Sunday School Checklist for March, April, May

Written by LifeWay.com Staff

With the celebration of our Lord’s resurrection and Sunday School attendance typically on the upswing; we need to remember the vital preparation that needs to take place now.

Sunday School Done Right! - Leader Kit

March: A Month of Rebirth

1. Planning and Promotion

Are classes and departments ready for Easter? Especially take a look at your preschool ministry; your guests will!
Are preschool and children’s classes staffed with enough extra volunteers for anticipated guests? Are you prepared for the expanded number of preschoolers, many of whom will have their first experience in church? Is the baby area prepared for more than the normal number of bed babies? Will you have a good ratio of leaders to preschoolers in all areas?
Encourage ministry leaders to promote any special Easter events to inactive members, and thus to potentially open the door for many to come back to church.
Promote the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions through Sunday School classes.
Vacation Bible School is fast approaching. Have you enlisted all the leaders you need? Advertised dates for associational VBS training and enlisted participants to attend? Are planning teams on track for the start of VBS?
Conduct your Sunday School Planning Team Meeting.
Enlist leaders to attend summer national Sunday School leader training events at LifeWay Ridgecrest® or LifeWay Glorieta® Conference Centers.
Celebrate the conclusion of any enrollment and high attendance emphasis. Through special recognition, champion those classes and leaders who achieved their goals.

2. Administration

FAITH churches: Send in your Monthly Participation Report and do a mid-semester evaluation. By this time in the semester, has each team had an opportunity to share the gospel in a home visit?
Provide a refresher course for preschool leaders on preschool policies and procedures. Many people will be coming to your church for Easter service. The preschool area needs to be a safe and secure environment for their children.
Complete the Sunday School literature order for June, July, and August. Preview these new Sunday School resources: Biblical Illustrator Plus and ETB QuickSource.

3. Outreach

Daylight Savings Time provides an extra hour of light in the evening; in most communities, churches spring forward an hour during a Sunday this month. This is a great time to emphasize spreading the Light through outreach.
Are you prepared for prospects who will attend special Easter events? Review how you plan to handle the influx of prospects.
Will you have any special information available for Sunday School members, FAITH Teams, or outreach teams to hand out during the week or during visits? Stress the importance of contacting prospects found during Easter events while prospects are still open and seeking.
Begin looking for summer mission opportunities for the church, as well as local opportunities for Sunday School classes. Would an unreached area of your community benefit by an off-site open Bible study group or a Bible Club?

April: A Month of Reevaluation

1. Seasonal Opportunites

Are you on track to start the new units you had planned to begin this quarter? Spring is a great month for Sunday School classes to give birth to new units. Starting a number of new units can generate rebirth in your Sunday School ministry.
Evaluate goals set for the winter and spring quarters. What is the status of the ministry?
Prepare for the fall by doing a Sunday School evaluation. Appendix A, “Sunday School and Church Functions” and Appendix B, “Sunday School Growth and Evaluation Plan” in Ten Best Practices are great tools to use in evaluating current work and in planning for the future, respectively.

2. Planning and Promotion

Evaluate progress on the VBS planning schedule. Through Sunday School announcements, begin to publicize any unusual craft or supply needs.
Conduct your Sunday School Planning Team Meeting.
Enlist key leaders to participate in a Sunday School planning retreat. Use the evaluation tools to help in planning your retreat agenda and for setting future planning.

3. Administration

Obtain transportation to national Sunday School leader training events at Ridgecrest or Glorieta.
FAITH churches: Send in your Monthly Participation Report.

4. Outreach

FAITH churches: Make certain teams are asking the Key Question on evangelistic visits. By this time, Team Learners should be able to share most of the outline in a visit.

May: A Month of Regeneration

1. Seasonal Opportunities

During May and June many churches recognize high school graduates. At this important time, acknowledge the spiritual significance of this transition in life.
Memorial Day is a great time to recognize those who have served our country so we can worship freely.
The time between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day is a great time to emphasize families. Not only do these two days provide a time of reflection on the importance of family; but with the closing of school for the summer, graduations, and summer planning, the opportunity for an emphasis on the importance of the family in ministry is greater than ever.

2. Planning and Promotion

Conduct your Sunday School Planning Team Meeting.
Finalize plans for your annual Sunday School planning retreat.
Begin pre-registration for Vacation Bible School.

3. Administration

FAITH churches: Send in your Monthly Participation Report.
Distribute Sunday School curriculum materials for the June, July, and August (summer) quarter.
Make certain details have been worked out for any special services your church may have for college and high school graduates, as well as for Mother’s Day.
Begin work on next year's Sunday School budget.

4. Outreach

FAITH churches: Celebrate the conclusion of the FAITH semester with graduation and recognition. Ask participants to write out testimonies about their semester for use in future promotion. Conduct a special service to recognize those who participated in their first semester.
Announce the beginning of the fall FAITH semester. Emphasize the need for teams to continue outreach during the summer while encouraging new people to participate.
Summer can be a great time to find prospects. Plan now for different opportunities available during the summer to locate new prospects. Here are a few opportunities: VBS, Bible Clubs, community mission opportunities, youth door-to-door survey teams, and follow-up on new-mover listings. Plan now to keep the strategy in your summer.