I want you to picture your home. It may be a house, condo, or apartment that you own or rent. It is the place you lay your head at night. Let's assume you set a goal of getting ten people crammed into your living room. What do you need to do in order to achieve your goal? While there are many strategies, let me boil the possibilities down to three actions:

• get nine people besides yourself in the front door,
• make sure they don't leave,
• and make sure you get them all at the same time into the living room.

Those simple actions can be translated into the context of the Sunday School to help us increase Sunday School attendance:

• FRONT DOOR. Invite and enroll new people. This is essential in order to have more people in Sunday School. Invite them in person, by card/letter, by phone, by email, by social media, etc. The more personal, the more effective will be the invitation. Invite them to your class fellowships and projects. Get to know people in the community and in your home. Invite them to class. Invite them to enroll--add them to the prayer and care list for your class. How can you address the front door in order to increase your attendance?
• BACK DOOR. When people join, care for them. When they are absent, contact them every time, every week. Do it out of concern for them as persons rather than simply an attendance number. Organize the class to respond in care. Keep good contact and attendance records. Provide regular fellowships to deepen and expand the network of relationships. Pray together. Use name tags, greeters, and care group leaders. The goal is to have none to drop out. Never allow someone to miss without knowing why they are away and responding out of care when needed. How can you address the back door in order to increase your attandance?
• LIVING ROOM. While the back door is focused on preventing dropouts, the living room is focused on regular attendance. Disciples grow better when they consistently are part of a group. Irregular attendance results in irregular or poor growth as disciples. It produces weak leaders. It reduces relationships and service opportunities. Set high expectations for attendance. Challenge members to have daily devotions, read lessons weekly, and be present. Encourage them to bring their friends. Call them when they miss. Give them assignments related to the lesson. Find them places of service in the class. In an article called, The Missing Metric, Thom Rainer of LifeWay Christian Resources said: "If the frequency of attendance changes, then attendance will respond accordingly. For example, if 200 members attend every week the average attendance is, obviously, 200. But if one-half of those members miss only one out of four weeks, the attendance drops to 175." How can you address the living room in order to increase your average attendance?

Give focus to these three actions in your Sunday School and watch your attendance increase. As you are faithful at caring for God's sheep, He will entrust you with more. Where do you need to start? Just don't forget all three of these actions or your attendance will not reach its potential. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about increasing Sunday School attendance, check out these blog posts:

• How LARGE Should We Make Our Sunday School Goals?
• Five Sunday School Challenges
• Increasing Sunday School Class Attendan ce, Part 1
• How BIG Is God’s Vision for Your Sunday School/Small Groups?
• Grow Your Sunday School: Part 2, Steps for Inviting New People
• Measures of Balanced Sunday School Progress
• Set God-Sized Goals for Sunday School Growth
• Grow Your Sunday School: Set Goals This Year
• Preparation for High Attendance Day in Sunday School
• 5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year
• Simple Steps for a Successful Sunday School High Attendance Day
• Building Blocks for a Strong Sunday School Class, Part 2
• Sunday School Growth Spiral
• Benefits of High Attendance Sunday
• Personal Invitation and Enrollment: Twin Key Metrics in Sunday School Progress, Part 2

The more I observe and write about Sunday School, the more I am convinced that an important key to the effective functioning of Sunday School is care. Care is essential for connecting and reaching new people. Care is vital in starting and growing friendships. Care is important during the teaching and learning environment.

Care enables reaching, teaching-learning, and caring. When each of these are infused with care, Sunday School becomes an effective tool in carrying out the Great Commission. Through care, Sunday School grows disciples, leaders, and classes.

Sunday School care is three dimensional: upward-directed, outward-directed, as well as self-directed (love God, other, and self). As a result, Sunday School care takes many forms in the lives of classes and small groups:

• prayer,
• relationship-building,
• ministry in time of need,
• presence during pain,
• encouraging words,
• listening,
• pointed challenging teaching,
• discipleship discussion,
• accountability,
• acts of service,
• fun and fellowships,
• invitations,
• conversation and interaction,
• covenants,
• and so many more.

