LIFEGroup Reflections

I read an article over this past week that said the number one reason people come to a church is because of the pastor. The article also said that the number one reason people stay at a church is because of the friends they make. If people don’t get connected to other people they don’t tend to stay in a church. But when people do make those connections they tend to stay around for a good long time.

Church loyalty is getting less and less common. More and more people change churches regularly than ever before. People are very mobile. People are moving and changing jobs at a faster rate then ever before. And even when people do settle in a neighborhood, there are so many choices, especially in West Michigan.

It’s hard to picture exactly how community works in such a mobile society. A communal life is one that is shared with others. Through out most of history a person’s community was dictated by their geography. If you were born a lowly serf in a feudal system, that was your community, the life you shared with others. You didn’t really have the option of starting up the oxen and starting over someplace else.

What does a community look like that isn’t formed by geography? How can we share our lives when we don’t live by and with each other? How can we form those deep communal bonds that tie us together?

I’ve found that kind of bond in my LIFEGroup. Through what we share in the Holy Spirit we are able to share or lives together and from a true community. And through the LIFEGroup I am bound together with the larger community that is Calvary church.

I think everyone would like to see more people connected to God and connected to others through Calvary church. Through the LIFEGroup ministry I think we have a great opportunity to do just that. People in our neighborhoods are starved for community. I don’t know about you but in my neighborhood I hardly ever see anyone outside their house. There are no front porches. Neighbors don’t come over and chat with each other. Even those who do share common geography often share little else.

The church has a tremendous opportunity to provide a loving community to a lonely world. LIFEGroups give us a great way to just that. When the LIFEGroups reach out they can connect people to each other and give them the love of God. In fact it’s already happening. I can’t wait to see more and more people coming to Calvary and staying at Calvary because they have friends in the community.

Comments

10 Summer Activities To Keep Your Small Group Connected

I just sent an email to all our small group leaders (I do this 3-4 times each month). This week's focus was STAYING CONNECTED THROUGH THE SUMMER. Below is a list of 10 summer activities a small group can use to stay connected. These are specifically created for groups at The Gathering, but you can pretty easily modify the list to fit your church or your community. Go to a Dragon's Game together. You can buy tickets as a group from the church for the game on July 11. Design a Progressive Dinner. Have appetizers at one house, salad at another, the main course somewhere else and dessert at a final destination. Have a monthly barbecue party. Serve together. Pick a place (Good Neighbor House, St. Vincents, Victory Project, Pirate Packs, Caring Partners International, One Bistro) and sign up to serve as a group one afternoon or evening. Meet up at the Family Movie Night on June 15. Spend a day at King's Island. Work at the church for an afternoon. We have many proj...

20 Questions to Build Group Connections

Here is a great exercise for a new group. The instructions are pretty simple. Go around the group giving each person the opportunity to choose one question and answer it honestly. Anyone can follow-up with an opinion or clarifying question (no critiquing each other's answers, though). Once a question has been answered, no one else may answer that question. If your group is larger, you may want to alter the rule and allow each question to be answered 2 or 3 times. Ideally, each person should end up answering 3-5 questions. As the leader, pay attention to the conversation. Let the discussion run its course as this is how people in the group build their relationships with one another. You can use these questions, modify them or create your own.

5 Conversations Every Small Group Should Have

Small group gatherings are not business meetings. They need not have rigid agendas or strict time constraints. Although effective groups often follow set curriculum, there are times when they can take a break from their plans and have conversations about their group’s health. These five questions can be used together or one at a time. They are designed to help groups’ determine their identity, diagnoses their health and develop a plan for the future. How can we meet one another’s needs? Acts is full of stories about Christians finding creative means by which they can meet each other’s needs. Some even sold their properties and possessions. The small group is the ideal lab in which we can work out what it truly means to love one another as Jesus loved us. If the greatest love of all is laying down our lives for each other (and it is), then meeting the needs of others in our group should be one of our first and highest priorities. How can we encourage one another? 1...

Creative Community

Search This Blog