Note: This article has been excerpted from the SmallGroups.com training tool called Family Friendly Small Groups.
When I speak at conferences or seminars, I ask people to write down the areas of ministry they are involved in and then prioritize them. Sadly, the majority of people never list one of the most important ministries entrusted to them by their Heavenly Father: their own family. It's the ministry ...
Our children are dormant volcanoes, ready to erupt for God!
Holly Allen
Dad aren't you glad we went to our cell group tonight? We got blessed? I like getting blessings over me!
Ten year old Zachary, one of the spiritual "bricks" in our church, said this to his dad after a cell meeting. (Our spiritual bricks are those 9 to 13 year old boys who draw or make airplanes during church and ask when will it be over every five minutes.) I asked Mike, the dad, to describe what happened ...
Child: "May I come to your cell today To see you worship, sing and pray?"
Adult: "You wouldn't find it any fun. When you are older, you may come"
from "The Unwelcome Child" by Lorna Jenkins
Sadly, most of us have looked at children in small groups the same way this poem does: as a logistical nightmare. But it doesn't have to be that way. Although parents have the primary responsibility of nurturing, ...
I realized that children had not been welcome in our midst, and therefore Jesus had not been welcome either.
Matt Messner
Our small group of adults was moving harmoniously into deeper worship as we sang the familiar choruses to the accompaniment of a skilled guitarist. Between songs, we sat quietly in an attitude of worship, enjoying the evident presence of God. The tranquility was quickly shattered as my exasperated 2-year old, with tears flowing down his face, barged into the scene notifying me of how one of his fellow ...
Intergenerational community can be the family that the lonely people in our churches need.
Daphne Kirk
When God created the family He wanted an expression of Himself; He wanted His image to be reproduced in unity and harmony. God Himself is community, Father Son and Holy Spirit, relationally communing and flowing together. When God created Adam and Eve, He wanted a reflection of Himself. (Gen 2) Had they not sinned, Adam and Eve's family would have been the community with which God would have lived ...
In an intergenerational setting, people of all ages can get the support and mentoring that they need.
Daphne Kirk
As I travel I see family restaurants that invite and encourage families to eat together, I see facilities that promote family entertainment, and I even see church buildings whose notice boards may read something like: "Family Church," "This church welcomes families," or "A family-friendly gathering of God's people." Inside these church buildings, however, the structures and programs sometimes do very ...
Ideas to help your ministry build stronger marriages and families.
Esther M. Bailey
If your group consists of couples, you have an opportunity to build stronger marriages and families. February is a good month to start with a small group Sweetheart Banquet. It could be a lavish affair held in a private room of a restaurant or a simple potluck depending on the makeup of your group. In any event, red balloons and streamers will make it a more festive occasion.
Sunday is my son's favorite day, because he gets to worship in community.
Eddy Hall
"What's your favorite day of the week?" I asked.
"Sunday," Jonathan answered without hesitation.
"Why?"
"Because of worship at our Home Group," Jonathan said.
This was no isolated response. Around our house, there was no doubt about it: worship was the highlight of six-year-old Jonathan's week. The same was true of four-year-old Janelle.
It had not always been so. In fact, only two years earlier, one of ...
Explore the pros and cons of some interesting studies from SmallGroupsMaterials.com.
by Dan Lentz
In the ever-growing sea of DVD-based small group curriculum, SmallGroupMaterials.com has developed a DVD series with some distinctive features worth considering. SmallGroupMaterials.com's small group curriculum for the family has a full-featured adult DVD curriculum that also includes a companion book for younger kids. So, you can have a relevant DVD-based small group experience for the parents, and ...
Darryl and his wife are a newly married couple leading a couples small group; they don't feel equipped enough, what should they do?
The Small Group Network Community
Darryl and his wife, Darlene, are leading a couple's group. Since Darryl is newly married, he feels a little inadequate to lead a group of couples that have been married longer than he and Darlene. Darryl wants to help them grow as couples, but is struggling with how to help them through stages in their relationships that he has not yet experienced. What advice can you give Darryl?
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