You are called, uniquely gifted, and needed for to accomplish the plans the Lord has for our church body. Did you know that being connected with others allows you to live your life in a way that you would not have otherwise been able to live? How can a hand function if it’s not attached to an arm? The unimaginable things God has called us to do necessitates connection, and when it happens, we are awakened to our life purpose and empowered in our life mission.
We’re so thankful you’re a part of God’s Kingdom Community and that you’re serving in ways that are inviting others into this life-changing community too! Everything you do as one of God’s connectors plays a strategic part in making His dreams for our church community a reality. We pray this month’s resources bring needed encouragement and inspire new ideas in you as you continue to partner with God in His Kingdom Community-building mission in the world.
ONE:
Our group members are very focused on evangelism and often bring new people to group meetings. What is the best way to incorporate these new members into a group without interrupting that group's intimacy and momentum?
First off, that’s awesome how your group members are very focused on evangelism and are bringing new people to your group meetings. This is vital for groups to grow healthy and balanced and not all get to experience that!
The belief that new members actually interrupt a small group’s intimacy and momentum is largely unsubstantiated and unbiblical. It is a false premise that has become popular in much small group ministry thinking because that’s what many expect would happen. On the contrary, new members feed into a group’s intimacy and momentum. The idea they take away from it comes more out of a kind of thinking that is protective, hoarding, territorial, and self-focused. Oftentimes, the group-life produced from this mindset eventually implodes after coasting to a slow and painful stop.
On the other hand, I’ve observed that the groups with the greatest intimacy and momentum are the ones that are uninhibitedly incorporating new members into their fellowship. The Lord sources life into small groups that let His grace flow in and though them. This also protects your group from spiritual stalemate and relational irritants like pettiness or preoccupation with non-essential theological issues. That said, there are things you can be sensitive to as the small group leader that will help your group to naturally embrace and include new members:
1) Warmly welcome newcomers into your group. Learn a little about them as you greet them and walk them into your gathering space. Do your best to remember facts they share about who they are, their family and friends, and how they found your group. On this note, one of most simple and powerful ways of helping a newcomer feel ‘at home’ in your group is to call them by their first name each time you refer to them. Connect them with a few people as they come in and help to strike up conversations before your study begins.
2) Do not focus on them. Most guests like to be acknowledged – they just do not like to stand out or be spotlighted in front of a group. If you keep things normal the group will feel more natural and comfortable to newcomers.
3) Do not over-accommodate. Just be yourself and allow the group to be itself. For example, do not hesitate to pray or worship in your group if newcomers are present. (Sometimes this is exactly what God uses to gather spiritually-unconvinced people to Himself – see Acts 2:46-47.) If somebody needs prayer, pray for them. If you are going to worship, just do it. Do not attempt to explain it for newcomers. They want to see things how they really are and would rather not have you disrupt the flow of what you do on their account.
4) The more people your guests sense a possible connection with, the more likely it is they will want to return. Help newcomers get to know a few others in your group. The likelihood of newcomers returning increases by at least 50% if they experience a sense of belonging through their connection with others. This can be cultivated by highlighting things your guests hold in common with other group members and timely follow-up.
5) Find out what subjects your guests have an enthusiasm or expertise in and talk about that! People like to talk about things they know about. Newcomers will feel more empowered and comfortable talking about the things of interest to them. If you listen with interest, you will show that you are interested in them as a person and they will not feel like a project.
6) When you have guests, leave plenty of time for people to socialize at the tail-end of your group. Newcomers tend to be more interested in being more personal toward the end of a group than the beginning. This will give time to introduce your group members to guests and have relaxed conversations.
7) Follow-up with newcomers before your next meeting to let them know you hope to see them again. If a guest came with somebody, encourage their friend to welcome them back. Sometimes group leaders hold off from following up in this way because they’re afraid of being intrusive or coming across as pushy. However, guests appreciate this act of kindness and it makes your group more inviting overall. If you do not risk the remote possibility of coming across as intrusive in your follow-up, newcomers may feel like they are intruding.
TWO:
Four Things You Can Do That Will Ensure Your New Group Takes Flight
Group leaders who make these simple steps before launching their group will increase the likelihood of their new group taking flight by 2-3 times than those who don’t.
