So, do you have a Facebook account? How about a Pinterest account? Instagram? Twitter?
All of these social media options are great for building community, which is exactly what your small group is about. And If you don’t have accounts with these social media channels, what are you waiting for? They’re free and they’re fun!
Consider just a few of these ideas:
· Facebook. Planning a small group activity or have you just had one? Maybe your group served together in a ministry or you helped out one of your members. Post some photos · or a quick paragraph about it on your Facebook account. And, create an album for your small group photos. Be sure to tag all of your group members in photos. Your friends will learn more about you and your small group so when you invite them to visit the group they’ll already be interested. And, your small group can enjoy the photos.
· Or, create a private Facebook group where only your group members can participate. You can continue the conversation from the meeting, add new ideas or links to resources, or even post a YouTube video that you think is an interesting addition to the discussion.
· “Friend” us at Saddleback Small Groups on Facebook. Then add a post about your small group with a photo or two so that other small groups can learn from your group. You’ll spark a conversation between groups and your group could just help a group that is trying to solve a problem.
· Twitter is not a very local channel, but you can still use it for your group. Get each member of your group to start a Twitter account and follow each other. Be sure to link your Twitter account to your Facebook page. Then tweet about small group activities and they’ll appear in both Facebook and Twitter. As you learn new things in your small group, or the group takes a great new step of faith, tweet it out! Your world needs to hear about it. And you’ll be helping other people discover the wonderful things about being in a small group.
· Instagram. Use Instagram several ways. It’s a great tool to attach photos from your smartphone to your tweets, to Flickr, to Tumblr or to Facebook. You can also email them to others. Shoot a pic of a page in a small group study book in which you have circled a key point, or a photo of your group doing an activity like eating or talking or just meeting. Then modify it with any of Instagram’s cool filters and then send it out with Twitter or post it on Facebook.
· Pinterest. You can “pin” (upload) pictures to your bulletin board for people to comment on. Like Instagram, Pinterest is all about images – graphics, photos, etc. So, capture your small group, capture your small group thoughts or ideas, inspirational faith quotes, Bible verses or experiences (visually, of course), and pin them on your Pinterest board. Example, if your small group has a summer picnic - create a board called summer fun and search the term "summer picnic" in the tool bar. You will see images of decor, food, activities... Pin those to the board! (Many ideas courtesy of Crystal Hansen.) Others will see them and pin to their boards too! You’ll get great ideas from others who comment, your group can enjoy the images, and you’ll be exposing other people to the awesomeness of small groups! For a quick tutorial on using Pinterest, read more here.
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1. Google Drive – the perfect way to share a list that everyone can work on at the same time, create a form that your members can use to sign up for food or serving, provide a copy of your small group guidelines or other group documents for everyone. Google Drive lets you create spreadsheets or documents or upload existing ones and even PDFs.
2. Skype – if members of your group travel occasionally, have them Skype in to your group instead of missing the meeting. Probably one member of your group has an iPad or smartphone with a camera. Just have them install Skype (it’s free!), do a quick setup and voila – your remote small group member is now present via video. Facetime is another way to do that using an Apple device.
3. Zoom – a great way to have a video conference with members of your group. Why would you want to do that? Easy: to plan an upcoming meeting, a serving project, or a potential new study - between meetings, without needing to gather everyone in the same place at the same time. How cool is that? Maybe you want to “hangout” between meetings but members live too far from each other. Zoom together!
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Some people just don’t want to sing. Some people don’t want to hear other people sing. But worship isn’t just about singing. Here are some ideas on how to bring worship into your small group:
• Find a beautiful spot in nature and meet there. Go to Heisler Park, Emerald Vista Point, Julian, Idylwild, Torrey Pines, Angeles Crest Highway, or just go to your favorite, quiet beach. Then gather everyone together and read Psalm 46 out loud. Ask people to think about verse 10 and then spend 10-30 minutes (your choice) walking or sitting to just “be still and know that I am God.” You can follow that by using Talk It Over! to discuss the weekend’s message as the study portion of your meeting. Afterwards, finish with food with a group picnic or at a local restaurant.
• Read a chapter from Psalms out loud. Have each person read one verse and then stop after each verse for 5-10 seconds while the group thinks about what was read. After the chapter has been completely read, have the group discuss what they liked about the experience or what verse particularly spoke to them.
• Listen to music. Some of the most beautiful are instrumental praise songs. Just put in a CD or a DVD and play two songs and ask the group to just quiet their minds, listen to the music and think about God. You can suggest that people can even pray while the music plays, if they have trouble just sitting and listening. After the music is finished, ask a few questions – Which song did you like best? What was going through your mind while the music was playing?
• Play some music for the group that you wouldn’t normally listen to – country gospel, hip hop praise, traditional hymns, classical music (think, Handel’s Messiah), or worship songs sung by mainstream music artists.
• Play a spoken word video from YouTube for the group. Go to YouTube and search for videos on “Christian spoken word.” Then find one that intrigues you and play it for the group. Spoken word is simply spoken poetry. Afterwards, ask different people in your group to share what they thought about what was said in the video.
• Take communion together. Make it a special moment with soft praise music in the background, a table with tablecloth and candle, round bread loaf and small cups of grape juice. Ask someone to read 1 Corinthians 11:23-30. Pray. Follow some easy directions here.
