Archive for Countdown31 – Page 2

Connecting to Community

By Bob Mayfield · Comments (0)
Saturday, August 22nd, 2015

nametag-bobWe live in a day and age now where people are in constant contact with friends, family, work associates, and even with famous people like actors, athletes, or politicians.

But we also live in a world that is starving for authentic community. A person that we can trust to be authentic with, and where they can be authentic in return with us. In many ways, our society is losing those special opportunities and personal gifts that bring people together and develops a culture that not only inspires community, but nurtures it too. Many people just need help connecting to other people. The desire to connect in community is there; the skills are often lacking.

This is an opportunity for your group to shine! Of all the places that a person should experience true community it should be in a biblically functioning small group or Sunday School! But to be effective, a small group needs to intentionally build bridges to help people make those connections.

Here are a few suggestions:

  • Nametags. Yes, I know it seems cheesy… until it is YOUR name that someone can’t remember, or even worse, you are the one stumbling while you try to recall someone’s name in your group. Help each other out. Wear nametags at every group meeting, including fellowships. Do not use those permanent nametags by the way. Use the paper nametags with an adhesive back so that everyone wears the same badge. Wearing a permanent badge while a guest wears a temporary badge just tells a guest that he or she is not part of the group. Also, a temporary stick-on badge has the advantage of helping your group members share their story. In addition to their name, ask group members to write something about who they are under their name. It can be “favorite food group” one week; hometown the next; favorite music group the next; and so on. Use the nametag to help people learn about each other and connect them to community.
  • Fellowship. “Fellowship” comes from the Greek word “Koinonia”, which just means ~~ Party! Have group parties, fellowships, get-togethers, whatever your church calls them. Have them often. An annual fellowship is not nearly enough. Go for once a month at least. These informal get togethers are providing a non-pressure opportunity for people to get to know each other and discover similar interests.
  • Testimonies. I encourage groups to set aside one Sunday a month to have one or two people share their personal testimony. Nothing too long here, less than five minutes, but is frequently discovered that group members do not know each other’s testimony. As Rick Howerton and David Francis share in their book, Countdown: Launching and Leading Transformational Groups, “No one’s story is complete until it has intersected with God’s Story, which happens best in a community being enriched by the stories of others.”
  • Mission projects. It is amazing what swinging a hammer, repairing a roof, painting a wall, or working together at the local food bank will do for the fellowship of your group. This action of putting the Gospel on display does amazing things when it comes to building community in your group.
  • Organize. The teacher or group leader must avoid the temptation to be all things to all people. This belief is really an excuse for DAS (Delegation Avoidance Syndrome). Once your group reaches an enrollment of about 10 people, it will become increasingly difficult for the teacher to do all the ministry. Simply enlisting a few people to make contact five people every week will do wonders for group community. People do not always come forward when they have a need, but if they are more likely to share a ministry need if someone from the group calls and asks them how they are doing.

Avoid the temptation to assume that just because your group meets for Bible study once a week that community is happening. Be intentional and help group members build bridges into biblical community.

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Bob Mayfield is the Sunday School/Small Group specialist at the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Bob also has his own blog at bobmayfield.com. The group ministry at the BGCO also has a training website, reconnectss.com with over 200 training videos for small group leaders of all age groups.

Follow Bob on Twitter, @bobmayfield and Facebook, theBobMayfield

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Transformational Worship in the Sunday School Experience

By Dwayne Lee · Comments (0)
Friday, August 21st, 2015

Worship ImageMany times when we use the word, “Worship” the thought of music comes to mind. I know I do, music is a part of who I am. I have been a musician/singer for years, matter of fact I was named after a rock-a-billy guitar player from the 1950’s and my first name means “singing”. So you would think it would be nature for me to think about music when we are talking about worship.

Yet when we look at the word worship from a biblical perspective it means so much more than just music. When you think about verses like John 4:24 that says, “God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and truth.” Deuteronomy 11:13, “If you carefully obey my commands I am giving you today, to love the Lord you God and worship Him with all you heart and your soul…” you began to see this all inclusive attitude and activity of oneself in complete obedience to almighty God.

