Take turns sharing what makes you fulfilled, frightened, frustrated, and fatigued.
Tami Rudkin
Put each of these words on a separate index card.
Fulfilled
Frightened
Frustrated
Fatigued
Pass this set of cards around the group and have the person with the deck choose the top card. Using the word on the card, complete the sentence, "I feel most frightened (or fulfilled or frustrated or fatigued) when … " When they are done have them put the card they chose on the bottom and pass the deck to ...
Four sessions of activity-based learning emphasize repentance, obedience, perseverance, and gratefulness to help you get things right.
Most of us can recall times when we felt empty, ashamed, or selfish. Is there anything we can do to get rid of those feelings? How does God feel about us when we feel this way? How can we help others going through this rough time?
Perfect for groups of students or adults, this four-session course emphasizes principles for dealing with life's doldrums. This Bible-study course is specially designed for ...
There are several different approaches to conflict; which one you choose depends on the situation.
Boyd Pelley
I was talking with one of our small group leaders the other day. He told me that he was really concerned that there was an elitist attitude in his group coming from the parents who had chosen to home school or private school their children. His kids were in public school. It was clearly beginning to create a rift in the group. Upon further discussion, I discovered that each family was handling childcare ...
How much authority should you exert over your group?
The Small Group Network Community
Darryl wants to be the best leader he can be. But leading these people is sometimes like trying to shepherd cats! This week he decided to usurp more authority. He'd hoped that his group were up to being challenged, but they just sat there and did not respond. Now Darryl is confused about how "strong" of a leader he should be with the group.
Help Darryl find some solutions for his group's inconsistent attendance.
Darryl has led a small group of 13 young adults for a little over a year now, and he's becoming more and more frustrated over the group's wild shifts in attendance.
On the rare occasions when all 13 members show up, the group feels very overcrowded. Physically, the living room in Darryl's house is set up to hold 10 people, and so squeezing in a total of 14 makes things feel claustrophobic. In addition, ...
Pain is difficult, but is also a catalyst for spiritual growth.
by Brett Eastman
Nobody likes pain, and nobody likes to experience pain alone. Even Christ, while hanging on the cross, asked God, "Why have you forsaken me?" Yet God often uses it to trigger some of the greatest life-giving moments.
We often fail to appreciate that pain points out a problem that's blocking personal growth. In order for God to deal with certain areas of our life, he allows certain levels of discomfort ...
I'm going to attempt to paraphrase a story I heard at a small-groups conference a little over a year ago, so please bear with me. The conference was the 2007 Purpose-Driven Small Groups gala at Saddleback Church, and the speaker was Randy Frazee. The story centered on Frazee's first attempt at small-group ministry as the senior pastor of a large church in suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas.
Ways to switch up your study when the blahs strike.
Sue Kline
Sooner or later, it happens to every group. You're moving along just fine—and then the blahs strike. The people in your group bore you. Scripture is dry as dust. Your prayers all land in the ceiling corner with the cobwebs. If the blahs linger, people start dropping out of the group. What can you do? In his book, Real Small Groups Don't Just Happen, Neal McBride suggests these blah busters. ...
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