So far we've covered the following subjects:

• The Importance of the Gift of Teaching
• The Purpose of the Gift of Teaching
• The Gift Illustrated by Jesus:
  • To Teach the Word, Be Prepared!
  • The Teacher is a Servant, not The Master.
  • Establishing Rapport With the Students.
  • Silence is Sometimes Golden.
  • Storytelling To Drive Home a Point.
  • Allow the Student To Discover the Answer.
  • Go Out Of Your Way, Visit!
  • Separate The Unteachable from the Teachable.

     Bearing what we've studied to date in mind, let's focus on building your Teaching ministry by going outside of the classroom:

     In a perfect world people would be flocking to Church on Sunday just for the privilege of studying God's Word. In a perfect world believers would study their Bibles daily. In a perfect world all Christians would understand that, as there's no spiritual growth without Scriptural knowledge, they must consistently come to Bible class to grow. In a perfect world....

     Well .... we don't live in a perfect world. The Christian today is a far cry from the Catacomb Christian in ancient Rome who, in the dead of night, slipped into the caves in order to enjoy the spiritual growth that study of God's Word would bring. With some exceptions today's Christian applies himself diligently to studying and reading the Bible "only while in the ecstasy of the new birth". Most believers (I believe, because we are not under "real" persecution in America) begin to grow apathetic a few months to a year after salvation, and many believers follow after the Charismatic "additional blessings" in an effort to re-kindle that emotional high they had at New Birth. We live in an age of "enticement", where pleasure and self-satisfaction is king.

     How can we, as teachers, draw students to the classroom? How can we hope to compete with all that the world has to offer? The Apostle Paul said:

I Corinthians 12:25-26 "That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it."

     What did he mean by "the members should have the same care one for another"? Paul meant that the Church, composed of individual believers, should each have an innate family tie to each other. We are all saved, we are all the adopted Children of God, we are "Family". If the teacher, the classroom minister, cultivates and promotes this sense of "family" among the students, then each individual student will have a sense of belonging within that classroom. If the student feels that he belongs, really "belongs", then he will consistently come to class to "maintain that sense" within himself.

     Several things come to mind when we discuss the Family of God. First, if we're really a family, then why do we spend so little time with one another? Why do we find it so easy to be flip with one another, so satisfying to cut one another apart with our tongues? Do our actions reflect what we teach, that we're brothers and sisters in the Lord?

     One of the fastest growing and most popular cults in America today is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (The Mormons). Recently a beautiful advertisement was on television. The daddy came in and, because the children hadn't done what he wanted (while he was hard at work) he exploded. He chewed those kids out. He next went into another room and reflected on his childhood, how his dad helped him learn how to dance. In a touching moment he went outside of the room and, in love for his family, helped them with their problems. It was enought to bring tears to your eyes at this point. Here was Christian values at it's highest. Suddenly, in shock, I saw it was an advertisement for the Mormons! The Mormons, a cult that teaches that "As Jesus Christ was, we can become", and that "Jesus was no more than a glorified man", and "As God is, we can be", has grown by the millions in the last fifty years by promoting the sense of familial belonging that is (sadly) often ignored in our large orthodox Churches today. The Mormons went outside of the classroom, promoted a "you can belong" aura, and in doing so grew well beyond the small group that started with Joseph Smith. A cult is doing what the Church should be doing. We should be ashamed!

     Let's think about this: How much do you pay your students to come to class? Do you give them, let's say, minimum wage for coming to your classroom? Five dollars per student each time they come? No, I dare say none of us pay our students for coming to class. Yet we expect them to come anyway. Why?

     The visitor to a normal Sunday School class usually finds the following scenario: He comes to class and finds a seat. If he's lucky the teacher will try to talk to him, try to introduce him to the class. In a more gregarious class the students will even try to talk to him and make him feel welcome. The visitor will be given a Sunday School book, and he'll dutifully try to follow the lesson. When the class ends everyone gets up, streams to the sanctuary for morning worship, and "forgets" the visitor.

     Think about it: This man, for no pay, came to Church because he sensed he needed more in his life. He came uncertainly into a foreign classroom looking for a sense of belonging, looking to fill up his needs. He left with a new Sunday School book and a sense that he wasted his Sunday morning for nothing. Chances are, this man will "not" be back to your Church, and it's possible that he "won't" ever accept Christ as Savior because of it.

     Which brings me to this question: "Are you really a family?" Paul believed that the Church was a gathering of believers who were "family":

Ephesians 3:14-17 "For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love"..

     "Family" is the Greek PATRIA, and denotes a group of people who all hold the same ancestry, lineage, or father.

     As Christians we are all family by association with Jesus Christ. It is by His blood that we have become the adopted of God, and have an inheritance reserved forever for us in Heaven. As we are all family we "must" promote this sense of unity and belonging among, not just our own people, but among those who visit who are from outside the group.

