Sunday, August 14 is Promotion Sunday. It marks the beginning of our ministry year. As we look forward to this exciting new year, Dr. Lincoln takes a brief detour from the "Connecting to God" series for this message about healthy community in Sunday School. This is a great time of year to join a Sunday School class. If you have not yet found a class where you can grow in community with other believers, contact our Minister of Education, Brandon Petersen, to learn more: 782-1300 ext. 114 or

Dear Friends,

Have you ever been to a family reunion that wasn’t your family’s?  I have.  I was invited by a friend in college.  I didn’t have anything to do that weekend, so I decided I’d go.  It was a strange experience.  I don’t know if I have ever felt more left out in the midst of a bunch of friendly, happy, backslapping, handshaking, storytelling, smiling, neck-hugging people.  They were all glad to see me and were as nice to me as they could be.  But it didn’t take long to figure out I was not family—and reunions are all about family.  Family reunions are friendly, but they’re not friendly to you if you’re not a member of the family.

The family reunion level of friendliness is the disadvantage of a long formed Sunday School class.  When a new couple walks in, they’re a little anxious, they are not sure anyone will be interested in them, and someone may come over and speak to them in a perfunctory way or say, “Welcome to the class.”  But then they get back to talking to their friends as quickly as they can.  This is understandable, but not helpful to the new person. So, again, they feel as if they’re at the family reunion.  The long formed members of the class are the family, and these new people know they are not part of the family.

I’ll never forget a visit to First Baptist, Dahlonega, Georgia.  I was there with Patty for her parents’ 50th anniversary.  The music minister at the church was the Sunday School teacher, and we walked in two or three minutes after the class had begun.  He stopped the class, and in the most wonderful way said, “We’re really glad you’re here.”  He went out of his way to welcome us and asked a few personal questions about what we liked to do but didn’t put us on the spot about anything.  He explained what the lesson was about, explained that we were welcome to participate, and that they would love to hear our ideas and questions but we were also welcome to just sit and enjoy being there.  Then he continued with the lesson.  That was a man who understood the tremendous importance of making visitors feel welcome and comfortable.  There are two ways to overcome this challenge. 1. You can go out of your way to focus on the
visitors and leave weekly friendships until later.  2. Get mission minded and create a new class out of yours.

Many long-term church members feel that they are being picked on when we divide a Sunday School class and that we are not being sensitive to their need to be with their friends.  I do understand the urge to some degree, but you have 167 other hours in the week when you could be with those friends.  When we create a new class out of a longstanding class, you will usually take at least half of the people with you. It’s been the universal experience that when people go out, they go out complaining.  However, after six months they’ve made new friends, continued to stay in touch with their old friends and feel right at home in the class.  I hope you will be one of those wonderful, Christ-honoring classes that approaches Brandon Petersen and says, “We’d really like to start a new class out of ours.  We’ve been together a long time, and we probably make guests feel like they’re at a family reunion that’s not their family.

God bless you.  Thank you for your love for the Lord and for your desire to reach the lost.  This is a critical way that we can fulfill that urge.  God bless you in all that you do.

Your Pastor,