Imagine: Next Sunday in Your Ideal Adult Sunday School Class

Imagine walking into your ideal adult Sunday School class.

The room is buzzing long before the official start time. People greet each other by

Discussion makes groups come alive.

name. Bibles are open, not just quarterlies. The discussion is honest but hopeful. Prayer feels natural, not tacked on. And when the hour ends, no one bolts for the door—they’re still talking about what God is doing in their lives.

As a Discipleship Pastor, Education Minister, or small-church Pastor, that’s the kind of room you’d love to multiply… not just survive.

Research keeps telling us that the hunger is there. Barna found that about three out of four U.S. adults want to grow spiritually. (Barna Group Link)  Another Barna report notes that people flourish when they have relationships that foster spiritual growth—exactly the kind of relationships your groups could provide. Lifeway’s State of Groups work continues to show that adult Bible study groups are a key engine for discipleship in the local church. (Lifeway Research+1 Link)  The desire and the structure are there… but the experience doesn’t always match the dream.

So let’s imagine that ideal room for a moment—and then talk about how to quietly move your real people closer to it.

Why That Ideal Adult Sunday School Class Feels So Hard to Reach

If this is the vision, why does it so often feel out of reach?

• Leaders are stretched thin. Many of your best teachers are also your busiest volunteers.

• Attendance is inconsistent. Barna notes that discipleship strategies must account for people being in the building less than half the Sundays.Barna Group

• Discipleship is a priority… without a plan. Lifeway Research recently reported that many pastors say discipleship is important, but don’t have a specific plan or clear way to measure it. (Lifeway Research Link)

• Spiritual life feels private. A majority of Christians say their spiritual life is essentially private, which fights against open, transformative conversation. (Barna Group Link)

You feel that gap every time you walk the halls: We’re so close to something powerful… but not quite there.

The Core Concept: Design the Experience Around Transformation, Not Time-Filling

The difference between an ordinary class and an ideal adult Sunday School class isn’t better coffee or a slicker icebreaker. It’s how intentionally you design the experience of the hour.

Here’s a simple contrast:

• Typical class:

  • Follows the quarterly page by page

  • Asks safe, “anyone can answer” questions

  • Ends with “Any prayer requests?” and a closing prayer

• Ideal-leaning class:

  • Starts with the biblical text and a clear spiritual aim (trust, repentance, courage, etc.)

  • Uses questions that move from text → understanding → reflection → action

  • Builds in time for prayer and response, not just analysis

You can use this quick checklist as you prepare:

1. Biblical aim defined:“By the end of this hour, I want my group to trust/obey/hope in Christ more in this specific way.”

2. Questions mapped, not random:At least one question each that focuses on:

   • What the text says

   • Why it matters

   • How we will respond

3. Engagement planned:You know where you’ll invite stories, pair-share, or small triads—not just full-group talk.

4. Application named:The group can identify at least one practical, realistic next step by the end.

5. Prayer integrated:You reserve time for the group to pray around what you’ve learned, not just for external needs.

   
   

A Framework to Move Your Real Group Toward That Vision

You don’t need to overhaul everything at once. Try this simple framework over the next month:

1. Choose one “growth word” per lesson

Before you touch the curriculum, ask: If God used this passage powerfully, what kind of growth would we see?

Examples: trust, humility, forgiveness, courage, hope, generosity.

Write that word at the top of your notes. It becomes the thread tying your questions together.

2. Build (or adapt) three key discussion questions

For each week, make sure you have:

• One “text” question

  • “According to vs. 4-7, what does Paul say God actually does when we bring our anxiety to Him?”

• One “mirror” question

  • “Where do you see your own habits or fears reflected in this passage?”

• One “step” question

  • “If we took this seriously, what is one small change that would show up in your life this week?”

Even if everything else stays the same, these three questions can reshape the tone of the hour.

3. Protect space at the end

In your ideal adult Sunday School class, the last 10 minutes are not an afterthought. Guard that time for:

• Naming specific faith-steps or obedience steps

• Sharing brief prayer requests tied to the text

• Actually praying—out loud, together

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What If You Don’t Have Time to Write All This from Scratch?

Here’s the honest tension: you love the picture we’re painting, but you don’t live in a world of open Fridays and empty Saturdays.

You live in a world where:

• Teachers skim the lesson late Saturday night.

• Staff juggles budgets, hospital visits, and committee work.

• Volunteers are grateful just to arrive mostly prepared.

You could, in theory, hand-craft transformational discussion plans every week. But year-round, across multiple classes? That’s a heavy lift.

This is exactly where a tool like Steve’s Bible Questions can serve you quietly in the background:

Discussion worksheets for both Lifeway Curriculums: Explorations and Life Lessons

• Each worksheet is built to anchor the class in Scripture and move toward real-life application.

• Questions are already sequenced to draw people out—from understanding to reflection to action.

• Teachers don’t start with a blank page; they start with a clear, printable roadmap.

You still contextualize. You still shepherd your people. You still know the stories in the room. But the heavy lifting of shaping solid, growth-oriented questions is already done, week after week.

Your Next Simple Step Toward That Ideal Class

Before next Sunday:

1. Pick the passage you’ll be using.

2. Name one growth word for that lesson (trust, hope, obedience, etc.).

3. Write or adapt three questions: one text, one mirror, one step.

4. If you’d like help, grab or adapt a discussion worksheet from Steve’s Bible Questions instead of starting from zero.

Do that for the next four weeks, and your people may not use the exact phrase “ideal adult Sunday School class”… but they’ll feel the difference.

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P.S. Church Leaders: Looking for an easy way to start a conversation with your adult teachers about moving from lecture to discussion? I’ve written a short eBook called Questions-Based Bible Teaching that you’re welcome to use as a handout or starter piece for training. It’s free to download here.