Ideas For Evangelism - Way of Life Literature

Sunday SchoolsSome of the following is summarized from the bookEffective Evangelistic Churches by Thom Rainer:Sunday Schools offer an excellent avenue for biblicalinstruction geared to specific ages and levels.Evangelistically minded churches have found thatSunday Schools are also one of the better means ofevangelism and perhaps the best means for assimilationof converts into the church family.Because of the small group setting, group fellowships,etc., Sunday Schools can often reach out to newcomersand the lost in a more personal way than the overallchurch can. As the pastor of one church related:“The larger our church became, the more I believedthat we also had to become smaller. As a result, webegan to become more intentional about our smallgroups in our Sunday School classes. Those groupsaccounted for at least one-half of our conversiongrowth last year” (Rainer).Spiritually healthy Sunday Schools have somecommonly shared, basic “ingredients.” Of course, apartfrom reliance upon the Holy Spirit and a solid foundationof absolute trust in the inerrant Word of God, any“ingredients” or “keys to success” or whatever are purelyman’s tactics. Divorced from God’s truth and leading,man’s methodologies are best left on the shelf. With thisin mind, we share some thoughts on how to help makeSunday Schools more fruitful.Prayer is absolutely vital to creating and maintainingeffectiveness in Sunday Schools. Without a prayerminded,burdened staff, the Sunday School is attemptingto carry out spiritual warfare through natural means.