In the book Transformational Church one of the seven elements was Worship. In the book it describes this balance between community service and personal worship that comes together and explodes in corporate service. There is this firm understanding to have transformational worship in public there has to be personal devotion.

I like how Henry Blackaby put it, “Worship anticipates not only an encounter with God, but also a clear next word from God. Worship is totally God-centered! God-focused! Out of worship comes a clearer and more focused relationship of faith and obedience with God. Worship is God’s way of developing character and directing life into the center of His will.” From the book entitled, “Created to be God’s Friend”

That is where Sunday School can play a great part in bridging the gap of those that are missing out on those God-centered moments. In his book, High Expectations, Dr. Thom Rainer pointed out that after tracking people for five years, 84% of those who where in a Sunday School class were still active after 5 years as opposed to those who only attended a worship service…only 16% of those people were still active.

With our corporate worship services still playing the role of most of our churches entry points, assimilation is absolutely key for people getting connected  and understanding biblical worship. Sunday School classes and teachers need to create an atmosphere of worship. Stop dispensing biblical information only (that’s easy), but prayerfully create this element of reflection, biblical perspective, authentic community that culminates in worship. There are suggestions that could be made to help your class through the week as they create their own personal study time. Materials that could be offered or online study helps that would take them on their own walk with God.

So remember, worship is not just music but it is you as a follower of Jesus Christ surrendering yourself to Him in your daily walk, being emptied of self and filled with Him. Then as a teacher or a group leader of a class to create an atmosphere (or an opportunity) for God to show up and transform you group!

God is spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth!

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Dwayne Lee is the associate team leader of the Bible Teaching/Leadership Resource Group of the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio.

 

 

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Do You Have a Group of Students or Missionaries

By Mark Miller · Comments (0)
Monday, August 17th, 2015

missionary

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1: Launch!  Without a successful launch the rest of the mission is irrelevant. But there is more to a successful mission than just the launch.  In Countdown, David Francis and Rick Howerton present 10 mission critical decisions that every groups must address. In the next several blogs, the writers will be highlighting seven key elements that were first discovered in Lifeway’s research and published in the book Transformational Church.  These seven elements [Missionary Mentality, Relational Intentionality, Vibrant Leadership, Prayerful Dependence, Worship, Community, and Mission] were found in every church that had both a successful launch and a successful mission of impacting their community.

“Missionary Mentality was and is the key distinction of a Transformation Church,” wrote David Francis.  Don’t confuse having a “Missionary Mentality” with the element identified as “Mission”.  The mission often explodes and becomes ineffective because we failed to think like a missionary before, during, and after a successful launch.

Getting a group or class to think like a missionary can be difficult.  Mainly because of how leaders and teachers and members see their Sunday School Class. Most just see their Sunday School class as a place to teach the Bible and they see the members of their class as students.  A teacher doesn’t need a Missionary Mentality to teach the Bible to those who show up. Let me remind you that Sunday School was never intended to be a ministry to those who showed up.

We live on mission field today and we need group leaders and Sunday School teachers to once again see the members of their groups as missionaries not just students. My favorite definition of a Sunday School class, is that a Sunday School class is a team of people on mission for God.  With a Missionary Mentality, you will lead your class to be on mission to a world that is lost and to equip your members to serve in this mission field.

One of the first things missionaries do when they get to a new field of ministry is spend time learning the culture and the people.  If we are going to reach people through Sunday School classes and groups, we must start by learning about the people who live in our communities.  Sadly, our culture is now filled with secular adults who know very little about Christ and His church.

In the fourth chapter of Mark, Jesus tells the parable of the sower or soils.  A missionary recognizes the types of soil in his field of ministry and develops a game plan to begin to see fruit in his labor.  The work is not easy, but what good would it do for the missionary to just sow seed without preparing the soil?  When a teacher begin to think like a missionary, the class will begin to identify and discover the people who live in their community. The group members will begin to understand what type of soils they are plowing and sowing.  When classes and groups have a missionary mentality, prospects are discovered, needs are identified, and a vision is birthed.  And they may even begin to use nametags.

