Tag: missional

Serving as a small group

Screen Shot 2012-11-19 at 10.13.39 AM

I attended the ReGroup conference at North Point this year. I decided to post some of the notes. To see all of them, click HERE.

Introduction

It’s clear in Scripture that God’s heart tips toward the orphan, the widow, the poor, the imprisoned, and the brokenhearted. But how – with the urgency of our weekly responsibilities – do we ensure that serving our community and showing compassion to those in need are priorities? And how do we make it simple for our groups? We will share how we’re learning to make this an integral part of our ministry.

I. How are compassion and service integrated into your church’s strategy?

A. We must manage the tension between serving as a ministry (what we do) and service as a value (how we do it).

  1. When serving becomes a ministry, we are learning to make it simple.
  2. When service is a value, we are making it a priority.
B. To gain long-term traction…
  1. Service must be anchored in the strategic language of your church. (at North Point, they often say, “Relationships fuel service and serving fuels relationships)
  2. You must have a mechanism for mobilizing people to serve.

II. What is the role of compassion and service in groups?

A. We must manage the tension between mobilizing groups to serve and equipping groups for effective service.
B. When we mobilize and equip, people will do good well.
C. We want to move people from awareness to engagement to identity. (see groupleaders.org/berich for an example of what they’re doing this season.)

III. How will you make serving a priority in your groups?

A. We must manage the tension between finding engaging service opportunities and meeting the real needs of our communities.
B. We partner; we don’t pioneer. To non-profits they say: We need you, and you need us.
  1. This allows us to leverage our resources to help our partners go further, faster.
  2. Partnering instead of pioneering multiplies our influence in the community.

Conclusion

Our mission is to point people to the One who transforms, and it is the most important mision in the world. Service is a catalyst to this transformation, and the transformation is multiplied when we serve in and as a community. As a result, it is incumbent upon us to equip and mobilize groups to serve in astrategic and helpful ways – to make it simple and make it a priority.
 

Outside the Box, Rick Howerton

Earlier this month, we put on a missions conference for small group leaders at Grace, and other churches in the Clarksville, TN community.  It was a success, for sure.  The video below is fairly long, but I think it’s worth your time.  It’s Rick Howerton speaking on missional small groups.

Outside the Box, Rick Howerton from Ben Reed on Vimeo.

 

Missional DOES NOT = Comfortable

Being missional is God’s charge to the Church.  And being comfortable isn’t part of that plan.

For the whole sermon, click HERE.

 

Outside the Box

I don’t know about you, but I tend to box myself in.  I find something that works, then stick with that plan 100% until I have completely run it into the ground.

And that’s not a good thing.

When it comes to serving in ministry, “boxes” are helpful, but should constantly be evaluated…and burned if necessary.

That’s why I’m offering, for free, a leadership training event called “Outside the Box.”  I’ve created the event to help us think outside of the normal way of operating.  To not accept mediocre.  To push for excellence.  And to not rely on yesterday’s ideas to accomplish today’s problems.  Because yesterday’s ideas worked really well….yesterday.

In order to continue to grow as a ministry at Grace Community Church, we need to think outside the box.

Especially when it comes to the idea of being missional.

Here is the lineup of speakers:

Kenny York – Kenny is launching a new ministry in Clarksville to minister to the homeless.  Instead of asking the homeless to come to a centralized location…he’s going to them, bringing hot meals to where they are.  You can read more about Manna Cafe Ministries HERE.

Ryan Chappalear – Ryan is Founder/International Director of Africa for Jesus.  Ryan, and the way he has led AFJ to plant churches and train local pastors in Africa, has changed the way I think about international missions.  You can read about the ministry that Ryan leads HERE.

Rick Howerton – Rick is one of the premier leaders in the small-group movement. Having facilitated an untold number of small-group journeys over the last 17 years, his passion is contagious. This guy honestly believes that small groups can and will change the world!  He blogs HERE.

This event is designed for our small group leaders (and volunteers) at Grace Community Church.  If you lead a small group but you don’t go to Grace, we’d still love to have you!  Just call the church office at 931-647-6800 and ask for Ben Reed.

Hope to see you there!

 

© 2024

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