Sunday School

The Role of the Sunday School Director The Sunday School Director has been described as the most influential person in a church other than the pastor. The new or seasoned Sunday School Director will learn the four most important relationships for a Sunday School Director, how to enhance those relationships, action steps to improve your Sunday School and examining the vital expectations for a Sunday School Director. The training will be led by Dr. Tim S. Smith in Sunday School/Small Groups at the Georgia Baptist Convention.

Download the Listening Guide: <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/7A8PWlZtEd" target="_blank">The Role of the Sunday School Director</a>
Basics of Adult Sunday School (1 of 3) Why do most Adult Sunday School classes struggle to accomplish the Great commission? One of the main reason for the struggle is that most of the leaders & teachers have never really experienced and adult Sunday School class that was focused on making disciples.

Join Dr. Tim S. Smith as he outlines in 3 sessions how to point your Adult Sunday School in the right direction; the direction that God called us to, making disciples.

Download the Listening Guide: <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/j1U24l2rpq" target="_blank">Basics of Sunday School</a>
Basics of Adult Sunday School (2 of 3) Why do most Adult Sunday School classes struggle to accomplish the Great commission? One of the main reason for the struggle is that most of the leaders & teachers have never really experienced and adult Sunday School class that was focused on making disciples.

Join Dr. Tim S. Smith as he outlines in 3 sessions how to point your Adult Sunday School in the right direction; the direction that God called us to, making disciples.

Download the Listening Guide: <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/15bxY8YftG" target="_blank">Basics of Sunday School</a>
Basics of Adult Sunday School (3 of 3) Why do most Adult Sunday School classes struggle to accomplish the Great commission? One of the main reason for the struggle is that most of the leaders & teachers have never really experienced and adult Sunday School class that was focused on making disciples.

Join Dr. Tim S. Smith as he outlines in 3 sessions how to point your Adult Sunday School in the right direction; the direction that God called us to, making disciples.

Download the Listening Guide: <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/15bxY8YftG" target="_blank">Basics of Sunday School</a>
Leveraging Social Media to Grow Groups...... Many are familiar with the idea of making contacts through cards, letters, phone calls, and visits for their Sunday School or Small Group. We understand the value of a personal touch with a face to face conversation but we must never neglect the social media world that exists as well.

Making contact or connecting with those we have on our list is essential. With the advent of social media many if not most groups are still not using these tools connect with those on their ministry list and to others as well. Here are a few things to consider when using social media with a group.
<ul>
<li>Understand what type of social networks are used by your group so you can be the most effective.</li>
<li>Communicate weekly.</li>
<li>Use social media to connect the teaching of the previous or upcoming meeting of your group. This helps with application.</li>
<li>Use social media to promote group socials and update prayer request and ministry needs.</li>
<li>If using Facebook, create a group for your group. Here is a video on how this is done and how it can benefit your group for both ministry to the members and reaching new people as well.</li>
</ul>
More from LifeWay
<a href="http://www.lifeway.com/pastors/2017/11/21/3-ways-social-media-helps-outreach-efforts/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">3 Ways Social Media Helps Your Outreach Efforts</a>
Fall and winter are usually busy outreach seasons for churches: Fall Festivals, Trunk-or-Treats, Thanksgiving dinners, musicals, Christmas Eve and Christmas services, and more.

In the not-so-distant past, advertising for such events was limited to your local newspaper. Such ads were not always cheap, and reach was limited to subscribers who read the paper on the day your ad ran. Not so with social media. Today, your event info can be shared, shared, and shared some more, providing multiple opportunities for viewing.

Social media is the easiest, most effective way to promote your outreach efforts that exists today. Please don’t overlook it.

What are some benefits? Here are three.

1. Social media provides advertising at no cost.
It costs nothing to share an event (or ad graphic) on your church’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, or Instagram. It is completely free for as many times as you want to post or tweet about it.

You’ll have non-church members sharing your event to their friends.

2. Social media provides advertising at low cost.
It costs very little to “boost” a post on Facebook, the only channel I recommend for pay ads. You can books for as little as $1 a day. Boosting also allows to you target people close to home, which means you get more for your money.

You don’t have to boost posts for every single event, but Facebook does suppress organic reach (the number of people who like your page who see a given post in their feed). Boosted posts are a very inexpensive way to expand your reach to all the people who like your page and beyond.

