Our Friendship Sunday School class ran out of time last week so I want to finish with just a couple more things. The lesson came from Mark where Jesus healed a man by casting out a legion of demons. You know the story. The man, needing release, ran to Jesus. Jesus healed him. Jesus instructed him. And the man responded to the instruction. End of story right? I don't think so. What a role model Jesus is, and what a role model we need! So what does this account from the life and ministry of Jesus suggest for us in our ministry at Lee’s Chapel and in our own personal ministry?
•Clearly, we are to go and tell the good news of what God has done for us too. Nothing is a powerful as your own personal story. It might not be a touching, tear-provoking testimony, but someone needs the very story of salvation that is your story of salvation, and, like the demoniac, you are to tell it. I am to tell it. The scripture says that those who heard him were amazed. Those who hear us just might be amazed too.
•How about ministering to the so-called “untouchables”- the homeless, the abused, the addicted, the poor, (both poor in finances and poor in spirit), those in nursing homes, the single mother rejected by family, the imprisoned, and the list goes on and on. What should we do? I wonder. Do you?
Although it doesn’t matter what I want personally, it is my hope, because I think it’s the Lord’s will, that in the coming year we take discipleship to another level beyond mere knowledge, upward to the level of service and ministry to others. And one way we can do that is through Sunday School. According to the 3D Sunday School training (from LifeWay) the strongest Sunday School has 3 dimensions: those dimensions are Discover, Connect and Invite.
Discover is the teaching and learning aspect of Sunday School which is both the responsibility of the teacher and the responsibility of the learner. Your teachers are going to do their very best to plan and prepare and deliver lessons to teach God’s Word in an accurate way, in a way that captures your interest, in a way that teaches you something new, and in a way that inspires you to apply God’s Word to your life. That’s what we are going to do. We hope you’ll prepare too. Read your lesson, read the daily scriptures, come to class, and come on time. Enjoy the fellowship, and when it’s time for the lesson to begin, settle into God’s Word; He has something to say! And participate. We all get so much more out of the experience when we do.
Connect is just that: staying connected with one another through good times and bad, too, enjoying each other in fellowship, having class parties, movie nights, Sunday Morning Coffee, emails, and cards, calls and visits. A Connect/Inreach Committee can plan for the class whatever you’re interested in, but they need our interest, our input, and our participation.
Finally, the Invite dimension is the outreach dimension, the opportunity to identify people who aren’t here, and aren’t anywhere else in Sunday School or church, and then ask them to come. The evidence shows that nothing is as successful as the personal, face-to-face invitation when it comes to getting new people into Sunday School. Inviting is probably the area that all our Sunday School groups need to work on. The Invite/Outreach Committee can make plans for inviting people to Sunday School. They can come up with a ministry or service plan for us to get involved in, maybe once a quarter—to reach out to our community or wherever God directs us. If you’ve got ideas, let's get started!
Sunday School is the teaching arm of the church, the biggest of our discipleship training opportunities at Lee's Chapel. Think about this fact. Once you are saved, the rest of your life is or should be spent becoming more and more like Jesus. How do you know what that looks like other than studying God’s Word and then using what you learn to do just that, to become more like Him.
Let's go back to the Role Model. Because Jesus taught, because He connected with people everywhere He went, because He invited them to join Him, we should do the same. That’s my hope and my earnest prayer for us. I hope it is yours too.
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