Video: What if Darth Vader Joined Your Small Group?
You never know who's going to walk in the door of your small group. Be ready to care for anyone who walks in your door. http://youtu.be/NZdCDXcxspg
Celebrating 1500 views- Here’s the top 5 most viewed posts!
We recently hit 1500 views for refuelblog. I thought it'd be fun to celebrate by sharing the top 5 most viewed posts thus far. #5. 4 Ways to Help Guys Love Groups (Here) We always like to say, "There's a lot of reasons people don't go to church and a lot of them are the church's fault." Well, I think there's a lot of reasons guys don't like groups and a lot of them are our fault. We can change that. #4. Is Your Church Better Than Starbucks (Here) I love Starbucks and loved everything it taught me about ...
6 Different Types of Small Groups
I’ve been thinking a lot about discipleship recently and looking at how different churches develop their people. At the core of most churches discipleship program is some sort of small group. So, I’d like to briefly go over 6 different types of groups churches use to disciple their people. To make sure we’re on the same page I’ll define “small group” as any group of less than 50 that meet for the purpose of discipleship (becoming more like Jesus) and relationship. 6 Different Types of Groups: 1. Ongoing, multiplying: The goal of these groups is to grow and eventually multiply ...
Video: Would You Let These Guys Lead a Small Group?
Fun Friday: Each Friday I'm going to share a funny or interesting video I've found online. Most will relate to small groups, but some might be about church in general. Would you let these guys lead a small group? http://youtu.be/34G_R0svxWk I love that God uses normal people to do cool things. If God could use the guys in this video, He can use you as a small group leader.
4 Benefits of Small Group Breaks
I love that God worked for 6 days and then rested. He didn't need rest- He's God. But, He chose to rest, partially to set us an example. We see the same thing in our week. Monday through Friday- we work, But, then it's Friday and we look forward to the weekend. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0 In the last year our church moved from year long groups to more semester-based groups. We have a fall semester, spring semester and are trying to figure out what to do with the summer. Between each semester we take a break. I recently read an article outlining ...
Seven Ideas for Your Group to Serve This Summer
In Cleveland, people tend to hibernate during the winter. Every year there’s one spring day where that “bright orb in the sky” reappears and myself and all the neighbors wander outside, stretching and yawning. We greet each other like long lost friends and ask how the last few months have been. But, as it continues to warm up, people want to spend more and more time outside and become active. That means it’s a great time for your group to be active too. Spring and summer are excellent times to encourage your group to serve. (If your group doesn’t meet ...
4 Ways to Help Guys Love Groups
My Bible was beginning to literally fall apart so I took a trip to my local Christian Bookstore. I was in the store about 5 minutes before I suddenly realized I didn’t belong. I felt like I accidently time-warped into a Bath and Body Works that smelled like cinnamon, and everything was pink, and sold “trinkets”. What man buys “trinkets”? In fact, the only people in the store were a group of older women waiting in line to use the bathroom. I took a few minutes to look through the Bibles before I realized that almost every single one was ...
Ending a Group Well
I remember the last night of the group. It was relatively the same group that had started together a year and a half before. I had led the group for a year and someone else had taken over for the following 6 months. The group had been through a lot over that year- laughing, crying, an adoption, new babies, good times, and tough conversations. I had personally baptized 5 of them. But, there we were, saying goodbye. There was some frustration, but overall, I think everyone knew it was time to move on. Ending a group is never easy! But, ...
Personality Matters in Small Group
Who you are affects how you lead a group. The better you understand yourself- your personality, preferences, strengths, and weaknesses, the better you’ll be able to help your group thrive. I remember being on a leadership team in college with 3 others students. Two of them talked things out loud- like me. So, we would spend a lot of time in meetings throwing out ideas and brainstorming together. And then there was Bob. He didn’t talk very much and I found I had a hard time trusting him. I felt like he wasn’t contributing and I even accused him of ...
You’re not a robot: 7 ways to experience God
You are not a robot! Sometimes we believe the lie that there's only one way to connect with Jesus. We're supposed to love being around people and music and quiet Bible study. But, the truth is, God didn't create an army of robots- he created individuals; and not one person is like another. That means because of everyone's backgrounds, personality, giftings, and passions, we're all going to relate to and connect with Jesus differently. Understanding these differences are very important as a follower of Jesus and as a group leader. A few years ago, Bill Hybels adapted Gary Thomas’ book ...