1 Small groups presentation 1) Mission Statement: To nurture believers in a more intimate walk with Christ through small group studies in order to become more spiritually mature disciples of Jesus Christ. 2) Positive reasons: Difference between small groups and other venues such as Sunday school and Wednesday night Bible study: 1. Create an environment where believers can more readily identify with and share in the lives of other believers. 2. Will create an informal setting in which believers will be better able to draw from the wisdom of other believers. 3. Subject studies will bring us into a deeper understanding of God ’ s word. 4. Will provide an avenue for closer fellowship among Christians so often missing in the church today. 5. Will heighten our sense of community and belonging and a purpose greater than ourselves. *Testimony from: ______________________________ 3) Purpose; Goals and Benefits 1. To nurture Biblical love: gain a deeper understanding of God ’ s love for us and our love for others. 2. To build the body, disciple believers, and to bring Christians to full spiritual maturity, strengthen the body, train believers to be followers, train soldiers prepared for battle. 3. To cultivate spiritual gifts: Discover our own particular gifts and talents and how we might use them. 4. To facilitate unity: Bring the body together as a cohesive unit. 4) Logistics: How small groups will work. A) -Group participants must be 18 years or older. -They do not have to be a member of the church.
2 -Couples will stay together. -Groups will consist of a maximum of 10 members plus a leader and an assistant. -Groups will be co-ed and consist of members of various ages -Groups will be open to new members until the halfway point of a particular study session. B) Details of the meetings - Individual groups will determine their own study session place and time, but the committee recommends meeting in the homes to maintain better group dynamics. - Groups will meet a minimum of twice per month. - Each meeting will span from 1 ½ to 2 hours which includes an hour of study and discussion. - Each subject term will consist of a minimum of 8 sessions and will span a period of 4 months. - Each subject term will cover one study topic. - Subjects being studied will be rotated between groups at the end of each study term. - Childcare will be necessary and should be arranged before the meetings begin in order to maintain discussion and group dynamics. This issue may be solved by the groups as a whole or by each individual parent. C) Financing: - Each leader, assistant, and member will have the materials needed to participate in the study. It should not pose a financial burden on anyone or the church. The details of the funding are not finalized yet as we were not able to have a business meeting due to the weather. I know this raises questions but I encourage you to bring any questions or suggestions to
3 next month ’ s business meeting. We strongly encourage every person to participate regardless of financial ability. 5) Leaders and Assistants - Each group will have one leader and one assistant. - Leaders and assistants will serve one-year terms with an option to continue or bow out at the end of the term. - The assistant will lead at least one session during each 4 month study term. - Leaders and assistants must be a church member. - Leaders and Assistants must be FAT: F aithful A vailable T eachable - Leaders will prepare and study from the material provided and facilitate discussion among group members. - Leaders and assistants will need to participate in a training session to equip and reinforce group leadership skills. This training will be scheduled in the near future. 6) Questionnaire: give out -The questionnaire is a way for you to let us know that you are interested in participating in small group studies. - These will be due back two Sundays from now. There will be a drop box in the foyer. The only way you will be assigned to a group is by turning in a questionnaire. - A sign up sheet will also be in the foyer as well as a copy of this presentation and additional questionnaires for anyone who missed this but is interested in small groups studies. - There will be a short meeting next Sunday church for all those who have questions regarding small group studies.
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