Is your Sunday School caring? The Lord Jesus Christ demonstrated love for us. And He has commanded us to love one another that way:
Jesus said, “I give you a new commandment: love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.“
John 13:34-35, CSB
The impact of loving one another that way is that the world will know we are His disciples. Wow! And it is possible to love that way because He loved us first:
We love because he first loved us.
1 John 4:19, CSB
Is Your Sunday School Caring?
I use the word care here to mean expressing love in practical, visible ways. Love is not an option; it is a command. What are some of the ways your class cares in (members and absentees), cares up (for God), and cares out (for lost and unconnected people)? Consider these examples:
- Caring IN. Pray together. Make consistent caring contacts with members and absentees. Organize to meet discovered needs in timely, caring ways. Plan monthly fellowships, projects, and meals to strengthen relationships with members and absentees. Avoid dropping absentees and dropouts; instead, provide consistent care and contact. Enlist a member care leader who will lead the class toward intentional care. These actions can be expressed in a great variety of ways.
- Caring UP. Pray individually and as a group. Worship Him. Trust Him. Listen to God in His Word. Seek to understand and apply the Bible. Obey Him. Follow where He leads. Hold one another accountable to keep commitments to Him. There are so many ways these actions can be expressed.
- Caring OUT. Pray for lost and unconnected people. Add them to a prospect care list. Focus care on them through consistent, caring contacts. Invite them to your monthly fellowships, projects, and meals. Look for practical ways to meet needs and help in crises. Train as a class in simple methods of sharing salvation testimonies and witnessing approaches. Share Jesus. I am sure you can think of tons of expressions of these caring actions.
Evaluate Your Care
Pause to consider what your class or Sunday School as a whole is doing in each of these three areas. Where do you need to start to strengthen your care? I challenge you to consider the most important need and place to begin. Focus in that area together until expression of care has been strengthened. Then determine the next most important place to focus your Sunday School caring.
Jesus loved us first. He showed us self-giving, self-sacrificing love. He commanded us to love each other like that. And when we do, the world will know we are His disciples. Care in, up, and out. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!
Photo by Dhaya Eddine Bentaleb on Unsplash
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