Lewis Miller Florida Baptist Convention Sunday School Department LifeWay Ministry Multiplier

4. Five Step Formula for Sunday School Growth! Lewis Miller Florida Baptist Convention Sunday School Department LifeWay Ministry Multiplier

5. Fact Fiction? OR How Well Do You Know Sunday School? How Well Do You Know Arthur Flake?

6. Fact Fiction? OR Arthur Flake settled in Winona Mississippi as a traveling salesman in 1894. FACT!

7. Fact Fiction? OR Arthur Flake birthed the idea for the Broadman Holman Publishing Company. Fiction!

8. Fact Fiction? OR The Sunday School Movement began in Britain. FACT!

9. Fact Fiction? OR Arthur Flake was the first Sunday School department Director at the Sunday School Board in Nashville, Tennessee. FACT!

10. Fact Fiction? OR Sunday Schools were first established by Robert Raikes in the 1780’s to teach children to read using the Bible as the text. FACT!

11. Fact Fiction? OR Sunday Schools were never intended for adults. Fiction! By the early 1800’s Sunday School classes were organized for working class men and women.

12. Fact Fiction? OR Just prior to his death in 1952 Arthur Flake added a sixth step in the Sunday School formula. Fiction!

13. Fact Fiction? OR In 1895 Arthur Flake led Winona Baptist Church to form the first Training Union in all of Mississippi. FACT!

14. Fact Fiction? OR From the beginning Sunday Schools have been outreach-oriented small groups that enjoy fellowship and the study of God’s Word. FACT!

15. Fact Fiction? OR Once a Sunday School class begins meeting for several sessions, new people won’t be able to join. Fiction! New people can join a class or group at anytime.

16. Fact Fiction? OR For the believer, the primary purpose of Sunday School is deeper Bible study. Fiction! Sunday School is a place of service for the believer as they study the Bible.

17. Fact Fiction? OR Sunday School ministry takes place on a long-term and ongoing basis. FACT!

18. Fact Fiction? OR Foundationally, Adult Sunday School’s cannot address the five purposes of the church. Fiction! The ministry’s purposes include, foundationally, all five purposes of the church.

19. Fact Fiction? OR The primary textbook for Adult Sunday School is the learner guide or quarterly. Fiction!

20. Fact Fiction? OR The primary style of ministry for Adult Sunday School is relational. FACT!

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22. POSSIBILITIES GO SPACE PEOPLEQUEST X ORGANIZE WORKERS Know the Possibilities Enlarge the Organization Provide the Space Enlist and Train Workers Go After the People

23. POSSIBILITIES PEOPLEQUEST Know the Possibilities “When He saw the crowds, He felt compassion for them, because they were weary and worn out, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.’” Matthew 9:36-38 (HCSB) Just Look!

24. Census Data Primary Ministry Area

25. Prospective Member Possibilities • Telephone surveys and mail follow-up • Church membership roll • Inactive Sunday School members • Summer and school Ministries • Special events • Newspaper notices—especially in “hometown” publications; newly born, wed, widowed • Newcomers • FRANs—Friends, relatives, associates, and neighbors. • Advanced demographic profiles • Religious Census—door-to-door asking residents about church involvement, gathering names and ages of all within the household • Worship guests

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27. POSSIBILITIES PEOPLEQUEST X ORGANIZE Know the Possibilities Enlarge the Organization

28. You can’t keep doing the same things you’ve always done and expect different results!

29. “Unless the present Sunday School organization is enlarged, practically all of the work done in Knowing the Possibilities will come to naught. It will be necessary to enlarge the organization in order to take care of all the people on the church roll as well as those discovered in the census.” —Arthur Flake

30. Four Reasons for Age-Grading • To reach those who ought to be in Sunday School • To teach those who are in Sunday School • To enhance personal responsibility for reaching the lost • To provide a system for assigning prospects and guests for follow-up

