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    Imagine being directed to a room with an easel sitting in the center of the room. On the easel is an unfinished painting. Some areas of the painting are finished while others are indiscernible. Next to the easel is a box full of paints and a palette. Your name is written on the palette. The person showing you the painting enthusiastically announces that you are now responsible for completing the painting. Imagine how you would feel as he leaves you in the room alone with the painting.
    Welcome to the world of leading a Sunday School. When you become the leader of a Sunday School, you inherit an unfinished painting. Others have worked on the painting and have left it in your care. To finish the Sunday School portrait will require careful thought, skill, patience, and planning.

How To Sunday School Manual

Define the Portrait: What are you trying to create?
    Before you can work on the painting, you must have some idea of what you are trying to paint. Nothing would be scarier than to sit in front of a canvas with no idea of what the canvas should become.
    Before you can create an effective Sunday School, you must have an idea of what one looks like. Wayne Poling defines Sunday School as an organization of “open Bible study groups that invite people to discover the truths of God’s Word and connect with others through fellowship and ministry.” (How To Sunday School Manual, LifeWay Press, 2009) That is the portrait you are trying to paint. Begin by describing what a successful Sunday School will look like in your church.

Evaluate What Has Been Done: Where are you in the process?
   After deciding what to paint, the artist must organize his work. It would be foolish to begin with the leaves of a tree without first creating the limbs that will be under the leaves. The artist must come to grips with the process of painting before he or she can see the final product.
   As you think about your Sunday School work, you will want to get a grasp of the processes used by your Sunday School and how effective they currently are. You can do this by personal observations, interviewing key individuals, or developing a formal survey. The best approach would be to do some of all three. Both the Connect3 Sunday School Launch Kit and the How To Sunday School Manual provide evaluation tools to help you determine where your Sunday School is. 
    Every evaluation tool is built upon preconceived ideals (none are really neutral). Therefore surveys serve as a tool to communicate the big picture. Ask questions that reflect what you want to see happen. For example the following questions point to some things you might expect to be taking place in the Sunday School class: On a scale of 1 to 10, how well does your class care for the needs of the others in the class?; On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate your class’s openness to new people?
  
Plan Your Brush Strokes: What do I focus on now?
    An artist could focus on types of brushes to use, the kind of paint, the right mix of colors, symmetry, etc. It would be easy to get bogged down and become overwhelmed with the total project if they didn’t focus on one thing at a time.
    As the leader of the Sunday School, you too can become bogged down by the scope of the work. Instead of trying to do it all on one day, begin to focus on one element (inviting, discovering, connecting, care ministry, teaching ministry, mission involvement, etc.). The survey and other evaluations will help you set priorities so you will know what to focus for now.  
    Review the surveys and other input you have gathered (interviews, records, etc). Look for the weakest and strongest elements based upon your big picture. Consider ways of making the weakest element the strongest or equal to it.

Prepare to Do the Work: How do we train to the focus?
    The artist must make sure he or she not only has the supplies required, but the skill to use the supplies. Even the most accomplished artists must continue to develop his or her talents if they are going to produce a worthy portrait.
    As the leader, you get to help the Sunday School volunteers gain what they need to succeed. Training should focus on one priority element or area. The training provided should explain how that element relates and contributes to the whole. For example, if you need to give attention to classes ministering to each other, be sure to connect caring with obedience to God’s Word.
    As you plan the training, identify the skills needed to succeed in the focused area. Define how to do the actions required and then begin to secure resources that will help you communicate the whys and hows. A place to start could be LifeWay’s Sunday School website (www.lifeway.com/sundayschool). Once at this website, be sure to take a look at the free teaching plans that support David Francis’ books.

Step Back and Look at the Picture: How will we monitor progress?
   With each brushstroke, the artist must step back to see how he or she is progressing. Each stroke will impact other elements already in place on the canvas.
     As you work through the year, continue to evaluate the Sunday School. Ask questions such as: are we progressing in the area we identified?; are the actions outlined in training taking place?; what barriers are we encountering that need to be addressed? You may want to do spot surveys to see if change is taking place. You may want to ask other leaders for feedback. Look for signs that affirm progress and celebrate those signs.

    It will take time and energy to lead your Sunday School to become and remain effective, but it will be worth it. You could just start painting. However, if you do, you run the risk of creating a colorful painting with little value to anyone but you. The Sunday School painting is in your care waiting for you to make it a masterpiece. 

G. Dwayne McCrary is an Editorial Project Leader at LifeWay. He has 23 years of church staff experience in Texas and Tennessee. He has degrees from Dallas Baptist University (BA), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MARE), and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (DEdMin).