Curriculum resource

Here's a curriculum resource you may want to check out. It's a 7 session DVD based curriculum from Ray Vander Laan. I really appreciated his earlier material in That The World May Know, and this seems to be of the same high quality and depth. Check out Walking with God in the Desert here.

Notes from Bill Donahue

In case you missed the last Leadership Development night on 1/30, let me give you the basic idea. Bill Donahue spoke to us on the topic of developing apprentice leaders in our Journey Groups. Our Journey Groups are the most fertile ground for new leaders. This matters because of what we value - people connecting in community so that they grow in their relationships with God and others. Because we value this so strongly, we will be driven to develop new leaders so that more and more people can connect in a Journey Group. Here are the notes I took during Bill's talk. Also, if you haven't picked up your copy of Bill Donahue's book Leading Life Changing Small Groups, stop by the Journey Group booth in the atrium some Sunday and grab one (1 per group). He focuses on this topic in section 3 of the book. It's great stuff!

Unrelated Items

Here are a couple big items from the Journey Group world...

1. I have learned of an opportunity to show love and support to a family in need. The situation is a young mother leaving an unhealthy home with 4 kids (all under the age of 6!). They are living with family so the basics are covered, but they won't have much of a Christmas this year. I'm wondering if one or more of our Journey Groups would/could adopt this family for Christmas. If your group wants to help out, drop me an email or give me a call.
2. Make sure that Saturday, January 8, is highlighted on your calendar for the Mid-year Journey Group Huddle. This will be a key time to come together as a whole team to remember the great importance of what we do as leaders, to be encouraged, and to hone our skills so that we can serve and lead at full impact. Keep an eye out for the e-vite coming soon!

Attractional vs. Missional

At our most recent leadership development session we were talking about these two basic approaches to outreach. Both are easy to identify. Both are even modeled for us in scripture. But which would you say describes the ideal strategy? Attractional is best seen in the crowd affect of Jesus gaining greater and greater numbers attracted to himself as he went public with his message and power. People were drawn to him like a magnet – not just to see the miracles, but to hear the teaching and learn about the kingdom he was powerfully demonstrating. Come and See is a good summary of the attractional model.

Jesus also propelled people away from him in missional ministry. After the 12 had been with him a while, he empowered them to go preach about the kingdom. Missional ministry equips people to go and tell. Go and serve. Take the kingdom everywhere people are who need Jesus.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could harness the power of BOTH. As you look at your ministry – your group – which model are you drawn to? Does your group attract seekers who can be led to faith in Jesus? When you look at the Christians in your group, what potential do you see for equipping those people to take the mission outward from your group.

Take a few minutes to glance through the handout you’ll find here: Leadership Development 11-07-10 Evangelism

Be sure to look ahead at what’s coming up in Jan 2011 between Lee Strobel’s visit to CCC and Easter. Those three months will hold a lot of opportunity for enriching your ministry with attractional and missional evangelistic energy! Get in front of your group with the tools and options Tim has outlined in the handout above. Stay tuned for more details about Lee Strobel, The Jesus Class, Intersections evangelism training and Mark Ashton’s evangelistic message series in March and April.

November Leadership Development

Last night we hosted the Leadership Development for November and it was a great night. I was excited to see so many leaders there and encouraged/challenged by the discussions we had about evangelism in our groups. Tim Perry's notes will be available soon, but I wanted to go ahead and post two resources that we presented to help develop evangelism as a central element in your Journey Group.

One of the resources is the Initiates Interest in the Gospel series of our RISKS material. This 6 session material explores different Biblical metaphors of evangelism (like the sower) and is available for free on our website at http://cccomaha.org/journey-group-resources.php

The other resource is the Intersections material that CCC has developed over the last several years. This training gives you the tools you need to seize opportunities to share your faith and the gospel. We'll be highlighting this more at our mid-year training in January and I would encourage every Journey Group to use the 6 session study at some point between January and May. If you want more info right now, contact Tim Perry at timp@cccomaha.org

Serve Together

One of the consistent remarks we heard through the survey at the end of last year was "my group needs to serve together more." With that in mind, I wanted to make sure you were aware of the service opportunities that are available through CCC right now. Click over to the home page and look for the Extend a Helping Hand link in the news feeds for the list of opportunities. Discuss the options and decide as a group which project you want to support. Dave

Key November Dates

Hey Everybody, I hope you're having a great week so far! I wanted to touch base with you on a couple key dates in November for Journey Groups. November 7 - this is our second leadership development night. On 10/3, we discussed how our character impacts our leadership ability. On 11/7 we will be discussing how to lead our groups so that we keep a healthy emphasis on evangelism. We'll meet from 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm in EC 188 at the Old Mill campus.

