A plan introduced to the Sabbath school in 1990. The goal of the Action Units is total involvement of the Sabbath school membership in the outreach program of the church as well as increased fellowship and spiritual nurture.
There are 10 key elements that make up a Sabbath School Action Unit: (1) class of six to eight; (2) care coordinator; (3) outreach plans; (4) one-hour class time; (5) weekly caring for missing members during first five minutes; (6) 20 minutes led by care coordinator to promote class outreach plans and goals; (7) 35-minute lesson discussion and application led by discussion group leader; (8) leader consultations; (9) monthly corporate sharing; (10) monthly home fellowship and evaluation.
The three officers of the Action Unit are discussion group leader, care coordinator, and class secretary. Action Unit officers are elected by the Sabbath School Council.
Action Units were piloted by Calvin Smith first in Michigan and then other conferences in North America before they were successfully implemented on a worldwide basis. The results have included marked increase in warm, caring fellowship, daily lesson study, attendance, missing members returning, all types of outreach, Bible studies, and baptisms. A quarterly journal, Action , provides brief weekly Sabbath school program suggestions and mission stories as well as ideas on tithe and offerings, outreach, and fellowship. Its emphasis is the implementation of Sabbath School Action Units. It replaced the Sabbath School Worker (1885–1985) and Church Ministries Worker (1986–1990). The editor in 1992 was Calvin Smith.