PURPOSE DRIVEN SABBATH SCHOOL

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PURPOSE DRIVEN SABBATH SCHOOL
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• Purpose Driven Sabbath Schools are comprised of
  members who are having, and daily cultivate an
  authentic relationship
• With God
• With one another
• And have a heart for the lost

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Purpose Driven Sabbath Schools are comprised of
members who do have a daily relationship with God

• Do study the Bible! Class members have the Bible
  not the lesson book open in front of them,
  and they seek to answer just two basic questions
  through discussion and prayer
• a) What does this text actually say?
• and
• b) What is God saying to us through this text in
  terms of the changes He wants to make in our
  lives?

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• Do pray and strive to make Jesus central to
  everything, seeking to reflect His grace to the
  people who attend.

• Dont have Sabbath School teachers who
  simply lecture, but have Sabbath School leaders
  instead. Their main task is not to teach the
  class, but to lead it. This means encouraging
  everyone to contribute to the discussion, and
  helping class members learn from one another, as
  they explore the Bible together.

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Purpose Driven Sabbath Schools are comprised of
members who do cultivate authentic relationships
with one another

• Do give as much time as possible to the classes
  (minimum 45 mins) and dont study the Bible all
  the time. Class members attend the same class
  and take time to build relationships with each
  other, maybe spending the first 10-15 minutes of
  class time sharing with one another, and praying
  for one another on the spot.

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• Dont pretend to be something they are not. They
  know that doubts and fears are common to all of
  us. They establish a safe environment for the
  exchange of feelings as well as opinions,
  encouraging openness and honesty between members,
  and accepting all who attend for who they are,
  warts and all!

• Do involve each class member in ministry
  according to their spiritual gifts, passion
  (areas of special interest), and personality.

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• Do have a lot of Spirit led flexibility. For
  example while most classes follow the assigned
  lesson topic, one or two classes offer an
  alternative subject (e.g. parenting/prophecy/life
  issues) which may be of more interest to
  non-Adventist than the regular topic.

• Dont have special visitors days. Every week is
  designed for visitors, although from time to
  time, special programmes may be presented.

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Purpose Driven Sabbath Schools do have a heart
for the lost

• Do develop prayer partners and pray for each
  others friends.

• Do everything they can to make this special
  time user-friendly for non-Christians and
  non-Adventists.

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• Dont take life too seriously. Living as a
  Christian is serious business, but its up-beat
  rather than down-beat. Its exciting, its
  challenging, its fulfilling, and yes, its even
  fun!

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• Do have a balance as far as the mission appeal
  is concerned. We should be hearing as much of
  what is happening locally in terms of mission, as
  in distant lands.

• Do follow Gods Spirit in reaching out to the
  lost and systematically and prayerfully befriend
  them, and work as a team for their salvation.

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• Do extend Sabbath School outside of the Sabbath
  School time. In practical terms, this may also
  mean that each class occasionally gets together
  for a social event, where they can invite their
  friends.

• Do get involved in meeting the felt needs in
  their local community.