What leaders can best help us prepare for multiple Sunday Schools and/or worship services?  

• The pastor’s support from the pulpit is critical.  Church and Sunday School members know it is important if the pastor talks about it.  He can help people anticipate what is going to happen, as well as provide assurance that no one is being made go to another class, etc.  He can also remind them multiple use of space is great stewardship of the resources God has given them.
• Be sure to include several key Sunday School leaders as you move ahead.  If you move forward and never gain the support of key leaders, you will have a difficult task of trying multiple sessions again later.   It is better to move slower to bring leaders along than to forge ahead alone.
• Bring other leaders onboard in phases.  Coach them and the key leaders on positive ways of promoting the multiple options.  Continue to remind people the changes are to provide for those persons who are not in your church yet.  You won’t reach people if there is not room for them when they do come.

Will we provide identical Sunday Schools or portions of them?  Most multiple Sunday Schools are not mirror Sunday Schools.  For example, senior adults may largely attend the first Sunday School, but senior adult visitors should have a class option in all Sunday Schools.  There may be different offerings for children in different sessions.  For example, the first Sunday School may provide for grades 1-3 in one class.  The second Sunday School may have one class for 1-2 grades and one for 3-4 grades.

How will we provide for preschoolers at each session?  Some of your preschoolers are in the same area during Sunday School and extended session.  Most preschool rooms not used during both sessions usually cannot be used for any other age group class.

How will we project who will go to which Sunday School and/or worship service?  This question is more important if the worship services are multiple services with different worship styles. 

• Consider some type of survey.  Survey even if you are only doing multiple Sunday Schools so you can best plan for the number of classes and leaders.
• The brief survey should give people several choices of options.  Sample questions might be:

                  _____I/my family will attend Sunday School A (print the time)

_____I/my family will attend Sunday School B (print the time)

_____I/my family will attend either session to help provide a good balance.

• It is also wise to ask them to identify which class/department they attend at the present. 
• Ask families to sign up for the same Sunday School and/or worship service.
• Recognize if you are offering multiple Sunday Schools AND worship options, most people choose their Sunday School after they choose their worship option.
• Consider surveying 2-3 Sundays to get the best response. Mail preference/survey cards to each family/individual who does not turn one in.
• Complete the survey as a family.  Provide space for the person to list everyone who attends church with them.  Notice this wording does not limit the persons to family members.  A senior adult may bring a first grade neighbor to church with her. 
• Begin with the adult classes and departments.  Depending on the makeup of your children and youth departments, you may not need to survey any other age group since you are surveying by family. 
• Aim for a good balance--60% attendance in the base Sunday School and 40% in the other Sunday School (if you are doing two Sunday Schools).
• If members do not select a Sunday School hour, assign them to the smaller Sunday School. Then, inform all members in writing of the Sunday School hour where they have been enrolled.
• Pre-enroll classes starting about one month ahead.  This gives you time to deal with any imbalances in leadership or class size.  Remember to aim for a 60-40 split or better. 
• Stress and inform members and prospects that they still have choices, but everyone should be assigned to a teaching unit for ministry and outreach reasons. 

How much parking do we have available?  You are using the same space twice, but you are likely using the same parking spaces with two sets of people present at one time.  You may need to consider some shuttles running to/from nearby businesses or other possible parking areas.

How will we handle choir and other music/worship issues? Most worship leaders have found they can adjust the worship order to accommodate choir and/or orchestra members leaving in an appropriate manner at some point in the service to go to Sunday School.

How can we safely move a large number of people at the same time to/from the same space?  Keep all hallways free of tables and other displays to prevent bottle necks.  Encourage some classes or groups to enter/exit from an outside walkway instead of going through interior halls.  Beginning and ending on time usually help the traffic flow remain manageable.  You can easily spot bottlenecks when people are waiting in hallways to enter a classroom where the teacher has “gone over time.”

When will we launch the multiple Sunday Schools and/or worship services?   Launch the multiple SS’s on an average day.  For example, Easter Sunday may not be the best time for your first day of multiple Sunday Schools.  

Regardless of whether you provide multiple Sunday School and/or worship options, insure you focus on the reasons for making these changes.  People tend to follow leaders who focus on vision and mission.  Keep talking about how multiple use of space can increase your church's ministry impact in the community and around the world.

Click here to download a Multiple Sunday Schools handout you may share with other church leaders.

To talk more about multiple Sunday Schools, call (803-765-0030, ext 4620) or email Belinda Jolley.