Until there is attempt to connect, there is no context for agape (selfless) love. (Remember God made the first step to love us.) Loving connections result in reaching and enrolling new people. And these connections enable lives to be equipped and mobilized to make more loving connections which in turn reach new people. Teach your class to C.A.R.E. Teach your Sunday School to C.A.R.E. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about caring, check out these blog posts:

• Transformational Sunday School Equation
• Grow Your Sunday School Class by Organizing to Respond in Times of Need
• REVOLUTIONARY Sunday School Anagram
• Reconnecting with Sunday School Absentees
• Sunday School’s Neglect of Care for the Lost, Part 7
• Use Your Sunday School Records to Reach and Care for More People, Part 1 and Use Your Sunday School Records to Reach and Care for More People, Part 2
• How Far Should Sunday School Go to Make Disciples of All Nations?
• Is It Time to Clean Up Your Sunday School Roll?
• Growing Sunday Schools Have More Visitors Who Stick Around
• Empty Seats in Sunday School
• Characteristics of Effective Sunday School Learning Experiences
• Internally-Focused, Externally-Focused, and Missional Sunday School
• Revolutionary Sunday School Does Care
• Ideal Behaviors of an Adult Sunday School Member, Part 2
• Personal Invitation and Enrollment: Twin Key Metrics in Sunday School Progress, Part 2

Today complicated is frowned upon. Simple is "in." For some, Yahoo is complicated. Google is simple. Apple has worked to become the king of simple: Ipods, Iphones, etc. Many simple products and books are selling well.

Rainer and Geiger wrote Simple Church which presents a simple but successful model for discipleship. Their research showed a simple design tended to produce more growth. Many churches are too complicated. The discipleship process has too many options. The ministry has too many competing programs. Staff and members are pulled into directions. This results in "fights" for calendar, budget, and volunteers. In the meantime, other research has shown little discipleship progress in many of these "complicated" churches.

So here are the questions of the day:

Is the average Sunday School class too complicated? Is the class trying to accomplish too much? Is the discipleship path in the class too complicated, too unclear? Are expectations unclear and/or uncommunicated? Is class organization too complicated? Or are class teachers and leaders simply untrained and not held accountable for carrying out the work?

Would a simpler discipleship process through the Sunday School be more likely to produce results (help attenders make spiritual progress)? If so, what would that discipleship process look like? Would a simpler class organization be more likely to enable better results? If so, how might that class organization look?

Chew on those questions. Leave your thoughts--even incomplete ones--by pressing Comments below. This issue needs serious conversation, thinking, and response. Let's give God our best efforts through the Sunday School. Let's strive for changed lives. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about simple class organization, check out these blog posts:

• The Simple Church Meets Sunday School Care Groups
• Key Actions for Sunday School Class Growth, Part 1
• Are Home Bible Study Groups the Answer to the Simple Church?
• Simple Plan for Sunday School Discipleship, Leadership, and Numerical Growth
• Helping Sunday School to Focus on Prayer for Outreach
• Sunday School: Take the Love Dare
• A Simple Two-Part System for Getting Sunday School Class Ministry Done, Part 1 and A Simple Two-Part System for Getting Sunday School Class Ministry Done, Part 4

I like ambiguous statements: ones that could mean more than one thing. The title of this blog post is ambiguous. It could mean that a teacher/leader is thinking about Sunday School experiences. On the other hand, it could be more literal. It could be examining whether Sunday School and leaders look like their leader. For this blog post, both meanings are appropriate.

What started me thinking about this subject is an early statementin Tim Elmore's book, Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits & Attitudes. On page 1, Dr. Elmore shares a leadership image called the Mirror Effect:

As a leader, your followers will be a reflection of you. Not only will you attract others like yourself, but over time, those who follow you will mirror both your negative and positive characteristics.

If you are a pastor, Sunday School director, teacher, or other leader, someone is following you. A leader will have followers. If no one is following, you are not leading. But Elmore's point is important. Leaders will tend to gather followers who look, think, and act like them. Unfortunately, that means followers will reflect good and bad habits, attitudes, and practices of their leader(s).

