
  • 31 Days of Transformational Class (31)
  • 31 Days Series (2)
  • 31 Days to a Better Teacher (33)
  • 31 Ideas of Outreach & Evangelism (31)
  • 5 Weeks of Flake (27)
  • Assimilation (332)
  • Best Practices (6)
  • Bible Study (95)
  • Connect (16)
  • Disciplemaking (30)
  • Enlistment (44)
  • Enrollment (50)
  • Evangelism (75)
  • Events (26)
  • Flake's Formula (22)
  • Great Expectations (33)
  • Group Life (34)
  • Growing your Group (58)
  • Job Description (33)
  • Leadership (329)
  • Learning (52)
  • Ministry (123)
  • Misc (230)
  • Mission (53)
  • New Groups (52)
  • Organization (30)
  • Outreach (455)
  • Outreach/Evangelism (160)
  • Pastors/Sunday School Directors (476)
  • Planning (199)
  • Prayer (59)
  • Resources (44)
  • Serving (4)
  • Small Groups (144)
  • Space (17)
  • Space and Facilities (19)
  • Space/Arrangement (11)
  • Spiritual Disciplines (7)
  • Spiritual Maturity (265)
  • Starting New Classes (143)
  • Sunday School (457)
  • Teaching (589)
  • Theology (2)
  • Training (31)
  • Transformation (22)
  • Vacation Bible School (18)

Together we can make the needed changes to strengthen leaders and churches to reach Kentucky and the world for Christ.