Twelve Areas to Evaluate in Sunday School

The Great Commission presents one driving force to any New Testament church—making disciples. But how do we evaluate whether our Sunday School is reaching that goal? The examination begins with the five essential functions of the church as seen in Acts 2:42-47 - evangelism, discipleship, ministry, fellowship, and worship. The Sunday School is designed to engage and mobilize the church in fulfilling this biblical purpose and mission. This is a process of:

 

To provide a healthy, balanced, and growing Sunday School, take some time to evaluate how your ministry is doing in the following 12 areas. A suggested measuring question is provided with each area:

1. Enrollment - Has there been an increase from last year?
2. Prospects - Is one prospect being cultivated for each person on the roll?
3. Units (Classes/Bible Study Groups) - Is there at least one class for every 20 persons on the roll? (Divide the total enrollment by the number of classes to get the ratio.)
4. Leaders - Is there one leader for every five persons on the roll? (Total all leaders related to teaching, reaching, or ministering and divide the total enrollment by the total number of leaders to get the ratio.)
5. Space - Does each unit have adequate space to meet? You should allow about 12 square feet per person.
6. Ministry Contacts - Is there one contact for each member reported each week?
7. Leaders in Training - Has each leader had some formal leadership training this year?
8. Sunday School Leadership Meetings - Do at least 75 percent of the leaders meet regularly to pray, plan, and prepare to meet the needs of people?
9. Sunday School Attendance - Is there 40-60 percent of the total enrollment present each week?
10. Persons in Discipleship - Are at least half of those enrolled in Sunday School taking part in the church's discipleship ministry?
11. Worship Attendance - Is the worship attendance no more than 10 percent above Sunday School average attendance? (Or, is Sunday School average attendance at least 90 percent of worship attendance?)
12. Outreach (or FAITH) Teams - Does the total number of teams equal the number of classes (Bible study groups) in the Sunday School? Also, does each adult and student class have a team specifically charged with intentionally sharing the gospel and reaching out to people who need to be in that particular group?

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