Assisting Churches Today for Tomorrow

Things they are a changing!
Once again churches are talking about quality Bible study and whether or not they are effectively ministering to people through their small group Bible studies. It seems that there are a growing number of churches that are once again recognizing the benefits of conducting their small group Bible study on their campus either before or after their worship services. I know at least a half dozen of the largest congregations in evangelical churches that are seeing tremendous growth in size as well as impact of ministry. If you are considering a change in Bible study methods or if things aren’t quiet clicking in your church but you can’t figure out why then why not give a renewed look at on campus Bible study classes. You might be surprised at how many people will attend classes and worship.

Try Evaluation to check for Growth

Questions for reflection and evaluation are key tools to help us improve what we are doing in any area of life.  It is also true of ministry.  I want to share a few quick questions for you to ask yourself about your class to determine if your class is on track and improving in its ministry.  I would encourage everyone reading this to ask yourself these questions about your own class.  When you have personally evaluated your class take appropriate action to be of assistance.  If it is something that is personal to another member or leader I strongly stress the need to say something privately to them and NOT to others.  If it is something you personally can do to make a difference I urge you to volunteer to your class leaders and offer your help.

   

• Is there awareness each week in our class of members who are absent?
• Is the class warm and inviting to all who attend both members and guest?
• Do we treat a new attendee like a “visitor” or a “guest”?
• What is happening in our Sunday Bible Study class that would make someone unfamiliar with your church or SBS want to attend again?
• Is our Bible lesson presented with passion and a sense of urgency?
• Is there an expectation, spoken or implied, to members as a result of the lesson taught?
• Is there an intentional effort in our class to reach out to the absentee and potential member?
• Do our class members understand what the purpose of our SBS ministry is and how our class fits in with it ?

These are just a few questions to get you started in evaluating how your class is doing in fulfilling the mission and ministry of SBS.  I encourage class leaders to openly spend time with their class discussing the mission and work of the class.  I also feel self evaluation is essential to improving.

 

Blessings for Church Assist Ministry Association

God has really blessed Church Assist in recent days.  We have decided a new method of connecting with our donors and supporters as well as seek to involve new people on our team.  We held our first CAMA fellowship two weeks ago and had a wonderful turnout.  Steven and Judy Cranston did a great job in hosting our first fellowship.  There was a maximum attendance and several blessings came from the meeting with new supporters and commitments for more fellowships.

During the last two weeks I have had two great opportunities to teach.  I was especially glad to teach at the Sunday School in High Definition conference at FBC Woodstock.  The conference had over 1300 present and there were hundreds of pastors and educators.  I have already had a commitment and invitation from another pastor about working with them to do some in depth analysis and training with his new young minister of education.

In addition to these blessings I am so pleased with the way God is blessing our team at Houston’s First Baptist Church, where I serve as Minister of Education.  Our Bible study team is working together and our efforts are being blessed in significant ways.

We thank God for these and many more blessings.

Is there a reawakening to Sunday School format for Bible Study?

I think it would be an overstatement to say there is a great reawakening going on concerning Sunday School. I am not on a crusade to turn the clock back. I really don’t think there was or is a need to change the name of Sunday School. However, many churches seem to be caught in the trend of giving new and sometimes unusual names which are suppose to make the ministry more relevant. I have no real beef with giving your Bible study a new name however, it is fundamentally important that no matter what you call it your Bible study ministry must function with the same core values that a strong Sunday School possess
Whatever your format or name the Bible study ministry needs to be the foundational ministry in the church. It is the only organization which can possibly do the work of the church to teach the Word, win the lost and minister to all the membership of the church while discipling the members. The Sunday School is the only organization in the church large enough to handle the task.
Back to the original point, I do see some real encouraging signs concerning Sunday School. I see more churches employing a fundamentally strong Bible study to reach, teach. win and disciple I am so glad to see more leaders who are thinking independently and also pragmatically about this all important ministry of the church

Church Assist in 2010

As I write this blog an old year comes to an end a new year is about to begin.  At times like this we take time to look back over what this past  has brought and to look ahead at the opportunities that a new year brings.  Church Assist is not quite three years old and these have been years of laying a foundation with Gods’ blessings.  This past year 2009 has been a good year yet with some of the same difficulties that all are experiencing in this economy.  

