What Can Sunday School Do to Impact Life Change?

I have written about Sunday School’s impact on life change in more than a dozen previous blog posts (see below). The object of teachers should be so much more than preparing a lesson. It should begin by making ourselves open to God’s presence and teaching. We seek a personal encounter that is personally life-impacting and life-changing. If we are not impacted by God and His word, we will have much less to teach and much less passion when we do so.

Once we have encountered God in His Word, we are able to serve as a guide on a journey toward helping the members of our classes do the same in a group context. But as teachers we must do more than share our testimony of what happened to us when we were preparing the lesson. That is a testimony. Testimonies are important, create interest, and strengthen relationships. But it is God in His Word who has the power to change lives–not curriculum writers or teachers. That means we must do our best to get out of the way long enough to ensure that class attenders get into the Bible to hear God and respond to Him.

But Sunday School’s impact upon life change is not limited to Sunday morning or whenever the class meets. The opportunity for teaching and for application of God’s Word extends beyond the Bible study session. In fact, it is a great practice to check on how attenders did in applying the truth of last week’s lesson. What did God lead them to do this week as a result of meeting Him in Bible study? Asking this question at the beginning of each lesson helps to encourage accountability, review learning, and to encourage life change/application.

Now, let’s get specific. What do you do to move from teaching lessons to teaching people? What do you do to move from teaching lessons to joining God in leading attenders toward life change? What do you do in class or between classes? What has worked best for you and your class? Press the Comments button below and share your experiences. Let’s work together to do more than teach lessons. Meet God in Bible study. Put together a lesson plan that leads attenders to do the same. Teach to change lives. Be revolutionary!