The Rippers at the Cherry Blossom Festival

Music has always been a big part of the Allen Clan. My two younger brothers play the guitar and my older brother plays the drums. I went the more traditional route and played the clarinet in elementary school. Now, I primarily play the radio!

A few weeks ago I attended the Cherry Blossom Festival in my hometown of Macon, Georgia. My youngest brother, Andy, is in a band called The Rippers and they had the privilege of playing on one of the stages at the festival. They are primarily rock, but also play popular 60's & 70's songs, with a little "extra" mixed in. They were real good too! I added a picture of several of the band members. Andy is the one on the left.

It's always good to get back home once in a while and see many of the folks I knew while growing up. As they say in the community news columns of small town papers, "A good time was had by all!"

You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less

I have been reading Josh Hunt's book, You Can Double Your Class in Two Years or Less, in which he gives basic principles for growing the Sunday School at your church. His ideas are not "magic," but are basic and proven. He covers 5 basic principles:

• Teach a halfway decent lesson each and every week.....nothing less will do.
• Invite every member and every prospect to every fellowship every month.
• Give Friday nights to Jesus....invite prospects to your home for the evening.
• Encourage the group to ministry....make disciples....get people involved in the work of the church according to their spiritual gifts.
• Reproduce new groups....train members of your class to start a new class.

Several classes in our Sunday School have outgrown their space and we do not have larger spaces in which to move them. It is actually a great problem to have and is a great opportunity to practice these basic principles. If you are a teacher in an adult Sunday School class, are you interested? I highly recommend this book for you to read and ponder.