According to LifeWay Research, there is only one continent in the world where Christianity is not growing: North America. Why? Could it be that we are so huddled together in our Christian subculture that we’ve forgotten what our mission is? Our mission, according to Jesus, is to, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
At Bradfordville, this is why we strive to make disciples that love upward, inward, and outward. One important way to accomplish that mission is to multiply the number of Sunday School classes. For 2017, we have set a goal to create five new classes in the adult, student, and children areas. For this to happen, three critical factors will have to be addressed.
- Space – We have been blessed with tremendous Sunday School growth the past two years. All but one of our classrooms have a class meeting in them. For us to continue to grow, we will have to be creative in how we use space. Your class may be asked to meet in a closet or an office. This will be temporary as we move forward with our 20/20 Vision to provide more classrooms.
- Leadership – Classes must have teachers and other leaders. Following are some scriptural considerations as you are asked to assume a position of service:
Who you are. Psalm 139:1-3 O Lord, you have searched me and you know me….you are familiar with all my ways. As a beginning point, look at yourself to see how God has put you together. This will give you a good indication of what He has planned for you. If God has a particular job to be done, He usually reaches for the person He has uniquely created to do that job.
The Bible. Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. The Bible teaches us what’s right, what’s not right, how to get right, and how to stay right. God’s will for your life will never contradict the Bible.The inward counsel of the Holy Spirit. John 16:13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. 1 Corinthians 2:9-16…No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have…received…the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us….We have the mind of Christ. If you are abiding in Jesus and His Word, then you can begin to trust those inward impressions that He gives to your spirit.
The counsel of mature Christian friends. Proverbs 15:22 Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. Acts 15 tells the story of the Jerusalem council, at which Christians who disagreed got together to talk things out. They ended up walking away as friends and in agreement. If Christian people will honestly seek God’s will together, they will be able to find it.
Opportunities (open and shut doors). 1 Corinthians 16:5-9 …a great door for effective work has opened to me…. 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 …I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and found that the Lord had opened a door for me….Colossians 4:2-4 …pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ…. Acts 16:6-10 tells us that Paul was kept by the Holy Spirit from entering certain areas. He kept moving and ended up exactly where God wanted him to be. If you are given an opportunity to serve, consider that it may be from God.
- All growth and blessing rely on God – Neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. Now the one who plants and the one who waters are equal, and each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 1 Corinthians 3:7-8
Pastor Rick Stewart
PS: See you Sunday at 9:15 am for Sunday School and 10:30 am for Worship