Archive for 31 Day Countdown – Page 4

What To Do With The Kids…

By Jenni Carter · Comments (0)
Sunday, August 16th, 2015

youth_smlOne of the advantages to Sunday morning groups that meet at the church building is that Preschool and Children’s age-graded Sunday School are offered at the same time.  For churches that choose to have groups in homes there are many options to consider for “what to do with the kids.”

Option 1 – Classes for children can be offered at the church building.  Parents drop off their kids at the building and then go to the home where their small group meets.  This option works well when all the small groups meet on the same evening and are in close proximity to the church.

Option 2 – Each family arranges their own child-care at their home while they go to small group.  Many churches reimburse families for this expense.  One of the advantages for this option is that families can choose their own “sitter” and the kids stay in their normal evening and bedtime routines.

Option 3 – A small group hires “sitters” to keep their children at the same home where the small group meets but in another room (think basement or playroom).

Option 4 – Members of the small group rotate and take turns taking care of the children each week.  One of the advantages to options 3 & 4 is that the children are onsite in case the parents are needed.

Option 5 – Small groups work together so that members of one group take care of kids from another small group and then they swap roles later in the week.  One of the advantages of this option is that there is no cost involved, just extra coordination between groups.

There are several other thoughts to remember when planning “what to do with the kids.”

1 – Remember that it’s not just young adult groups that may need these services as many grandparents are raising their grandchildren in their homes.  Therefore, they may need child-care.

2 – Remember to use safe and secure practices when considering children’s activities.  Whether or not children are at the church building, churches and small groups need to adhere to the two-adult rule, background checks, and other security measures the church has adopted in their Safety and Security Policies.

3 – Remember to make the children’s time an intentional part of the overall programming.  Rather than having just sitters or child-care, let it be an intentional time of Bible study or discipleship for the kids as well as the adults.  There are several different Children’s Bible Study plans that could be used.  For older children there are great bible skills activities the kids would enjoy.  At the very least families can download Bible study apps on their electronic devices so that the children can learn or build on what they have already learned.  When churches are intentional to meet the needs of the children through quality Bible study while the parents are meeting more families will be attracted to the small group.

One final thought – look around your community to find unchurched families.  It may be an ethnic group, a subdivision, an apartment complex, or mobile home area.  Why not start a Backyard Kids Club that meets once a week?  As you attract the children you may find the nucleus for a new Adult Small Group.

Whatever choice you make for the kids – be sure you are intentional in making sure their needs are met and that you are reaching out to your community.

Jenni Carter is a state Sunday School/Small Group missionary for the Georgia Baptist Convention, specializing in children’s ministry. www.gabaptistgroups.org

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A Hybrid Approach

By Steve McNeil · Comments (1)
Saturday, August 15th, 2015

hybrid_diagAs we have seen in previous posts, defining the purpose of your group ministry and your individual group is critical to a healthy group environment.  One of the primary goals of any group (Sunday School or Small Group) is to get people into a group.

Life change can better take place if a person is in a group rather than not in a group.  Which is better? Sunday School or Small Groups?  How about they are both a great way to engage people in a process of life change and a process of helping the person learn and experience what it means to love God and love their neighbor!  God can use either and both.  Francis and Howerton present this idea very well in their book.  It is better to offer both types of groups so that people can have a choice based on their schedule, lifestyle and past experiences (preference).

There is generally a generational break between what younger people desire and older people desire. The builder generation was brought up in Sunday School classes and they have enjoyed Bible Study, fellowship, care groups and yes even reaching people for Christ through their groups.  Younger people gravitate toward a group that meets in an informal environment, a home, coffee shop etc.  Why? That is for another day.

I have watched as church leaders move their church from a Sunday School model to a Small Group model.  Often this is done based on perceptions and the belief that this is “the direction of the future.” Many who attend church have a personal preference in these 2 models because of their past experiences.  To move in a direction where you only offer one model you could be eliminating some people from participating who desire to be in a group, but now their preferred style is not available.  It is usually the Sunday School model that is eliminated. Why? That too is for another day.

Often churches have an existing Sunday School ministry and the people who attend benefit from it.  They have grown up in that model and they actually like it.  To remove that ministry from the life of the church then creates a void in the life of those who appreciate it.  Removing Sunday School potentially alienates a group of people in the life of the church who are probably not going to participate in the “new focus of home groups.”

Some churches struggle with space issues.  They simply have too many people for the space provided in the Sunday School model.  Starting home groups is a great way to continue to get people into groups when you are out of space but you can’t do that unless you are offering both models.

Sunday School has strengths, Home Groups have strengths and they both have weaknesses as well (again another day).  As leaders in the church we need to take advantage of any means we have to get people into a group where they can grow, learn, relate, be challenged, minister together and be on mission with Christ and His church.

Use what space you have to build a Sunday School ministry and then find the pioneers in your church who have a desire to take the Gospel to their homes, schools and work place.  Start groups in church and out, but start groups and get people to participate in them in both places. “Go Hybrid.”

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Do You Really Care About The Environment?

