I've taught Greek at my church for about 5 years. I've used Efrid, Voeltz,
and I'm currently using Story's Greek to Me. I think Carl Conrad is correct:
almost any grammar will do and it is important to get into the text as quickly
as possible. That's one of the things I like about Greek to Me, the students
start reading paragraphs at the end of the third chapter. I've also used the
Gospel of John, but have waited until we've covered all the verb forms and
participles to spend time reading.
I've had the same experience that Eric Weiss has had. My dropout rate runs
between 75-80%. Some drop because they underestimated the time required, some
have no language skill, and others because of life changes (arrival of a
child, death of a spouse, etc.). Also, the pace has been unbelievably slow
(it's taken at least two years to get through the initial grammar). However,
several of us have completed the beginning grammar and meet weekly to read, so
it's worth it.
Good luck and God bless.
Karen Pitts
kpitts@sarnoff.com
Hopewell Presbyterian Church, Hopewell, NJ, teacher of NT Greek
David Sarnoff Research Center, Princeton, NJ, statistician