1) Pair-up – There’s good reason why Jesus sent out His disciples 2x2 (Luke 10). Find a friend and tell them you’d love for them to partner with you in the start-up of a new group. This creates built-in encouragement for you that will further ensure you won’t drift away or drop-out from God’s complete plan for your new group (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12).
2) Pre-vite – Make the effort to invite people into your group before it even starts. Contact your friends and invite them to be a part of your group; then invite them to invite their friends too. The goal is to create your group’s nucleus before you even go public with your group. In other words, don’t wait to form your group until the launch date. Start inviting ASAP and view the “launch week” as an opportunity to build off the core you’ve already encouraged to come together.
3) Plan Ahead – Have a vision for what you’d like to see happen in your group
§ Affinity – What people hold in common has a way of attracting and bonding people together in a group. “Affinity” can motivate some people to join a group who would have otherwise not been interested in participating.
§ Vision – Catch a vision for what you’d like to see happen in your group! What do you want to see happening a month from its launch? What would you like your experience to be? Try to forecast the experience you hope participants will have and convey that in your promotions. Vision will help to set expectation, ensure more “right fits” with prospective members, and it helps people feel more comfortable in their new commitment.
§ Short duration / High Frequency – Groups that launch with a shorter duration (4-6 weeks) and meet uninterrupted every week have a much greater chance of sticking together after their first season than those who don’t. This combination of meeting logistics works well in the American culture. People entering a new situation like to know there’s an ending point just in case the group experience proves not to be a fit for them. Furthermore, the weekly meeting frequency accelerates relationship-building and actually creates more time for people to get to know each other; this is because groups that meet bi-weekly/monthly find themselves allocating more time for members to “catch-up” before they can build off their previous group experience.
§ Food – Don’t underestimate the attractional power of food. It’s the ultimate ice-breaker! Food conveys hospitality – it brings people together, makes people feel more at ease (at home), creates conversation, and enables people to open up more together. Groups that include food as a part of their first gatherings (especially a meal) amplify their message of welcome to newcomers-to-be.
§ Childcare – As soon as you know you’ll have people in your group with childcare needs, talk about options for childcare so you can convey this to other people inquiring. If your host home has a play area for the kids, communicate that in your promotions. People with young kids will be instantly drawn to groups that express an early plan (no matter how simple it may be) for how kids can be a part of the group or be in another location of the host home while the adults meet.
4) Pictorial Promotions – When letting the rest of your church know about your new group, help people to construct mental pictures of what they can anticipate by ‘advertising’ everything you just planned (affinity, vision, food, and childcare). The more questions you can answer up-front, the better. This also helps them to invite friends to join them who may not have any prior church / small group experience.
THREE:
Renovare Questions by James Bryan Smith and Richard Foster:
1. In what ways did God make His Presence known to you since our last meeting? What experiences of prayer, meditation and spiritual reading has God given you? What difficulties or frustrations did you encounter? What joys or delights?
2. What temptations did you face since our last meeting? How did you respond? Which spiritual disciplines did God use to lead you further into holiness of heart and life?
3. Have you sensed any influence or work of the Holy Spirit since our last meeting? What spiritual gifts did the Spirit enable you to exercise? What was the outcome? What fruit of the Spirit would you like to see increase in your life? Which disciplines might be useful in this effort?
4. What opportunities did God give you to serve others since our last meeting? How did you respond? Did you encounter injustice to or oppression of others? Were you able to work for justice and shalom?
5. In what ways did you encounter Christ in your reading of the Scripture since our last meeting? How has the Bible shaped the way you think and live? Did God provide an opportunity for you to share your faith with someone? How did you respond?
FOUR:
Small Group Outreach Ideas for Easter
- Invite your friends to an Easter weekend service – pray for each other as you extend invitations. Take time to talk about this in your group time and encourage each other. Share the names and stories of people being invited.
- Ask your pastor how your group could be of support on Easter weekend, e.g. serving together in the nursery, greeting, parking, etc.
- Go to a coffee house, restaurant, or other public space on the evening of Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, read Luke 22-24 together, and then celebrate communion. The Eucharist (meaning: “Thanksgiving”), tells the story of the Gospel and as the name suggests is our way of giving thanks for the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the Cross. Taking communion is a meaningful way to celebrate Easter and a powerful communication of the Good News.
