Intentional Faith Development: Signing up for small groups

Small groups are a vital part of every Christian's walk to maturity in their faith. But trying to encourage people to join a group, especially one that is already established, is daunting. In our church, we are finding that people who have been part of church, but never joined a small group, are signing-up if:

• the leader personally invites that person
• the group commitment is for only 6-8 weeks (a definite start and end time)
• offering a short-term study that correlates with the sermon

This week we began inviting our congregation to join a small group. One of the small groups is a short-term (six weeks) Bible study that will follow a sermon series based on Mike Slaughter's "Change the World" beginning September 9. All of our small group leaders are wearing a name tag that includes what day, time, and location (church or home) their group will meet. Leaders and sign-up sheets are available for three Sundays (August 19, 26, and September 2). 

We are also offering another alternative to Sunday morning education opportunities for all ages on Wednesday night, too. Different groups in our church have signed up to host a meal at 5:30 (free will offering) followed by small group sessions for all ages from 6:30-7:30. Offering multiple opportunities for joining a short-term or long-term group at various times and locations works for us!