Let this simple tool bless you with more time for the things that matter most.
by Erin Brownback
Do you need completely effortless cooking ideas for your small group of guys who are tired of eating pizza, or for that couples Bible study that meets an hour after you get home from work? Consider crock pot cooking.
A crock pot is a countertop electrical appliance that makes one-pot meals. Because this low temperature slow cooker takes hours to make a meal and requires no supervision, you can dump ...
Use a variety of foods to help group members talk about their current situations.
Tami Rudkin
Write the following words on index cards, one per card. Pass the cards as each person answers the question: Which of the following foods best describes your life right now? (It would be fun to bring each item and place them on a platter and pass the platter full of food as the group answers)
Top 10 April Fools' Day jokes to play on your group.
The Small Group Network Community
10. Have Hendrix and Blue Oyster Cult playing as "welcome music."
Wayne Loden, Colonial Hills Baptist Church - Southaven, MS
9. During the middle of a prayer, while no one is looking, have the regular attendees hide from the infrequent attendees to make them think that the rapture just occurred.
Glenn Frank, His Place Christian Fellowship - Huntington Beach, CA
Preparing and sharing a simple meal around a table with family and friends is a lost art. Lives busy with work, entertainment, stress and long commutes make shared meals seemingly impossible. Yet nothing can have as much impact in building healthy community.
The US Department of Health and Human Services provides some interesting findings about the benefits of sharing family meals on their website, ...
This recipe will even let you use white bread in a creative way!
By Sheila Ely
2 Tbsp margarine
2 Tbsp Miracle Whip
¾ cup grated cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp finely grated onion
1 sprinkle cayenne pepper
8 slices white bread
Mix together all of the above ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, except for the slices of bread. When finished, remove the crusts from the bread slices and flatten each one by rolling it with a rolling pin.
Spread the cheese mixture evenly on each piece of bread, ...
Here's a healthy side dish for your group to enjoy.
contributed by Deidre Franklin
Ingredients:
1 package broccoli slaw
1 bunch fresh broccoli
2 packages chicken flavored raman noodles
½ cup sunflower seeds
Dressing:
Flavor packets from ramen noodles
¼ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
¾ cup vegetable oil
Finely chop the broccoli florets and toss with the broccoli slaw. Crush up the ramen noodles with your hands. Mix noodles and sunflower seeds with broccoli ...
Help Darryl decide whether his group should continue eating dinner together.
Darryl's group meets every week, and he's been excited about the depth of intimacy and community everyone is experiencing. Darryl believes this has a lot to do with the group's practice of eating dinner together each week before the group meeting—all the members have really jelled well as a result and formed some particularly strong bonds.
So, in some ways the meal is a great thing for the group. ...
This guide has been specially designed to provide orientation and basic training for your church's small-group hosts.
By Jon Ferguson, Heather Zempel, Reid Smith, and others
Note: Click Sharing a Meal to see a free sample of one of this resource's articles.
Most people who attend a small group understand the value of great discussion, meaningful prayer, and uplifting worship. But there are other elements to a great small-group meeting that are often overlooked. Fortunately, many of them can be addressed by a capable small-group host.
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