Life Group Leaders Weekly
WEEK EIGHT (November 5 - 11)
OUR MISSION
"TO CULTIVATE MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS CENTERED ON GOD'S WORD AND PRAYER"
LIFE GROUP UPDATE
Greetings Leaders!
It's week 8 which means there are only a few weeks left before the spring semester of Life Groups draw to a close. Over the next couple of weeks you have a couple of housekeeping items you'll need to attend to. I will highlight them below. Please take the time to read through them as these details are essential to us as Coordinators in keeping the Life Group program a key component of First CRC ministry. I've got five important dates and announcements for you this week.
Let's jump right into it!
Pastor Justin
"COORDINATORS SPECIAL" - IMPORTANT DATES & REMINDERS
1. SAVE THE DATES!
A. Last week of Life Groups: November 19-25
B. Spring Groups Sign-Ups: Sundays - January 7, 14, 21
C. Spring ESSENTIALS Training "Lite": Saturday, January 13th
At our last Fall training I had one new leader come up to me and say, '[During Life Group Essentials Training], I loved our group discussion time!' We love it that our new leaders can learn from all of you, so even if you've done the training 2-3 times, we hope you can help us continue to cultivate an environment of peer-to-peer learning for the future of this Life Group ministry!
D. Spring Semester:
- Week One - January 21-27
- Week Two - January 28-February 3
- Week Three - February 3-10
- Week Four - February 11-17
- Week Five - February 18-24
- Week Six - February 25-March 3
- Week Seven - March 4-10
- Week Eight - March 11-17
- Week Nine - March 18-24
2. SPRING LIFE GROUP SERMON SERIES - "THE ACCEPTABLE SINS OF CHRISTIANS"
Next semester we will start a brand new series on sins Christians tend to accept. Think for example: If a committed Christ-follower cheated on their taxes, we would talk to them about it. If they murdered someone, we would turn them in. But if they gossip or complain - we might let them do that for the rest of their life with no rebuke or confrontation. Why are some sins "acceptable" among Christ's followers? This series will tackle some of the sins that we seem to accept as normal. The series will challenge us to submit every area of our lives to Christ - even ones that are "acceptable" to most Christians.
3. FEEDBACK FORMS:
In your church mailbox is an envelope with a cover letter, feedback forms, and a roster sheet. In week 9 (November 12-18) you will walk your group through filling out the feedback form. Please, please, please give your group time to fill it out that night. Avoid the temptation to simply hand them out for group members to fill out on their own time. Some groups have done that in the past and we had to chase down a lot of individuals which made for lots of extra work.
So please take note: Disperse AND collect them that same night, put them in an envelope, and hand them in at the office (or Nancy's mailbox) by no later than Sunday, November 19th.
Also, have your group members verify that we have their current address and phone number by using the roster sheet that is in your envelope and add that into the envelope as well.
4. LEADING/HOSTING IN THE SPRING:
Many of you have already responded letting us know your plans for the spring. We are so delighted that many of you are planning to lead once more. We know the incredible commitment of time and energy it requires to lead and host a group, so we are incredibly grateful for your hard work and dedication to ensuring First CRC is a place where people can have meaningful relationships centered on God's Word and Prayer. It is only possible because of you. THANK YOU!
If you haven't let us know your plans yet, please give me an email or call by or before Friday, November 3rd.
6. FAITH/WORKS WALL:
As I shared with you last week, we are going to have our Faith/Works Wall up this Sunday and for the rest of November!
Part of our Faith/Works sermon series and the Thanksgiving season upon us, a few of us on staff thought it would be neat to have a wall in the social hall where we can write notes of encouragement to one another. In this way, the outworking of their faith becomes a visible encouragement, not just to them, but to our entire church body. I want to encourage you to start thinking about the men and women in your group who, when you see them serving, you are encouraged in faith.
We learn in Hebrews 10:24-25 - "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works...encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
That is the desired outcome of this project. So start thinking about that and be prepared this Sunday to write their names on the wall.
Also, take a look at the video we made to highlight this to the congregation...
THINGS TO REMEMBER
1) LEADER/HOST TANDEMS - Remember that you are encouraged to meet together as a Leader/Host team each week independently of group time for planning, mutual encouragement, and post-group meeting evaluation. This week be sure to talk together about your future plans as Leaders and Hosts.
2) DRINKS WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVE
3) GREET YOUR GUESTS AT THE DOOR
4) COVENANTS - Please keep the group covenant in a place where the whole group can see it. Consider putting it in a picture frame right next to the coffee pot as a visual reminder of your collective commitment to the group.
