Ed Stetzer: Reaching Your Neighbors Through Groups
Groups are at the core of the mission of the church. Small groups, done right, are simply communities on mission together. However, a common struggle of groups comes in participating together as a disciple-making, evangelistic community. One of the easiest ways to use your group as a catalyst for evangelism is to invite your neighbors to your group.
Some people would not think of attending a church service, but would gladly go to a small group meeting where you were either hosting or attending. If they are already active in a local church, affirm them. If they are not, those are the neighbors you can pursue spiritually.
In addition to inviting neighbors to weekly group meetings, here are some practical ways members of a group can work together to reach out to neighbors. With a little forethought and planning, your Bible study group could host an event in your neighborhood with the intent of being on mission together. The members of your group can assist you. And along the way, they’ll discover what it means to live on mission in a community.
I hope these ideas will serve as a jumping off point for many others that work best in your community. Use your own creativity to make welcoming environments where people can connect. Read more
Organic Growth Through Host Groups
Sagebrush Community Church in Albuquerque, N.M., never planned to open a campus in Belize. But Sagebrush discovered a multisite model utilizing home-based host groups that has already launched one additional campus. Read more
Proactive and Reactive Prayer
In a recent post, having noted that the Bible’s prayers are often focused on calling on God to fulfil his promises, I asked the question:
Does your small group spend time praying for God to be active and fulfilling his promises to establish the New Jerusalem?
Our standard operating procedures (“SOPs”) in home groups don’t help us much in this regard. Whilst I love the fact that we share prayer points around the group—it is a great way to express care for each other—which of the following might stand out as a prayer point that would be statistically rare in your group.... Read more
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