Missionaries recognize that they live on a mission field, do you?

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Mark Miller is the Sunday School Specialist and Harvest Field Team Leader for the Tennessee Baptist Convention

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Group Size and the Impact on Learning

By Clyde Kakiuchi · Comments (0)
Wednesday, August 12th, 2015

large-group1

One factor that impacts learning in a small group is size. While other factors such as teacher, room size, and room set up affect learning, the size of the group also matters. Many small group leaders suggest between 6-15 in a small group for optimal learning.   David Francis and Rick Howerton, in their booklet entitled “Countdown: Launching and Leading Transformational Groups ” says, “Don’t expect great conversations in a group over 17-20. Unless you break into smaller groups for that purpose” (p31).

The bigger the group the tendency is to move from discussion to lecture. People retain only 10% after 3 days of hearing a lecture. The learning and retention rate escalates to 80% with discussion and participation. Why settle for 10% when you can achieve 80%?

I was in a weekly small group of 8. Our teacher gave us an overview of the lesson and divided us into 2 groups for discussion. The 2 groups then shared,  gave feedback and allowed time for personal application. I learned a lot and retained more because of this small group dynamic. I’m sure we would have run out of time if we had  large group with 4 or more groups discussing and sharing.  Other benefits of having a small group of 6-15 is a higher trust level which leads to deeper sharing and the ease of mobilizing the group for ministry within the community.

The size of the group does impact learning. Discuss with other small group leaders and evaluate the group size to see how it can maximize in its learning and application.

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Clyde Kakiuchi

Leadership Development Director

Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention

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Big Choice #2 When and Where

By Bob Mayfield · Comments (0)
Monday, August 10th, 2015

Choices

Following the first big choice of what type and duration for the group, the next big choice is when and where. The choices here, although very obvious, are critically important to the group.

There are essentially four choices when it comes to when a where a group meets. The choices are:

  1. Weekend on the church campus;
  2. Weekend off of the church campus;
  3. Weekday on the church campus;
  4. Weekend off the church campus.

Off campus groups

Off campus groups can meet just about anywhere. An office, home, coffee shop, even a park can be a meeting place for off campus groups. If the group is not meeting in a time that is not adjacent to a worship service, then the group can meet a good distance from the church campus. This would be ideal if many of the group members live in the same area and are a long distance from the church.

However, an off campus group that is “connected” to a worship service at the church will need to meet closer to the church. Homes, businesses, restaurants, or schools that are near the church campus are prime locations for off-campus groups of this type. Many of these locations can be used free or for a small rental fee. Usually, whatever expense the church may have in rent or bussing people to nearby off campus locations is generally cheaper than purchasing land and building facilities. Off campus groups usually have the advantage of having less time restraints on their small group meeting and they also offer flexibility of meeting locations.

On campus groups

On campus groups (like Sunday School), meet on campus. They do not necessarily have to be connected to a worship service. Participants may attend a morning worship service and then return in the evening for small group or Sunday School. Generally, most on campus groups are connected to the worship service and have the advantage of helping families participate in small group and worship experiences in one trip to the church.

The real issue of big choice #2 is that churches that have groups that meet either before or after corporate worship attenders generally involve more members in Bible study than groups that meet during the week and are not connected to a worship service. Research from Ed Stetzer and Eric Geiger’s book Transformational Groups reveals that an on campus group experience connected to a worship service is the preference of most guests.

On the other hand, a church must make an investment in parking lots and buildings, or rent nearby space and bus participants to nearby locations in order to accommodate this preference.

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Bob Mayfield is the Sunday School/Small Group specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. You can follow Bob on social media:

Facebook – TheBobMayfield

Twitter – @bobmayfield

Instagram – @rpmayfield

 

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