Revamped Sunday School Leads Discipleship Boom
Pastor Daniel Miller, First Assembly of God, St. Joseph, MI
Making leadership training a discipleship priority has revolutionized the ministry of First Assembly of God in St. Joseph, Michigan. After redesigning the traditional Sunday School classes two years ago – when attendance averaged 40 – to focus on stages of discipleship, attendance has mushroomed to more than 300, making it one of the fastest-growing Sunday Schools in the AG.
"We have transformed our Sunday School into a school of leaders," Pastor Dan Miller says. "Every member of the church can and should become a leader in the home, our church and the community."
At the children’s, youth and adult levels, First Assembly classes initially cover such areas as repentance, the power of praise and how to overcome temptation. Once small groups have met to cover those topics, they move on to evangelism, discipleship and ministry in the Holy Spirit.
A crucial part of the discipleship process is Encounter weekend retreats in which participants are transparent with and accountable to each other regarding issues in their lives – everything from healing past wounds to dealing with sexual purity.
Miller has been at the church for 16 years, but Sunday morning worship has grown to 500 only recently.
"Discipleship had been the missing element," Miller says. "People change when they have the opportunity to do ministry in small groups." Another benefit is a more diverse congregation, which previously was overwhelmingly white. Now one-fourth of attendees are Hispanic, Asian or African-American.
Sharon Ellard, AG national Sunday School promotions coordinator, says the church’s approach shows that Sunday School doesn’t have to be confined to traditional applications. "Sunday School today is a flexible discipleship strategy that can meet on any day at any time," Ellard says. "Our Fellowship will become more effective in discipleship when pastors and other church leaders pray for the Holy Spirit’s help to tailor discipleship in their churches to the needs of their people."
