As we grow as disciples of Christ and as leaders in the church we must ask ourselves, “what is important to Jesus, what did He come to do?” You see we can do a great many things all of which could be considered “good” but the question is when placed against the standard of God’s Word would they be considered God’s “best”? If when Jesus returns He finds us doing these “things” would He be pleased, or would we have missed His best and been found as an unfaithful steward of the unsearchable riches of eternity. Would you not agree that at His return we should be found doing what He came to do and what He left for us to do?
There are many compelling passages that are foundational to the Adult Sunday School Small Group Ministry. All of these passages come from the teachings of Jesus, of those possibly none are more quoted or considered than the ones listed here. In John 14.6 Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus is life, He is eternal life. He also said in John 10.10, “…but I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Jesus came so that we might have life, eternal life, Jesus came to give Himself! It was said of Him in John 1.4-5, “In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” So what else can we be about if not introducing others to the life changing Jesus Christ?
Webster’s dictionary defines life as “the quality that distinguishes a vital and functional being from a dead body, a state characterized by capacity for growth and reproduction.” It is for this reason that our Adult SYNC Class Ministry exists to fulfill…
Our One Vision…
To lead First Baptist Church to be a 1st century New Testament Church in the 21st century by involving our people in the two-fold mission of the Great Commission:
Evangelizing the Lost… “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Discipling the Saved… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28.19-20
When we lose sight of our purpose then we become maintenance - driven instead of mission - driven. As someone has put it,
“The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing!” Purpose and vision are the driving forces behind what we do; the strategy defines how we do what we do. The strategy being two basic steps we must take in order to accomplish our predetermined goal.
Our Two Step Strategy…
Step #1 – Developing New Leaders
If the key to reaching new people is new units, then what is the key to birthing new units? Having new leaders! Leadership is the foundational support of any new unit. Everything rises and falls with leadership. Many new units which are birthed are often placed in an environment to fail instead of succeed because the leadership base was not in place. We strongly believe in birthing new units in order to grow, but we just as strongly believe that the leaders must first be developed and in place.
“But select capable men from all the people – men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain – and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide for themselves. Exodus 18.21-22
Step #2 – Starting New Units
If the Adult Sunday School Small Group Ministry is to continually reach lost an un-churched people then we must be creating new units, whether new groups or new care groups within those groups, to facilitate new people. New units grow faster than old ones. The old formula is still true:
New Units = New People = New Growth.
The Adult Sunday School Small Group Ministry must be structured to carry out the tasks of the organization. As mentioned before, the number one task of the organization is to reach lost and un-churched people. However, there are two other tasks that we will pursue. Therefore we have…
Our Three Tasks…
“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matt. 9.35-36
1) Reach people for faith in Christ and Bible study. Reaching
2) Teach people God’s Word. Teaching
3) Minister to people’s needs. Ministering