With that in mind, here are some questions to check on your reflection:

Pause. Pray. Reflect upon your leadership. Reflect good images. Lead with impact. Follow the Lord. Lead others to Him. Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about Sunday School leadership, check out these blog posts:

• Sunday School’s Neglect of Leadership, Part 4
• Training Leaders through Adult Sunday School Classes
• Revolutionary Sunday School Teacher Skills
• Revolutionary Classes Mobilize Attenders
• Sunday School Leadership Lessons
• What Does It Take for a Revolutionary Director to Lead the Sunday School?
• Take a Risk: Take Sunday School off Autopilot
• Measures of an Effective Sunday School Director
• Sunday School Reflection, Adjustment, and Anticipation at the Beginning of a New Year
• Simple Plan for Sunday School Discipleship, Leadership, and Numerical Growth
• Help for the New Sunday School Director
• Are They Following Your Leadership of the Sunday School?
• The Pastor Coaching a Winning Sunday School Team

During the month of June, I took a sabbatical to begin writing a book about Sunday School. (It now looks like it will be three books.) For my sabbatical, my wife and I travelled to England (including Gloucester, home of Robert Raikes, see picture above) where Sunday School had its start. While there we made a three-night jaunt to Wales and Scotland and even managed to stay in a castle.

During the month and specifically on that trip, I did some driving (on the other side of the road). Entering highways on the exit ramps (from an American's perspective) was the scariest part of driving. The second most scary was roundabouts. A roundabout is a junction in two or more roads (as many as a dozen exits), sometimes with lights or stop signs and sometimes without. Traffic always went clockwise around the roundabout. It was every man (or woman) for himself.

Some roundabouts had clear signs about which of the three or more exits led where. Other roundabouts had unclear or no signage. Locals would know which way to go, but foreigners would have to guess. More than once, I circled around a roundabout two, three, and even four times trying to decide which exit to take. In roundabouts with multiple lanes, there was an art to getting in the outside lane at the right time in the midst of the traffic.

Anyway, on our Scotland trip, we had spent the night at Crabwall Manor in Chester and were heading to Edinburgh. But before leading Chester, I stopped to ask for directions. The young man was very helpful. He showed me the fastest way on the map but quickly stated:

It seems that Deadman's Roundabout had poor signage, way too much traffic, and about a dozen exits. He said even locals had difficulty navigating it. So he plotted me a longer but safer set of directions which worked smoothly.

His comment got me thinking. I find many Sunday Schools and Sunday School leaders are stuck in Deadman's Roundabout. They continue to circle trying to decide which way to go. They are struggling to make the right decision resulting in failure to make any decision. Their Sunday Schools are running out of gas. Teachers and leaders are growing tired of having no leadership. They are tried of making no progress. They get comfortably stuck while being frustrated at the same time.

Avoiding Deadman's Roundabout takes wisdom whose source is time spent with God and wise counselors. It takes prayer and planning. Maintaining momentum is important but heading in the right direction is essential. Follow God's lead. With God you will never go in the wrong direction! Be revolutionary!

For more ideas about planning, check out these blog posts:

• Prepare for the New Sunday School Year
• Sunday School Reflection, Adjustment, and Anticipation at the Beginning of a New Year
• Evaluate the Past Year Before You Set New Sunday School Goals
• Aerobics and Weight Training for Sunday School
• What Happens When a Pastor Invests Time and Leadership in Sunday School?
• Giving Sunday School Direction Through a Planning Retreat
• Planning Steps Toward Sunday School Progress
• Calendaring Sunday School Growth
• Communication and Growth Spurts in Sunday School
• Sunday School Retreating to Move Forward
• Sunday School’s Neglect of Planning, Part 6
• 5 Goals for Sunday School Growth This Year, Part 1
• Sunday School Class Growth Is Spelled W-O-R-K, Part 6

In Part 1, I began sharing some thinking about the potential impact of the discipleship tool of the Sunday School. I suggested that thinking should focus on what Sunday School can do to impact one disciple. Then I shared several questions about Sunday School impacting a disciple named Ken or Kendra. Check out Part 1 for those questions.

In Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5, thinking continued about Sunday School's impact on discipleship in these eight ways: with God, God's Word, each other, questions, application, casual conversation, accountability, and intentionality. There are many more ways Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra. Think about two more:

SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES. Sunday School classes are great communities to experiment with and practice a variety of spiritual disciplines. While not every specific spiritual discipline fits every believer, classes can practice multiple disciplines in the course of the year in class and away from class. This can enable Ken/Kendra to find disciplines which are more comfortable and yet challenging. I know people who love journaling and others who hate it. One individual tried journaling and could only get it to work for him when his journaling was on his laptop. There are many spiritual disciplines. When Ken/Kendra grow in their relationship with God, the class benefits. See the blog posts listed below for more ideas.

GOALS. Why not use positive peer pressure to your advantage? Negotiate some goals. Challenge Ken/Kendra to stretch themselves as disciples. Challenge him/her to read the Bible through this year. Challenge him/her to pray ten minutes per day. Challenge Ken/Kendra to serve someone this week. Lead him/her to set goals about practicing one of the fruit of the Spirit. Lead him/her to do something for one of the least of these. Assess the discipleship Ken/Kendra and/or of the class and set corporate or personal goals to grow over the next quarter. Check up on Ken/Kendra's goals and discipleship progress.

What else would you add to these two ways? What else would you add beyond these two ways? There are so many ways that Sunday School can be a tool for discipleship in Ken/Kendra's life. Use it. Be revolutionary!

For additional thoughts about Sunday School's impact upon discipleship, check out these blog posts:

• Sunday School Supporting Spiritual Disciplines, Part 1, Sunday School Supporting Spiritual Disciplines, Part 2, Sunday School Supporting Spiritual Disciplines, Part 3, and Sunday School Supporting Spiritual Disciplines, Part 4
• Teaching Sunday School Members to Pray Through Scripture
• Sunday School Teaching Believers to Listen to the Voice of God, Part 1 and Sunday School Teaching Believers to Listen to the Voice of God, Part 2
• Teaching Your Sunday School Class the Spiritual Disciplines of Prayer, Bible Study, Meditation, and Solitude

In Part 1, we started thinking about the potential impact of the discipleship tool of the Sunday School. I suggested that our thinking should focus on what Sunday School can do to impact one disciple. Then I shared several questions about Sunday School impacting a disciple named Ken or Kendra. Check out Part 1 for those questions.

In Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4, we continued thinking about Sunday School's impact on discipleship in these six ways: with God, God's Word, each other, questions, application, and casual conversation. There are many more ways Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra. Think about two more:

ACCOUNTABILITY. The best classes care about one another and encourage each other in and away from class. Once attenders have been in class together for a few week, it is common for friendships to occur. This is the foundation for accountability and discipleship. Trust develops. Commitments are made to God and each other. They commit to pray, to read God's Word, to read the lesson, to live out the truth of God's Word, and more. Attenders offer to encourage each other to keep those commitments. The resulting positive accountability serves as a great source for forward steps of discipleship. This can take many forms: accountability partners, new Christian encourager, prayer partners, as well as the teacher asking at lesson beginning about obedience/application of last week's lesson's truth.

INTENTIONALITY. Sunday School is less than revolutionary when it lacks focus and direction. It accomplishes less than its potential. The reason that little discipleship is accomplished through many Sunday School classes is the lack of discipleship intentionality. No one has taken charge. No one has made making disciples a priority. Such intentionality begins with and is led by the teacher. A coach, Sunday School director, or pastor can train teachers to make discipleship an intentional focus and to know who to make the most difference.

What else would you add to these two ways? What else would you add beyond these two ways? There are so many ways that Sunday School can be a tool for discipleship in Ken/Kendra's life. Use it. Be revolutionary!

For additional thoughts about Sunday School's impact upon discipleship, check out these blog posts:

• Making Disciples Through Accountability in the Adult Sunday School Class
• Growth Support: Sunday School Providing Encouragement
• Accountability Partners in the Adult Sunday School Class
• Adult Sunday School Class Attenders Can Benefit from an Encourager
• Accountability to Read the Bible Through in Sunday School Classes/Small Groups
• Helping to Keep Up with the Joneses: The Job of the Class Secretary
• Avoiding Sunday School Class Dysfunctions
• Sunday School Class Growth Is Spelled W-O-R-K, Part 6
• An Ownership Problem in Our Sunday School Work
• Sunday School, One of the Ways to Get People Involved in Studying the Bible
• Moving Sunday School from Knowing Toward Obeying
• Actions to Lead Sunday School Members Toward Spiritual Maturity