     If this sense of belonging is promoted, not just mechanically but with sincerity from the heart, those who visit will return in order that they can continue to belong to the group. If not, they will go where they can have this sense of belonging fulfilled. There are some Biblical ways to promote the sense of belonging within the class, and that's what we want to look at. Please keep this in mind, though: If you are promoting that sense of "family" and "belonging" mechanically, if you have no sense of "love" for those within your group, then your actions are phony. People are not stupid, they can sense a phony a mile away. If they sense you're phony, if you're less than real in believing what you're promoting, then it is to no avail.

     The following story by Wes Smith of San Antonio, Texas illustrates what may happen when we do not really believe what we profess about the Family:

     A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."

     "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."

     "There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."

     "I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."

     "No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."

     Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden to us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come on home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."

     At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

I Corinthians 1:26-29 "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

     Do you really believe what you profess about the Family of God? If not, your efforts at class growth are useless, for your heart is not right with God. If you do, your class will grow. Don't let apathy destroy your ministry!

Acts 2:41-42 "Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers."

     Let me ask you this: Within your own immediate family, don't you often spend time with your wife and kids? Don't you occasionally take the wife (or husband) out to dinner? Don't you take the kids to the zoo, or a park, or to a baseball game? In other words, don't you spend a little "quality time" with your family every now and then just because you love them? If you do this with your earthly family how much more should you be doing this with your Heavenly family?

     "Fellowship" isn't a word that the Baptists created, nor a concept that the Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Lutherans or any Church just stumbled upon. It is a Biblical concept based on the premise that "As we who are Christians are of the Family of God, we should occasionally break bread together in love".

     For some reason (perhaps the lure of the world) we find it easy to go out bowling with our unbelieving friends. We make time to go to company picnics. We organize and participate in softball and other sporting events. Yet we often fail to make time for our Christian brothers and sisters.

II Corinthians 6:14 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?"

     In essence the average Christian seems to follow the opposite of what God has ordained: We should be spending "more time" with our classmates, with our Christian brethren, and "little to no time" with those who reject the Gospel of Christ. After salvation you no longer belong to the world, you belong to the Christ, you are a member of the Church. That's where the fellowship should be concentrated, not on that old dead life but on the new Everlasting Life.

Phillipians 2:1-5 "If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

     All Christians (the Teacher in particular) should emphasize unity within the Body by seeking opportunities for fellowship. When the teacher leads the class to fellowship outside of the classroom environment the common feeling of unity, "of belonging", is increased. The Apostle calls this sense of belonging "being of one accord, of one mind".

     If you will not seize every opportunity to promote unity within your classroom, you will "not" see growth (either physical or spiritual) among your students. Let me say it one more time: "If people don't feel that they belong to your class, they will not come to your class!". You must promote that sense of belonging by fellowship "outside of the classroom".

     Why did Jesus Christ establish the Church on earth? Was it to provide an exclusive "club" that only like-minded people could belong to? Was it just to be a place of worship where we had to go every week? Was it a place where we could all kick in our ten percent tithe, and in so doing feel better about ourselves? "No", the Church is a place of unity where we, as believers, can encourage one another to growth because we "belong to one another".

James 5:16 "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

     While in fellowship each believer is "required" to confess his faults and shortcomings to his brethren and, after confession, have his brethren lift these faults up in prayer. Only by confession within the group can we as believers expect to be healed (to grow). Sadly, in most Churches today we sit in large classrooms and listen to professors of theology lecture on the Bible. After Sunday School we go into sanitized sanctuaries and listen to Doctors of Theology preach high and often seemingly unattainable goals for spiritual growth. We may speak to a few friends, we may even have an artificial time of "fellowship" while we go around the sanctuary and shake hands, welcoming people to the Church. But, my friends, we have indeed fallen far short of what God decreed for Christian fellowship.

     Fellowship in the early Church was a time where believers got to know one another. As they grew in knowledge of their fellow worshippers the sense of Family grew. Once that sense of Family was in place each believer felt that he could share his intimate failures with those in his periphery. This sharing actually led to an unburdening as that believer discovered, "Hey, I'm not alone after all". Once the burden was shared, the healing process could begin.

An true Story from a current pastor concerning this principle:

     "Many years ago I and several other male believers shared an apartment in the little town in Georgia. We all shared the bills, all studied our Bibles together, and made every effort to fellowship together. One day our unofficial leader (Jim) said that he wanted us to participate in an AGAPE, or a "Love Feast". I was a little skeptical so I asked what he was talking about. Jim explained that, during the "Feast", we would each share our faults with those in the group, and those faults would be kept within the confines of the group (not spread to the world at large). During the Feast there would be no condemnation, no self-righteousness, just listening one to another. Frankly this scared me. There were sins in my life that I'd just as soon keep between myself and God. I'm sure you're thinking the same thing.

