Steven R. Parr - Sunday School That Really Works: A Strategy for Connecting Congregations and Communities

Other Books on Sunday school by Steve R. Parr

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Sunday School That Really Works

A Strategy for Connecting Congregations and Communities

Steve R. Parr

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Sunday School That Really Works: A Strategy for Connecting
Congregations and Communities

2013 Steve R. Parr

Published by Kregel Publications, a division of Kregel, Inc., P.O. Box 2607, Grand Rapids, MI 49501.

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked hcsb are from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Copyright 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

ISBN 978-0-8254-8816-0

epub edition 1.0

To Carolyn, my wife and best friend,
for her unconditional love, support, and encouragement.
I thank the Lord for a godly wife and partner
in life and ministry.

Contents

by Thom S. Rainer

A Sunday School That Really WORKS ...

Appendix A:

Appendix B:

Appendix C:

Appendix D:

Foreword

The rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

Sunday school goes by many names in different churches. Still, most churchgoers recognize the more common name of this open small group that often meets on church campuses.

And not a small number of churchgoers think that the days of Sunday schools effectiveness as an evangelistic and assimilating arm of the church are passing quickly.

I should know. I was one of those Sunday school skeptics.

And then I tried something. I researched churches across America. My team looked at churches in denominations and at churches that had no affiliation with a denomination. We looked at small, medium, and large churches. We looked at churches in rural areas, suburban areas, urban areas, and transitioning areas. And I sent the research team forth with my bias that Sunday school was dying and losing its effectiveness. But I did my best to keep the study objective despite my bias.

You can probably anticipate the findings of the study. I was wrong. Dead wrong.

In some of the most effective evangelistic churches, Sunday school was the program of choice. In some of the best assimilating churches, Sunday school was the glue that held the people together. Ouch. Its tough to be that wrong.

But there is good news. The good news is that the old and sometimes maligned organization called Sunday school can still be an effective tool to move your church toward greater health. There is even more good news. You can have your own personal consultant to lead your church to becoming a healthier church. His name is Steve Parr. And he is the author of this gem of a book called Sunday School That Really Works.

I have known Dr. Parr for many years. I have known him as a leader in denominational work. I have known him as friend. I have known him as my doctoral student. And I have known him as one of the brightest minds alive today on Sunday school.

This book is just what many of our churches need. It may be what your church needs.

May I make a recommendation? Read this book. Then get some copies for key leaders in your church. Ask them to read this book. Then get additional copies for members throughout the church. I think they will be amazed. I know they will be motivated. And I would not be surprised if you see some really positive developments in your church.

Thank you, Steve Parr. You have made a great contribution to the health of the church. I recognized that reality the first time I read the book. But then I read the book a second time, something unusual for me. And I was even more encouraged.

This book is just that good.

Thom S. Rainer
President and CEO
LifeWay Christian Resources
Author of Simple Life

Preface

I have had the wonderful privilege of being in hundreds of churches and sharing with thousands of Sunday school leaders. I love equipping and challenging key leaders so that they may in turn influence people to know Christ and to grow in their walk with Him. Thanks to so many of you who have graciously allowed me to share with you. This book is the result of my many years of experience, my passion to equip and touch lives, and your encouragement for me to write it down. It has been a longer journey then I anticipated, but I trust that God has guided everything including the timing.

I am grateful for the support of Dr. J. Robert White and the staff of the Georgia Baptist Convention. Dr. White encourages staff members to write and to grow to their fullest potential. I am a beneficiary of that philosophy, and I am indebted to the Georgia Baptist Convention for the role that the leaders and the staff have played in giving me the freedom and resources to pursue this project in addition to my ministry responsibilities.

I am grateful for many encouragers along the way as I have labored over this project. I want to express thanks to Dr. Thom Rainer, Dr. Ken Hemphill, Dr. Bobby Welch, Josh Hunt, Allan Taylor, Dr. Alvin Reid, and David Francis for your feedback and affirmation as I wrote this book. I am surrounded by an excellent staff who encourage me day in and day out: Dr. Tim Smith, Dr. Alan Folsom, Patrick Thompson, Randy Mullinax, Marc Merritt, Lucy Henry, Lynn Miller, and Sharon Nowak. I thank you for all that you do. Patrick Thompson was gracious in contributing the ideas for preschool, children, and student leaders in chapter 6. I am appreciative to my daughter, Lauren, for assisting with the first phase of editing, and my good friend, Sandra Hamilton, for her assistance in the latter stages of editing and formatting in preparation for the publishers.

I am thankful for the excellent staff at Kregel Publications. They have been a blessing to me, and God is using the staff to touch many lives through publishing excellent Christian books and resources. You are a blessing to leaders like me who desire to maximize their influence for the cause of Christ.

I must express appreciation to my parents and my sister for the encouragement they have been to me throughout my life. They have always been supportive of me. They laid the foundation for the person who I am and who I am becoming as God does His work in my life.

Other than God Himself, my deepest gratitude belongs to my wife, Carolyn, for her unconditional love and support. My wife and my daughters, Leah, Lauren, and Larissa, have willingly sacrificed so that I might be on mission for the Father whether through traveling to equip leaders or to seclude myself to write as I am doing now. I love each of them with all of my heart.