Small Groups

Leading a small group would be easy if the group only involved leaders and followers, and each were in their rightful place. But, many groups have some kind of combination of leaders, followers, followers who want to be leaders, and leaders who want to be followers. The first two are easier to deal with, while the last two bring more challenges.

Every good leader knows that you have to be a follower before you can be a leader. You have to learn to follow someone else’s lead so that you can learn how to lead well. Jesus described and modeled what this looks like in the Kingdom of God when he said “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mt 20.28) Our leadership effectiveness hinges on our willingness to serve.

Unfortunately, not all small group members understand this principle. There are some who desire to lead the group because they think they have all the best ideas, the right answers, the right skill set. But they’ve never learned how to follow. Those people are difficult to deal with. Among the best ways that I’ve found to deal with this kind of attitude is to simply have the difficult conversation with those people. During the conversation be humble and listen to their suggestions for the group. But also be willing to coach them in the area of followership. You may be able to find a role in the group for them that allows them to experience some leadership in a way that you can coach them and guide them in that area. Maybe asking them to take the lead on a group service project or partner as a teacher in a lesson series. But the goal is to help them understand that leadership is essentially service.

For those who are leaders, but choose to follow, encourage them to take more ownership in the group. Here, too, invite them to take the lead on a service project or to give you a break by teaching/leading for a series. And I would contend that this is an essential element to a group. If you need a break, or if something happens to you, who will lead the group. It’s just a wise idea to develop another leader in the group to share in the joys of leadership with you. They may be resistant at first, not realizing they have the potential, so you may need to coach them along. But if they are capable, then share the joys of leadership with them.

The Small Group Connection:
On Sunday May 16 and Monday May 17 we’ll be hosting the Small Group Connection in the Chapel at West Side. The event will begin at 6:30 and end at 8:00 pm both nights.

Why are we doing this?
This event is designed to give people who want to join a small group a place to connect. There are two ways this connection can happen. First, people can connect with others who are not currently in a group, and they can form a new group together. The second option is where you come in. We want to provide groups who are looking for more members with the opportunity to connect with people who may want to join their group.

Who should attend?
If your group is a little on the small side and you need to add four or more people…come. (If you only have a couple spots open, this isn’t the place for you. But please still contact us and we’ll help you fill those spots). If you’ve got room and you’re wanting to add people to your group, then we’d love to have as many people as possible from your group attend. Also, if you have someone in your group who is interested in leading a group of their own, we’d like to invite them to join us either May 16 or May 17 at our Small Group Connection. To help make this night as successful as possible, please let us know by May 5 if you plan to attend. Just simply e-mail Fitz (Fitz@wschurch.org) with the number of openings you have in your group, the number of kids you’ll want childcare for, which night you’ll be coming, and how many group members you’ll be bringing.

What will we be doing at this event?
You’ll have some time to mingle with people and get to know them. We’ll participate in some fun icebreakers to get us interacting with one another. We’ll provide some snacks and drinks, because food is essential at every small group gathering. I’ll do a little teaching on the topic of “Grouping”. And you’ll have the opportunity to invite people to join your group.

If your group is looking to add some members, then I hope you’ll be able to join us on either Sunday May 16 or Monday May 17. Childcare will be provided though RSVP.

On Tuesday the staff of WSCC gathered for a retreat at the Chiara Center on the outskirts of Springfield. It was a great day. A number of things stuck with me from our time together, but one that stood out most was the need for all of us to be “devoted to prayer” (Colossians 4.2).

I try to pray regularly for all the small group leaders. I pray for your leadership and integrity. I pray for your faith to be ever-increasing. I pray that God protects you from the evil one. I pray for your families and work relationships. I pray for your ministry to your groups. When I’m made aware of special joys or sorrows or struggles I pray for you in those areas. I do my best to pray regularly for you by name. I’m convinced that our minsitry is only as effective as our devotion to prayer. And so when my buddy Gabe reminded me in his devotion that we need to be devoted to prayer, it struck me that it might be good for me to share with you the prayer I pray most often for you and for me.

When searching the scriptures I am often hit by the faithlessness of God’s people. So often I read the biblical accounts of God’s people at times when their faith has seemed to evaporate.  I read of Jesus looking at his disciples in the boat and referring to them as “you of little faith.” I’m baffled that they just didn’t get it. Then I’m reminded of my own life. Of those times when I totally missed it. When I blew it. When my faith was miniscule. And then I’m reminded of the enormous grace of God, which grows my faith. And I’m reminded, when I search the scriptures, that God expects us to bear fruit. If we are connected to Him, then we will bear fruit, identified by the changes in our lives (Gal. 5.16-25) and by the lives we impact around us (John 15.1-15). And I’m convinced that our fruitfulness is to a large degree dependent on our faithfulness.

So my prayer – quite regularly – for you and for me – is that we be found both faithful and fruitful. Though the words are pretty simple to say, it’s really quite a powerful utterance. May God’s Spirit continue to work in you and in me, and may we continually yield to the Spirit, that we may be found increasingly faithful and fruitful for the remainder of our days.

