Spring Training | Leaders

Download the Spring Training daily journal HERE.

Sunday School Leaders,

We are launching our second annual Spring Training initiative the Sunday after Easter! I wanted to take a minute to explain what Spring Training is and how it can be a resource you can use to minister to your class.

What is Spring Training?

Spring Training is a simple plan for forming or deepening your practice of spiritual disciplines. The goal is to encourage everyone in our church to practice five spiritual habits for five weeks, April 16 to May 21.

Please note: this is not a sermon series or a Sunday School curriculum. It is not intended to disrupt or replace what you have planned to teach for the rest of this spring. We have designed Spring Training as a self-guided plan that everyone can do on their own at home during the week, with a daily journal that walks you through each step.

The power of Spring Training comes from the fact that we’re all on the same plan and able to encourage each other along the way. This is why I view Spring Training not as a top-down effort, but as a “Sunday-School-up” effort. People will latch onto this and form good spiritual habits when they see you, the most dedicated and influential leaders within our church, modeling that yourself. Spring Training can be an extra nudge, another way to encourage your class to do what you already encourage them to do regularly—to attend your class weekly, to pray and read God’s Word daily, to give, and to share their faith.

Ways to Encourage Your Class

Please encourage your class to be here on April 16 to get their book and T-shirt and to participate in this! Explain what Spring Training is and why it’s important.

Above you can download an advance digital copy of the Spring Training book as well, so you can familiarize yourself with the plan and this year’s contents, which focus on the journey of a disciple by going through the life and writings of Peter. This will help you know ahead of time what is in the book that we’ll distribute across campus on April 16.

The Timing of Spring Training

You may be wondering why we’re launching this when we are—the Sunday after Easter. This was intentional. Many people decide to come back to church or visit a church on Easter, which is great… but then they disappear until Christmas! We don’t want that to happen. We want to encourage people to keep coming back and growing in their faith. Spring Training can be a tool to help develop spiritual consistency and incorporate new guests into your class and into the life of the church.

The Spiritual Goal of This Season

Imagine what God can do in someone’s life this spring. Your class members have been praying and inviting their friends through the One Life lesson you taught. Many came to hear the gospel on Palm Sunday and Easter. And now they can develop the habit of coming to church weekly and begin praying and reading God’s Word daily. This is the church in action, being used by God to draw people to Himself!

Download the Spring Training daily journal HERE.