Help! I got asked to teach a class at church!
When the pastor spends several minutes in the sermon talking about discovering your spiritual gifts and plugging in a place to serve, do you slump down in your chair?
“Maybe no one saw me,” you say to yourself.
Is someone looking at me and pointing? Do they know I want to help, but just do not know how?
Maybe you feel called to teach a class or small group, or have been asked, and do not know exactly where to get help. Well, you are in luck! I hope to give you a few helps to hopefully point you in the right place and get you get started.
A Bible
I get it. You know that. This is THE starting place. However, I believe one important thing to remember is to use a translation that you understand and enjoy reading. I personally use the HCSB translation because it is a literal translation, accurate, and very readable. However, you find the one you like to use. A great place to discover different translations is YouVersion, which is available online, or on your smartphone or tablet — all for free.
Curriculum
If you have not been given a guide to help you teach, you can download many free curriculum samples to help you get started. Our church uses LifeWay curriculum. The beauty with curriculum (like LifeWay) is that there is a hard copy, a digital copy and even apps now for your smartphone or tablet. This is extremely helpful. There is curriculum for all ages, adults, students, and kids. Click here for a great place to get you started.
There are also great resources from NavPress, Download Youth Ministry, Bluefish, and many, many more. Next, you can use some free online helps to get you moving in the right direction as well.
Free Online Study Helps
Here are two places I use to do some study, both are free:
- My Study Bible – the HCSB offers it’s study Bible online for free, with several free resources and commentaries. You can purchase more if you need or want them.
- Study Light – Bible translations and TONS of free commentaries, concordances, encyclopedias, dictionaries, Greek/Hebrews tools, and more. This is definitely worth a look!
Online Training
One of the cool things about the internets is that it can bring big time teaching/conferences to your home or smartphone. There are many places online these days to find some good helps in teaching. Here are two examples: Reconnect Sunday School (free) and Ministry Grid (paid).
Prayer
Finally, there is one key ingredient that is completely free. It is prayer. Before you teach, consider spending much time in prayer. Pray for God to speak to you as you prepare. Pray for God’s leadership and guidance. Pray for help! Pray for the Scripture to take root in people’s lives and for the Word to be applied. Pray for spiritual transformation. Thank God for the opportunity to teach and pray for more opportunities!
I am very grateful there are so many tools at our fingertips these days that help in our teaching. So many of them for free, too!
Jonathan Ober says
Our church just launched a prayer tool for our global partners (missionaries) at goingintogodsworld.com to keep everyone updated easily through email subscriptions for each partner or all of them all at once.
Paul says
Jonathan, that’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Dwight says
Thanks man! This is what I needed! I appreciate all you do!
Jonathan Ober says
Another thing our church has been doing lately is connecting with the congregation through twitter. We use hashtags for the sermon series, whether a phrase or time of the year. It’s really great for finding all the notes in twitter from people and being able to converse through the week as well.