It bothers me that the only goal of some preachers is to get people to “pray a prayer” and then leave them on their own. The job of the preacher and the role of the church is to “make disciples” which means there must be instruction after the prayer.
There is a need in learning the Old Testament, plowing through the hard theological topics, answering the tough questions people ask, and a hundred other things. Not only does the Bible talk about marriage, controlling the tongue, and the business of the church – it also deals with other topics that cannot be brushed aside. Life is not a nursery rhyme where answers are found in a flannel graph Jesus. Life is hard, and it takes the hard truths from the “whole counsel” of God’s Word to properly equip God’s people.
Not only do we teach people how to become a Christian, we must teach people how to BE Christians. It doesn’t matter if you use small groups, Sunday School, Bible studies, discipleship classes, equipping classes, discipleship seminars, whatever… there must be a way for people to learn and grow in knowledge.