|
When I
was growing up as a kid I remember that the way
that a church’s vitality was measured was by
Sunday School attendance. Yeah, pastors talked
about worship and missions but back then they
were always asking, “How many do you have in
Sunday School?” That memory has created a bit
of stress for me since the founding of American
Baptist East/LifeLifters.
The
reason for that stress has been because we have
not had a complete nor comprehensive Sunday
School program. Yes, we have never had the
space for a complete Sunday School program.
Yes, our parking has been inadequate and we
needed to move cars off the lot so that we had
space for the second service. Yes, we had some
challenges as it relates to qualified and
available teachers. But, regardless of all the
good and accurate excuses, I still was haunted
by that question, “How many do you have in
Sunday School?”
Hopefully, that ghost of SS past is about to
drag its sorry self back to whatever corner that
it lurked in my mind. We have the space, we
have a parking plan and we have people who are
qualified to facilitate a full range of adult
Sunday School classes. All we need will be the
commitment of all of you to learn and grow
through the time-tested vehicle of Sunday
School.
On
Sunday September 7th
our whole Sunday morning schedule is changing.
This is what Sunday mornings will look like:
8:45 - Traditional Worship Service
Fellowship time following the conclusion of that
service
10:15 - Sunday School
11:00 - Blended Worship Service
It is my
sincere prayer that a significant percentage of
our adult population will give Sunday School a
shot. It is my hope that you will commit to be
faithful for the first 13-week quarter so that
we can show you how much you can learn and how
the application of that knowledge will
strengthen your families, bring you closer
together, and positively impact your work and
personal life. That is a tall order but one
that I believe will occur if you show up and
participate.
I will be giving you information on the
curriculum we will be using. It is an
integrated approach where adults and kids are
learning the same passages of scripture which
allows the whole family to talk together about
what you will learn and how you can apply it to
everyday life. This month I will introduce you
to the classes and the teachers, so you can get
an idea where you might want to attend. It’s
going to be a great fall.
Looking
forward to it,
Pastor
Jeff
|
Our Staff
