I love that little icon telling me I have e-mail. You just never know what is behind it. Part of my responsibilities at Southern Seminary includes leading our distance education program. E-mail is a crucial line of communication for me and those students involved in theological education via the Internet.

It is also a great way to personally maintain relationships with family and friends. In fact, I have a dear friend, an elderly woman, who is a member of one of the churches for which I served as pastor. She loves to e-mail me all of those little tidbits of humor, poetry, and illustration that circulate in cyberland.

Some mornings I will have 10 e-mails from her. Although I love to hear from her, she struggles with the technology at times and often forgets to attach the story or joke she meant to send me. My computer may indicate I have received 10 messages from her but often only about four of them will contain any actual content.

Sadly, I have read books and articles -- and attended conferences -- like that. Too many are long on promise but short on any real content. Unfortunately, those we are seeking to reach through our churches may characterize our ministry this way if we are not intentional in our purpose.

Biblical purpose

In the first article of this series, I discussed the intentionality of purpose needed in the lives of our churches and specifically in our Sunday school ministries. We must seek to reconnect our Bible study ministry to the actual fulfillment of our biblical purposes. We must recognize the necessity of understanding the theological and philosophical foundations upon which we are to build our ministry.

The process of building growth does not stop there however. We must also structure these foundational principles into a practical framework that leads to ministry implementation in the local church. It is wonderful to hear of vision and to dream, but we also need growth structures that lead to action. James reminds us that, "Faith without works is dead." In the same way, vision without application produces few results.

To structure an effective Sunday school, we need an intentional process led by purpose, guided by prayer, and including the participation of people. This process must lead to the practicing of programs (continuous, ongoing ministries) and the planning of projects (short-term events). The result is the promise of products manifested in both public and private growth. Our goal of making disciples can be reached.

Our programming and planning must always relate to our purpose but must also be practically reaching forward to our desired product of growth. Where do we begin? How do we know from which of the plethora of programs and projects to choose? We need clear understanding through scripture and prayer. We should also pay close attention to the way God is using some gifted leaders to illuminate our path.

Face reality

One reason I enjoy working with Dr. Thom Rainer is his ability to research the reality of church growth and not simply to restate theory. His cutting edge work is not only concerned about what might happen or what could have been, but is primarily focused on what is actually taking place.

In recent years, many have utilized the findings shared in his book, Effective Evangelistic Churches: Successful Churches Reveal What Works and What Doesn't (Broadman & Holman, 1996). This work reveals, among many other truths, the three leading evangelistic methodologies utilized by the most effective evangelistic churches in the United States. This is not theory; it is reality. The "Big Three" are, in order, biblical preaching, intentional prayer ministries (praying purposefully for the unchurched), and evangelistically oriented Sunday schools.

This research affirms that a practical process including and coordinating these three methodologies in an intentional fashion is a wise and biblical beginning point. We need a church growth strategy that combines these tools into a comprehensive plan. It should be Sunday school based. It should feature a focused prayer component involving intensive and consistent intercession for unchurched prospects, inactive members and active members on a weekly basis. It should revolve around high quality Bible study and lead to outreach, discipleship, and ministry. Through the Sunday school, this strategy could involve every age group and purposefully train our adults, children and young people to be outwardly focused and to reach our world.

In the articles to follow in this series, I will share insights into how to practically structure such a strategy. I will share how to reach every available household in your community through the Sunday school, prayer, and the teaching and preaching of God's word.

I saw a poster with three huge hippos standing in the water. Their cavernous mouths were wide open. The caption read, "When all is said and done, more is usually said than done." It is time for some real content.

John H. Ewart is associate vice president of distance education and innovative learning at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.