The image below is of the +ONE Calculator, an Excel worksheet that Sunday School and Bible study group leaders are finding helpful. I used this Worksheet in multiple locations around Kentucky. The groups who gathered were from 1-11 churches, and most churches had two or more leaders. Planning and training together is much more fun and productive.
+ONE Calculator
Some of you are great with math. Others prefer to have the help of a program like Excel to help with your calculations. In either case, if you would like to receive this file, email me to request it.
Before starting conferences, I ask pastors/directors to provide the numbers for the first five categories: groups, workers, enrollment, current attendance, and objective (how many you would like to have in attendance one year from now). With those numbers, the calculator provides them with answers customized for their church for categories 6-12 (two statistics and 5 goals). If you don’t have access to Excel, email me the numbers for the first five categories and I will run the calculations for you and send you a PDF.
+ONE Conference
During these +ONE (pronounced, “add one’) conferences, I spend the first hour going over the worksheet and calculations in order for our definitions to agree. During that hour, I help those gathered to understand that these numbers represent people for whom we are caring and discipling (teaching them to obey, Matthew 28:20). I recommend providing a copy of my book, Caring, for those who attend. Caring relationships are the environment for discipling.
Team Planning
The final hour of +ONE, church groups begin planning around four major questions:
- increasing member faithfulness/attendance,
- reaching out, inviting, and enrolling new people,
- increasing caregivers to assist the teacher and group, and
- adding new groups.
Each of these four planning areas are efforts to make disciples of all nations. Think about this. What if your church members were more faithful in attending? And what if every group added at least one one new person every quarter this year? What if every group added another caregiver? And what if every church added one or more new groups this year?
That final hour is the most fun. Groups gain vision. They see the potential for their churches. They recognize the importance of small steps and everybody working together. Everyone’s ideas matter, and that leads each group to ownership of the plans. As we near the end, I ask each group to set a date to continue the planning. If a church or group wants even more help with the planning portion of +ONE, the event can be lengthened.
Could +ONE Help You?
If an +ONE event sounds like something that would help your church, contact me. There is much work to do. There are many people to reach. Let’s tackle this together. Let’s reach and make disciples. Be revolutionary!
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