Recipe for a Great Sunday School!

1. Recipe for a Great Sunday School! Key Ingredients for Kid’s Small Group Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

2. What is Sunday School? • Sunday School is the foundational strategy of a local church for leading people to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and building on-mission Christians through open Bible study groups that engage people in evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship. Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

3. Key Ingredient # 1 a Scoop of EVANGELISM Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

4. Evangelism is defined as the active calling of people to respond to the message of grace and commit oneself to God in Christ Jesus. Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

5. How can we present the gospel to the kids in our Sunday School Class? • Through the Bible stories • Sharing what the Lord is doing in our lives, and your own salvation story! • Encouraging the children to share what the Lord is doing in their lives • Telling others! Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

6. How can we help kids make “evangelism” a part of their daily life? Mark 16:15, He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” Provide opportunities for kids to tell others and invite others to be a part of Sunday school! Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

7. Key ingredient #2- Stir in a heaping measure of discipleship! Disciples are followers of Jesus, so each week we are in the process of teaching our boys and girls HOW to follow Jesus in all they do! In order to disciple children, you must first practice being a disciple, too. How are you discipled as you teach in Sunday School? Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

8. How are the children in your class discipled? • Using curriculum that is biblically sound and age appropriate • Understanding your children and how they learn • Helping children to understand the relevance of each Bible story to their lives • Learning Bible skills and memorizing scripture • Presenting the Bible story in fresh and creative ways • Modeling Christ in our lives as we build relationships with the kids in our class and their family! John 8:31…”Jesus said, ’If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.’ Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

9. Key ingredient # 3~ many spoons full of fellowship! Fellowship provides the kids and their families the opportunity to connect and build relationships with each other, and to God. How can we intentionally build relationships in our small groups? • Divide your class into care groups and make an intentional effort to get to know the kids and families in your group. • Provide opportunities for the children to get to know each other. • Provide opportunities for families to get together with their kids for fellowship. • Be creative in using parents in the classroom, strengthening those relationships. • Communicate with the kids and their families weekly! Have a strategy to do this! Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

10. Galatians 5:14,”Love your neighbor as yourself.” • Through fellowship, we are helping children and families develop a love for each other and prayerfully this love will extend to all of our “neighbors”. • As we share God’s love with our children, we are modeling how they are to love one another. Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

11. Key Ingredient # 4A generous cup of Ministry 1 Peter 4:10- “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” • How do we do ministry in Children’s Sunday school? Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

12. Ministry cont. • How do we teach ministry in Children’s Sunday School? Ministry is two parts… • Our service to those the Lord has placed in our small group • Our small groups’ service to those outside of our small group~ serving others Our children need to be a part of serving others through a God-sized task! Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

13. Key Ingredient # 5A heaping helping of Worship! Rick Warren defines worship as “the expression of our love to God for who He is, what He’s said, and what He is doing.” In his book, the Purpose Driven Life, Warren equates worship with making God smile. Share at least three ways we worship in Children’s Sunday School. Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

14. Worship, cont. John 4:24, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Worship is a personal and corporate experience, but the focus is always the Lord. Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

15. Cooking up an exciting Sunday School! • Sunday School is a strategy~ a plan~ we must be prepared • All of the ingredients are important. • All of our plans, ingredients, recipes must include the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, for 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 teaches us that, “My speech and my proclamation were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit and power, so that your faith might not be based on men’s wisdom but on God’s power.” Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

16. May the Lord bless you with His Spirit and power as you teach His children! Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!

17. Resources • Kid’s Ministry 101: Practical Answers to Your Questions about Kid’s Ministry • Super Duper Fun & Exciting Absolutely Thought Igniting Bible Activities for Kids • Rite of Passage Parenting by Walker Moore • The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren Recipe for a Great Sunday School Small Group!