What is Being Taught in Your Sunday School this Summer?

Below are the different study themes that LifeWay curriculum options are presenting to the different age levels for the summer.Match the course of study with the proper curriculum plan.

Course of Study	Answer		Curriculum Plan
A study of 1 & 2 Corinthians			Bible Studies for Life (for adults) & Life Focus (for students)
Landmines in the Path of the Believer (by C. Stanley) Fire & Rain (by R. Pritchard)			Explore the Bible
God’s School of Obedience			Bible Teaching for Kids (Preschool), August
Tough Talk about Tough Issues (sexual abuse, alcohol, violence, abortion)			YOU Unit 2 KNOWN, Unit 2 (for students)
Stepping Up to Serve			Bible Teaching for Kids (Preschool), July
God Loves Us; studies on Noah, Jacob, the Ten Commandments, Joshua & Caleb			YOU, Unit 3 KNOWN, Unit 3 (for students)
Choosing … to Love, to forgive, to be thankful, to follow Jesus			Bible Teaching for Kids (Grades 1-6), July
How to Pray			YOU, Unit 1 (for adults) KNOWN, Unit 1 (for students)
Showing Love: studies on Dorcas, the Antioch church, Paul & Barnabas, Aquila & Priscilla, Peter			Bible Teaching for Kids (Preschool), June
Good Choices: studies on Abram & Lot, Daniel, David & Jonathan, the Good Samaritan			MasterWork
Mission Possible: Telling Others about Jesus			Bible Teaching for Kids (Grades 1-6), June
A study of 1 & 2 Samuel			Bible Teaching for Kids (Grades 1-6), August

(Answers: 1. B, 2. J, 3. H, 4. D, 5. F, 6. I, 7. G, 8. K, 9. C, 10. E, 11. L, 12. A)

Things You May Want to Know About ......

FOR STUDY LEADERSHIP: 4G: Building Great Groups for Great Growth Conference, July 23-25, Ridgecrest - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=361&cid=4GeUpdate201005

FOR CHURCH STAFF & LEADERSHIP: Transformational Church DVD study kit -http://www.lifeway.com/product/005255385/?cs=1

FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL LEADERSHIP Leadership meeting ideas using 'Great Expectations' -http://www.lifeway.com/myextra/extra_page/0,1140,D%253D5%25252F30%25252F2010%2526M%253D201124,00.html

FOR DISCIPLESHIP: When Life is Hard" 6 Sessions-James McDonald http://www.lifeway.com/e20/shop/?id=005271225

FOR DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING: Georgia DisciplEquip Conference, Pine Forest Baptist Church, Macon, September 24 - 25 - www.gabaptist.org

FOR SMALL GROUPS "Stand Against the Wind" 6 Sessions - from Erwin McManus http://www.lifeway.com/e8/shop/?id=005286793

FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT Festivals of Marriage, October 15-17 & October 22-24, Ridgecrest - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=166&intcmp=LADFOME-update53709

The Ten C's of Asking Quality Questions

• Complete. Make sure participants have all the information they need to answer a question.
• Concise: Good questions cover only one idea at a time.
  
• Clear. Keep it understandable. Be sure questions are not over the heads of group members.
• Connected. Don’t ask a question that will lead your group on a tangent.
• Conversational. The aim is not just to ask questions and have the group answer them; it is to facilitate conversation among everyone.
• Contestable. The best discussion questions do not have one right answer. They are open-ended, which forces people to think.
• Challenging. Ask questions that make people stretch their minds. Silence after a question may mean people are really thinking about their answers.
• Creative. Get group members to look at an issue from a side they may not have thought of before. For example, tell a story containing an unresolved issue and ask participants to solve it. The only bad question is the one you use all the time.
• Controversial. Make a controversial statement and see how the group responds. Just remember to use this method sparingly and with discernment.
• Considerate. Do not embarrass or get too personal too soon. Particularly in new groups, questions that dig too deep may keep people from coming back next week.

