1.) Praise as you enter the gates of prayer

2.) Repentance and confession at the altar of sacrifice

3.) Daily cleansing, rebaptism, emptying of self and sin at the laver

4.) Daily asking for the fullness of the Holy Spirit at the lampstand

5.) Growth: obedience and action as we eat at the table of shewbread

6.) Intercvession for others at the altar of incense

7.) Judgment: investigation, discipline, and instruction, in the Most Holy Place

By: Carrol Johnson Shewmake, author of Sanctuary Secrets to Personal Prayer.

Directions: Ask yourself the questions below. Indicate your level of agreement on the scale, and write your score in the right-hand column. Total your score.

Always     Frequently     Sometimes      Rarely       Never

 5                 4                      3                 2                1

                                                                                                    Total

Scoring. Add up your points, and interpret your score according to the following scale:

60-48     You are using resources wisely.

47-36     You are aware of some resources, but you could make better use of them.  

35-24     You need to give more attention to the immediate resources around you.

0-23       You are either not aware of your resources or do not know how to use them.

Adapted from Training From the Heart, by Barry Lyerly and Beverly Maxey.

LEAD Solutions

24-HOUR SABBATH SCHOOL: The way that the 24-hour Sabbath School works is that when your Sabbath School team contacts missing members—missing from Sabbath School and church—they find that some people would be regular attendees at a Sabbath School held at sometime other than 9:30 a.m. Sabbath morning but within the 24 hours of the Sabbath, e.g.: (1) Friday night, (2) early Sabbath morning—around 8 a.m., (3) after lunch/dinner on Sabbath, or (4) before vespers on Sabbath.  So the Sabbath School Council organizes any groups meeting at alternative times or locations, e.g. at homes (often Friday night groups of youth), in a community center, the church fellowship hall, etc. People in good and regular attendance at Sabbath School and church are chosen to be the class facilitators who are still under the leadership of the elected Sabbath School superintendent.
    Facilitators for Sabbath School classes held at alternative times and locations are chosen by the Sabbath School Council and approved by the church board in order to guard again the infiltration of Davidians (Shepherd’s Rods) and others trying to get their own group going apart from the Seventh-day Adventist Church. For the same reason, in addition to the fact that the Holy Spirit chooses the lesson topics, these alternative Sabbath Schools use the materials prepared by the General Conference for adults—the ADULT BIBLE STUDY GUIDE and the MISSIONS quarterlies and DVDs. These classes also keep class records and turn in offerings.
    GET MEMBERS INTO DAILY STUDY. Give them a purpose to engage in the process. Introduce your members (ages 17-seniors) to the CLAIM Field Game game as a fun way to keep members studying the Sabbath School lesson daily—deeply—and witnessing daily by connecting the news and the lesson principles.

Playing Option: Members in the area can meet in  Hagerstown, Maryland, with a group from various churches in the Hagerstown area who have been playing for a number of months.  Bring your members to play as Scholars and Athletes at a local church on either Saturday night right after a shared vespers or on Sabbath morning around 9 or 10 a.m. You can bring a whole team or players to participate in mixed teams (members from various churches). Allow 2.5 hours for a training game and 1.5 hours for aregular game. Players would come with a general knowledge of the game by watching/reading the PowerPoint at leadmagazine.org and, when possible, by playing at least one game together.

Benefits of the NAD Training

    By Charlene Kinne, Superintendent

    Williamsport, Maryland, Church

My daily prayer is, Lord, help me to do my best. Teach me how to do better work. So as an adult division superintendent, I jumped at the chance to attend the Sabbath School Summit held at the General Conference on April 24, 25, 2009. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew that God would lead me and show me how to be of better service for Him.

The objective of the Summit was brainstorming the four goals of Sabbath School for creative implementation in the local church setting. It was an exciting program, and after listening to dynamic speakers and engaging in the brainstorming sessions, I left with a lot of ideas and methods to implement in my own church:

  Prayer.  Chris Blake shared this idea as part of his presentation about how his class at Union College reinvented their Sabbath School”: Go beyond just asking God to be with us to actually asking a member to share their particular burden and then asking another member to pray for that person and their need. Pass around a card for members to sign to give to the person prayed for. We need to find ways to reach out to others and this method was very good.

The following ideas were shared by participants in the brainstorming session:
              Class Directory.  Include the name of each member, telephone numbers and email addresses. When a member is missing, due to whatever reason, designate someone to contact that person to let him or her know they were missed. This is a good way to keep in touch with fellow members.
             Visitors. Make people feel welcome and wanted, especially visitors, was another method. Acknowledge them at the beginning of the Sabbath School program. This is usually less intimidating than in a church setting.
             Outreach. Provide a cooking school. What better way to reach out to the community than through our health message. There may be people wanting to make lifestyle changes, but they often don’t know how to go about it. This is an excellent way to introduce people to healthier eating while sharing our message. Who knows, this could be the first step in leading them to Christ.
             Mission project. Probably most households have several Bibles lying around. What a great way for a class to take part in a mission project. It’s easy and doesn’t require any money, and you’re providing much needed Bibles to many who are thirsting for the Word of God.
             There were many methods shared at the Summit. What I have shared are just a few of the ideas that I really liked and want to implement in my church. Whatever I do, I pray that I will bring into my service God’s loving ministry.

May God take each of us to higher levels of fulfillment of the great gospel commission through our Sabbath school ministry.