     Anyway, we all agreed, and Jim started the ball rolling. As he confessed his sins, out loud, so that all could hear, I heard him vocalize sins that were those "secret sins" that I was so ashamed of. Suddenly it dawned on me: We weren't that different, Jim and I. As we went around the group, with each member (and finally myself) confessing their sins, our sense of unity exploded into something more than just words. We were brothers together, each as fallible as the next, each struggling with the same weaknesses in our lives. The love within our group was tangible at that moment, so thick that you could see it. As we prayed for one another at the end of the feast the sense of brotherhood and unity was something that I have never experienced since, but that which I'm convinced should be the norm within the Christian Church. Fellowship promotes growth, my brethren. I know, I have seen it's power, and long to see it again."

     Having said all this, your next question is probably "Well, how do I do it?". It's very easy. Just devote a little time:

• Invite your class over to your house on Friday night (or any night that you can all agree on). Offer light refreshments, or ask each couple (or member) to contribute by bringing a covered dish meal with them. Plan some simple activities, and "have fun together". Laugh, enjoy. These people are your family!

• Ask your class to vote for an "Activities Director". Pick someone creative and fun to be around. Have the Activities Director arrange a class night out at least once a month. What you do is not as important as "doing something together". If the class likes bowling, go bowling once a month. If they like charades, get together and do that once a month. "Be together like a family" and you will grow like a family.

• Spend some quality time with a few classmates at a time. Arrange a schedule and start visiting your students. Invite a few at a time to your house for dinner. Go play cards with some who have dropped out of the class. Show that you're interested, and that they belong in class.

• When the season changes, schedule out of town trips with your class. Take them skiing, or rafting, or hiking, or camping. Plan an overnight trip or, if you can't get out of town, plan a "Lock-In" at the Church where everyone spends the night. If you spend a night with your students they'll know you care.

     These are only a few suggestions, as there are many other things you can do. My biggest suggestion is "use your imagination", and have fun! You will see an increase in the class when you show that each member truly belongs.

     Very few people in the world are self-contained. Very few people are truly self-sufficient. Because these statements are true then I can say with certainty that "The worst possible feeling is that which says I am of no consequence".

Romans 12:9-10 "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another"

     How do I know that you love me? How do you know that I love you? We can mouth the words back and forth incessantly, but unless we "show our love" to each other by our works we in essence have no love at all.

A current pastor related this story:

     When I was seventeen years old I was saved in a little Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Unlike many Churches in America today these people believed in the power of fellowshipping. After an hour of Sunday School the Pastor would preach "until he got tired", which often lasted about two hours. We frequently had dinner on the grounds and after that we went back and heard more fine preaching. We shared and testified, told each other our faults, and grew. If you missed Church two or three brothers would come to your house to see if you were all right, and there were different activities nearly every night of the week. My friends, this is the Love which causes growth!

     I was a young man, all alone in the world, and the Church provided that sense of belonging that promoted my growth. If they had done otherwise would I still be in the Church today? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Many who accepted Christ as Savior have fallen away from the Church because it just isn't meeting their needs to belong.

Imagine this all too real scenario:

     A man becomes a believer during Worship Service and joins the Sunday School the following Sunday. He comes to class and fills out a "membership card" that gives his birthday, anniversary, and so on. He attends class faithfully each Sunday, slowly becomes to feel that he's a member of the group, and then misses a Sunday. No one calls and asks where he was, this in itself implying that he's not "really a part of the group". The next Sunday rolls around and, since he worked late the night before, he misses class again. Again, no one calls. The next Sunday it's no longer an issue. He knows he's not really a part of the group so he stays home, forsaking the Church in favor of the bed. After about two months the Church Visitation Committee goes by his house and invites him back to Church. Will he go? Maybe, but likely not. If it took two months to miss him, he doesn't belong there anyway. Another Warrior for Christ falls because of apathy in fellowship.

Imagine this all too real scenario:

     A woman, a faithful member of the Church falls sick and enters the hospital. She stays in the hospital several weeks without hearing anything from either her Pastor or her class. She doesn't want to call her teacher and complain for this seems like begging though, all the while, the lack of concern hurts her emotionally. When she comes out of the hospital and heads back to Church she meets a well meaning (but misguided) classmate who utters these ten hypocritical words: "Where have you been? We've been missing you in Class." What passes through the woman's mind at that point is, "Really, then why didn't you call? You didn't miss me, you ____".