^{· copied from Discipleship Journal’s 101 Best Small Group Ideas}

Things You May Want to Know About ....

for Special Days: Mother's Day & Graduate Recognition Resources http://www.lifeway.com/article/159819/

for Children's Ministry: How to Teach Children with ADHD -http://www.lifeway.com/article/166767/

for Young Adults: New Threads study, Abide - developing a spiritual rhythm in life, see the promotion video - http://threadsmedia.com/store/studies/abide/

for Women's Ministry: sign up for Beth Moore's September 18th's Living Proof Live simulcast: - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=194&CID=women=eupdate-simulcast-041310-feature

for Women's Ministry: Faithful, Abundant, True: Three Lives Going Deeper, a study by Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, & Priscilla Shirer - http://www.lifeway.com/e19/shop/?id=005189430

for Family Ministry: Using Magazines in Family Ministry - http://www.lifeway.com/article/170220/?CID=PastorsToday-emailCRD20100419-Magazines

for Family Ministry: Helping Children to Know How to Pray - http://www.lifeway.com/article/165448/

for Church Health: Transformational Church book and assessment tool - http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/transformationalchurch/steps.asp

Tips on Becoming a Better Speaker

A book by John L. Dutton offers these suggestions to help a person become a speaker that people want to listen to:

· Prepare your talk around what your class or audience wants to hear, rather than what you want to say. Choose topics and discussions they want to study.

· Remember that people “think” in stories and illustrations as much as they do by analyzing data. Make your major points with stories or illustrations, followed by shorter statements of opinion or fact. In other words, use Bible stories to make Bible points.

· When you practice your presentation, create many of the conditions you will experience when you speak. Visualize the setting and your audience. Stand up, talk aloud, and use gestures. Spend half of your preparation time on this kind of practice. Limit the research and writing to the other half.

· Be natural when you make your presentation, not perfect. Never read a presentation – there’s nothing more boring. Learn your stories and illustrations well enough that you can tell them from memory. Make notes to remind you of when to tell the stories and what points to make from them.

· End with a bang, not a whimper. Save your best, most powerful story until last. Then deliver it with punch! Leave your class or audience wishing you had continued to speak. It makes them want to come back the next you have a presentation to make or a class to teach.

THINGS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN .....

Marriage Ministry: The Secret to the Marriage You Want - http://www.lifeway.com/e2/shop/?id=005189420

Adult Ministry: BOOMSTOCK: A Three Day Event for Babyboomers - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=373&intcmp=LAD2010Boomer-eupdate042010

Discipleship Ministry: Free webinar on the Growing Disciples series by Claude King (development process for disciples, from new Christian to maturity) -

https://admin.na5.acrobat.com/_a41466003/growingdisciples/growingdisciples

Discipleship Ministry: Georgia DisciplEquip Conference, Pine Forest Baptist Church, Macon, September 24 - 25 - www.gabaptist.org

Small Group Ministry: Crave: An Exploration of the Human Spirit by Erwin McManus (a study of cravings humans seek and the one that truly satisfies) - http://www.lifeway.com/e2/shop/?id=005271665

Sunday School Ministry: Great Expectations: Planting Seeds for Sunday School Growth (training for Sunday School leadership, free downloads available) - http://www.lifeway.com/article/170118/


Women's Ministry: Developing a Girls' Ministry webcourse - http://www.lifeway.com/e1/shop/?id=005120945

Elevator Evangelism

^{By Mark Littleton}

Elevator evangelism involves chance opportunities to meet people and share your faith. At the gym. At the supermarket. At the gas station. These are times when you evaluate quickly whether or not a person is receptive to the gospel and then you initiate a conversation that’s designed to share Christ quickly (as in an elevator, hence the name). Here are a few pointers:

1. Think in terms of sharing what God has done in your life and for you, not telling your listener how to be saved. This: “God has been good to me. Why just the other day …” Not this: “Do you want to know how to become a Christian?” You’re telling them a story about what God has done for you. Be sure to make your conversation natural and bring in God as a friend, not a judge.

2. Think in terms of God’s power to turn the conversation into an opportunity, rather than you forcing it into your own little grid. This requires creativity and a sense of risk and adventure.

3. Look for ways of folding Scripture verses into your conversations. That’s what makes memorizing scripture so helpful. You can say something like, “I remember a promise in the Bible that helped me handle this. It says …”

4. Know your two minute testimony that explains how God changed your life. Then be prepared to continue the conversation as the person may ask follow-up questions.

5. “Feel, felt, found” are effective words to remember in developing an effective sharing technique. “Oh, I know how you feel. I felt that exact same way once when …. What I found out was …”

6. Learn to ask open-ended questions. “So what happened next?” or “What were the results?” Then you can respond with, “I’ve seen that. This is how I handled it. I couldn’t have done it without Christ.”

7. Think “divine appointment” with people you meet. When you encounter a person say a quick prayer for the person and for God to create an opportunity for starting a conversation.

