A near-death experience caused Dennis to take God's leading more seriously.
by Dennis DeKay
Four years ago I was in a terrible accident. Rolling over four times, I broke my neck in four places. During emergency surgery my vocal cords became paralyzed. I often wondered why God spared me. I thought, He must have a purpose for me. After three months of prayer, my voice returned. Over the next three years, however, I still wondered why God saved me.
Since its beginning, our small group ministry has prayed for our local community—that lives would be changed through Jesus Christ.
However, in our seven years of existence, we never tangibly connected with the community. After a night of prayer devoted to discerning how to reach out, we decided to host a breakfast for local teachers on a teacher workday. We provided the group leaders with a list ...
Give as many personal facts as you can before a match burns down.
Tami Rudkin
Hand out a kitchen match to every person in the group. In turn have each person light their match and tell as many facts about themselves before the match burns out or burns their fingers. If your group likes a little competition appoint someone to keep score. Here's an example: "My name is Tami (1 point), I love to read a good mystery (1 point), my favorite color is purple (1 point). After every ...
Share personal stories with each other as a way to really connect.
Sue Skalicky
Group Outreach
I just finished reading through several personal columns. As the high school journalism adviser, I was on the lookout for anything that might put my job in jeopardy - libelous statements, profanity, references to sex, drugs, or inappropriate rock and roll. Instead, I found feelings explored, once-hidden hurts revealed, and epiphanies explained. These young writers had chosen to leave ...
Telling life stories is one of the best ways to continually grow a group towards maturity in Christ.
Jon Weiner
Just how long does it take for a group to grow close? How many group meetings must happen before hearts are tuned in to one another? When does real community begin to happen? These are questions that are not often asked by group members, but often are asked by small group pastors. Why? Group maturity, growing towards community, signals a healthy group experience. When groups become knitted together, ...
Do the people in your group really know each other? Do they laugh together and cry together? Do they share their inner thoughts and feelings in an atmosphere of reciprocal transparency? Intimacy doesn't come easy these days. People hide behind perfectly flawless exteriors, vocational accomplishment, and popular plaudits. Beneath the purposefully placed masks, all of us long to know each other and ...
The front door of the church is the front door of every person's home.
Michael C. Mack
At the church where I minister we call our small groups "Community Groups" for two important reasons:
First, they are a place where authentic Christian community takes place. They are a place to know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, celebrate and be celebrated. They are an environment where intimacy and trust and accountability grow. They are the body of Christ in action.
Discipline is just about my least favorite word in the dictionary. The word reminds me of doing homework, going to the gym regularly, or saving money for retirement. None of these things are much fun today, but each one has a huge payback tomorrow, doesn't it?
We each have private spiritual disciplines we should practice (simplicity, meditation, solitude, prayer, service, fasting, study, stewardship, ...
When a leader shares honestly their group members are likely to follow.
by Life Together
The best thing you can do to encourage honesty in your group is to be honest yourself. This doesn't mean spilling your guts about your darkest secrets. It means asking for prayer in an area of your life where you're genuinely struggling; it means letting go of the myth that the leader needs to appear perfect; it means being genuine in your responses to the questions.
Understand the practice of lectio divina and how to incorporate it into your small group.
by Adele Calhoun
Adele Calhoun is pastor of spiritual formation at Christ Church of Oak Brook in Oak Brook, Illinois. She is also author of The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook (IVP, 2005). Building Small Groups talked with her about the need, benefits, and challenges of using lectio divina and contemplative prayer in small groups.
Building Small Groups: What are the differences between contemplative prayer and lectio ...
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