The Church at Shelby Crossings
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Serving Calera and Shelby County Alabama

Start a Small Group

  1. Community requires people
    1. Make a list of 5 to 15 people that you know that might be interested in getting involved in a group.
    2. Be creative. Think of people you have only met a few times at Shelby Crossings. Think of people you have met in outside of Shelby Crossings people who might have an interest in growing in their relationship with Christ.
  1. Community requires meeting together!
    1. Contact the people you have identified and inform them of your interest in starting a Small Group.
    2. A relaxed evening where everyone can get to know one another is the starting point. Consider meeting the first time at a home, or at a restaurant to get to know one another. It might help to identify one other leader for the group to help you.
    3. Provide an icebreaker discussion or exercise – they are always fun.
  1. Community requires commitment
    1. At the end of the evening, tell the group when and where you will be meeting next week. Share next time you would like to meet for prayer and bible study.
    2. You may have to host the next evening again. Others might offer to help. Include others in helping with the food and with finding the best location for the group. Not every place and time is convenient for everyone, but do what is best for the group as a whole.
    3. Share the responsibilities and make delegations to food and hosting and eventually leading to equip more leaders.
    4. There are many roles that you can delegate to others as the group develops. The roles of a small group are

                     1.) leader - facilitates discussion, identifies future leaders, sends emails to group for updates, guides the vision and mission of the group, prepares the group  to start new groups. 

                       2) co-leader - same as leader. 
                       3) host - organizes refreshments and snacks, opens home for meeting, helps organize get togethers
                      4) prayer - records prayer and praise, emails and updates group on requests. 

                     5) mission/outreach coordinator - leads the group in observing ministry opportunities, coordinates serving together, and has a passion  for spreading the gospel. 

  1. Community requires training and being connected
               a.   Contact your small group pastor sometime during the week between meetings to give a report of how it went and what you need further to help with the small group. You will also receive training ideas and meeting dates for further training.