In Part 1, I began thinking aloud about the potential impact of the discipleship tool of the Sunday School. I suggested that thinking should focus on what Sunday School can do to impact one disciple. Then I shared these questions:

What can Sunday School do to take a brand new, baby Christian to help them to become an obedient, Christ-following disciple and disciplemaker? Let's call the person Ken or Kendra. Don't talk in generalities, be specific. Don't limit your thinking to what Sunday School can do on Sunday morning, but include that experience in your responses as well. What can the teacher and members of that youth or adult class (or an off campus small group) do to impact Ken or Kendra in such a way that he/she becomes the person Christ desires? (After these questions, I asked for Comments.)

In Part 2 and Part 3, I continued thinking aloud by mentioning these four ways: with God, God's Word, each other, and questions. There are many more ways Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra. Think about these two:

APPLICATION. A Sunday School lesson (like a sermon) is a natural opportunity to connect the truth of God's Word with the need for response. When attenders are led to meet God in Bible study, their need for change in thinking and/or behavior becomes apparent. Sunday School teachers are able to prepare in such a way as to bring the truth to bear to the age group represented by the class and more importantly to the individuals who will attend. Time must be set aside (dedicated) for application or else other activities will fill the time. It is essential to lead attenders to pause to examine and apply the truth. It is frequently helpful to make a couple of suggestions of ways the truth can be applied before leading attenders to commit to a course of action as a result of this encounter with God in His Word. Also, asking at the beginning of the lesson how attenders did at living out the truth during the week, is an important reminder about the end result of application: obedience.

CASUAL CONVERSATION OUTSIDE OF CLASS. Without a relationship, discipleship is difficult. God uses life encounters as opportunities for His body (the church) to begin relationships with people in the marketplace and along life's paths. Sunday School can regularly remind attenders to be aware of God speaking and moving around them. They can be reminded to be sensitive to opportunities to serve and befriend people. Once a relationship with God has begun, there are many ways Sunday School can impact discipleship through relationships outside of class. Casual conversation about the lesson, life's challenges, Bible questions, and more are comfortable, natural opportunities for discipleship. In casual conversation, questions can be answered, wrong assumptions corrected, poor behavior confronted, and the disciple life inspired. This can occur in chance encounters as well as in planned meetings.

What else would you add to these two ways? What else would you add beyond these two ways? There are so many ways that Sunday School can be a tool for discipleship in Ken/Kendra's life. Use it. Be revolutionary!

For additional thoughts about Sunday School's impact upon discipleship, check out these blog posts:

• Transitioning from Sunday School Teacher to Disciple Make r
• Sunday School’s Contributions to Disciple Making
• Small Group Leader as Sightseeing Guide
• What Is the Fruit of a Sunday School Class or Small Group?
• Maturational Growth Through Sunday School Is a Voluntary Choice
• What Can Sunday School Classes Do to Make Disciples Thirsty?
• Growth as Person, Disciple, and Sunday School Leader Requires Wise Use of Time
• Transformational Sunday School Equation
• Making Disciples Through the Sunday School
• Mentoring a New Christian Through Sunday School

In Part 1, I started thinking aloud about the potential impact of the discipleship tool of the Sunday School. I suggested that thinking should focus on what Sunday School can do to impact one disciple. Then I shared these questions:

What can Sunday School do to take a brand new, baby Christian to help them to become an obedient, Christ-following disciple and disciplemaker? Let's call the person Ken or Kendra. Don't talk in generalities, be specific. Don't limit your thinking to what Sunday School can do on Sunday morning, but include that experience in your responses as well. What can the teacher and members of that youth or adult class (or an off campus small group) do to impact Ken or Kendra in such a way that he/she becomes the person Christ desires? (After these questions, I asked for Comments.)