3. Social media allows for answering questions.
Social media allows for the quick answer for questions asked right on the post: “Can I bring my dog?” “Is there an age limit?” “Can my kid dress like Sauron at your Fall Festival? Can my grandfather?” (Twitter and Instagram also allow for interaction.)

Surely there will be people who look up the church’s phone number and call the office, but most will simply used the possibility embedded in the medium itself.

We live in a day when social media is part-and-parcel of “word-of-mouth.” If you want people to talk-up your event, then make social media integral to your outreach promotion.
Role of the Minister of Education The role of the minister of education has changed considerably over the last ten years but the role of Christian Education continues to be vital in the life of a church. Three of the leading ministers of education have joined Dr. Tim S. Smith in a discussion of the role of the minister of education and other issues related to the topic of Christian education.

This group has over 120 years of experience in leading Christian education in the local church. Bill Gambrell from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Allan Taylor from First Baptist Church Woodstock and Matthew Gibbs from Second Baptist Church in Warner Robins will be discussing past successes and future trends that will be impacting Christian Education.

Join Bill, Allan, Matthew and Dr. Smith for this FREE Growing Groups Online video training...
Missions Through the Sunday School Derrick Poston from NAMB and GAM (Great Adventure Missions) discusses how to have Missions activities through your Sunday School.

Pastor Derrick Poston is a missionary with the North American Mission Board. He received his Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2000. Prior to his appointment he served for ten years as the Outreach and Evangelism pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta.

Derrick is called to come along side pastors to equip their members for local missions. He has the gift to motivate, mobilize, and encourage believers to share their faith with godly confidence. He met his wife Syndi Jackson at a Sunday School social. With a smile on his face Derrick says, “I really love Sunday School!” He and his wife Syndi have two children and attend First Redeemer Church in Cumming, Georgia.

Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned; that I may make it clear in the way I ought to speak. Colossians 4:2-4

Download <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/4iWTfbTBbK" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Viewer Guide</a> for Missions the Sunday School.
Closing the Back Door Through Sunday School... As believers, we desire to see people come to Christ and come through the front door of our church to serve our Lord alongside us. Too many times, we fail to pay attention to the back door. People on our rolls can “fall through the cracks” and those who have served alongside us are gone. The video will help you develop a strategy to ensure that the backdoor closes, and we fully minister to all those that God has brought our way.
Click here to download the free listening guide (PDF): <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/7rZ1dEqy71" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Closing the Back Door through SS Listening Guide 2013</a>
Sunday School that Really Excels Adult Sunday school can effectively increase the health of a church, and foster community and spiritual formation among its participants. Sunday Schools That Really Excel is a revealing look at actual churches with adult fellowships that not only survive but thrive. No matter the setting or challenges facing your church, this book is highly encouraging and practical. In this video, Tim Smith discusses "Sunday School that Really Excels" book with Steve Parr, who compiled the book.

Author Steve Parr has emerged as a respected voice in communicating the true dynamics of churches that thrive in reaching and making disciples. His ideas are not only theoretical; he led a ministry that baptized over 1500 people in fourteen years.

Steve Parr
Dr. Thom Rainer refers to Steve as “one of the brightest minds alive today on church issues.” Dr. Steve R. Parr has assisted churches 30+ years through seminars, conference, preaching and personal consultations along with authoring several Sunday School Books. Checkout his latest book “Why They Stay” at SteveParr.net. Steve is the VP of Staff Coordination & Development at the Georgia Baptist Mission.
Sunday School That Really Responds The Sunday School That Really Responds video training is based on Steve Parr’s book recently released by Kregal Publications. The video training will address some of the common 24 Sunday School emergencies addressed in the book. Do not miss this opportunity to invest in the help of your Sunday School ministries.

Author Steve Parr has emerged as a respected voice in communicating the true dynamics of churches that thrive in reaching and making disciples. His ideas are not only theoretical; he led a ministry that baptized over 1500 people in fourteen years.

Steve Parr
Dr. Thom Rainer refers to Steve as “one of the brightest minds alive today on church issues.” Dr. Steve R. Parr has assisted churches 30+ years through seminars, conference, preaching and personal consultations along with authoring several Sunday School Books. Checkout his latest book “Why They Stay” at SteveParr.net. Steve is the VP of Staff Coordination & Development at the Georgia Baptist Mission.
How To Have More Workers Than You Need One of the greatest needs of our churches is having enough people to serve in the ministries the God has entrusted us with. In many cases it is not simply the fact that we do not enough people willing to serve it is more the case that we do not have a strategy for recruitment and retention of workers.

