Archive for service

Creating Care Groups That Serve Others

Now more than ever people need care. How can the church effectively provide this care? People in the church need to be organized and trained to care for one another, their neighbors, and isolated, hurting people.

In the past, Sunday Schools or small groups might be organized in terms of care groups. These care groups were designed to discover the needs of people in the Sunday School class or small group to be sure the needs got met. The expectation to meet these needs might be shared with other church leaders or the pastor.

Two shifts are needed. The first shift needed is for the group itself to respond to the need once it is discovered. The second shift is for the needs of people who have never attended the group to be considered as a means of ministry and outreach to them. The pressure people are now experiencing presents an opportunity to address church and community needs differently.

Care groups may not be a new idea to your church. But shifting the expectation for service to the care group itself might be. Consider these steps in re-framing your care groups from needs discovery to needs meeting groups:

  • Determine the number of care group leaders needed and expectations for them
  • Enlist care group leaders and provide training for them.
  • Create care groups by organizing people by geography, life situation, or interest.
  • Balance the care groups mixture of regular, sporadic, and never-attenders.
  • Provide regular feedback for care group leaders so they can learn through serving

The need for care is not the only need people have. People also have a need to serve. People need the spiritual growth that comes from serving others. If the need for serving others is understood as a means to spiritual growth, people may start finding value in serving.

Written by Clint Calvert, Church Leadership Catalyst,  Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention.

Connecting Service and Prayer

Over the years, I’ve heard countless believers who have served “on mission” make statements like this: “I went into this experience planning to give to others, but I received so much more from this experienced than I could ever have given.”  In my ministry, this has pertained to students serving meals at a homeless shelter or at a day camp on an international mission trip, adults doing various local work projects, medical professionals involved in a medical mission experience, and even people serving in weekly church ministry roles.

A foundational presupposition for many of us is that Bible teaching, reaching the lost, and serving in various ministry roles are keys to a healthy Sunday School or Small Group Ministry.  In It Begins With Prayer, Dwayne McCrary highlights some advantages to countering a consumerism mentality when encouraging people to be involved and serving in a group ministry.  The idea is to avoid inviting people to be a part of the group in order to be loved and ministered to and instead invite them to be a part of a group where they can serve and make a difference for the sake of the Kingdom of God.  

So, what is the connection between serving and prayer?  There are at least two important connections.  One involves motives and the other involves wisdom and discernment to discover the most effective ways to serve the Lord and use one’s spiritual gifts.  

In terms of motives for serving, McCrary clarifies how motive can be determined by asking if the only reason we are serving is in order to get something in return which he says will “reveal our motives and who we really love . . . . ourselves .”  It is in the context of prayer that we can seek God’s will and ask Him to reveal the motives of our heart so we can assure we are serving in a Christlike manner.  A memorable quote from McCrary is, “When we invest in others with the intent of helping them become all God wants them to be, then we become all God wants us to be.”  Prayerfulness about motives for serving is vital.

Another consideration is that many believers busy themselves with too many things, often even “good” things, at the expense of God’s best for us in terms of using our unique giftedness for ministry service.  In fervent and faithful prayer, God can grant wisdom and discernment to help us make decisions about opportunities for serving in various capacities. To haphazardly make choices about serving in regular roles in a church or missions context can essentially lead to ineffectiveness, burnout, and frustration.  Who would not want to be serving in a way that places us in the center of the Lord’s will?  Assuming no one would want this, it’s easy to see how prayer, as a key spiritual discipline for a believer, is a vital aspect of determining the scope of ministry service. Leaders in our Sunday School and Small Group ministries can strengthen the health of the group by modeling and advocating for prayer as a key part of serving others.

Written by Bobby Howard, Church Strengthening – Generations: Adult, South Carolina Baptist Convention

Enlist Teens to Serve as Class Leaders in Student Classes

volunteerWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? In 2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV), Paul encourages Timothy, a young pastor to be strengthened in Christ “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.” Teens communicate, care, and reach out to teens best. Enlist, train, and mobilize them to carry out the work of the group.

WHAT DO I DO? Take these steps:

  1. ask God to send teen workers (Matthew 9:38),
  2. observe what students are saying and doing,
  3. take students with you (in pairs) for life and group ministry,
  4. ask them questions to reflect upon their experiences,
  5. when you are sure the teen is the one, ask him/her to pray about joining the team to carry out group work,
  6. provide a simple job description and continue to give on-the-job training,
  7. continue to encourage and coach the student, and
  8. encourage the student leader to go through the same steps to enlist an apprentice.

Following these steps will help teens gain confidence and competence so they will say yes to you and God when you ask them to join you. Don’t try to do the work alone. Prayerfully enlist, develop, and mobilize teens into service. Guide them to be fulfilled and fulfulling as they carry out the work of the group!

Mission Projects for Your Group

commhelpWHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Groups have a tendency to become inwardly focused, and to prevent that it is important that we stay focused on the mission.  Jesus said to the disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16 (ESV)

We know the importance of studying the Bible together, praying for one another and fellowship, but we must never let the group forget our mission: to be a light and tell others about the Good News of Jesus! (Matthew 28:19-20).

WHAT DO I DO? Meet together as a group and decide what you want to do, and then begin to make plans. Here are a few ideas for group mission projects:

  • Help neighbors with some work around their homes.
  • Clean up a neighborhood park.
  • Have a Backyard Bible Club.
  • Volunteer at a local shelter or soup kitchen.
  • Work with a local school.

Jesus said we are to let our light shine, and we do that by being out in the community and serving others. Be the light that shines for Jesus!

Helping Your Members Discover Their Spiritual Gifts

spiritual_gifts_2WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? As a follower of Jesus, exploring and exercising our spiritual gifts is a vital and exciting part of our spiritual journey. Paul writes, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” (1 Corinthians 12:4 NIV).

WHAT DO I DO? Here are some ideas:

  • Teach. Small groups are a wonderful place to help members to discover, explore and put into practice their spiritual gifts.  You might consider taking time to do a study with the whole group to learn about spiritual gifts and how they really do work among the body especially in your local context.  Even if some of your participants know about the gifts they can really help to give first-hand testimony about their own gifts and how they have used them for the benefit of the local body and beyond.
  • Inventory. Once you have done some teaching on spiritual gifts, it really is important to be sure to have them do a spiritual gifts inventory.  There are many spiritual gifts inventory tools on-line for free.  Be consistent and choose one so that everyone is using the same list and definitions of spiritual gifts.  Once everyone has completed the inventory, spend some quality time debriefing the results and give time for questions and further exploration.
  • Utilize. It is now time to help participants launch and use their gifts.  It is important that, as a leader, you help facilitate opportunities for your group members to begin to utilize these precious gifts they have discovered.  Try and pair them with other believers who can walk with them in becoming a full partner in ministry as they learn to discover the joys of using their spiritual gifts.