It’s exciting for me to encounter good things going on in our small groups. It’s even more exciting for me when I encounter these good things and I realize that I had nothing to do with them. For example, when Darrin Clark was interviewed during the service a few weeks back about his volunteer ministry role as an usher I lost count of how many times he plugged his small group. That was good. But what made it great was that he was applying and championing what he was learning in his small group, specifically that he gets to serve, not that he has to serve. And when he mentioned that it was a member of his small group who invited him to serve with him on his team, that made it even better.

Another example of one of the good things going on in small groups came from one of our young adult groups. Earlier this semester I caught wind of something Chad Huss was doing for the young adult group he leads. Each week he creates a newsletter for his small group concerning all the goings on for the group that week, including prayer requests and praises, information about their study, and other pertinent info for them. And it’s pretty sharp looking. Take a look at their newsletter for the first week of the year here:  The Wednesday Night Post.

I heard from Tyler Cormeny that they have chosen a curriculum for their group this session to help them teach their members how to dig deeper into the Bible on their own. They’re working with their group to ease them in to this kind of study. Tyler even “gave them a simple guide for digging into the bible which includes writing down what is new to you, what is impactful to you, what questions do you have, etc. Also, with some ground rules of don’t make assumptions, don’t take a single verse out of context of the rest of the bible, don’t try to make the bible fit your lifestyle –the bible need to shape you, etc.” I love how Tyler and Susan saw what their group needed and then catered the structure of their group in such a way to grow their members. That’s a great thing.

I could go on and on with good stories like these. I’m always jazzed to hear what God is doing in our groups, to see the life change that takes place as a result of people encountering Christ and connecting with His people in our groups. I love hearing your stories of the good things happening in your groups, so please keep sharing the stories, and please continue to pray with me that God will grant us many more.

Our current sermon series has got me thinking of the vital role that small groups play in the life of the church. One of my best friends, Brandon, is a chaplain for the Army Special Forces, and he is currently overseas in the middle of a “hot zone.” Brandon was deployed a few years ago during the massive military surge in the War on Terror in the Middle East. As Brandon and I discussed what he would be doing on this deployment, he shared some current military strategy with me. Though the Army saw measurable success in their surge a few years ago, they identified a key component in making their efforts even more successful. Whereas most of the troops had been sent into combat zones in massive numbers with massive force, the most successful operations were carried out by highly trained, highly specialized, small teams of soldiers. These teams were all part of the Army Special Forces. These teams saw marked success much greater than any other strategic move thus far in the war. As a result, the Army has increased the number of Special Forces units and has mobilized more, smaller teams to carry out the mission on the battlefront.

While listening to Brandon talk about the US Army’s strategy, I couldn’t help but draw the parallel to the Church’s war against Satan and his forces. As we seek to do battle against the forces of Hell and free those people who remain in bondage to sin and Satan, it’s fitting that we use a similar strategy. While we’ll see success in going out in massive numbers to engage this world on behalf of Jesus, I’m convinced that we’ll see the most success come from our highly trained, highly specialized, small groups. When our small groups “train members for godliness” (1 Tim 4:7) and specialize in connecting people to Christ and to His Church, then our group members are better prepared to battle the forces of darkness, whether in their own struggles with sin or in the work of evangelism.

As we at West Side find ourselves SURGING into the next chapter of the history of this church, it’s imperative that we recognize the vital role our groups play as the church’s Special Forces teams. It’s up to us as the leaders of those groups to train our members well for the purpose of holiness and to always give them our best.

Looking for a Service Opportunity for Your Group?

There’s something significant that happens when a small group gains a shared experience through serving together. That’s why I encourage small group leaders to look for opportunities to get their group on the mission field together. But, it’s not always feasible for a group to travel overseas together, so oftentimes we need to find local places to serve. On May 8 and 22 I’ll be leading a local mission trip to provide one of those opportunities. If your group is looking for a place to serve then you’ll want to check this out. I especially encourage groups that have never served together to investigate this opportunity, even if only some members of your group can make it.

 Who We’ll Be Helping:

We’ll be travelling to Refuge Ranch, a local ministry that partners rescued animals (mostly horses) with inner-city kids. The objective of the ministry is to teach kids about self-worth and a positive self-esteem that comes from understanding our relationship with God. Many of the children who benefit from the ministry of Refuge Ranch have unstable home lives, and so the ranch is a place for them to learn about and experience trust, dependability, and faithfulness. But the mission goes beyond that to helping these kids develop a sense of responsibility in the context of community. Each child who comes to the camp is paired with a trained mentor who works closely with them to encourage and care for them.

 What We’ll Be Doing:

But, the Ranch is in need of some help. They need to fence in some more land for their horses. So, we’ve agreed to help them clear some land, dig some holes, set some posts, put up some fences, and stain and/or paint some fences. There’s something for everyone on this local mission trip. No one is too old or too young to help with this trip…well, okay, maybe there are some exceptions. But everyone age 4-adult is welcome to help, and others are welcome to cheer us on from the playground nearby. This is a family-friendly, budget-friendly missions and service experience.