• Look at religious art. Most of the world’s greatest paintings from famous artists (Michelangelo, Raphael, da Vinci, Rubens, Botticelli) were commissioned by the church to help people worship God. Find some of those famous paintings in a book or online. Spend a few minutes as a group looking at each image and discussing what you see about God in each picture or sculpture. There may also be a local exhibit that your group can visit together. Some examples from years past are an exhibit of religious iconography at the Getty museum and the Dead Sea Scrolls at the Natural History Museum in San Diego. These exhibits are now gone but a quick search online might find similar exhibits.
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If you haven't been to Leader Training 1, which is our basic training for small group Hosts and co-Hosts, consider going. We encourage everyone in small groups to learn more about how to have a healthy and growing small group.
And, if you haven't completed membership with Saddleback Church, this is the perfect time. See the schedule below to select your best time to take CLASS 101. Click on the time for location specifics and to register.
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Leader Training 1 |
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Online and Lake Forest |
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Sun, Mar 3, 9-11 am |
Register Here |
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Thurs, Mar 21, 7-9 pm |
Register Here |
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Irvine |
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Sat, Mar 9, 9-11 am |
Register Here |
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Leader Training 2 - Reconciliation |
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Online and Lake Forest |
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Sun, Mar 24, 9-11 am |
Register Here |
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CLASS 101 |
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Corona |
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Sun, Mar 3, 1-5 pm |
Register Here |
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Laguna Woods |
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Sat, Mar 2, 8:30-11:30 am |
Register Here |
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Lake Forest - with Pastor Rick & childcare |
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Sat, Mar 9, 8:30 am-1 pm |
Register Here |
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Orange - The Grove |
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Sun, Mar 3, 2-5:30 pm |
Register Here |
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You’ve been hearing about The Bible, the great new television series that Pastor Rick has helped with that starts Sunday, March 3, on the History Channel.
Great news - it is now available as a 5-week small group study.
You can buy copies for your small group at the Celebration Lunch Sunday at 20% off. You must be present at the Celebration Lunch to get this deal and it is only available there.
Or, Saddleback small group Hosts or co-Hosts can purchase it at the Bookstore area at weekend services and get 10% off with a copy of the Small Group Life eNewsletter on their phone or in print.
Here’s an important tip to Hosts: Be sure to have your small group members reimburse you for the cost. A good way to handle this is to add up the cost of all the study guides, plus the cost of the DVD, and divide by the number of people in the group. That’s the cost for each member. Remember, that the law of perceived value says that something is worth what I paid for it, so to get your group to value and commit to this study have them pay their share. Of course, if someone doesn’t wish to purchase the study guide, just bring it back in new and unused condition within a week for reimbursement.
Remember, after the end of the What On Earth Am I Here For study, take the next meeting to celebrate what God has done in your group. We’ll have some ideas for you in next week’s eNewsletter.
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A day before your meeting, spend a few minutes with the study guide. Read the short introduction on pages vi through vii. Then read through the resources on pages 67-73. And then, glance at Week 1 on pages 2-10.
Before your group arrives for your first meeting, think about where everyone will sit. Make sure that you have enough chairs and that people can sit where they can see each other and the tv set where you’ll play the videos.
Just before everyone gets there, put on the coffee or get out the soft drinks or water and glasses.
When people sit down, have everyone tell a little about themselves – where they live, why they came to this study and what they hope to get out of it. Don’t ask anything too personal or uncomfortable, just a little information to help break the ice.
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You agreed to Host a small group at your home. Who’s going to come? And how do you get them interested? How do you get them to come back?
Plan on finding the people for your group, meaning don’t count on getting people sent to your group from the church. This is the most important thing you can learn, and you can do it.
Let’s tick through a bunch of ideas on how to get people for your group:
Who do you know? Make a list of your friends, another list of your local family members, another list of your co-workers, and a list of your neighbors. These are your potential group members.
Invite them personally.
Don’t send an email, or drop a flyer on their doorstep.
Do take a few minutes per person to talk to them. Tell them you’re planning to have a group of friends and neighbors meet at your home at ______ (day of the week) for a six week study examing the question, "What On Earth Am I Here For." Invite them to come. Tell them a little about how you think the study will help you. Then make sure they have your phone number and directions to your home.
Here’s a tip: if you sit in the same area at church at the same service every weekend, invite the people around you. Just ask them, “are you in a small group?” If they so “no,” invite them to come to your group. Some groups have filled their groups with people just this way.
Follow up
Call or visit a few days before your first meeting. Take time to see how they’re doing. Be interested in their life and not just in whether or not they’ll come to your group. Mention that the study is based on the best-selling book by Pastor Rick Warren that has sold 32 million copies worldwide. Then ask if they’ll be able to come.
The first meeting
Help everyone feel comfortable, and help each person get time to talk. If you have talkers and quiet people, ask questions of the quiet people to encourage them to share.
After the first meeting
Send an email to each person, thanking them for being at the first meeting and for being a great part of the group.
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Many small groups are looking for places to serve over the holidays. This year, your small group can be a blessing to others on Thanksgiving.
Here’s how your small group can help:
· Make sure everyone in your small group has somewhere to go for Thanksgiving dinner – especially singles or couples without family in the area. Set extra places at your table and invite them to your house.
· Plan to serve together as a small group on Thanksgiving Day. Serve a Thanksgiving meal at a homeless motel, or pick up and deliver food for homeless events. For more info: contact adam@motelchurch.org.
· Take your small group to help out at Ralphs stores throughout South Orange County as they gather donations for feeding those in need at Thanksgiving. For more info or to sign up go to Bringing Hope to the Table.
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We’ve researched some exceptional tools for your small group.
Great news! They’re all free:
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