November 15 & 22 - this is more of an FYI since it doesn't directly deal with existing Journey Group leaders. These are the days we are planning to host orientation for new leaders to be ready to go in January. I am currently working to identify the new leaders for this orientation. If you have any suggestions, pass them along and I'll follow up with the individuals. Pray with me that God will call out and raise up the leaders we need. The need is great, but our God is greater!

If there is anything I can do for you or your group, don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Dave

Don't forget the fun!

I don't know about you, but I want to be in the kind of Journey Group that laughs easily and often. There are certainly times when the group will be serious and maybe even somber, but hopefully that's not all the time. Having fun can be one of the greatest ways to lower our relational walls and help us open up with others. With that in mind, let me suggest a couple resources to help your group have fun... One great resource is website designed for student ministry (they definitely know fun). Their list of games and "crowd breakers" can be a great way to open your journey group time. Check out the website and see which ones your group might love to play.

Another great resource for fun is the "Minute To Win It" website. This TV show is a competition based on completing tasks within a 60 second window. Some tasks are simple and some seem to be based much more on chance than skill. It could be a lot of fun to pick on of these games and see which couple or person can do it the fastest or finish first. Check out their website for a list of games and supplies needed.

Looking down the road...

Hey Everybody, I hope you are all doing well today! As I'm looking ahead in the Journey Group year, I see a few important items that I want to share with you...

1. Even though our Journey Groups are just starting, I need help identifying people who can step up to lead groups in the future. We will be hosting a new leader orientation class in early November so that we can launch new groups for people in January. Will you help me by sending me names of people whom you think can lead a group? I'll follow up with them and see if they are interested.

2. Our first Leadership Development night is coming up on Sunday, October 3. We'll be meeting in EC 188 at the Old Mill Campus from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. This month we'll discuss the most important part of your leadership...having character that's strong enough to support your leadership.

3. As I am working to place new people in a journey group I am realizing how important it is to have up-to-date information on our groups (I can hear one of my co-workers cheering as I write this!) If you didn't respond to the group info survey sent out earlier, will you do so now so we can better connect new people to a Journey Group? You'll find the survey here. Thanks for your help in this!

If there's anything I can do for you or your group, be sure to let me know.

- Dave

Tips for getting started

In a recent blog post, Mark Howell suggested several great tips for starting a new small group well. Regardless of how long (or how little) you have been leading a Journey Group, I think you'll find something here helpful as you get your group off and running this year. Preparing for Your First Meeting

• Call your group members early in the week at a time when they'll likely be home. Don't just leave a voice mail message. At this stage, personal contact is critical.
• Enlist someone to help you make the calls. Increased buy-in is important.
• Ask each person to bring something (cokes, chips, etc.). This cements their attendance. They're much more likely to show if you're depending on them.
• When you call them your enthusiasm is very important. Get yourself ready to call.
• Make a map to your house and send this out a week ahead of time. Email can work great for this.

At the first meeting

• Recruit another member of two to be there early and help greet people at the door.
• Have name tags and markers ready at the door.
• Start your group off with an informal "meet and greet" session. The agenda for this meeting is all about helping people feel relaxed and comfortable with the other members of their new group.
• Arrange for an uninterrupted session (i.e., childcare needs, food prepared in advance, etc.).
• Make sure everyone knows the plan for the next meeting before you dismiss.

Follow-up after the first meeting

• Call or touch base with each person who attended the meeting to encourage them. This extra step helps them to continue to forge a relationship with you. Look for them at church. Any contact in between meetings will help cement them to their new group.
• Call all of your new group members a couple days before your next meeting. Don't assume that they'll remember. They need your encouragement.

The beginning of the year is the most critical time for helping people "stick" in a group. Whether they are joining an existing group or part of a new group, new group members need a little extra attention. If we help them past this hurdle, then we'll have the privilege of their involvement for the long haul.