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).
- When serving becomes a ministry, we are learning to make it simple.
- When service is a value, we are making it a priority.
B. To gain long-term traction…
- Service must be anchored in the strategic language of your church. (at North Point, they often say, “Relationships fuel service and serving fuels relationships)
- 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.
- This allows us to leverage our resources to help our partners go further, faster.
- 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.
