The best $200 your church will ever spend

I normally try to fill these articles with helpful information about how to teach and grow a class. This week, I'd like to invite you to consider that subscribing all your teachers to the Lesson Vault is the best $200 you will spend toward that goal.

When you consider the amount of money your church spends on literature and other resources for you Sunday School, I know of no better place you could spend $200 than on the Lesson Vault. The Lesson Vault is your access to hundreds of online lessons. Three new lessons are added per week that correspond with three of Lifeway's outlines. I call theses lessons Good Questions and they have groups talking. If I were a Minister of Ed today, I would do what I did when I was on staff: I had these lessons printed every week and delivered to my teachers. The Sunday School tripled in ten years. Here are six benefits of getting an annual, church-wide subscription to The Lesson Vault.

The Lesson Vault will significantly improve the quality of the teaching of your classes.

I have watched--right before my eyes--these lessons dramatically improve the quality of the class time in groups. Lecture groups turn to discussion groups. Top-down monologue turns into lively, on-task conversations. Group time dramatically improves.

What would you pay for that?

The Lesson Vault will save your teachers time.

Each lesson consists of 25 or so ready-to-use questions. These are not lessons like you are used to seeing. They get groups talking. Whatever background study you add to the preparation, is going to help you be an even better teacher, but the truth is, these lessons are ready-to-teach, right out of the box. They correspond to three of Lifeway's curriculum outlines and there is a back list of close to 2000 lessons on every topic and text imaginable.

What would would you pay for that?

Your teachers will have more time to spend on ministry

Who is the best Sunday School teacher you ever had? My wife asks this question regularly in her seminars and has discovered something puzzling. The best Sunday School teacher is usually not the best Sunday School teacher. They are not the best teacher; they are the most loving. They spend the most time and attention on the students. Less time in preparation means more time available in ministry--more time calling and keeping up with class members, while still maintaining a high-quality class time experience.

What would you pay for that?

It will be easier to recruit teachers

Do you struggle to get enough teachers? Every church does. Big churches and small churches struggle to get enough teachers. The Lesson Vault makes it easier.

It is easier to recruit because it is easier to teach a great lesson. People want to be successful and they hate to fail. If they know they can teach a good lesson, they are more likely to volunteer to teach. I have seen this in action when I was a Minister of Education. I would talk to students that sat in classes that used Good Questions. There response would be, "All I have to do is go over those questions, right?" I would explain that it would be best if they did some background reading, but yes, in class what they basically needed to do was go over the provided questions. Recruiting suddenly became easier.

What would you pay for that?

The Lesson Vault makes it easier to divide classes

How do you grow a Sunday School? By creating new classes. What is the hardest part about creating new classes? Getting teachers. If we can make it easier to get teachers, it is also easier to start new classes.

What would you pay for that?

The Lesson Vault is really great when you need a last-minute sub

Things happen in church. People drop the ball. They get sick. They forget. They get called into work at the last minute. When that happens, you are going to be really glad you signed up for the Lesson Vault. You will hand a copy of this week's Good Questions to a sub and send them down the hall with the confidence that that class will still be above the bar of half-way decent teaching. I have watched it happen right before my eyes.

What would you pay for that?

Conclusion

There is always a tendency to believe that if something is more work, it is better quality. Technology has proved over and again that is not necessarily true. Typing on a old typewriter is more work; Typing on a word processor is better.

There is an old mission story that illustrates this. There was a missionary that was working with a remote people group deep in the Amazon jungle. He spent three days rowing in on canoe and three days getting out. Every furlough he would show his slides of himself and the canoe. People were very impressed.

Mission Aviation Fellowship came along and said, "We will get you in there in three hours, not three days." He refused, saying, "This is what I am called to do."

What are you called to do? Row a canoe? Or preach the gospel?

What are you called to do? Spend lots of time in difficult preparation? Or make disciples through life-changing conversations? Difficult is not always better.

If we are going to join God in a world-changing doubling group movement, we are going to have to provide consistent, high-quality group experiences. Good questions get that done. We are going to ask our teachers to spend lots of time not only in preparation, but in ministry to the class. Good questions help us do that. We are going to have to recruit lots of teachers. Good questions help us do that. We are going to have to start lots of new groups. Good questions help us do that. We are going to need last-minute substitutes. Good questions will insure that even in this situation, the teaching will be quality.

To sign up your teachers go to www.joshhunt.com/vault.htm You can sign up with or without PayPal. (With PayPal is quicker and renewal is automatic.) Plans are available for churches as well as individuals, for one month at a time, or a year at a time. You can cancel any time.

Bonus:  Place a NEW ALL-CHURCH ANNUAL subscription to The Lesson Vault before Feb. 22, 2008 and receive Saturday Morning Training DVD Volume #1 Reproducible FREE. (A $69 Value) This video teaches the basics of how to use hospitality to double your group and is available FREE in a reproducible format for all new annual church subscribers. See http://146.82.67.88/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=YCD&Product_Code=SAT-1-REPRODUCIBLE&Category_Code=SAT

Guarantee: if you are not completely satisfied, contact us and we will gladly and promptly refund your money.

To unsubscribe, go to www.joshhunt.com/signup.htm