Group Life
Following Jesus Together
Very little of importance happens outside of relationships. God designed his people to live in the context of relationships… with him, with the created world, and with other people. It should be no surprise then that the life of faith is designed to be lived out in the context of relationships.
Groups help us grow as disciples, connect with God and each other, and serve in our communities. In this relational context we can live life on mission together, experiencing transformation as we follow Jesus.
Small group curricula for this fall
If you’re like many churches, fall starts off with a bang. Planning, calendaring, kids launching into the next grade levels. Likely you’re also launching some new small group studies. But consider: what do you want those studies to accomplish? What are you hoping they...
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What Makes Church BIG?
Today’s entry is by guest blogger, Dr. Parnell Lovelace. I was reflecting this morning on my experience as a young child at the historic Shiloh Baptist Church in Sacramento, California. It is the oldest African American congregation west of the Rockies. In its prime...
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Looking for curriculum for your small groups this fall?
We have a series of discussion guides for different aspects of discipleship: • Experiencing God • Spiritual Responsiveness • Authentic Relationships • Personal Transformation • Disciplemaking • Generous Living • Sacrificial Service • Community Transformation Each of...
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Connect believers to a group
New believers, if they have not already connected with a group of believers before they began following Jesus, need to get involved in some type of faith community. That can be a small group, a house church, a life transformation group (LTG), a missional group-- but...
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The Coming Church Revolution – a way to think about empowering group leaders
How do you connect the large celebration gatherings with the small groups as a church grows? This is the question Carl George asks in his book The Coming Church Revolution. In it he provides a way to think about how to empower groups and teams at the grassroots level...
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A classic resource for small groups leaders
An oldie but a goodie, Carl George's Nine Keys to Effective Small Group Leadership is still one of the very best resources out there for small group leaders. Check out a preview of his nine keys below... then buy copies of the book for each of your leaders. Here are...
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Well-intentioned Dragons
Well-intentioned Dragons: Ministering to Problem People in the Church Isn’t this a great title for a book? Anyone who has been in ministry for more than a few years can recognize this image. I’ve not yet read this book, but it’s on my list as several people have...
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A shortcut for your group leaders
Ever wish there was an easy way to prepare your leaders to facilitate a group discussion on scripture? Many people are so afraid that they won’t know enough about scripture that they won’t even sign up for the job. Here’s the easiest way I’ve found: give them...
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Multi-site tip #5: Localizing small groups
This blog entry is part of a series of reflections on the multi-site model of church. After the whole series has been posted, you can do a search for multi-site within the blog to pull up the whole series. I know some multi-site churches may handle this differently,...
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Three simple questions to transform your group
Are you leading a group? Most Christian leaders are facilitating a group of some kind. Why not try something different to breathe some new life into it? Try asking these three questions of the people in your group: • How are you experiencing God? • How is God...
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