D3 Small Group Celebration Evening Report – May, 2010

Special thanks to everyone who came on a beautiful May evening for a great time of sharing together! Again, I’d like to express thanks to my wife, Diane and daughter, Amanda for taking good care of the children while we met.

Our goal this trimester is to grow as leaders. We looked at the passage about the new church in Acts 2:42-47. The church was experiencing explosive growth.  It wasn’t an eloquent preacher or an incredible worship band. It was people–people going beyond participation–people living the four goals for small groups:

1) Growing and maturing in God’s truth through Bible study:  They devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching. They allowed the Word of God to change their lives and live through them. Not just information or education. LIFE TRANSFORMATION.

2) They cared for one another–giving, caring, praying–selling their possessions and goods–they gave to anyone as there was need. They were a people of ACTION.

3) They fellowshiped together–communicating deep beliefs they held in common–devoted to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer–not just superficial fellowship (just eating)–opening their lives to one another so they could PRAY for each other.

4) They lived and served expectant of the Holy Spirit–Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. EVANGELISM is the natural byproduct of a healthy small group.  A healthy–fully-functioning small group desires more than anything to ADD to their number, just as we see here in Acts.

The early Christians in this chapter went beyond the “participation award” (you know, that award you get just for “showing up”) and became CHAMPIONS–driven to go beyond participation and be leaders.

Over the next few months, let’s each strive to look for ways we can grow in leadership and not just be participants!

I’ve uploaded the packet of handouts from that evening to this blog and you can download it here.

Another new feature on this blog is putting the “Approved Small Group Study List” online so you can access it here and discover studies that you will want to go through with your group.

Keep coming back here for new articles that will be written at least once per week.  You can subscribe and have updates sent to you automatically with the links to the upper right.

Letting People Know

The very best way to let someone know about your small group is through personal invitation, but sometimes we might feel that we can’t think of anyone who we could invite. That is where small group advertisement comes in.  There are many creative ways you can share about your small group. Here is an interesting article with some ideas as to how you might share. Some of the ideas are more appropriate for the entire ministry, but some are very appropriate for you to do as an individual small group.

http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2009/smallgroupadvertising.html

Be creative. Here is a hilarious video put together by a church small group to invite others.

http://vimeo.com/8111584

Creative ways to communicate can capture the attention of others and can be very effective, but nothing beats a good personal invitation.

Who are you inviting to your small group today?

Never Say Comfortable

But I really, really like being comfortable! I’ve noticed how “comfortable” choices and responses affect my life in many ways. I am really comfortable sitting on the couch all day rather than getting outside and going for a walk. I’m more comfortable staying off ladders, so I will just let my gutters fill with leaves and gunk. I’m not that comfortable eating vegetables so I think I’ll just stick with McDonald’s and Burger King to make up my diet. Being on the beach is so comfortable and important to me so I’m going to put my vacation on my credit card even though I don’t have the money to pay it back.

We like being comfortable, but let’s face it, there are many times we need to get out of our comfort zone. This goes for our lives and it goes for our small groups.

How about these areas relating to small groups:

1. Making room for new people.  (But our group is finally getting comfortable sharing with one another.)
2. Helping with leadership. (But I’m so busy already and someone else would do a much better job than me.)
3. Starting a new group.  (I really like the group I’m in and would hate to see it split up.)
4. Leading a new group.  (I’m more comfortable being in a support role, not the leader.)

Are there areas in your life where you are getting “too comfortable.”  Is it possible that your small group is getting “too comfortable.”

Challenge yourself personally and challenge your group to look for ways to step out of your comfort zone and trust that God will lead you and the group to new and exciting things as you trust Him and not rely solely on what is comfortable.

Darryl’s Dilemma

Darryl has watched his group grow over the last few years to fill his living room. But this past year, the group has hit a plateau and doesn’t seem to have much outward focus. Darryl has been casting the vision for the empty chair and has mentioned the possibility of the group “birthing” into two groups—one group led by Darryl and the other group led by the group’s apprentice. Each time Darryl mentions the possibility of the group birthing, the group has voiced strong objections to that idea. They don’t like the idea of the group “splitting up”.

I Just Don’t Care Anymore

In chapter five of Why Small Groups, Mickey Connolly writes about care-giving within a small group.

How would you rate the care-giving in your small group?  Rate yourself and your group 1-5 with these questions…

Learn to Shepherd Your Small Group

I am going to link to a great article on “mutual care” within your small group.  Check it out..

God’s Word is rich in its discussion about shepherding. Moses, David, and Amos served as shepherds, and all were influenced by that role in their leadership. The title of shepherd is applied to God, Jesus, kings and other leaders, local church leaders, and ministers (not necessarily paid staff members).

What is a small group shepherd?

Four Clear Goals — Acts 2:42-47

We can learn a lot about what our small group should look like by looking at the early church. In Acts 2:42-47, we see important characteristics and these characteristics are our four clear goals for small group ministry.

Starting from verse 42: “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching…” They devoted themselves to progressive sanctification–growing and maturing in God’s truth through careful study. This is not just education or a transfer of information. This is life-transforming–allowing the Word of God to change our lives and live through us–thinking, acting, and living more like Christ.

What The Leader Wants Their Small Group To Know

Dear Small Group,

Thank you for being a part of our small group. We work and function as one body in Christ (Romans 12:3-8) and while I may be your leader, I cannot successfully complete my responsibilities without your part.

What the Small Group Wants their Leader to Know.

Dear Small Group Leader,

Thank you for being our leader. We really hope you know that we appreciate all of your hard work and efforts in holding our group together. We know that we’re not always the easiest people to try to lead. We have busy schedules and that makes us sometimes seem inflexible and sometimes we may even seem too busy to meet. The reality is that we probably are too busy to meet, but with your constant encouragement, you help us to remember to prioritize our small group meeting in our busy lives. It is said that you always make time for what is really important to you.  Thanks for encouraging and modeling making time for this small group and making this important in our lives.

Memories…

Memories
Light the corners of my mind
Misty watercolor memories
Of the way we were