The traditional Sunday School is “Step 2” after worship in the tools that growing Southern Baptist churches use for evangelism and discipleship, said Ken Braddy, director of Sunday School and network partnerships for Lifeway Christian Resources.
“Our survey defined ‘growing’ as 5% growth for three years, and almost 88% of those in this category we surveyed stated that Sunday School ranks second only to worship in this process,” noted Braddy.
Braddy directed the Group Essentials Conference on April 14 and 15 at Sherwood Forest Baptist Church in Rome, Georgia. The 40 participants came from Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama.
‘No silver bullet’
Braddy called himself a lifelong learner but credited two time-tested reasons for growth that he’s seen in the churches he’s served.
“The Lord is first, of course, since His Holy Spirit energizes our effort,” he said. “But I also believe in basic principles of growth. They’re called principles because they have proved correct. But doing it right requires hard work. No ‘silver bullet’ replaces hard work.”
“Sunday School” is a brand name that is easily recognized, Braddy noted, but not used as much in some churches today, especially those in the western United States.
“I often call Sunday morning Bible study ‘Sunday School,’ but Sunday School isn’t just for Sundays anymore. Weekly Bible study can be at other times and at other places, such as homes or community centers,” he said. “It encompasses all we believe to be important, including Bible teaching, prayer, evangelism, ministry and fellowship.”
‘People need people’
Churches must always seek to start new groups in Bible study ministry, Braddy said.
“Fellowship works for us since people need people,” he said. “We saw this during COVID-19 when most of our people were happy to be back together.
“But fellowship works against us when a group solidifies. We’ve found this to happen in about two years. They’ve grown as much as they will, and new people can’t fit it. New groups are a must. We’ve found new groups reach, on average, 10 new people, and others are added to the church if these adults have children or students.”
Braddy said groups should have apprenticing leaders who don’t just fill in for absentee leaders but also teach when the regular teacher is present.
“These are the leaders we train who will one day take a group of their own and reach new people,” he said.
Braddy admitted that he’s heard more than once, “Don’t mess with my group!”
“New units aren’t in the DNA of many ongoing groups, but I talk about this when I enlist workers each year,” he said. “I tell them that it’s God’s church, His space and His group, and we honor Him by reaching new people. Research shows most people have six to eight ‘significant relationships’ in life, so established groups may have reached their potential for growth.”
Tim Smith, associational mission strategist for Floyd County Baptist Association in Georgia, served as one of the local hosts. He said he’d been in dialogue with Braddy for the past 18 months in order to bring the conference to northwest Georgia.
“We offer training in our association on Sunday School and groups twice each year, specifically for administrative leaders,” Smith said. “We’ve had good numbers for our events, but the Group Essentials Conference is intentionally limited to no more than 40 in order to facilitate learning and discussion.”
‘Layers’ for growth
Smith explained that he teaches there are three groups for growth, and he calls these “layers” for growth.
“The first layer is the large group. This is Sunday morning worship,” he said. “Of course, this is our most important and largest gathering.
“The small group is Sunday morning Bible study or whenever the church offers group study,” he continued. “These are most often ‘open’ or ‘ongoing’ groups.
“And what I call ‘micro groups’ are sometimes called discipleship or accountability groups. These are by nature closed groups and gatherings of three or four who covenant together to study, pray and hold each other accountable in discipleship. I believe all three of these groups are essential.”
Resources
Smith offers free video previews for both Explore the Bible and Bible Studies for Life curricula through his Sunday School University, available at artoslearning.com/ssu-landing-page.
Braddy writes a groups blog at kenbraddy.com.
Lifeway offers a variety of training materials at lifeway.com/trainingresources.
The next local Group Essentials Conference will be at Madison Baptist Association in Huntsville on Aug. 18 and 19.
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