I am excited about the vision God is giving me as CAMA goes forward.   When I felt led to start Church Assist Ministry Association it was with a deep commitment to do be used by God in helping reach Pastors and other church leaders in an effort to teach them foundational principles of effective church ministry.  Through my forty years of ministry I have been privileged to learn firsthand effective ministry practices based on solid Biblical foundations.  I was blessed in the early days to be approached by Gary and Tamera Luce who were interested in helping such an effort to reach church leaders and together we launched under God’s direction Church Assist Ministry Association.  

I feel that as 2010 approaches our ministry is needed more than ever.   I see many pastors, churches and church leaders that need clarity on how to effectively implement the mission Christ gave His church.  I believe that mission is found in Matthew 28:18-20.  We call this passage the Great Commission yet a survey of our churches indicates that many have lost sight of its importance.  While there may be different methods to use there has not been any changes to the mission.   I see many churches today that are not effectively implementing a strategy that makes fulfilling this mission a priority.  There are many other churches that give evidence of trying hard to fulfill the mission but have either determined not to use effective strategies known to work or have never been taught those strategies.   

If you are reading this and sense that CAMA could be  of any assistance or feel  that you would like to know more about our ministry and how you could get involved  please contact me by sending an e-mail to bpritchett@churchassist.org.   Happy New Year!

Emphasis on Sunday Schools and/or Small Groups seem to be diminishing

I would challenge you to study the web sites of several churches you know and those you consider to be leading examples of ministry today and see what the main focus is on.  See how long it takes you to find the information about a Sunday School or Small Group ministry.  If you find the information how compelling is the presentation?  The same can be said about visiting most church campuses today.  You will immediately be impacted with what that church sees as a priority if not most important. 

Most likely you will find great emphasis on creating an environment that is much like that of any mall or club you might go to.  There will be much emphasis on what the next big "show" is going to be or on how high tech this ministry is with all the trappings of a community gathering place such as your local Barnes and Nobel or Starbucks.  NOW HERE IS WHERE YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION there is nothing wrong with much of this IF you also see highlighted WHY YOU NEED TO BE IN A SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDY  and HOW TO GET IN A SMALL GROUP. 

Discipleship and Bible study go hand in hand and seem less and less of a focus in our churches.  The focus of the Great Commission is on evangelism and discipleship and growing the Kingdom of God.  Large churches set the pace for smaller churches and the entertainment/arts model is forcing many churches to lessen if not drop their ministries to small group Bible study and real discipleship.   This isn't about the pettiness of who is first or second in priority, it is about what is God's first priority.  Read the Great Commission again and see what emphasis is placed on the arts.   God gives us talents and abilities and arts are to be used like all such gifts for His glory but I fear our focus of adoration has become the arts themselves more than effective tried and proven means to evangelize and disciple those in the family of God towards spiritual maturity. 

Church Assist Ministry Associtation progress and challenges

As we enter the holiday season there is much to be thankful for and praise God for during this past year in Church Assist Ministry Association.   It is hard to believe that CAMA is over 2 years old on the one hand and yet on the other it seems we are just getting started.  Much has happened in these two years and much has yet to happen that we dreamed of.  One of the key blessings for me has been the move to Houston's First Baptist Church.  Not only has this been a joyful family to serve God with but it has been a tremendous opportunity to prove in the field that the principles which Church Assist is built on really work in the 21st century.  Perhaps an even bigger blessing has been the platform which it has provided me, enabling me to reach out and speak with an accepted authority from serving a church with a rich heritage and ministry of integrity.