By Dr. Tim S. Smith · Comments (0)
Friday, August 14th, 2015

One of my many “pet peeves” is littering.  It really gets under my skin when I see someone throwing trash out of their car.  The reason is that I value our environment; I value God’s creation.  I feel the same way when I see a church or a Sunday School classroom that doesn’t value their environment.download

When I see a church building and/or a Sunday School classroom that is not well cared for it screams, “these people don’t care!”  It doesn’t take money to clean up a classroom.  It doesn’t require much to simply freshen up the place.  The condition of your classroom says a lot about the members and it also preaches a loud message to guests.  Schedule a clean up day and throw away the junk.

Think about how you set up the classroom.  The first step is to determine what will be the focal wall in the classroom.  I usually use the wall opposite of the entrance doorway.  By using this as the focal wall it does not draw attention to others as they enter the room.  By using the back wall as the focal wall it puts everyone’s back to the door and also limits the number of distractions for the group.

The way you set up also says a lot about the group and the methods used in teaching.  My preference is smaller half circles of 3to4 per group.  I like to use this method because in encourages group discussion and its not so large that it overwhelms the participants.  I’m presently using this approach with a class that is meeting in the fellowship hall and I’ve set up the chairs in 9 groups with no more than 8 chairs in each group.  If you use this method you can either use tables for the groups or not.  We just simply don’t have the space to make this happen.

If you are more accustom to lecture then more than likely your classroom will be set up with the chairs in rows.  In my opinion it is not ideal and you need to understand that this set up does not lend itself to group discussion and interaction.  Don’t frustrate your self and your class expecting more discussion in classroom set up in rows.

Another classroom set up is having the chairs set up in a semi-circle or a complete circle.  The complete circle makes the group experience bout the group but it can be difficult to break into that type of group.  The semi-circle usually has chair in the large opening for the teacher and this again makes the focus of the group on the teacher.  Both of these set ups do encourage dialogue, interaction and discussion.

Whatever method you use in setting up the chairs in the classroom I would only encourage you not to get too confortable with it.  I’ve alsways tried to vary the room set up to aid in the goal of the Bible study.  I’ve even hid the chairs from one Sunday School class and they had to stand for the entire time during Sunday School.  That was over 15 years ago and they still remember the lesson.

 

Dr. Smith serves as a state missionary with the Georgia Baptist Convention and is the Sunday School/Small Groups Specialist.  Visit their website at gabaptist.org/groups for more information and other resources to aid your Sunday School or small group ministry.  You can also connect with Dr. Smith at gabaptistgroups.org, facebook.com/GABaptistGroups or twitter.com/GABaptistGroups.

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The Leader’s Spiritual Gifts Affect What Happens In Groups

By Mark Donnell · Comments (0)
Thursday, August 13th, 2015

coffee mugA Bible study group met in a home to study how various ministries should work in the body of Christ. One member commented, “I don’t understand how different gifts can work together.”

At that moment a woman accidentally dropped her cup, which broke and spilled coffee all over the floor. Each group member responded differently to the mishap, according to their spiritual gifts:

The teacher gave some advice.  “Next time if you will put your cup on the coffee table, that won’t happen again.”

The administrator responded by organizing a clean-up committee. “Bill, please go find a mop. Sally, could you help him with a towel?”

Bill, who had the gift of service, hurried to get the mop.

Sally, who had the gift of helps, followed Bill and said, “I’ll help you!”

The person with the gift of exhortation said, “We all make mistakes so don’t let it get you down.”

The person with the gift of mercy put her arm around the woman, patted her hand and said, “I feel so badly for you.”

The person with the gift of giving exclaimed, “I’ll buy a new set of coffee mugs to replace the broken one!”

They all used their various gifts together to resolve the situation.

A spiritual gift can be defined as “an individual manifestation of grace from the Father that enables you to serve Him and thus play a vital role in His plan for the redemption of the world” (Ken Hemphill, Serving God: Discovering and Using Your Spiritual Gifts Workbook, p. 22.).  It is not a special ability that one develops on their own like a skill or a talent.  It is important to choose group leaders with the group purpose in mind, because the group will ultimately begin to take on the characteristics of the group leader. The goal of a group leader is to discover how God in His grace has gifted them for service and to lead others in the same joy of discovery.

According to the book, “Countdown: Launching & Leading Transformational Groups,” the prime candidates for group leaders are those with one of the speaking gifts:

  • Prophecy – proclaiming the Word of God boldly in order to build up the body and lead to conviction of sin. (Romans 12:6)
  • Teaching – instructing people in the truths and doctrines of God’s Word for the purpose of building up, unifying, and maturing the body. (Romans 12:7)
  • Shepherding – looking out for the spiritual welfare of others. (Mark 6:34)
  • Exhortation – encouraging and motivating members to be involved in and enthusiastic about, the work of the Lord. (Romans 12:8)

Groups will tend to take on the characteristics of the leaders gifts.  However it is important that all of these ministries be carried out.  So other group members will need to be enlisted to cover them, much like our little story at the beginning.  When recruiting leaders to help accomplish the ministries of the group, recruit people to a vision, not just a job description.  Help them to understand how their service will help the group accomplish God’s purposes.

 

Mark Donnell serves as the Small Group Sunday School/Discipleship Specialist for the Missouri Baptist Convention in Jefferson City, Missouri.

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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.

______________

Clyde Kakiuchi

Leadership Development Director

Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention

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