Reaching People Through the Sunday School

TEXT: John 1:35-42

TOPIC: Reaching People Through the Sunday School Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, South Carolina Sunday morning, June 6, 2021

I have long believed that the entire church programs and ministries are determined by one major organization in the church! I am also of the opinion that our membership, our offerings, our baptisms, are all determined by this one major organization in the church.

This major organization serves as the strong structure that can produce positive things or if this organization is weak, the entire church program will be weak!

The name of this organization or structure is the Sunday School! There is nothing quite like the Sunday School in a Baptist Church.

What is Sunday School? It is the church’s Christian education School that meets here at Northgate at 9:30 AM on Sunday mornings! And I am excited to have Sunday School back in place! Thank you to all our Sunday School leadership and teachers, our Director Deloris Isgett and all of you who attended our Sunday School restart today!

This morning’s message is entitled, “Reaching People through the Sunday School. I really want to direct your attention to THE ONE who truly knows what it takes for the church to reach people. His name is Jesus.

Look in your Bibles at John 1:35. I’m reading through v. 42. "Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples and he looked upon Jesus as he walked and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God." And the two disciples heard him speak and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and beheld them following and said to them, "What do you seek?" And they said to him, "Rabbi (when translated means teacher), where are you staying?" He said to them, "Come and see." They came therefore and saw where he was staying and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He found first his brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah (when translated means Christ)." He brought him to Jesus.

I love that last phrase. He (Andrew) brought him (Peter, his brother) to Jesus. Over the years as a pastor, I have trained church members to share their faith using memorized presentations of the Gospel. I used everything from the Roman Road, to CWT, E.E., to FAITH.

Almost without fail, I hear the same complaints from many of my members. “I can’t memorize.” “I can’t remember all of that.” I can’t learn all those scriptures.” I like to ask those same people, “Can you tell me your name, SS #, address, and telephone number?” When they give it to me, I always say, “I thought you said you can’t memorize?!” We memorize what is important to us and what we use often.

One of the things I want to do this morning is to teach each of you a memorized presentation that you can use to effectively reach your friends and family for Christ. And it is the one Jesus used in the passage we read together in John 1. It consists of three words and we’re all going to work on it and learn it together. Are you ready? Here it is: “Come and see.” Let me repeat that so you can begin to get it in your head! “Come and see.”

Say it with me. Come and see. Now say it slowly for those who are having a hard time. Come…. and……see. I think you’ve got it! Now go and share it with somebody that needs Jesus.

It is obvious to me as I read the Bible about the beginning of Jesus' ministry that he is collecting people. He is bringing people to himself and to each other. We sing "people need the Lord ..." and that is true, but people also need people. Adam, the first man, was the best of God's creation but he wasn't complete. He needed someone else in his life. God gave us family because we need someone else. He gave us the church family because we need others in our lives for spiritual support. And the Sunday School is the best ministry structure we have to build community, fellowship, caring ministry, loving accountability and spiritual education for people!

Sometimes people say, "If I have God, that's all I need". That’s not true either. Adam had God. Adam had not sinned yet. He was in total fellowship with God but he was lonely.

In John 1, we see Jesus bringing people to Himself and to each other. Look in verse 39. He turned and saw them following Him and asked: "What are you seeking? What do you want?" We don't know what Jesus and the first disciples talked about but we do know that at the end of their time with Him Andrew was convinced. He immediately sought out his brother, Simon. When he found him he told him, "We have found the Savior, the Messiah." And he brought him to Jesus.

Now his brother, Simon, who would be called Peter later, would become one of history's greatest men and leaders of the early Christians. What if Andrew hadn't brought his brother to meet Jesus?

Many of you have heard of D. L. Moody, the great preacher, founder of Chicago's Moody Bible and much more. But do you know the name Edward Kimble? He is the Sunday School teacher who invited Moody to visit his class and brought him to Jesus. We all know the name Billy Graham. How we thank God for Billy Graham. Do you know the name Mortachi Hamm? He is the one used to bring Billy Graham to Christ. You don't have to be a Methodist to know the name John Wesley. John Wesley was saved because he was invited and taken to a prayer meeting by someone whose name is not known. You can be assured God knows it. Garrison Keilor, the great story teller grew up in church. As a boy he was taken to every meeting. When he went to college he dropped out. He had a lot of good reasons, he thought, for not going to church. Every time someone would ask, "Do you go to church?" he would say, "No." And they would say, "Well, why don't you go to church?" And he would tell them why and they would leave him alone. One day someone said, "Do you go to church?" "No," he said. "Why?" And he told them. And then the person asked, "Would you go to church with me?" And he said, "Yes, I will." And Garrison Keeler has been in church ever since.

I’ll never forget the day, May the 14th, 1973 when a young girl named Karen at my high school invited me to come and see. She simply gave me an invitation to join her at the local Crusade that was going on that evening. The tent was up on the football practice field. Everyone could see it. So that night I went, and that night I got saved. Oh the greatest decision of my life was that night forty-eight years ago! (It’s amazing to think that is has been that long ago!!) And all because a young girl, a high school student invited me to come and see or come and sit with her!

Eighty percent of the people who come to church come because they were invited, not because of buildings or sermons or songs or ice cream socials. They come because they were invited by someone. Would you become an Andrew or a Karen? Can you say to people, “Come and see?” You may not be able to witness one-on-one but you can invite someone to Sunday School and to church! Again the number one reason people give to the question, “Why did you come to church?” is because someone invited me.

That leads me to the first point…..the principles for church growth. What are some things that can help us grow as a church?

I. PRINCIPLES FOR CHURCH GROWTH

A. Make a Commitment to Grow

Not every member of the church has a commitment to grow or to reach people for Christ. We may all want to see our church grow, but have we made a commitment personally to see our church grow? (Listen, in some ways I am more excited about our church and excited to be the pastor of Northgate Baptist Church than I ever have. I am excited about our future. One thing is for certain. We are the ones who will determine the future of NBC.)

Are you willing to make a personal commitment to see our church grow? Being an active participant in our Sunday School is an important part of that commitment!

B. Recognize that the Sunday School Organization is the Greatest People-Reaching Organization on earth!

I still believe the Sunday School can be the greatest people-reaching organization we have. Small Groups which are similar to Sunday School classes are working for many churches today, but the SS is still the working arm of the church. If you reach people through the SS, then you can move them into every other church organization. (i.e. It’s possible people may come into the choir first and then join the church, but more likely that they are first a member of one of our SS classes before joining the choir.) And remember, it is the Sunday School that is able to offer the small group fellowship and community of caring, nurturing relationships people need and are looking for still today.

C. OTHER IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES

1. The Pastor Must Lead. (Vision, example, enthusiasm)

2. You must be willing to changeand lead others to change. (The reason most churches are not growing is because they are not willing to change. Seven last words of the church. “We never did it this way before.” )

3. Be persistant in the face of misunderstanding, opposition, lack of faith, negativism, etc. (Remember, not every church member wants to grow).

4. Set goals. (Both numerically and spiritually.)

5. Keep Evangelism primary.

Conclusion: Growing the church through the Sunday School is not the only way to grow a church, but it is still one of the best ways. We’ve restarted Sunday School here today. Now we need to ask God to revive our Sunday School here at Northgate.

If that happens, then get ready to celebrate as souls are saved, as lives are changed and the church and the members grow both numerically and spiritually.