|
|
Greetings Michigan Nazarenes!
What a great time to be a part of Sunday School Ministries on the Michigan District!
TEAM DAY 2008 is just around the corner - February 26, 2008 at Perry High and Middle Schools. Registration deadline is February 1st. Here are the forms you will need for this event:
If you have any questions, contact me at 517-675-7442 or email sschair@minaz.org .
The District Sunday school ministries board exists to help resource the local church to reach their local community for Christ. This is our desire through the various ministries on the District (children, youth, adult, men, women, prime timers, singles, camps, small groups, etc). Our goal is that Sunday school will come alive for the local church! Not just on Sunday mornings, but throughout the week that we can impact our communities for Jesus.
Here we are at the beginning of another church year! As we start this fall season, it is a time to reassess our Sunday school and discipleship ministries. How are we reaching out to others? How are we doing in discipling those we have? Are we making sure that the ministries that we do provide are serving our mission of “… carry(ing) out the Great Commission to children, youth, and adults in preparation for a lifetime of Christian holiness?”
I have been struck in the recent months leading up to District Assembly, and then especially afterwards by the mandate to be making disciples who are making more disciples. This has become a real burden for me in these last several months. Are we (am I?) doing our part to help others grow deeper in their walk with Christ? You know, if we were taking care of this, it would resolve a lot of the other relationship issues that we have in our world and church. I have been contemplating the book “Making Disciples One Conversation at a Time” (available from our Nazarene Publishing House) and this really is how we can most effectively make reproducing disciples. It is by fully engaging in the forming of deeper relationships with fellow Christians and being willing to ask the probing questions to see how each of us are doing.
As I listened to Dr. David Slamp (author of “Care Rings – Sunday School and Small Groups side by side”) at the Sunday school convention this year, this became even clearer to me. We have the tools. We need to be able to invite people for times of digging deeper into our Sunday school lessons in a more relaxed setting. Our Sunday school teachers always say that they don’t have enough time in class, use a Care Ring from the class to get people more involved and to go more in depth. Form some deeper friendships, help each other grow closer to Christ. We really do need each other.
His for a growing Sunday school!
John W. Harris
District Sunday School Chairperson