"He didn't just step outside the box, he set it on fire!"

We had a meeting yesterday for about 30 minutes after church to talk about what to do with our youth. This is a smaller church and try as we might, all the people in it won't conform and neatly distribute themselves so that our Sunday School classes stay balanced.

This year we have a pretty good number moving from middle to high school, and our youth pastor felt that this was the time to try some "radical ideas." We worked through all that, and then they asked me if I had any suggestions.

"Yes, move worship to 9:30, kill Sunday school entirely in favor of small groups, and run a children's worship alongside the adult one and use the youth to lead it."

One shocked attendee said "He didn't just step outside the box, he set it on fire." Everyone laughed. If they only knew. If they only knew.

Tonight I was reading a little concerning the viability of replacing Sunday School and came across an article written by Josh Hunt. I've benefited from Josh's work over the years, so I give his opinion some serious weight. Here's what he wrote about the move to ditch Sunday School for small groups.

Sunday School or Home Groups?

In short, when people speak of the demise of Sunday School and the glory of home groups, what they normally speak of is the negative qualities of BAD Sunday School. And, they sometimes speak of home groups in a rather idealized way. Are there no bad homes groups, led by sleepy leaders?

At the end of the day, home groups don't work. Sunday School doesn't work. Visitation doesn't work. Giving Friday Nights to Jesus doesn't work. What works? People work. People work through home groups and Sunday School and visitation and giving Friday nights to Jesus. Ultimate it is the talent and dedication, not plan or program that is the key variable. (emphasis mine)

Show me a talented and dedicated Sunday School teacher, and I will show you a thriving group. Show me a sleepy, distracted, or ungifted Sunday School teacher, and I will show you a languishing class. The same is true with home groups. It is all about leadership. It is all about people.

I think Josh is right, again. But I also think he's left something out that's vital to helping youth grow in their faith. They need to be involved in service to others within the church. There's far too much information transfer and far too little transformation.

We're working hard to move our church outside the walls, and we need to put some of our teenagers on the front lines. They need to learn about commitment, sacrifice, and living out loud their passion for Jesus.

We'll be working on that.