G.R.O.W. Go Reach Our World

Start with prayer—

Last week we talked about having an attitude of servitude and I want to briefly go over that again because we really didn’t get enough time to finish that up.  We talked about the two different kinds of people the “givers and takers” and what it means to be a true servant of God which is by serving others.  Serving God by serving others is the highest honor and job that any person could possibly have.  Seems funny that God chose working to help others as the highest vocation.  As our memory verse says “...he that is greatest among you shall be your servant”.  And you know what the best part of that is, is that we ALL can have that job.  

You know people today are seeking the best career that pays the most when all along the job that pays the most (has the most spiritual reward and rewards of self-satisfaction, rewards of friendship, honor and respect) is simply being a servant.  What are some ways that we serve others?  

How about witnessing and reaching out to save the lost?  Is that a way we can serve others? Actually yes it is.  It goes hand in hand with servanthood. Your acts of kindness, gratitude and helpfulness show others that you are a true Christian and the one thing that God asks of us besides just serving others is winning others to him.  We cannot do that without being a servant.   We have to be willing to spend our time, money and much effort to win the person that needs God in his/her life.  We have to spend time making friends with them even if they are someone that is not necessarily the type of person you normally hang out with.  You must be willing to help them when you see they have a need.  You must show them the Jesus inside of you at all times so that they would want to be like you and would want to know the same Jesus that makes you so friendly, helpful and special. The bible talks A LOT about soul winning, witnessing and spiritual reproduction (making more Christians).  At least as much if not more than servanthood.  We need to G.R.O.W. In order for the church to grow, we must GO.REACH.OUR.WORLD.

Present a poster to the class to be placed on your bulletin board at this time.  You can make your own with a poster board.  Ours had the words GO REACH OUR WORLD at the top and some people (magazine cut outs) at the bottom.  For the center, have each child trace one of their hands and cut it out.  Glue the hands in the center of the poster board.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was teaching his disciples (souls he had won) how to be soul winners.  Jesus spent time, touching, healing, teaching and ministering to others.  Mostly sinners (ministering means serving by the way).  He ate dinner with and talked to the sinners and publicans telling them marvelous things about the kingdom of heaven and how to get there.  He gave us many examples of soul winning, but my favorite has to be the “woman at the well”.  

John 4:1-42        

Whew!  That was a long passage of scripture with much information, but the point is that Jesus gives us a straight forward example of witnessing and reaching out to a lost soul and to the many other souls that knew her.  He said that this reaching out (witnessing, soul winning) was his meat to eat and that the meat was to do the will of the father by finishing his work (it was filling and satisfying).  The work of God is to save the lost and as one of his servants that is also our work.  It should be our desire to finish God’s work.  It is filling and satisfying to help in winning a soul to the Lord.  It’s not just our duty it should be our passion.  

Suggestion:  Perhaps start a special club just for your class.  The G. R. O.W. (Go Reach Our World) Club.  G.R.O.W. is a club exclusively to reaching out to lost souls and winning them to the Lord.  Have a contest giving prizes for the student who brings the most friends to church this month, etc.  Take a few hours on a Saturday here and there to take your students door knocking (providing their parents and pastors permission).  Hand out flyers inviting the children in your neighborhoods and schools to Sunday school.  Make the club exciting to the kids so that they stay involved.  Take a look back in a year and see if there are more students in your class, more converts because of your classes efforts to G.R.O.W.  In order to G.R.O.W. we must GO.  

Memory Verse:

Mark 16:15—And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 

First, we have to have an official G.R.O.W. poster.  Let’s finish our poster.  Perhaps if the children in your class' hands are too large to fit in your space provided, ask the primary class teacher if your students can trace and cut out the little children's hands for their poster.   

Next, I have here invitations for Sunday School.  Take a few and invite some of your friends to church this week.  Tell them you are a member of G.R.O.W. and would love for them to come to Sunday School.  Tell them how fantastic our church is, how fun Sunday School is) or something like that.  Even kids you normally don’t talk to.  After all the woman at the well was someone who did not have a good reputation, and was not even the same nationality as Jesus or his disciples, but Jesus loved her soul enough anyway to speak to her and show her the way to salvation.  The rest of the cards we will leave here in the classroom with our poster in case you need more.  

There are many, many, many lost souls needing to be rescued before God returns to take his church home.  So let’s GO win some lost souls so we can G.R.O.W.