August 2003 pt.2 letter to small group leaders
from Bill Christensen, Small Groups Pastor


Dear friends,

You are getting this email - now the third one - in a shorter span of time because I believe the things I’ve been talking about are important for you and me, the groups we lead, and for the church. I wrote first a few weeks ago about the impact of our regular prayer for the people in our small groups. As you may remember, prayer for those individuals under our care is one of the top three reasons that groups are healthy and grow. Another key component is you, the leader, having vibrant and daily communication with God by practicing the discipline of daily devotion. Rhodie’s note to you last week ably communicated this.

The third factor that influences the health and growth of our groups is goal setting. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint” (King James reads, “Where there is no vision the people perish”). Vision and goals are worthless if we just think them up on our own. Biblical vision is fired by revelation, the heart and plans of God communicated to us by the scriptures and His Holy Spirit.

It seems to me that we who are called as God’s children to lead can reasonably expect Him to speak to us and give us vision as we daily fellowship with Him in our devotions and as we pray regularly for our group members. In addition, there are tools available to you, such as the Spiritual Development Inventory, that you can use to discern areas of growth for your group. Also, the Discipleship Resource Catalog can give you suggestions as you set goals for specific areas of growth among your group. Both the Spiritual Development Inventory and the Resource Catalog are available online. by going to resources/small group resources and/or in hardcopy at the small group leadership resource shelf at the back left corner of the church bookstore.

Another important aspect of goal-setting in your group is leadership development. For many of you, my hunch is that you can tap into the resource of your group members by having them share the load of leadership and service in the group. Who can you ask to help you organize your members (preparing a phone and email list, organizing snacks, one to organize regular group outreach activities, etc.?) Who has a pastoral heart and doesn't simply notice the number who of people who regularly come, but the ones who have missed and follows up? Who could be your right-hand man or woman who you could call on to lead Bible study or prayer ministry from time to time? These are the people you can envision and enlist into greater shared responsibility. You see, we must give opportunities to others to serve, thus giving them the joy of receiving strength and help from the Lord as they are stretched!

Often the joy that God gives in serving is unexpected. Just last spring, Dotty and I decided that it was time for the small group leaders training group to be hosted elsewhere. Mike and Terri McGlothlin volunteered to host. When we met and discussed their hosting, they were somewhat frightened, not having ever done this before. As I prayed, I sensed that their willingness to serve was going to yield some good gift from the Father to them. Well, Mike and Terri did an awesome job hosting. There home was a place of peace, warmth and hospitality to all in the training group. I could tell that they were enriched by the experience. That would have been enough, but something else happened that was very special. After just a few weeks, the McGlothlins shared their joy with the group when they announced they were expecting their first baby! You know, it truly is impossible to outgive, outserve or outlove Jesus! We have been given the special role of inviting those in our groups into various places of service so that they too can be stretched and resourced by Him!

One very important goal I would like to ask all of you to pray about and respond to concerns the training of new small group leaders. This past year, God has generously given our church a lot of excellent new small group leaders, but we need many more again this year. Would you please take some time to pray and think over each person in your group? Among them, who has stepped into some level of service, such as leading your group in Bible study, ministry time, or some other form of service? It is this type of person the Lord may be calling to be trained and to lead his/her own small group - I’d like to know who this person is!

If you believe the Lord is highlighting someone in your group for leadership, please speak with this person right away and share with them why you believe the Lord has prepared them for leadership. Ask them whether or not they, too, believe the Lord is calling them to lead a group of their own and if so, invite them to consider participating in our Small Group Leadership Training this Fall. Then, forward their name and contact information to me as soon as possible by replying to this email. One of us on the Small Group pastoral team will give them a call to discuss the training. By the way, our training groups are eight weeks long and will be held on Thursday nights and Saturday mornings. The Thursday night group begins September 11 and our Saturday morning group begins September 13.

Blessings to you as you spend time with Jesus… pray for your group members and set goals for this year!

Yours,

Bill