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This article is the fourth part of the series Extending Your Sermons Beyond Sunday. Be sure to read the first, second, and third articles, if you haven’t already.

This series is designed to give you ideas on how to help your listeners remember your sermon after they walk out the church doors. We’ve discussed having them leave with an outline, an object, or an action in part one. Part two was about using technology and providing your sermons online, on CDs, and through podcasting. Tweaking your message was the topic of part three. This article will give you ideas on how to expand your church’s ministry to further your Sunday morning teachings.

The weekend worship service is one of the main functions of the church. In many cases, that’s the only time you see some of your regular attenders. While the worship service and the sermon are important, there are other ministries and programs that occur as a part of your church, on Sunday morning and throughout the week. Encourage other ministries, such as children’s programs, youth ministries, and small group Bible studies, to cover the same topic or study the passage more in-depth. Like preaching in a series, programming other ministries to study the same topic provides consistency and a common thread throughout your educational opportunities.

Depending on how your church is structured, it’s probable that a large part of your congregation does not participate in the preaching part of the worship service because of children and teen ministries that occur simultaneous to the message. In the church I grew up in, we had “children’s church” through age nine. Kids would remain in the sanctuary until some point in the service when they were dismissed to age-appropriate classes. Other churches I’ve been involved in program children’s ministries at the same time as the main worship service, primarily because those churches offer multiple services.

In any case, the children and teenagers are most likely taught something different than what you are preaching. It may be beneficial, to stimulate conversation among families, to coordinate your christian education program to cover the same material in a way that is appropriate for each age group.

Encouraging small group ministries that take place in an adult Sunday School or in homes throughout the week provides an opportunity for your congregation to investigate the topic in a deeper, more personal and practical way. In a small group setting, they can ask questions, share struggles, and talk openly. Take the time to write a couple paragraphs and type up some questions small groups can use to explore the passage in a deeper or different way or to discuss an aspect that you weren’t able to cover in your message.

Utilizing other church ministries to study what you preach on Sunday morning can be a valuable strategic decision that will multiply the effectiveness of your teaching ministry from the pulpit. I don’t suggest every church take this approach and make huge changes in their current programming but this could be a worthwhile solution if you are evaluating your current ministry and are interested in pursuing other alternatives. The main point is that you and your church does all it can to make the pulpit ministry as effective, life-changing, and memorable as possible.

Do you have other ideas or suggestions on how to extend your sermons beyond Sunday? Share it in the comments below.

Tags: Preaching, Pastor