Things You Might Be Interested In .....

FOR BUILDING PROJECTS: 2010 Mid-South Building Conference, Nashville, TN, April 15th - get your building project on the right footing. - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=370

FOR CHURCH SPIRITUAL AWAKENING: Fresh Encounter: A Study for Church and Personal Revival - http://www.lifeway.com/e5/shop/?id=005226601

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: FUEL: a video driven curriculum for students - http://www.lifeway.com/fuel/

FOR STUDENT MINISTRY: Free webcast, Girls Ministry: Mentoring girls, Friday, March 23rd, 1:00 (EDT) - http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=168761&CID=WomenNews-emailCRD20100301-webcast

FOR SMALL GROUPS: Small Group Life, episode 2 (spring quarter): Mission (Invitation to the Adventure of Life), edited by Steve Gladen, Saddleback Church - http://www.lifeway.com/e3/shop/?id=005180090.2010-SPR

FOR MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT: The Secret to the Marriage You Want; reduce conflict, improve communication, increase intimacy - http://www.lifeway.com/e3/shop/?id=005189420

FOR DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING: Georgia DisciplEquip Conference, Pine Forest Baptist Church, Macon, September 24 - 25 - www.gabaptist.org

Reclaiming Inactive Church Members

In the summer of 2006, LifeWay Research conducted a survey of 469 formerly churched adults to better understand why people stop attending church and what it would take to bring them back. The “formerly churched” are defined as those who regularly attended a Protestant church as an adult in the past but who no longer do so.

One of the questions asked was if they would consider returning to active church involvement. The results are encouraging:

62% - are open to returning, but are not actively looking

28% - unlikely to consider returning

6% - would consider returning to their former church

4% - would consider returning to another church other than their former church

It is encouraging to see that nearly 75% would consider returning to active church involvement despite the fact that the average length of inactivity is fourteen years!

Why Would They Return

The inactive members were also asked what it would be some reasons that would fuel their return to church. They said:

46% - to get back closer to God

34% - to fill a gap felt since stopping church attendance

32% - to be around others with similar values

31% - to make friends

30% - to help others

It’s interesting to note that all of these reasons for returning indicate that they realize something is missing in their lives, either in their relationship with God or in their relationships with others.

Here’s what we can learn from this research:

1. Always remember we are in the people business. We must show compassion and love in all that we do. The Scripture admonishes us to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15). A strong sense of love and concern will help overcome any disenchantment with church.

2. Make sure members are quickly assimilated into the church, in particular into a caring small group of some type. The Sunday School class has the best potential for the development of relationships and the ministry.

3. Follow up on your drop-outs. Considering that three out of four church drop-outs are willing to give it another try, we must not neglect the outreach to this group. Who has not attended in the last six months? While they may not go back to the same Sunday School class, perhaps they can be reached through another class or ministry. Thirty-one percent said they would consider returning to “make friends.” Making friends could be the first step to reclaiming these formerly churched.

4. Develop a strategy to reclaim the formerly churched. The research shows there is an openness to return. Forty-six percent said they would consider returning “to bring me closer to God.” How does that happen? Through the study of God’s Word and experiencing an atmosphere of acceptance and unconditional love. Create your own plan to reclaim those dissatisfied, disengaged, and discouraged in your own church.

THINGS YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN ....

For Education Ministers: The Summit: A FREE Online Convergence of Small Group Experts, Thurs. Feb. 18th: Bill Donahue, Steve Gladen, Eddie Mosley, Rick Howerton, Carl George, Lyman Coleman and more! http://www.lifeway.com/sgsummit
For Education Ministers: 4G Conference, Building Great Groups - Sunday School Groups, Discipleship Groups, Small Groups, Missional Groups: Ridgecrest, July 23-26 http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=361
For Leaders: SS in HD Conference: FBC/Woodstock, March 11-12 http://sundayschoolinhd.org/
For Women: Bible Studies and Resources for Women: choose a Bible study by your favorite women's ministry author http://www.lifeway.com/article/?id=160745
For Men: Dare to be Uncommon: by Tony Dungy http://www.lifeway.com/e7/shop/?id=005223822
For Student Ministry: Register Now for Fuge Camps: http://www2.lifeway.com/fuge/
For Pondering: What's Changing, What's Not: trends that will be affecting your ministry this year http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/currenttrendscolumns/culturewatch/whatschangingwhatsnot.html