Missouri District Superintendent's BLOG

Father's Day Idea

2008-04-29T14:49:00.001-07:00

After Father's Day service we (Harvester) are going to have a picnic lunch followed by "My Dad is Better Than Your Day" competitions. Different adult SS classes are going to sponsor different events, and will be introduced at the beginning of each event.

Our VBS is the week preceding Father's Day. So Father's Day will have a car theme to match the VBS. VBS families will be invited to participate in the picnic and games.

The 6 Most Important Hats a Sunday School Superintendent Can Wear

2008-04-29T14:46:00.001-07:00

The Six Most Valuable Hats a Sunday School Superintendent Can Wear

HAT #1: Be a Devoted Discipler of Teachers

1. Develop genuine relationships with your teachers.

2. Tend to the spiritual life of your teachers.

3. Stretch your teachers as leaders.

4. Change your conversation with your teachers.

Goal: Have one intentional conversation this Sunday.

HAT #2: Be a Connecting Coach of a Team

1. Share decision-making

2. Communicate again

3. Develop shared responsibility

4. Use teachers visibly in the church

5. Pray together

Goal: Communicate to every teacher something you learned today.

HAT #3: Be a Passionate Promoter of Sunday School

1. Promote regularly

2. Promote visibly

3. Promote interconnectedly

4. Promote positively

Goal: Find a testimony of a changed life in Sunday school and share it with your church.

HAT #4: Be an Eagle-Eye Evaluator of the Current Reality

1. What can numbers tell us?

What is your enrollment attendance gap?

What is your worship Sunday school attendance gap?

What direction are you classes going?

What groups are you missing?

2. Beyond the numbers:

Are lives being changed? (discipleship)

Are people being connected? (assimilation)

Are classes following up? (care)

Are classes doing ministry? (service)

Are classes opened or closed? (growth)

Goal: Identify a weakness in your Sunday school.

HAT #5 Be a Proactive Planner for Growth

1. Bridging new people into Sunday school

A. A path for guests

B. Special days

C. Class parties

D. New classes or groups

E. Out of the box options

2. Moving more people into Sunday school leadership

A. Elevating the importance of Sunday school's role

B. Praying and approaching

C. Creating student-teacher positions

D. Setting new teachers up for success

Goal: Plan how you will bridge people from Baby Day, Mother's Day, Grad Day, Children's Day or Father's Day to a Sunday school class.

HAT #6 Be a Vigilant Protector of Core Values

1. Protecting our kids and teens

A. Screen workers

B. Walk hallways; be watchful

C. Have protection policies in place

2. Protecting the family

A. Keep the connection between parents and kids

B. Plan cross-generational learning events

C. Encourage family devotions

D. Encourage participation by all ages in services

E. Strengthen marriages and families through classes

3. Protecting the doctrine of holiness

Goal: Evaluate how safe the kids in your church are. Take one step to strengthen your protection.

Make it Stick

2008-02-06T10:54:00.001-08:00

Wish your students remembered the lesson longer? Wonder how to really make a point stick?

I recently read about a book entitled, "Made to Stick," by Chip & Dan Heath. Here are five principles from their book that help lessons stick.

Simple lessons stick!

Unexpected lessons stick!

Concrete lessons stick!

Credible lessons stick!

Stories stick!

This book would be a great resource for a Teacher Training Time!

Why we need Sunday school / small groups

2008-01-17T15:42:00.001-08:00

Mr. Whitefield was an influential evangelist and friend John Wesley. Both were effective evangelists. But there was a significant difference in the methods.

"It was by this means [the formation of small groups] that we have been enabled to establish permanent holy churches all over the world. Mr. Wesley saw the need for this from the beginning. Mr. Whitefield, when he separated from Mr. Wesley, did not follow it. What was the consequence? The fruit of Mr. Whitefield's labors died with himself; Mr. Wesley's fruit remains, grows, increases and multiplies exceedingly." (John Wesley's Class Meeting, Model for Making Disciples by Michael Henderson, p.30.)

Both men excelled at what we would call worship and preaching and evangelism. Only one took seriously the creation and sustaining of small groups. That made the big difference!

More new features than ever. Check out the new AOL Mail!

Remembering Teachers at Christmas

2007-11-29T09:06:00.000-08:00

Would you like a simple, yet meaningful, way to say Merry Christmas and Thanks to your teachers! Christian Tools of Affirmation (CTA), a St. Louis based company, has lots of options.

(www.ctainc.com or 1-888-285-3598)

Here's what we will give the teachers at Harvester:

Building a Team

2007-11-20T09:09:00.000-08:00

According to Kenneth Blazier and Linda Isham in The Teaching Church at Work, "Task-oriented groups tend to neglect group maintenance. The usual tendency is to assume something like this: "we have a job to do; our time is limited; let's get on with it." But we need to pay attention to the life of the group itself, not just the job it does. In fact, the health of the group's life is critical to a group's functioning.

Randy: This is sooo true of the Sunday School. We tend to get on with the work, but forget to develop the health of the group of Sunday school teachers. Superintendents, that's the task God calls us to. He wants us to help create a climate of care and comraderie between the teachers of our church!

Saying Thank you

2007-11-15T06:59:00.000-08:00

I receive "Tuesday's Tips" each week from Volunteer Central. They are often quite helpful. Here's just the first paragraph of this week's tip.

When Saying Thanks Isn't Helpful
Wendi Hammond

There are times when saying thank you in the wrong way or for the wrong reasons is not only not helpful, but it can actually be harmful.

When it takes the place of a relationship
No matter how many thank-you cards, gifts, or banquets you givethere is no substitute for a genuine relationship with your ministry partners.

This underlines the primary principle in being a good leader - build relationships with those you are leading.

Don't forget to say thanks to your teachers. And don't forget to build the relationship, too!

I Love Sunday School Name Tags

2007-10-16T06:36:00.000-07:00

Pastor George Cargill (Harvester) recently had every Sunday school member wear a name tag to worship. The name tag said, "I Love Sunday School - I'm a Member." Its purpose was twofold. First, it made Sunday school very visible in morning worship. Second, Sunday school class members were encouraged to invite anyone without a badge to attend their class the next time it met. It worked.

Welcome & Purpose

2007-10-16T06:34:00.000-07:00

Welcome! Thank you for logging on to this page.

This place is designed for you, the superintendent. It is a place to share our hearts and exchange ideas. It's a place where we can share struggles, and receive encouragement and new ideas.

Here's a few hints:

Keep it brief.

Keep it positive.

Keep coming back.

Thanks for leading Sunday school

Together for His Kingdom

Randy Calhoun