Small Group World

05.27.10

Overlooked Small Group Essentials III... The Importance of Taking into Account Your Group Members Lifestyles

Remember this… Small groups are made up of fellow followers of Christ who do more than just go to gatherings of the church and involvement in whatever your group is doing. Most of them have jobs (and some of them work 60 hours or more per week), some of them have the most exhausting job of all, taking care of kids and a house and meals and paying bills, etc…, others of them have committed themselves to other important organizations like Habitat for Humanity or a local soup kitchen or an organization that helps teenage mothers who are pregnant, etc… a few of them have aged parents they care for or grandchildren they are forced to raise. Bottom line… In today’s culture, many of our group members are pushed and pulled in many, many directions which makes the way we do group something to consider.

If you want to see your group members grow and flourish you may want to consider a few of the following suggestions.:

Wwhen you sense that most of your group members are overwhelmed, cancel a meeting giving them a night to rest. A few may push back. They may believe it “unholy” to miss “bible study.” Remind them that “sabbathing” is an important aspect of the Christian life.
If your group is made up of mostly young couples you probably already have childcare in place. When your group needs to rest their minds and just hang out, have your childcare people come to the home where the group meets as they always do, but the adults in the group should just go to supper or bowling or to a movie together. Be sure to alert the person/persons doing childcare that the group is going to be longer than normal then pay them accordingly.
Do a bible study on the importance of the Sabbath, reminding them and giving them permission to say no to everything one day a week to rest. I assure you… some will say that they just can’t. Ask them to join the experiment with you. Process the experience at the next meeting. If they continue to Sabbath weekly, they will learn to plan to accomplish everything in six days and will find great meaning and fulfillment in following God’s directive. Not only that, they’ll have better attitudes and enjoy life like they may never have before.
Utilize a new system for doing group. I worked with a church made up of very busy people that utilized the following cycle for doing group. The first week of the month the entire group came together for a normal group meeting. The second week of the month the men did something social (bowling, going to a sports event, etc…) while the wives watched the children in their own homes. The men were expected to invite an unbeliever to join them. The third week of the month the group met for a normal group meeting. The fourth week of the month the women did something social while the men watched the children in their homes. The women were expected to invite an unbeliever to join them. The fifth week of the month everyone came together for a cookout or went out to dinner, etc… and invited the unbelievers they connected with the second or fourth week of the month. This system created more meaningful relationships, elevated and made for more effective evangelism, while continuing to create fully devoted followers of Christ.

Your group members run hard. Be creative and make their lives easier by interrupting their running so they can breathe. I assure you, it will make your group healthier both physically and spiritually.