     If the student doesn't feel that he's a part of the class then he won't come, my friend. Years ago when Christians had to come to Church by horse and buggy you might have some excuse for failing to keep in touch with your students. In this day of the telephone and the Postal Service there's really no excuse. Teachers are busy with full lives, usually holding down a full time job outside of their Church work. Nevertheless there are ways to keep in touch with your students and thereby promote that sense of belonging.

     Even with a handy telephone it may be too much for the teacher to call every student every week. If this is the case I suggest organizing your class into a system of class leaders that help you accomplish this task. What I'm about to present isn't my idea, it's an idea that several Sunday School leaders came up with. But it works, if you'll take the time to do it within your class. The teacher is still in charge of making sure that each class leader does his or her job, but with help it is possible to contact every member every week.

     Each Sunday School class is comprised of two elements: Those who are regular class members, and those who are "visitors." Many visitors who come to class rarely come back a second time because, as we've been emphasizing all along, they are not made to feel that they "belong". The Class Outreach Leader's job is to make sure that these people feel welcome, that they're a part of the group.

Ephesians 2:18-22 "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit."

     That we all belong is a reality, but if we do not "feel like we belong" that sense of disunity often overwhelms that which is real. The Outreach Leader's job is pretty straightforward, but very important if you want these visitors to become regular members in your class. The Outreach Leader(s):

1. Maintains an up to date “Prospect List” along with a Sunday School attendance status on class members. When visitors come to your class the Outreach Leader asks them to fill out a "questionnaire" that asks for information like name, address, phone number, birth date, number of children, anniversary date, and so on. The Outreach Leader notes the date the visitors came to class and files this information away for use "within the coming week".

2. The Outreach Leader immediately notifies either the Pastor or the Chairman of the Deacons that there was a new visitor(s), and provides these Christian servant leaders with all pertinent information. One of these servant leaders will make arrangements to visit that person as soon as possible, preferably the same day (that Sunday afternoon). A sense of belonging is started in the visitor when an effort is made to go to their house. You see, they are "important", and perceive that your actions stress their importance to the Body.

3. The Outreach Leader "must" lead the class to discover, witness to, and enroll all lost and unchurched prospects. The Outreach Leader must make every effort to go to the visitor's home within the coming week to let them know that they are important, that they are needed in the class.

4. The Outreach Leader must be willing to not only enlist class members to represent the class during all scheduled Church visitation, but also participate in this visitation himself.

     The Outreach Leader is, in essence, the evangelical arm of the classroom. Each class may have more than one Outreach Leader (based on class size), but whoever you pick for this ministry must have a heart dedicated to reaching out for the lost. The Teacher should stay in contact with the Outreach Leader(s) by either telephone or personal visit each week. Let them know their job is important, critical to the "growth" of the class.

     Just as the Outreach Leader attends to the needs of the visitor, the Caregroup/ Prayer Leader attends to the needs of the regular classmates. The teacher should choose out several mature believers to be Caregroup Leaders, and assign each of these Leaders "five to seven" students to watch over. The Caregroup Leaders will:

1. Contact every member of their group (five to seven people) weekly. Ask their assigned people about their prayer requests, and forward these requests to you (the Teacher), the Chairman of Deacons, and the Pastor.

2. The Caregroup Leaders will "personally" visit every member of their group who enters the hospital or is sick. He or she will ask the class to sign and send a “Get Well Card”, while encouraging the class to visit these fellow Christians in need.

3. The Caregroup Leaders will show a "genuine interest" in the spiritual well-being of their group. They will frequently encourage their new Christians by inviting them to personal (one on one) Bible studies. Basically they will disciple their people for Christ.

4. The Caregroup Leaders will know the important dates of their assigned members (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.), and make sure to wish them well on those days. Promote that sense of belonging, it will bring the Christian back to Church each week!

     The teacher should contact the Caregroup Leaders each week and encourage them in their ministries. Let them know that they are the adhesive that promotes the stability of the class. Let's stop letting our people slip through the cracks because of apathy!

Ephesians 4:27 "Neither give place to the devil."

II Timothy 2:24-26 "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."

     When Christians think of the devil they think of a conquering angel, boldly coming into the fellowship of the saints and sowing strife and discord. In reality the devil is far more cunning, far more devising in his successful campaigns against the Church. It is he who quietly whispers, "You come to Church faithfully, that's all God requires, you need do no more". He intones, "They really don't think you belong as a part of this group, or else they'd call. You'd be better off at home".

     When we as believers allow apathy into our lives we give place to the devil, aiding him as he slowly shaves the numbers of the Church down to naught. You must reach out to your class, you "must" instill a Godly sense of belonging in that which God has given you. If not, you contribute to the problems rather than spread the Gospel of Christ. Think about it!

     If you have not already done so, please consider trusting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. For more information on Salvation Click Here to view "How can I get to Heaven?"

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Last modified: 11/21/2002