How we get Inspired to Write New Sabbath Programs

Every week my wife and I sit to either write these emails or create a new sabbath program. There is a process that we use to ensure that we write engaging, relevant and useful content. All our material may not appeal to everyone's particular taste, and that's OK since there are thousands of visitors every month with as many varied interests. Despite the diversity, our content has garnered brad appeal and interest from the majority of our readers. Here's our process for coming up with exciting programs and how you can be empowered to do the same for your local church.

We Consider it a Mission Field

Before you take on any work for the Lord, you must first acknowledge that this is not your work; you are merely being afforded the opportunity to be a colabourer with God. Imagine that you were an up and coming basketball player and Michael Jordan invited to come and work along with him in exchange for free training. It would be the opportunity of a lifetime. God has given every church leader the opportunity of a lifetime to work along side him in the mission of taking the gospel to the world. We should strive to diligently do our best in the task we have been allotted.

We consistently pray for the Spirit's leading in all the content produced and that it will lead people to Christ either directly or through the work that you will be inspired to do.

We Plan Ahead

Whether it is to reach new church leaders at the beginning of the year or provide timely programs for special occasions, we have to make plans weeks in advance. The same applies to sabbath program leaders in every church. To bring effective and relevant programs to your congregation, it is important to make medium and long term plans for the programs you wish to implement. This level of planning will give you adequate time to research and obtain accurate information about what you plan to present, as well as get time to practise your execution.

We use Observation and Intuition

Every church is different, the challenges faced on a daily basis vary by location, culture, and based on the current events. For example, COVID-19 greatly influenced the content we published at the time it first appeared. So too should every sabbath program leader pray for a spirit of discernment so the Holy Spirit can help them determine the needs of the church at large. Not all issues are apparent, in fact, some have been swept under the carpet and forgotten as I alluded to in the blog post about "7 Offensive Sabbath Program Topics Most Leaders are Afraid to Do." It is for us as leaders to use our Holy Spirit led intuition to dig out and discover these needs and plan effective programs to address them.

We ask for Input and Contribution.

Sabbath programs is primarily a two-person ministry. My wife Valene and I brainstorm many of the ideas for the website. However, we understand that our experiences are limited to our culture, mindset and worldview. Therefore, to add a bit of diversity to the voice from the website, we ask for program contributions from you our readers. The number of persons who will submit a fully written program is a fraction of a percent, so we also make simpler request. It is far easier to get ideas such as potential program topics, what are your biggest challenges, what are your favourite types of programs. Then answers to these questions have guided us to create more relevant content for our readers. Feel free to do the same among the members of your church.

We Make Lists and Document Processes

Ideas come and go, but a written plan can be referenced and prove useful for the future. We have come up with great ideas in the past, and we have received many great ideas from our readers. As the weeks progress, our idea banks run dry. Fortunately, we have documented many of the ideas and processes we used to come up with new programs in the past. These have served as great references when planning new programs.

Some great ones are:

115 Topics For AY and Sabbath School Programs

15 types of Sabbath School or AY Program

9 Steps to make your Sabbath School and AY programs more interesting.

We are Consistent

Practice makes perfect. To be great at anything, you have to be producing high-quality outcomes consistently. Consider high-quality to be the best you could have done at the time, given your knowledge and experience. Every week we spend hours preparing and creating content building upon the lessons learned in the past. You may not produce programs every week but whatever interval you use, ensure that you are producing the best work that you can.

Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,"

I pray that you have better insight into our creative process and that you can take a few tips and create a method that works best for you. 

Don't forget to check out our weekly sabbath school lesson study resources. We pray it brings richness and life to your personal study or as a teacher of the sabbath school lesson.