Sunday School Checklist for September, October, and November

Written by Wayne Poling

The actions you take at the beginning of the church year can mark the direction of your Sunday School ministry. This checklist can serve as a reminder to your Sunday School Planning Team of items to consider as they plan.

Sunday School Done Right! - Leader Kit

SEPTEMBER

1. Unique Opportunities for the New Year

• Have you planned a Commissioning Service to challenge and encourage your Sunday School leadership?
• Are Sunday School member records up-to-date and organized according to the new organization? Does every member and parent know to which class or department he or she (or his child) has been assigned? See How to Prepare Sunday School Records  for assistance.
• Does every leader understand his or her assignment for the new year? Has he met the persons with whom he will work?
• Do leaders have copies of their class or department membership lists, including addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, and email addresses?
• Are facilities ready for the new church year? Does each room contain the proper equipment?
• Are prospect records updated to match the new organization?
• Encourage leaders to write welcoming notes to class or department members.
• Plan a welcome celebration the first Sunday of the new church year to honor new members and to welcome others back.

2. Resources

• Have leaders and members received their Sunday School curriculum materials for September-October-November? Do they have all the supply items they need? Use the LifeWay Sunday School Curriculum Guide to assist you with new Sunday School curriculum choices. New resources are available for this quarter.
• Encourage Sunday School leaders to read through leader guides to determine what is needed to lead Bible study this quarter. Make sure needed items are made available.
• Suggest that Sunday School leaders check EXTRA! supplements for additional teaching ideas.

3. Training Options

• Distribute a list of available training opportunities this quarter.
• Option 1: Plan training for every class ministry leader. Download free 2005 Sunday School Kickoff resources to assist you.
• Option 2: Provide Essentials for Excellence resources to every Sunday School leader.
• Option 3: Use How-to Sunday School Curriculum Workshop, which you can download free from LifeWay.com.
• Either plan a study with option 2 and 3 materials or encourage leaders to do a self-study, if such a study has not been conducted.

4. Outreach and Ministry

• Encourage leaders to contact every member of their class or department during September.
• Encourage each class or department to conduct a fellowship event for early September, to allow all members and prospects to get to know one another.
• Lead classes to assign every member and prospect to a leader for ministry and outreach.
• Send a letter to parents of preschoolers and children thanking them for entrusting their children to your care. Include information parents may need.

5. Organization

• Evaluate the organization for the year. Are more units needed? Is every unit staffed adequately? Begin making plans for needed units for the coming quarter.
• Encourage adult teachers to enlist leaders to guide the evangelism, discipleship, fellowship, ministry, and worship activities of their classes.

6. Leadership

• Develop and distribute a list of substitute teachers.
• Ask every leader and member to pray that God will work through your Sunday School ministry to reach people for Christ and transform lives during the coming year.
• Each week send a personal note to two or three leaders.
• Pray for the needs of leaders, members, and parents.
• Help members discover their spiritual gifts and identify ways they can contribute to the work of Sunday School.

7. Vision and Goals

• Guide leaders to focus on the mission of Sunday School as foundational strategy for reaching people for Jesus Christ and for building on-mission Christians.
• Lead each class or department to set a reasonable but challenging enrollment goal.

8. Planning

• Conduct Sunday School Planning Team meetings.
• Equip leaders with skills in conducting effective Sunday School leadership meetings.
• Communicate dates for churchwide emphases as well as church, associational, state, and denominational events for the next three months. Encourage leaders to be involved. Indicate ways the church will help them.

OCTOBER

1. Seasonal Emphases and Events

• Encourage leaders to coordinate activities for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Plan a Fall Fellowship for preschool and children’s families at the end of October. Offer family games, art, and nature activities, and snacks. Enlist preschool and children’s leaders and parents to help plan and conduct the event. Invite new prospect families and members.
• Plan a Thanksgiving Thank-You for Sunday School leaders.
• Encourage department or class Christmas events: parties, caroling, or fellowships built around ministry.
• Provide a Christmas mailbox for each department. Encourage members and teachers to deliver inexpensive cards to one another.
• Plan a Christmas fellowship for leaders and spouses. Find a date in early December and plan a potluck supper with a gift exchange afterwards.

2. Outreach and Evangelism

• Encourage classes or departments to identify unchurched people and to exercise open enrollment at work, school, and each part of the day.
• Plan an all-age-group visitation event.
• Share results from FAITH Team visits and promote involvement in the next semester of training.
• Determine ways holiday celebrations can be used to discover prospects. Take down names, addresses, phone numbers, and e-mails of first-time guests to all church events. Assign them to the appropriate Sunday School group for follow-up.

3. Training

• Train teachers in the eight learning approaches that are the basis of teaching methods in Bible study leader guides. (See the Teaching The Jesus Way assistance.)

NOVEMBER

1. Leadership

• Individually or in leadership meetings, ask leaders to share joys and concerns they have after two months in this church year. Try to provide answers for concerns or plan a training time to deal with the issue.
• Mid-November write a personal thank-you note to each leader.
• Encourage adult leaders to enlist apprentices who can help the class accomplish its work and could possibly lead new Bible study groups later.

2. Ministry

• Contact adults who are away. Will they be returning home during the holidays? If so, plan something special for them.

3. Organization

• Plan for any organizational changes that will take place in December.

4. Planning

• Conduct the Sunday School Planning Team meeting.
• Finalize plans for holiday emphases and events.
• Communicate details of the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions. 

Wayne Poling is Sunday School/FAITH ministry specialist at LifeWay Christian Resources, Nashville, Tennessee.