Practice: Conducting Successful Leadership Meetings

Written by Tim Smith

Coaches and players alike know that to play well on game day they must practice well during the week. Trying to win a sporting event without adequate preparation would be disastrous. Coaching a winning Sunday School requires practice, practice, practice. Without sufficient preparation, the Sunday School team will be ill-prepared to win victories for Christ. Practice for the Sunday School ministry is called a leadership meeting.

The Purpose of Leadership Meetings

Prayer - Your Sunday School ministry cannot succeed without unleashing God's power through prayer. Leaders should pray for wisdom to know and follow God's direction.

Direction - Every time the leaders gather they need to have their minds focused on their purpose. Your volunteers deal with many distractions due to their own vocations and other pursuits.

Fellowship - One of the most important needs for Sunday School leaders is building relationships with other adults. This is especially true regarding adults who are serving in the preschool, children's, and student divisions.

Study - Preview upcoming lessons. Give attention to the fact that good Bible teaching must focus on fostering life change. Teaching only for increased knowledge is not consistent with the purpose of the Great Commission. You can also use leadership meetings to address doctrinal issues to safeguard the congregation from errors.

Team Building - Sunday School leaders must not see themselves as detached entities. Rather, they need to experience the strength of oneness by working together.
 
Ministry Assignments - Because the Sunday School is the outreach arm of the church, evangelism must be intentional. The leadership meeting is a great place to assign and accept opportunities to minister.

Schedules for Leadership Meetings

Many Pastors find weekly leadership meetings to be the most profitable for their Sunday Schools. Meeting each week provides more opportunities to address needs as they arise. Teachers can also appreciate weekly lesson previews. Ministry assignments are easier to make on a weekly basis. Moreover, weekly meetings are beneficial to creating a team spirit among the participants.

Some churches have chosen monthly meetings to assist their Sunday School leadership. To take full advantage of a monthly schedule, consider a meeting time of at least an hour and a half to provide the extra time needed for preparation, training, and fellowship.

Attendance at Leadership Meetings

Pastor - Effective leadership meetings require that the Pastor take an active role. Until the Pastor can enlist and train a capable Sunday School Director or add an Education Pastor, he will need to prepare and lead the meetings. Even after additional leaders are in place, the Pastor should show his support for the meetings by being present to greet and encourage the team.

Educational Staff - Their attendance is needed not only to participate in the various facets of the sessions, but also to provide encouragement and motivation for volunteer leaders. Volunteers will follow Sunday School leaders who provide clear direction and lead by example.

Sunday School Director - His presence will allow him to learn from the Pastor as well as gain the respect and confidence of other volunteers.

Division and Department Directors - The directors from each division and department need to be involved in the leadership meetings to ensure that their divisions receive the assistance needed to practice good Sunday School principles.

Teachers - The quality of your teachers will determine the ultimate success or failure of the entire Sunday School. Having teachers present for the leadership meetings is imperative. They are the direct links to the students. Providing quality leadership meetings can help produce the kind of teachers needed to have a winning Sunday School.

Class Leaders - Care group leaders, prayer leaders, fellowship leaders, evangelism leaders, secretaries and others need to be included in the leadership meeting experience. Using this time to train and encourage these leaders will pay great dividends for the entire ministry.

Prospective Leaders - A growing Sunday School must continue to add new leadership, or it will cease to grow. Inviting prospective leaders to investigate ministry opportunities highlighted during leadership meeting times is a wonderful way to increase interest and involvement.

Improving Attendance at Leadership Meetings

One of greatest challenges for any Pastor who wants to coach a winning Sunday School is to get his leaders to consistently attend the practice sessions. Here are a few suggestions.

Provide Quality Meetings - Conducting meetings that address the needs of the leaders will greatly increase their attendance. The meetings should be interesting, informative, educational, motivational, and encouraging.

Prioritize the Meetings - Schedule leadership meetings at a time that not in conflict with other church activities. Punctuality is also a priority; nothing will destroy team meetings faster than beginning or ending late.

Expect Leaders to Attend - Many times people simply do what is expected of them. Failing to inform the potential leader about this expectation will only lead to future problems.

Assist All Divisions - The average leadership meeting generally addresses only the needs of the adult division of the Sunday School. When this is the case, the leaders in other divisions feel detached and will soon grow disinterested and discouraged.

Hold Leaders Accountable - One way to establish accountability is by keeping an attendance record. A failure to maintain an accurate record makes it difficult to know who needs to be encouraged in their attendance.

Dr. Tim S. Smith serves as the Team Leader and Consultant for the Sunday School/Open Group Ministries of the Georgia Baptist Convention. He served for 15 years as a minister of education in churches in Georgia and North Carolina. Tim earned his Doctorate of Ministry degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and his Master of Divinity with Christian Education from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. He and his family live in White, Georgia.

 

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