SUMMARY: In this episode, Brian interviews Allan Taylor, the Director of Christian Education at Lifeway, about Lifeway’s national Sunday School conference On Track, scheduled for March 17-18, 2017, in Hendersonville, TN. Allan shares how the conference originated from a conversation about how Sunday school ministries often seem to be “off track,” and so he and other Sunday school leaders have created an experience where churches can bring their Sunday school teachers, ministers of education, and small groups pastors to participate in a unifying experience of training and vision-casting. Allan identifies some of the speakers, topics, and training sessions that the conference will feature and discusses the blessings that can occur when church leaders attend a conference training event together and build a unified vision to grow the church’s small groups ministry as a team.

In addition, Brian and Allan discuss a new project entitled Sunday School Matters, a video-driven training series releasing in January 2017 that focuses on developing 12 aspects of Sunday school ministry in churches.

The Groups Matter Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.

GUEST: Allan Taylor is the Director of Christian Education for Lifeway Christian Resources. Before coming to Lifeway, he most recently served as Minister of Education at First Baptist Church, Woodstock, Georgia, for 20 years. He also served London Bridge Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Beaver Dam Baptist Church, Knoxville, Tennessee.

Before entering the ministry, he was a high school football coach and Sunday School director at his church. He has been married to Linda for 37 years. They have three married children and three grandchildren.

EPISODE SPONSOR: This week’s episode is sponsored by SmallGroup.com. SmallGroup.com is an online subscription service that allows churches and group leaders to create customizable, sermon-based group bible studies. Visit the Groups Ministry blog for a quick how-to tutorial, or visit SmallGroup.com to begin your free 2-week preview.

RESOURCES: If you have a question you’d like discussed on our Groups Matter Podcast, please tweet your question to @BcDaniel or @ChrisSurratt.