As a LifePoint Small Group, you may be looking for a one-time service project to work on together…this one will be an easy win for your group. Please collect some or all of the items listed below and deliver directly to Right Road Ministries.

•  Shampoo

•  Conditioner

•  Soap

•  Men’s & women’s deodorant

•  Shaving cream

•  Tooth brushes & tooth paste

•  Laundry detergent

•  Bath towels

•  Twin sheets

•  Comforters

•  Food for food pantry

Please deliver your donations to the Outreach Center building at Right Road Ministries at 188 Old Nashville Hwy., LaVergne, TN, 37086.

Last week I sent you a Christmas letter thanking you for all your service to help people experience Discipleship, Community and Service via LifePoint.  Enclosed in the letter was a refrigerator magnet to remind you of a valuable resource called GroupLeader.org.  Please go register today to receive the weekly email pack with helpful info for you the Small Group Leader.  http://www.groupleader.org/

Second, I requested that you subscribe to my blog where every Thursday I share stories, insights and principles about Small Groups and neighborhood that others have found to be helpful.  http://eddiemosley.com/

Thirdly, we have a 4 week class designed especially for Small Group Leaders that will help you when someone in your group is seeking to become a Christ-follower.  Share Jesus’ Influence, Wednesdays @ LifePoint, 6:30-7:30pm.  Please register for this class at http://lifepointchurch.org/wednesdays.  Some have said this should be a required class for Small Group Leaders.  I’m not saying that it is required, but I do feel you should be ready when someone in your group asks, “How can I be saved?”.

Thanks again for all you do.  These three opportunities will really help you serve at the next level.

Eddie Mosley
Executive Director of GroupLife
www.Eddiemosley.com
www.groupleader.org

Our Objectives

Discipleship: Minimum of 2 Bible Studies per month
Community: 1 party a month, 1 I2I party per quarter
Service: Serve as a group once a quarter in community, school, nation

Proposed 2010 Discipleship Calendar

January:
GroupLink 24th & 31st
You pick your study for January and meet at least twice

February:
Super Bowl party 7th
5 week Church-wide study Feb 14th – March 14th

March:
End study with party between 15th – 30th
Spring break 22nd – 26th

April:
Easter 4th, meet 11th & 25th on *study of your choice
Conduct Easter Egg Hunt in a group member’s neighborhood

May:
Meet at least 2 times this month on *study of your choice

June:
Get together at least once this month and/or continue May’s study

July:
Get together at least once this month and/or continue May’s study

August:
GroupLink 15th & 22nd

September:
5 week church-wide study Aug 22nd – Sept 26th

October:
End study with party between Sept 27th – Oct 11th
Fall Break Oct 4th – 8th
Meet twice this month for a party to end study, begin a *study of your choice, and/or host a holiday party for the community

November:
Get together at least twice this month on *study of your choice

December:
Get together at least twice this month to begin a new, *study of your choice and/or attend Christmas Musical and/or Christmas SG Party

*Study of your choice: use GroupLife’s Curriculum Guide and/or Health Survey to guide your decision. Both are available at Crosswalk or on Groupleader.org.

SERVICE IDEAS: (go to Groupleader.org/service for more ideas)

January: Food Pantry collection

April: Community/Neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt

August: Back-to-School clothing/supply/backpack collection for your school

COMMUNITY/PARTY IDEAS: (go to Groupleader.org/community for more ideas)

February: Couples retreat to Gatlinburg

April: Easter Egg Hunt

May: Organize a Neighborhood yard sale

June: Back yard movie night, white-water rafting

July: 4th of July fireworks show, or attend community’s show as a group

August: Back-to-school cookout

December: Open house with favorite desserts

Bible study is a vital part of the discipleship process. But Bible study that instills knowledge without unveiling the larger story (God’s story) or the context of the story God is telling can be debilitating. Knowledge-based Bible study may lead to lists of do’s and don’ts that place individuals in the box of man-sized expectations without ever unearthing our Father’s God-sized power, love, grace, mercy, holiness, and justice.

When your group gets together take them on a Holy Spirit led journey into God’s great narrative, the Bible. A few things you’ll want to consider:

1. Remind your group that the Bible is “the story” told through many stories. It is the story of redemption unveiled through many diverse situations.

2. Put God’s expectations/do’s and don’ts in context. Every announcement of do’s and don’ts takes place in the context of an individual or a community’s story. Guide your group to discuss these rights and wrongs in light of the context in which that particular story is being told. But be sure the group doesn’t conclude that they are not held to the same standards as those in the story being discussed. Context doesn’t erase commandments.

3. Guide your group to discuss who God is in light of his actions and activities. Every story reveals something about God, a personality trait or an attribute of His character. Some of the most life-transforming conversations a group has takes place when the group spends time discussing who God is in light of how He performed in a real life situation. I assure you, the group will see a much bigger God than they presently perceive to be when discussing the complexities of God’s character, actions, and decisions. This will stretch them but it will give them a more realistic view of Him.

4. Allow each character in the story to come to life. When discussing the various characters in each story, interpret their statements and/or actions in light of who they are, who they represent, the role they play in the society they were in, and the culture in which they existed.

5. Guide each member to conclude which character in the story most intersects with their own. In most instances each group member sees something of themselves in some character in the story. Help each group member conclude why they do. It is very possible that some unstated pain or loss or reason for celebrating God’s power in the past will become known for the very first time.

~The Gypsy Road

Small Group Blog of Serendipity