- Offer an Easter Egg Hunt in the neighborhood where your group meets. Be up front in all communications that you’re sponsoring this as a small group from your church. Let your guests lead the conversation. If they ask why you’re doing it, just be clear and concise in saying our church’s small group wanted to find a way to show people God’s love this Easter and thought this family event would be a nice thing to do on behalf of our community. Have free resources on hand that people can take home with them. Don’t attempt to distribute them…just have them available for people to take if they’d like. Here are some recommendations:
§ Living Water NT (www.biblesatcost.com/store/productdetails.asp?isbn='1414312415’)
§ The Message of Hope (www.navpress.com/Store/Product/203.html)
§ The Case for Easter (www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=54758&event=CF)
§ Easter is…for Me! (www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=2333X&netp_id=195769&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW)
Include invite cards in each of the first three items for adults.
- Show The Passion of The Christ film on Palm Sunday (March 16th). Tell your friends it’s a tradition you / your group is starting and you’d love for them to be a part of it. You can do this in your group’s host home or you can expand the circle of influence and prearrange to show the film at a local gathering place like your community’s library, public school, community center, city hall, etc. You are allowed to do this in public spaces – all you need to do is get on the schedule. Keep it simple:
- Social Time (15 minutes)
- Show Film (126-minutes)
- Study Option (www.purposedriven.com/en-US/International/Spanish/Recursos/Productos.htm?PageNumber=491)
When offering the study option, let people know it is a 3-week commitment and you wanted to offer it so people could further explore facts, figures and themes presented in the film or ask any questions on their mind. Show a sample of the study and release people right away from feeling any obligation to participate, but encourage them if they have any interest. Be brief and simple in your explanation of what it’s all about. Give people time to consider it and let them know you’ll follow-up with them by Easter to work out arrangements for the study.
FIVE:
Group Devotionals for Easter
“Christ is Risen!”
Easter is all about the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. New life! We are forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice and we are assured of eternal life together with Him because He is our risen Lord. As a group, reflect on what you’ve been given through God’s forgiveness and discuss the importance of forgiving others. Invite each person to discuss and decide to extend forgiveness to somebody who has in some way hurt them in the past. An alternative for those who are not in the place to take part in this exercise is to have a group conversation about how we can show God’s forgiveness to the world this Easter season.
Applying Jesus’ Death & Resurrection to Our Lives
- Share a potluck meal together
- As the group is eating, read John 13-17 in one sitting and explain how this happened on the eve of Jesus’ crucifixion (“Maundy Thursday,” which refers to the command given by Jesus at The Last Supper that His disciples should love one another).
- Provide a brief explanation of Jesus’ suffering that culminated on the Cross and what Good Friday and Easter mean to Christians around the world (www.passionofchrist.com and www.leestrobel.com/Christ.htm offer helpful resources).
- Next, ask your group to consider these questions:
§ What in your life needs to be put to death? (Colossians 3:5)
§ What needs to be resurrected in your life? (Romans 6:12-14)
- Explain that you’re applying Jesus’ death and resurrection to our daily lives. Let them think about these questions as you read Romans 8.
- Optional: Give each person a small card or journal where they can write down in a word or sentence what their response is for each question.
- Restate the questions and be ready to share first. Try to include everyone in the conversation, and pray for one another.
SIX:
How to Lead a Small Group
10 practical suggestions to help Christians grow
The success of any small group starts with the leader. Effective leaders are not teachers or lecturers. They are facilitators and catalysts whose primary job is to get people to interact with each other. Almost anyone can lead a dynamic discussion by following certain guidelines.
- Come to the study prepared. Ask God to help you understand and apply the passage to your own life. Unless that happens, you will not be ready to lead others. If you are using a good study guide, it will probably take you [no more than 30-minutes] to read the passage, work through each question in the guide, and become familiar with the leader's notes.
- Pray for the members of your group before the study. If the Bible is to have an impact on their lives, the Holy Spirit must be at work in their hearts before, during, and after the study.
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God bless you in every investment you make in building God’s Kingdom Community this next month,