Life Group Leaders Weekly
WEEK THREE (February 4 - February 10)
OUR MISSION
TO CULTIVATE
"MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS CENTERED ON GOD'S WORD AND PRAYER"
LIFE GROUP UPDATE
Greetings Life Group Leaders!
I have been encouraged to hear so many of you share how your group is growing together. For that I praise God! Keep up the good work, leaders!
As you move into week three, I invite you to once again consider Our Mission. Let me provide you with a universal truth - "Mission Creep" is real! Mission creep is the idea that despite articulating a mission or vision over time it will turn into something else. In the context of groups, we can eventually find ourselves spending the majority of our time on meaningful issues like: answering all the questions (this is a big one), evangelism, discipleship, or issues in our society and world. Good leadership is not as much about choosing between a good choice and a bad choice as it is choosing between two good choices. Everything I mentioned above is important, but ensure that your group is spending its time on what matters MOST to group time - "To cultivate meaningful relationships centered on God's Word and Prayer."
A Note on "Group Care" - Just a reminder that if people in your groups find themselves in the hospital, moving, or going through transition, mobilize your group to care for one another - make meals, make hospital visits, send letters of encouragement, and do all the kind of things a family would do! This will bless you, and them, richly! Nothing will expedite growth as a group as meeting legitimate needs for one another in the context of Christian love and service.
Also, remember that everything you need can be found on the First CRC Leaders page. That is there for YOU!
Let's get into the logistics for this week...
In Christ,
Pastor Justin
TIP OF THE WEEK!
THIS WEEK'S TIP OF THE WEEK - "Your Most Important Role as a Life Group Leader - PRAYER!"
If you read nothing else today, please read this! I have written up an article in your Planning Center entitled "The Most Important Job as a Life Group Leader - Prayer." It should recall for you what we talked about in our Life Group training. The essence of it is in the title. Please take a moment to look that over. It is definitely worth the time. You might even want to read through the last section entitled "Life Group Tips on Group Prayer" to your group...
To see the full document, click the link below to go to our RESOURCES tab:
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. Remember that you are a TEAM! Lean on one another.
2) DRINKS WHEN PEOPLE ARRIVE
3) NAMETAGS - This might be helpful for one more week for the sake of your newcomers. Learning one new name is easy for most of your group. Learning 10-14 new names is hard for a newcomer.
4) COVENANTS - Week 3 is finally here. This is the week that you get your group to sign the Life Group Covenant. Remember to use the last page of the Leaders Covenant: One page for all participants to collectively sign.
Hosts, consider keeping this covenant visible each week. Laminate it, put it in a picture frame, or lay it next to the coffee pot each week as participants arrive as a visible reminder of our collective commitment.
GOALS FOR THE GROUP MEETING
- Build Relationships! Continue to provide ample social time for group members to mingle and to get to know one another. Consider 15 minutes at the very beginning with a 5 minute call out to give folks time to transition to group study time.
- Discuss Homework - Remember the techniques on how to ask questions. See the Planning Center Resources for helpful tips. This is a good time to explain the MISSION of Life Groups. That will help answer questions such as: Why are we doing these questions? Why is the homework so important?
- Prayer - Remember to make time for what matters most! Either be committed to watching the clock and ensuring there is enough time for prayer, or do what some groups do and pray immediately after social time to make sure it's a priority.
- Finalize Planning For Service Projects & Socials
IMPORTANT DATES AND ANNOUCEMENTS
COVENANTS:
- If you haven't done so, please sign those covenants this week.
ATTENDANCE ROSTERS:
- Heather has asked me to give a big "THANK YOU!" to all the groups. You are doing a great job getting those rosters in. Keep up the good work!
LEADERS WEBPAGE:
- Remember that the "Leader Tools" web page is available to you always. There are lots of resources there, along with the most recent "Life Group Leaders Weekly." Be sure to check it out each week. Simply go to: http://hanfordcrc.org/lifegroups/leader-tools
SERVE & SOCIALS:
- Your SERVE projects should be finalized.
- If you haven't done so already, begin talking about SOCIAL event ideas
- Talk to your group about the Serve/Social contest for a chance to win the $250 gift card to Fugazzi's
FEEDBACK FORMS:
- none this week.
THIS WEEK in our Sermon Series "The Acceptable Sins of Christians"
Philippians 4:10-20
Title:
"Discontent"
LIFE GROUP LEADER SERMON GUIDE NOTES & AUDIO - From Julie Mendes
- A PDF and Leader Audio is on our "Life Group Leaders Page" website.
- Nancy will also print off hard copies of these and place them in your mailbox.
- The link to the leaders page is also below:
SERVE/SOCIALS
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 (we will only be able to see the posts with the proper hashtag link). 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 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 and audios 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/