 Want More Info?

For more details, and to register members of your group for this trip, please contact Fitz at fitz@wschurch.org or 217-793-2800.

 For more info on the ranch, take a look at their website:  http://www.refuge-ranch.org/index.html

My oldest brother graduated from high school the year I graduated from first grade. My parents knew that the family vacation we’d take that summer would likely be the last time we had all six members of the family on a vacation together. As a result, they asked my brother, Matt, to choose the destination for the family vacation that summer, with only one stipulation. It had to be somewhere in the U.S.

 Matt chose Alaska.

We were on the road in our home-built custom camper about a week after school let out, and we didn’t return until about a week before school started up again in the fall. That’s right, for better than two months that summer we – my parents, 2 brothers, my sister, and our beagle mutt – camped our way to Alaska and back. To some this may not sound like their ideal form of a family vacation. But for us it was life changing.

I saw Grizzly bears, whales, mountain goats, and moose all in the wild. Sometimes they were even in our campsite (not the whale, or course). I saw mountains that soared into the clouds, the destructive aftermath of spent volcanoes, mountain lakes bluer than I thought imaginable, and an ocean that stretched forever. I have so many great memories from that trip. But beyond all the sights, I was able to spend some infinitely valuable time with my family. I remember laughing with them until I cried. I remember silly jokes and hikes through the forests. From that time with the family I learned that it’s not so much what you have, but who you have with you that’s important.

For my parents, that vacation wasn’t just about arriving in Alaska at some point during the summer. It was about the journey there and back. Every moment of that trip mattered. They did their best to make every mile count. And my siblings and I have an awesome shared experienced as a result.

I think that’s an important lesson for us to always remind ourselves of for our small groups. It’s not just about where we’re going and where we’re leading people. It’s about the journey we’re sharing with them as we go there. It’s vital for us to be intentional about the journey with our small groups and for us as leaders to do everything we can to make every mile count. So go forward and make memories with your group that will impact their lives forever, even into eternity.

My oldest daughter, Abi, is currently in that stage of life where her precious smile is akin to that of a hockey player who lost too many fights. It seems like every few days she has a new wiggly tooth and every couple of weeks one of them ends up falling out. For the past couple of days she’s had a lot of fun flashing me her “holey” smile. She’s had a tooth that she could bend forward and stick out of her mouth in a pretty goofy way. She’s gotten a lot of laughs out of her snaggle tooth, her changing smile, and her increasingly toothless grin. Just this morning during breakfast she looked up at me and announced with a cheer, “Hey, my tooth fell out.” She and her sister celebrated the occasion with laughs and giggles.

It’s funny how such a seemingly small event in one’s life can lead to such celebration when life is lived with a joyful heart. I can only remember losing a couple of my teeth. I’m sure I lost them all, and then grew them back again. But it’s a passing moment. Momentous to a degree, but not quite on par with graduation or marriage or baptism. Not a moment I would have thought to celebrate. Not until I saw my daughter’s glowing joy from this passing moment.

And I fear that I miss countless moments like that every day. I’m a pretty relaxed and easy-going guy. I try to live in a spirit of joy. But I’ve outgrown that childhood spirit that celebrates constantly the little things. I want to regain that. I want our groups to regain that. I wonder if sometimes we miss celebrating some of the smaller victories right in front of us because we’re holding out for the “big” moments. Let’s remember to keep watch for little things: a group member who shares her heart unexpectedly, a group member that prays in the meeting for his first time, a group member who is reading her bible more, a member who has a tough conversation with his boss about integrity and ethics, members attending consistently. Look for the little things, draw attention to them, and celebrate them with your group – because sometimes those little things are really a lot bigger than we think. And, of course keep celebrating the big moments, too.

It’s time to get your group revved up for the Small Group EXTRAVAGANZA. On Thursday March 11th we’ll gather in Centennial Hall from 6:30-8:30 pm.* Dessert and childcare are provided.

This night promises to be full of fierce, fun, hilarious competition between groups. The competition will consist of numerous random trivia components coupled with a few skill challenges. By the end of the night we’ll know which group is the zaniest, the most creative, and the most knowledgeable of useless facts.

Points will be awarded that night for successful completion of skill challenges and trivia components. However, your group can earn BONUS POINTS ahead of time in a variety of ways…

BONUS POINTS will be awarded for:
30 pts. – Best uniform and/or mascot
20 pts. – Super early registration by noon on March 1st
10 pts. – Early registration by noon on March 7th
15 pts. – Get your group picture taken with Fitz & Eddie Lowen by March 8th
10 pts. – Get your group picture taken with Fitz or Eddie Lowen by March 8th
(15 additional pts. are available if your group is in uniform and/or with the mascot in these pictures)
10 pts. – bring 2 items/group member to donate to the Food Pantry

REGISTER your group for this event  by contacting Elizabeth Wenzel (ElizabethW@wschurch.org) or by stopping by the counter in the concourse on Sunday Feb. 28 or March 7.

*Please note the change in time. We’ve bumped it up a half hour to better accommodate groups with young children.