I would ask those who support us to accept our thanks and our gratitude.  I ask to for your continued support as we seek to keep providing a strong and growing voice to keep our ministries focused on the Word of God and authentic ministry.  Discipleship and Bible study go hand in hand and seem less and less focused on in our churches.  Large churches set the pace for smaller churches and the entertainment/arts model is forcing many churches to lessen if not drop their ministries to small group Bible study and real discipleship.  If God leads you I encourage you to click on the "donations" tab and give to support our efforts.

Why are our groups not growing?

Anyone who is even a casual observer knows that most small groups are not growing.  Indeed most churches are not growing either.  There are several reasons but chief among the reasons why most groups and/or churches are not growing is that their strategies are not designed for growth.  Today ministries are focused on all kinds of projects and good works except the mission which Christ, commanded us to be involved in as found in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20. 

 ¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.   ¹⁹"⁽Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,  ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.

The truth is we have added so many activities and projects that are not aimed at winning people or teaching people or ministering to the needed that there is often not money, time or people to do the work of the Great Commission.  We have entered into the age of entertainment in the church and that has become unfortunately the focus of many of our ministries. 

We must refocus our efforts.  We must make a commitment that we will focus on the main thing.  Going, making disciples, baptizing and teaching these are the main things.  As important as other areas of ministry can be and as needed as compassionate ministry is Jesus made clear in this charge to the church that these were the main thing that the church should be focused on.

Turning things around!

Something I have observed in life and ministry is that nothing will turn things around like success.    I have a deep sense that a main reason churches are so quick to minimize their Bible Study ministry is that they have not seen the impact of that ministry in years.  We have let our Sunday Schools become so anemic and weak that they do not make a difference. 

However, when you work hard at training your leaders and members about the importance of this vital ministry and then help them to succeed you will find that people are quick to get on board.  Nothing trumps those who are critical or even indifferent like a successful ministry.  If you work at turning around your Sunday Bible Study ministry and people see new faces and some old ones return and lives changed you will find the support for your ministry.

Now I’ll admit there is a lot to “turning around your Sunday Bible Study”  and it is not always a quick fix but as sure as you are reading this article right now I tell you it can be done!  Contact me at bpritchett@churchassist.org and I will be glad to help you discover how you can see your ministry turn around.

A familiar trend?

Throughout the many years of my ministry I have never felt a need to justify or defend the need for a strong Sunday Bible study, that is until this past few years.  Increasingly we are seeing a significant reduction of the emphasis on Bible study.   For decades there was a deep understanding and commitment to the Bible study ministry but not as much today.  In fact for years and years, at least in Southern Baptist circles, if you asked how the church was doing the first mark discussed was the Sunday School.   The health and vitality of the Sunday School reflected the health and vitality of the church and vice versa, not so today. 

The troubling thing is that this is a familiar trend in church practice.  Have you stopped lately to think about all the changes that are taking place in our churches today?  Let me just mention a few that come to my mind and I am guessing you can add a few more.  There was a time which past several years ago when all churches which had a Sunday School at all had weekly workers meetings, then they became monthly meetings and now some meet quarterly or not at all.  I never thought I would witness the dropping of the Sunday night schedule in our churches but alas it is common now to find churches with no worship at all on Sunday night or if they meet it is for other type programming.   Can you remember when we had visitation ministries well they’ve gone as well for the most part.  And how about one that is really key to a church fulfilling the great commission—the evangelism ministry. 

Now don’t think I am not aware that there are still many churches that still conduct most all of these but I assert that those churches are definitely in the minority and are exceptions to the growing new norm.    We cannot let our Sunday Bible Study become another casualty to our drift away from such vital ministries.   One last observation is as you look at all these ministries they have something in common, they are essential to fulfilling the Great Commission and they are hard.  When I say they are hard doesn’t mean they aren’t fun and exciting too but they require more from us and there in may be part of the problem.