GOALS FOR THE GROUP MEETING
- Build Relationships
- Discuss Homework
- Prayer
IMPORTANT DATES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
ATTENDANCE ROSTERS:
- You're doing awesome! Keep it up!
SERVICE & SOCIALS:
- Knowing there are only a few weeks left, be sure to talk to your group about the Serve/Social contest for a chance to win the $250 gift card to Fugazzi's! We will do the grand draw on Wednesday, November 29th. All pictures and social media posts (#CRCLIFEGROUPS) need to be made before that date to count.
- The envelope is in your church mailbox. Do this with your group on week nine.
TEAM HUDDLE:
- Consider who in your group might make an excellent leader/host for future groups. Next week we are going to ask you to recommend a leader/host. It only takes one minute to fill out. The link is attached below.
THIS WEEK
James 5:1-7
Title:
"A Warning to Rich Oppressors"
LIFE GROUP SERMON GUIDE NOTES - From Julie Mendes
Hi everyone! Attached you will find a PDF of this week's "Life Group Leaders Guide." This can also be found on our website on the "Life Group Leaders Page." Finally, Nancy will print off a guide for you and place it in your church mailbox each week.
Also, we have intentionally made it an audio format so that you can listen to it on the road or during your lunch break. Simply click the clovermedia link below or go to the Life Group Leaders webpage on our website to access that file.
Enjoy!
SERVE/SOCIALS
HAVE IDEAS FOR FUTURE SERVE PROJECTS?
Even though the Spring semester is still months away, now is the time to start looking at future serve projects and you are invited to take part! Have ideas? Here are the basic requirements for an eligible CRC Life Group service project:
Time:
- Ideally a 2-3 hour block
- Monday through Friday from 5pm-8:30pm
- Saturdays 8am-8:30pm
Type of Accepted Project:
- As "Plug and Play" as possible (I.E. No tools or specialized skills required)
- No care package projects
- No cost to Life Group participants
- Ideally for all ages (L.G. parents can bring their children along)
Organizational Focus:
- We believe 'God placed us here, not somewhere else' so we want to pick Christian or value neutral non-profits that are meeting needs in Hanford and Kings County.
- We believe 'Credibility is earned, not assumed.' Therefore we will seek to earn the favor of agencies we are working with to ensure we do good work in our community.
- We believe 'The local church is God's plan A for Kingdom mission and there is no plan B.' Therefore, we want to be part of mission projects that tie Word and Deed together for the glory of God.
- We believe 'Loving our neighbors is knowing our neighbors' so we will be careful to engage in ministries where we can rub shoulders with those we seek to serve (i.e. no care packages to africa).
Ideas? I want to hear them!
Based on the above information, if you have ideas for future serve projects, please email me within the next two weeks with information. I will need from you:
- Contact information from the agency (name, address, phone number, email)
- General times they are seeking for us to serve (season, month, days of week)
- Possibly an indication from you as to why this would make an idea service project for our Life Groups.
Thanks everyone!
CONTEST - #CRCLIFEGROUPS
Leaders and Hosts, as you meet with your teams to complete your service projects and social events, be sure to take lots of pictures and videos! After that, here are two more things you can do:
- Send your pics and videos to Heather Thomas at: hnthomas.2002@gmail.com, and
- Post your pics and videos on Facebook with the hashtag #CRCLifeGroups. Also, be sure to express why you love your Life Group in the post.
Once all 10 groups have completed their service projects we will do a random draw for every individual email with videos/pictures to Heather and social media interaction from your group (max of 2 per individual).
The winner will receive a $250 gift card to Fugazi's for your entire Life Group for a group social event.
Share the news with your team!!!
The Life Group Coordinator Team
Sharon Johnson
Amy Breslow
Amy manages all training events along with Life Group promotions and sign-ups
Julie Mendes
Julie makes sure the homework guides are prepared for your weekly Life Group gatherings.
Heather Thomas
Web Manager
Heather will run the Life Group webpage and manage the 'Service' and 'Socials' aspect of Life Groups.
LIFE GROUPS
Pastor Justin
Justin will work with the team to carry out the vision of First CRC and will assist Coordinators in their respective tasks and objectives.
About Us
Email: hanfordcrc@comcast.net
Website: www.hanfordcrc.org
Location: 2175 Leoni Drive, Hanford, CA, United States
Phone: (559) 582-4423
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HanfordCRC/