Prayerful, Purposeful Preparation for Revolutionary Sunday School

Revolutionary Sunday School is a 24/7 ministry. It is so much more than an hour on Sunday morning. Effective Sunday School is an investment in a relationship with God, members, and prospects. And it takes intentional, prayerful preparation.

Do you want God to use your lessons to change lives? Consider investing in these preparatory actions:

• Spend time with God. Spend time in prayer, Bible study, silence, solitude, and scripture memorization. Seek an encounter with God personally before leading the class to one. Become an experienced guide on a journey to an encounter.
• Spend time with the sheep. What are their needs? Where are they struggling? How have they grown in the past year? Pray and prepare to teach to meet their needs, challenge them to grow, and address their struggles.
• Prepare well. Pray and prepare a little bit every day.
  • Sunday afternoon:  pray; evaluate the teaching/learning session; read the Bible background passage for next week’s lesson
  • Monday-Wednesday:  pray; study commentary; outline passage and questions; write the “life impact”; make assignments
  • Thursday-Friday:  pray; outline the passage again; customize the teaching plan; focus on needs; develop 4-6 key questions
  • Saturday:  pray; plan variety in methods to meet learning styles; prepare group/individual assignments; gather materials
  • Sunday morning:  pray; arrive early; preapre learning environment; greet members and guests; check on individual assignments
• Plan to provide variety. Discover learning styles. Plan teaching methods to address some of the learning styles. Avoid use of only one teaching method.
• Seek participation. Look for ways to involve members and guests. Discover comfort with reading or praying aloud. Avoid asking for volunteers all the time. Divide into small groups and give assignments.
• Expect a lot. Expect the Holy Spirit to move. Expect that God’s Word will not return void. Expect attenders to read their lessons and prayerfully prepare and participate. Expect life change.
• Start well. Launch your lesson well. Create interest early. Get their minds on the lesson/truth. Help them to forget about their fight, grocery list, work week demands, or lunch. Help them to get excited about what they are going to do.

You may be saying, “I don’t have that much time.” Let me curb that thought by telling you that I am not suggesting you spend an hour every day. But even 15-30 minutes invested daily in prayful preparation will pay dividends. Take 15-30 minutes of your lunch hour. Invest a few minutes before or after dinner. Get out your teacher book while waiting in a line. Pray without ceasing. Take advantage of moments and invest them for God. Be revolutionary in your preparation!