Archive for Assimilation

Meeting Online When Live Is Impossible

There is no substitute for live social interaction–even meeting online. You cannot pat someone on the back or hug them by phone, online, or by mail. Eye contact is impossible by phone, text, email, mail, and even one-way video (challenging even with two-way video).

Knowing that, what can be done when circumstances prevent meeting in person? As a nation and world, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 virus (Coronavirus) pandemic. Limits have been set on group gathering size.

That impacts churches. If worship does not happen in person, groups are usually cancelled as well. But even without a virus crisis, sometimes groups cannot meet in person. Vacations happen. Illness, family member death, and a litany of reasons occur that take members or even the leader away. My question in this day of technology is why cancel?

Meeting Online

There are tons of methods for connecting when you cannot meet in person. Consider some of the following ideas:

  • Conference calls (for groups less techno-savvy) can enable a lesson to be taught with Q&A or discussion, announcements, and prayer together;
  • Facebook Live and YouTube Live can enable the group leader to pray, share announcements, and teach a lesson; while this is one-way communication, it can be supplemented by text to receive prayer requests and lesson questions/comments;
  • Zoom, GoToMeeting, Google G Suite, and others can enable groups to see and hear each other and tend to work best for smaller groups if there will be much interaction; they offer chat during video which allows written prayer requests, announcements/reminders, and lesson questions/comments (the video link and the chat conversation can be emailed to those who missed it);
  • Facebook Groups and other social media can provide posting of lesson outlines, questions, and discussion along with announcements and prayer requests;
  • Text generally works best with really small groups (2-4) and short texts; if the group or texts gets larger, then participants won’t have enough time to read what is texted.

Again, I am not advocating online meeting in place of live meetings in person. But your class or group can meet online when special holidays or circumstances prevent meeting live in person. A small group could still meet online when a group leader or host has to travel. A D-group could still meet online when a discipler is out of town. And these ideas can also work for the sick, traveling, etc. to join when the rest of the group is still meeting live in person.

Comments?

Do you have additional experiences, resource suggestions, or ideas you could share? Press Leave a Comment to share. Don’t stop meeting just because you can’t meet live in person.

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Darryl Wilson serves as the Sunday School & Discipleship Consultant for the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He is the author of Disciple-Making Encounters: Revolutionary Sunday School and the Sunday School Revolutionary blog.

12 Monthly Fellowship Ideas

kiteWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Josh Hunt wrote in How to Double Your Class in Two Years or Less: “Invite every member and every prospect to a fellowship every month.”  Relationships are the key to growth!

WHAT DO I DO? Organize your group by enlisting a Fellowship or Member Care Leader that is responsible for providing opportunities for the group to build a sense of community.  Here are 12 Monthly Fellowship Ideas Starters that my groups have done:

  • January: Dinner and a Movie
  • February: Super Bowl Party
  • March: Go Fly a Kite
  • April:  Class Picnic
  • May:  Campout
  • June: Baseball Game
  • July: Fireworks and Homemade Ice Cream
  • August: Luau
  • September:  Class Meeting
  • October: Conduct a Ministry Project
  • November: Game Night
  • December:  Christmas Party

Have Fun!   Remember to invite every member and every prospect to a fellowship every month.

Is Social Media Useful for Reaching People in Your Group?

facebookWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? We all want connection.  People inside and outside your group use Social Media every day, trying to find connection with one another.  That is why it is a multibillion dollar industry.  We all want to connect people together and to information we find important.

In fact, you are probably reading this blog article because some form of social media directed you here.  You were sent an email, saw a tweet, or read a post and you clicked it hoping to find a potential solution to a challenge you are experiencing in your group ministry leadership right now.

WHAT DO I DO? Social Media is just what it says it is. Media is information or data. It is anything we speak, hear, do, see, share, or experience that passes along information.  Social is simply the way that media travels, relationally from person to person.  Isn’t that what we are about in our groups ministries: Connecting Socially to share the most important Media known to man, the gospel of Jesus Christ, with those who need to hear it?

Here are a few ways you can use Social Media to reach people in your group:

  • Start closed Facebook groups for all the classes and groups in your church.
  • Use your posting and sharing as a source of encouragement by avoiding negativity on your feed.
  • Share articles and blogs that encourage your group members to think through topics discussed in your group.
  • Be open to ideas that may seem contradictory to your way of thinking, and be prepared to civilly discuss these concerns with compassion and reverence (1 Peter 3:15)
  • Use your social pages and groups to promote community events where group members can connect beyond the group time.
  • Practice typing your Christian testimony in 140 characters or less.

For more information on this topic with additional links to resources, visit:
http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2015/4-ways-you-can-use-social-media-for-good.html

3 Best Practices to Ensure a Welcoming Climate

churchgreeterWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Remember this story: “Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it.”

First Impressions are lasting impressions.  Most groups think they are friendly.  I have literally attended Sunday School classes where no one talked to me or my wife.  I am sure they thought that somebody would do it, but nobody did it and we didn’t go back.

WHAT DO I DO?  If you want to make a ensure that your group has a welcoming climate, implement these three best practices:

  1. Enlist somebody to do it.  That somebody could be the teacher.  Ideally teachers should arrive early and be ready to greet the guests.  That somebody could be the Outreach Leader.  Since they will want to follow up, the outreach leader could serve as primary greeter for the group.  That somebody could be a “Hidden” Greeter.  Somebody needs see a new person on Sunday morning, initiates a conversation and makes sure that the guests and members are welcomed and have a great experience. Don’t assume that everybody will be friendly, enlist somebody.
  2. Encourage your group to smile and show their teeth.  Life is hard.  Greet everyone with a smile, call everyone by name (consider wearing nametags) and let everyone know that they are loved.
  3. Remember the real test of a friendly class comes after the benediction.  Train your people to speak to each other, to care about each other.  Guests are watching.

How’s the welcoming climate in your group?

How Can I Encourage Class Member Faithfulness?

care4familyWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Dr. Thom Rainer and others have reported that one of the largest influences on the drop in average Sunday School attendance is the irregularity of class members. Absence makes disciple-making efforts more challenging. It impacts children and teens by making them believe that following Jesus and church involvement are optional. It can reduce relational connections and make dropping out more likely.

WHAT DO I DO? How can we intentionally encourage member faithfulness? Here are several ideas:

  • follow up every time persons are absent;
  • when they miss, express your genuine care and that they were missed;
  • ask key members to invest in those whose attendance patterns are declining;
  • contact, pray together, and remind them of the next fellowship/project;
  • plan regular class fellowships and ensure absentees get written and phone invitations;
  • plan outreach and ministry projects where participants can get to know one another while meeting needs;
  • give every member a class responsibility;
  • develop prayer partners (maybe regular with absentee) who pray together weekly by phone;
  • communicate how upcoming lessons will help them to live out their Christian lives in the world;
  • explain the benefits of regular attendance for themselves and their children;
  • have an attendance and/or contact contest with another class during a quarter;
  • use lesson icebreakers to help members get to know one another in fresh ways (for affinity discovery); and
  • divide the group during the Bible study into small groups (3-5 persons) for discussion.

Pray. Care. Contact. Listen. Help. Never give up. Never!