This video training will help you design a plan for getting new people to serve and keeping the ones God has already using in our church.

Download the Listening Guide: <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/megT2LsIvB" target="_blank">How To Have More Workers Than You Need in Sunday School</a>
Planning a Sunday School Calendar To see success as we seek to reach and disciple people through Sunday School we need to plan ahead. Good planning utilizes an intentional strategy which is implemented through meetings with our teachers and leaders . This video will help you plan your Sunday School calendar so you can best accomplish the work of your Sunday School. 
<a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/Y5bVbUaMs2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Planning a Sunday School Calendar Outline</a> <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/WEyc4Tt2YY" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Planning a Sunday School Calendar Blanks</a>
Teaching the BIBLE is the CORE of Sunday School...... Join Dr. Tim Smith, Sunday School and Small Groups Specialist for the Georgia Baptist Convention in this on-line training session that reminds all of us that teaching the Bible is foundational to the success of class, group or church.

This FREE resource is made available to you because of the gifts of Georgia Baptists through the Cooperative Program and the Mission Georgia Offering. In this FREE 30 minute interactive training session you will learn:<ul><li>the Biblical foundation for Bible teaching</li><li>how to prepare to lead a Bible study session</li><li>how to develop a basic teaching plan</li><li>various learning styles for teaching</li></ul><a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/kX8BhZ2cdw" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teaching the BIBLE is at the CORE of Sunday School [PowerPoint 1.7 mb]</a>
<a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/0CLLDyy1iB" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Teaching the BIBLE is at the CORE of Sunday School - Listening Guide [PDF]</a>
Developing Sunday School Leaders Having enough Sunday School leaders is one of the greatest challenges facing most pastors, ministers of education and/or Sunday School directors. One pastor said, “Not only does my church need more teachers but we need more GOOD ones!”

In the latest FREE resource released from Growing Groups ON-LINE you will gain practical ideas that will help you develop new Sunday School leaders. In this you will...
<ul><li>Learn how Jesus developed leaders.</li><li>Identify the skills needed to be a successful Sunday School teacher.</li><li>Gain 5 strategies for developing leaders you can use in your church.</li></ul> Join Dr. Tim Smith, Sunday School/Small Groups specialist for the Georgia Baptist Convention, for this free 30 minute training that will make a difference in your church.

<a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/gnFlzHDVMD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Developing Sunday School Leaders [PowerPoint 3.5 mb]</a>
<a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/s28YpyN2xi" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Developing SS Leaders Listening Guide [PDF]</a>
Spiritual Renewal through the Sunday School The spiritual vibrancy of the lives of your church members or class/group members will determine the effectiveness of the ministry; both inside the church and outside in the community.  If our people are not growing in Jesus they will not be having meaningful conversations with people about Jesus.  We’ve got to give attention to spiritual renewal.

In this 17 minute on-line/on-demand training experience you will learn what spiritual renewal is and how to lead your class/group to experience spiritual vibrancy.  Participants will receive the four leading indicators of spiritual renewal and the top five ways to guide a class/group to experience spiritual growth.

As followers of Christ we long for a fresh sweeping movement of God in our land. Personal revival and renewal must be the foundation of any strategy for engaging our world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The challenge will be to …

… accept personal responsibility for developing a growing, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

… engage in personal repentance over sin that hinders pursuing the call of Christ.

… pursue the Lordship of Christ to motivate every thought and action in order to communicate the hope of Christ to this world.

Click <a href="https://gabaptist.egnyte.com/dl/NFBdlCWUy7" target="_blank">Listening Guide - Spiritual Renewal through Sunday School/Small Groups</a> for your FREE listening guide.
Starting and Managing Multiple Sunday Schools... In this video you will learn how to go about initiating multiple Sunday Schools in churches. We will examine the reasons why churches should consider moving to multiple Sunday School sessions.

You will also address the eight common questions and how the answers will assist you in clarifying how and when you should move toward multiple Sunday Schools. Using multiple Sunday Schools is good stewardship and an effective tool to assist your church in growing but much care and consideration should be given in the preparation for this undertaking.

Join Dr. Tim Smith and Mike Taylor from the Sunday School/Small Group Ministries of the Georgia Baptist Convention in this learning experience. Both of these state missionaries have experience in leading churches through this process prior to and since coming to serve at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.