Shared this with our community 2.0 leaders today….
Hello community 2.0 peeps…
Last night at our community group the three of us (yeah it was a slow week :-)) sat and talked about a number of things from prayer, to leadership, to future community groups etc. etc. We each talked about how refreshing Sunday at encounter was this past week. How it was a change from the ordinary and really seemed to spark something new.
It made me think about how often we get set in a routine even in our weekly community groups.
This morning, Small Group Dynamics touched on that as well. If things are starting to get “stale” or “traditional” in your group maybe it’s time to change things up a bit. Here are some of the things they suggested…
I know some of the groups have had “coffee house night” and met at a local coffee house. Its not only given a change of pace for the group members, but also opened opportunities for discussions with others.
What other ideas have you and/or your group done to change things up and keep it fresh?
Interesting thoughts JD. whilst we have cell groups, which vary in content etc each time, this thought process works well with Catch the Fire (see catchthefireglenrothes.blogspot.com although working on new websites as you know!). We meet monthly and have a different theme each time. The basic format is that there isn’t one. i put together a list of songs for ‘corporate’ worship and have a selection of Bible Readings, thoughts, anecdotes, and songs for the worship group to present. we also have various multimedia worship including videos to songs. There is no running order. Mainly, the emphasis is on consumption but allowing people to consuming at their level whilst also pushing them to the next level. We are moving to more contribution too. So, we’re trying to change expectations-turning up to see what God has in store. The Bible exposition etc is sometimes shorter but also sometimes more in depth but broken into sections to allow time to digest during worship/prayer. We have plenty of silence. Its is always varied. And we always end with food – even had Domino’s deliver one month!! Question: Does it work? Answer – I think so. Time to review it over the summer may tell.
Interesting thoughts JD. whilst we have cell groups, which vary in content etc each time, this thought process works well with Catch the Fire (see catchthefireglenrothes.blogspot.com although working on new websites as you know!). We meet monthly and have a different theme each time. The basic format is that there isn’t one. i put together a list of songs for ‘corporate’ worship and have a selection of Bible Readings, thoughts, anecdotes, and songs for the worship group to present. we also have various multimedia worship including videos to songs. There is no running order. Mainly, the emphasis is on consumption but allowing people to consuming at their level whilst also pushing them to the next level. We are moving to more contribution too. So, we’re trying to change expectations-turning up to see what God has in store. The Bible exposition etc is sometimes shorter but also sometimes more in depth but broken into sections to allow time to digest during worship/prayer. We have plenty of silence. Its is always varied. And we always end with food – even had Domino’s deliver one month!! Question: Does it work? Answer – I think so. Time to review it over the summer may tell.