31. Time to Start a New Class? • The class has too wide an age span (10 or more years). • There are more than 40 people enrolled in the class. • The meeting place is filled with members, regardless of the number enrolled. • Needs are not being met consistently. • Prospects have been found, but there is not a class to which the prospects can be assigned naturally. • The number of adults in an age group has suddenly grown. • New church members are not currently being enrolled in classes. • People drift in and out of the class, and no one in the class notices. Essentials for Excellence CD-ROM, LifeWay Church Resources

32. POSSIBILITIES SPACE PEOPLEQUEST X ORGANIZE Know the Possibilities Enlarge the Organization Provide the Space

33. “There is no such thing as building a Sunday School in great numbers in small cramped quarters.” Arthur Flake

34. Nice facilities, adequate space, safe, easily accessible children’s and preschool space, and clean space were all issues of importance to unchurched people surveyed by Dr. Thom S. Rainer. Surprising Insights from the Unchurched

35. Room Set Up • Focal Wall • Make sure that everything on the focal wall points to the lesson that is being taught. Announcements, pictures, or bulletins should be placed on a bulletin board somewhere away from the focal wall. • Place something on the focal wall—a poster, a question on the board, an outline, a statement, or a quote—related to the lesson topic. • Remove all old posters from previous lessons. • You don’t have to have walls to have Sunday School. All you need is the learners’ attention.

36. Room Set Up • Chairs • Anticipate the number of chairs needed for class members plus any guests. • Always have more chairs than participants. Practice the empty chair principle—there is always room for one more. • Arrange the chairs—don’t create relationship or learning barriers. • Consider changing the chair arrangement from time to time.

37. Room Set Up • Tables • Avoid using tables if they create a barrier between you and others. • Don’t use tables if they keep you from adding people. • If tables are used, there should be enough room for everyone. • Consider using tables if you have adults with physical disabilities.

38. Never let SPACE dictate your ministry! CLASS FULL NO ROOM

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40. POSSIBILITIES SPACE PEOPLEQUEST X ORGANIZE WORKERS Know the Possibilities Enlarge the Organization Provide the Space Enlist and Train Workers

41. “The enrollment potential of any Sunday School is seldom higher than 10 times the number of workers.” Arthur Flake 12 Workers X 10 = 120 Enrollment Potential 25 Workers X 10 = 250 Enrollment Potential 50 Workers X 10 = 500 Enrollment Potential 100 Workers X 10 = 1000 Enrollment Potential Adult Sunday School Ratio 1 worker for every 4 adults enrolled.

42. Where will all the workers be found? Adult Classes!

43. Class Organization Keep it Simple—Start with the Basics! • Teacher • Ministry Coordinator • Apprentice

44. Class Organization Expand as leaders are developed and as the class grows. Expanded Expanded • Basic • Teacher • Ministry Coordinator • Apprentice • Visitation/Evangelism • Care Group Ministry • A.C.E. • Organize by gender • Maximum of seven individuals in a group • Mix of actives, in-actives, and members-in-service • Fellowship • Prayer • Missions

45. “The importance of proper enlistment of teachers cannot be overstated. . . . We really do enlist about ninety-five percent of our problems. If we will enlist workers properly, it will save many headaches in the future.” Allan Taylor Six Core Values of Sunday School, minister of education, FBC Woodstock, GA

46. Three Steps for Enlisting Workers • Praying publicly and privately for workers. • Making a list of prospective leaders. • Securing the consent of those selected to serve.

47. “Then about five he went and found others standing around, and said to them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day doing nothing?’  ‘Because no one hired us,’ they said to him. ‘You also go to my vineyard,’ he told them.”Matt. 20:6-7 (HCSB)

48. STOP You Can’t Serve! Don’t say “No” for someone else! Everyone is a potential leader!

49. Answer Three Questions When Enlisting • Why me? • Is this job important? • Will you provide training and resources?

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