GRACE Group Leaders
Building followers of Jesus
Christ…
9/4/07
Their responsibility
is to equip God’s people to do his work
and build up the church, the body of Christ.
Ephesians
4:12 (NLT)
GRACE - Every Person
Contributing - Using everything
God has given us to serve in the Body of Christ. We recognize that who we are and what we have has been given to us by God,
that it truly belongs to God. Our time, our talents and abilities, our
spiritual gifts, our past experiences (good and bad), our personalities, and
our possessions, we offer it all for His service.
|
Don’t Forget |
As our whole church prepares for the Old
Testament Challenge, there are two things that it is important for you as a
GRACE Group Host not to forget.
1. Don’t forget to sign your whole group up for
the Daily Devotionals. Is everyone in
your group spending time each day in a “quiet time” where 
they read God’s Word, Pray, Meditate, and align themselves to
what God has in store for them that day.
As you know it is impossible to live an effective and victorious life as
a believer with out investing daily in our relationship with God. If some are not doing this regularly, then
the OTC Daily Devotional is a great way to get started. While hundreds and hundreds joined us in the
devotional last year, dozens of people wrote me after the Challenge was over to
tell me that this was the first time they had regularly spent daily time with
God. Our prayer is that many people will
begin this practice for the first time and that many others will reconnect with
this very personal time spent with God.
They say that it takes about 30 days of doing something regularly to
create a new habit in your life. Have
your group members join our church in this devotional time and create a new
habit for life. We will send you a devotion every day
via email that tracks right along with what we are studying on Sundays and in
our GRACE Groups. It includes a couple
of chapters to read, and some questions to consider or to pray about. Send
email addresses to info@gracegroups.net
and mention the Daily Devotions.
2. Don’t forget to get your discussion guides
from the Small Groups Office soon. You
can come in and buy guides for your group anytime during the week or you can
find me on Sundays at the Old Testament Tent in the East Lobby this
Sunday. Give us a call and let us know
how many books you would like us to hold for you. 240-553-1090. Ask for Cynthia or
Michael. Study guides are
$11/person. Don’t wait until the last
minute and find that we have sold out.
|
Taste of Grace |
What does God have for us in
this life? What does He expect from
us? Jesus wants to use each of us to make
a difference in His world. As we grow
closer to Christ we experience a desire to use the things that God has so
graciously given us. Spiritual maturity
is not an end unto itself. We grow up to
give out! Even Jesus came to serve, not
to be served. When our Lord desires to
reach out to someone or to accomplish something in the church, he will always
do so through the hands and feet of His servants.
Fortunately, He has equipped
us ahead of time with everything we will need to fulfill our role in His
kingdom. It is a responsibility that was
prepared for us even before we were born.
He only asks that we be willing and generous to use everything he has
given us for others. How would you
describe you group and its members when it comes to serving? The next two weeks at Grace are all about
finding our place to give of our time and our talents to the work of God’s
Kingdom. Mark Norman will be talking
about this important topic for the next couple of weeks. Maybe you and your group could set aside some
time to talk about serving in the place God designed for us. Encourage everyone to take just one step this
“Taste of Grace” season and investigate a ministry where they like to serve. Just investigate the possibilities and take a
“Taste.” It all starts this Sunday.
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Hosting a Community |
Have you
attended the Shepherding 101 workshop on “Building Community in the Environment
of a Small Group?” Is there someone in
your group who would benefit from learning how to create an environment that will
strengthen the sense of community and the desire to be a part of “one
another’s” lives? Maybe a Co-Leader or
Apprentice would like to participate; maybe someone who doesn’t even know yet
that they should lead some day.
Recommending that they join us might be the first step to them
leading. Don’t miss the fall version of
this workshop; Saturday morning, September 22nd, 8:30am-1:00pm. Register with Cynthia by calling 240-553-1090
or emailing cynthia@gracegroups.net
. This workshop is recommended for all GRACE Groups leaders, co-leaders, and
future leaders.
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G.R.A.C.E. Groups Essentials |
Because each
of you are involved in the day-to-day lives of your fellow group members, you have
tremendous influence on the spiritual lives of each other. Because of that influence, it becomes crucial
for you to prioritize your own relationship with God. Be ready for Him to use you at a moments
notice in someone’s life. Also, think
about a couple of essentials that are critical to the success of your group.
Think Life
Change
Bill Hybels has said that vision leaks. And that is
definitely true when it comes to the vision and purpose for groups. It is easy
for groups to drift away from their main purpose. So this value reminds us why
we have groups: to create environments where people change; an environment
where God is active in the lives of its members; a small group where members
experience real community and spiritual growth.
Keeping the life-change goal front and center challenges us to keep our
groups purposeful and not to drift.
Cultivate
Relationships
How do we build a sense of community in our groups? Relationships
are like bank accounts: They don't just happen. They require regular intentional
deposits. Starting early to build the relational capital of the group is one of
the most important steps we can take. Plan activities and social events outside
of regular group time that draw the members of your group closer together. Then we must make ongoing deposits to
continually cultivate relationship among the group members. Planning regular
deposits will bring greater relational dividends to a group's balance sheet.
Promote
Participation
Do not be a leader who leads alone. Shared participation creates broader
ownership for your group. All group
members should be encouraged to participate often in the facilitation and
leadership of the group meeting. Find something that everyone in your group can
be responsible for. Social time, prayer
time, scripture memory, finding serving opportunities, taking care of
refreshments, contacting members during the week, are just some of the
responsibilities you can share. You can
promote participation by being a navigator of discussion, rather than a teacher
of curriculum. The difference is critical. Every time we ask open-ended
questions, we invite participation in the discussion. More than sharing the right answers, we want
people to share their lives. Remember,
it is all about developing people in their relationship to Christ.
Thanks for all you do!
Information, questions, comments.
240-553-1090 ext. 111
Please feel free to share this newsletter with the members of your
G.R.A.C.E. Group.