GRACE Group Leaders
Building followers of Jesus Christ…
5/14/08
So now I am giving you a new
commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each
other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my
disciples.” John 13:34-35 (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.
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Garry Poole to Lead Maryland Outreach Event |
If you have a
heart and desire to reach those who do not know Jesus, you will want to be a
part of the upcoming Evangelism Workshop on June 11th. The title is “Engaging
Spiritual Seekers in Life Changing Conversations and Community” and it will be
facilitated by Garry Poole. Garry is the author of “Seeker Small Groups” and
has been a key evangelism leader at Willow Creek since 1992. Come and learn
how you can reach out to your neighbors and friends in innovative and effective
ways. This all day conference will be held at Central Presbyterian Church, in Towson. I am encouraging every small group leader at Grace to take advantage of this
opportunity. Anyone with a heart for evangelism should be there as well.
Click here for more info
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Group Leader Essential #6 |
GRACE Group leaders are charged with an incredible responsibility. Because they are involved in the day-to-day lives of their group members, they have tremendous influence on the spiritual lives of the people in their groups. With this in mind, we encourage them to prioritize their own relationship with God. From there, we ask them to focus on six key aspects of group leadership - six essentials that are critical to the success of their groups.
Multiply Influence
This final essential reminds us that multiplying our
groups opens the door for others to participate in group life. It also allows
us the opportunity to multiply our influence. While we recognize this to be the
most difficult aspect of group leadership, it can also be the most rewarding.
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What Are You Reading? |
We are
adding a new feature to the newsletter titled “What Are You Reading.” Bill
Hybels, Senior Pastor of Willow Creek Community Church has said that a leader
should be reading one new book each week. I don’t know if I will ever be able
to keep up with that pace. But I do believe that it is important to
continually be learning. Exposing ourselves to new ideas and reexamining old
ones keeps our minds open to what God may desire to teach us. Sometimes the
hardest part is knowing which books are worth the time and investment. Today
more than ever there are so many books being written 
for Christians. I
usually have four or five books either in my home office or lying next to my
bed which I am currently reading. I confess that I do not finish them all.
Some are not worth going all the way through. Others, however, are worth
reading time and time again.
I thought it might be interesting to stop some of the pastors here at Grace Community Church and ask them what they currently reading. Maybe it can help us to decide the next book we should pick up. Maybe we might learn something we didn’t know about one of the pastors. We’ll see. I’m starting in the easiest territory; me. I’m here in the office and easy to interview. In the future, I promise it will be more interesting than me. Also, if you have a favorite read you would like to share with other group leaders and members here at Grace, send me an email and give me the scoop.
This week I’m reading “Knowing the Bible 101 – A Guide to God’s Word in Plain Language” by Bruce Bickel & Stan Jantz. I am always looking a good overview of the Bible that is easy to understand for a New Believer and someone who has been in the church for a long time. As I started reading the Bible, it was so helpful to have a clear view of the big picture to start with. It gave me a context in which to place every book and story that I encountered after that. “Knowing the Bible” is that kind of book. It starts out by giving the whole story of the Bible in just one chapter. In fact in about 15 minutes, it takes you from beginning to end. Then it divides the Old and New Testaments into four parts and fits those parts into the big story. It then lets you know how each of the books fit into those parts. This is a great place to start your journey of reading the Bible. But even if you have been reading God’s Word for years, it still helps you step back and bring perspective to all you are reading. There are great insights in every chapter. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn about the Bible.
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.
Grace Community Church, 8200 Old Columbia Road, Fulton, MD 20759, 240-553-1090