In Part 2, I continued thinking aloud continuing to invite Comments. There are many ways Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra. In Part 2, I shared a couple of ways: prayer and Bible study. In Part 3, I will share two more ways that Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra:

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS IN CLASS. Connecting to people is a key part of discipleship. Without entering trusting relationships, gaining help from others is difficult. There is a reason that we are told not to forsake assembling ourselves together. We are made for community. And the medium for discipleship is community--community first with God and second with His people. This begins for many Kens/Kendras before setting foot in a classroom. This begins as disciples of Jesus extend His love out into the community and inviting guests to worship, fellowships, homes, and the group time. They are hospitable. This continues as people act in caring ways with the desire for an ongoing relationship. When people trust one another, they can be honest with each other. This is easiest to accomplish in one-on-one. Trust and open honesty are difficult to achieve in a large group. That is why the best environment to encourage this to happen is more often smaller classes--usually under a dozen.

QUESTIONS. One great discipleship method for Sunday School and for relationships is asking questions. Allow Ken/Kendra to talk. Listen. Really listen. Ask questions because you care--not because you are nosey. Ask questions because you want to understand what he/she is telling you. Listeners make good friends and good encouragers. Ask what is going well in their first steps as a disciple. Ask what they wish they could have done differently when they make mistakes. When Ken/Kendra verbalizes responses, it helps him/her to think through decisions and ideas. Questions help him/her to think aloud in a safe environment. (But don't ask Ken/Kendra questions in front of a group without his/her advance permission because doing so can be embarrassing--since responding can feel like public speaking which is the number one fear of many).

What else would you add to these two ways? What else would you add beside these two ways? There are so many ways that Sunday School can be a tool for discipleship in Ken/Kendra's life. Use it. Be revolutionary!

For additional thoughts about Sunday School's impact upon discipleship, check out these blog posts:

In Part 1, I started thinking aloud about the potential impact of the discipleship tool of the Sunday School. I suggested that thinking focus on what Sunday School can do to impact one disciple. Then I shared these questions:

What can Sunday School do to take a brand new, baby Christian to help them to become an obedient, Christ-following disciple and disciplemaker? Let's call the person Ken or Kendra. Don't talk in generalities, be specific. Don't limit your thinking to what Sunday School can do on Sunday morning, but include that experience in your responses as well. What can the teacher and members of that youth or adult class (or an off campus small group) do to impact Ken or Kendra in such a way that he/she becomes the person Christ desires? (After these questions, I asked for Comments and gave a couple of days.)

In Part 2, I want to continue our thinking--not to stop it. In my experience, there are many ways Sunday School can impact the discipleship of Ken/Kendra. To start our thinking, here are a couple of ways:

WITH GOD. An ongoing relationship with God is key to growing as a disciple. This relationship began with God's interaction in Ken/Kendra's life through experiences, nature, people, His Word, and other means. Prayer is important to maintaining that relationship. Classes can and should pray for Ken/Kendra--privately and together. Sunday School can be a great ministry to teach and encourage prayer--during the session and between sessions. Sunday School session/members can model praying for Ken/Kendra. Individual members can be prayer partners with Ken/Kendra.

WITH GOD'S WORD. Sunday School sessions are natural places for teaching and encouraging Ken/Kendra to study God's Word. Every week, Bible study is modeled. When the teacher and members share their experiences with/insights into God's Word, they model methods for private Bible study experiences as well as insights about the importance of application of God's truth and daily obedience. In addition, ideally the session is a time in which attenders are led to encounter God in Bible study. That way Ken/Kendra get hands-on experiences which can help him/her repeat that encounter with God.

What else would you add to these two ways? What else would you add beside these two ways? Lead Ken/Kendra to pray and study God's Word. Disciple at least one person this year. Be revolutionary!

For additional thoughts about Sunday School's impact upon discipleship, check out these blog posts:

• Transitioning from Sunday School Teacher to Disciple Maker
• Sunday School’s Contributions to Disciple Making
• What Is the Fruit of a Sunday School Class or Small Group?
• Maturational Growth Through Sunday School Is a Voluntary Choice
• What Can Sunday School Classes Do to Make Disciples Thirsty?
• Growth as Person, Disciple, and Sunday School Leader Requires Wise Use of Time
• Making Disciples Through the Sunday School
• Transformational Sunday School Equation
• Mentoring a New Christian Through Sunday School
• Actions to Lead Sunday School Members Toward Spiritual Maturity
• What Can Sunday School Do to Impact Life Change?