Planting Space » Small Groups http://plantingspace.com Keeping Church Planters Focused on People Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:13:06 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Our Favorite Blogs this Week http://plantingspace.com/2010/01/29/1120/ http://plantingspace.com/2010/01/29/1120/#comments Fri, 29 Jan 2010 19:00:57 +0000 Bradley http://plantingspace.com/?p=1120 Each week we read through hundreds of blogs by dozens of authors so you don’t have to. Here are our favorites this week:

]]> http://plantingspace.com/2010/01/29/1120/feed/ 0 Does it Matter Who Hosts a Small Group? http://plantingspace.com/2009/08/03/does-it-matter-who-hosts-a-small-group/ http://plantingspace.com/2009/08/03/does-it-matter-who-hosts-a-small-group/#comments Mon, 03 Aug 2009 13:00:17 +0000 Bradley http://plantingspace.com/?p=839 Drew Goodmanson gives us great food for thought in his recent post The Small Group Host Location is More Important than you Think.

Read it and join the conversation in his comments.

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]]> http://plantingspace.com/2009/08/03/does-it-matter-who-hosts-a-small-group/feed/ 0 The Best of Small Groups Diversified http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/17/the-best-of-small-groups-diversified/ http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/17/the-best-of-small-groups-diversified/#comments Fri, 17 Jul 2009 16:12:58 +0000 Bradley http://plantingspace.com/?p=792 Vince Antonucci is planting a new church on the Vegas strip, for people who live and work on the strip. Given his unique context, God has inspired him to use a unique approach to small groups.

I was inspired, too!

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]]> http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/17/the-best-of-small-groups-diversified/feed/ 0 Small Groups and Mission http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/13/small-groups-and-mission/ http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/13/small-groups-and-mission/#comments Mon, 13 Jul 2009 13:00:17 +0000 Bradley http://plantingspace.com/?p=787

“If a group doesn’t help each other connect it will end quickly.

If a group doesn’t help each other change, it will end within a year.

If a group fails to become mission-minded it might last a long time but eventually it will become very dissatisfying.”

Bill Search, from his book Simple Small Groups

My Pastor said recently, “If the focus of a small group is fellowship, sometimes that happens. If the focus of a small group is mission, then fellowship automatically happens. Every time.”

food for thought…

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]]> http://plantingspace.com/2009/07/13/small-groups-and-mission/feed/ 0 Social Media and the Incarnation http://plantingspace.com/2009/02/05/social-media-and-the-incarnation/ http://plantingspace.com/2009/02/05/social-media-and-the-incarnation/#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2009 14:15:09 +0000 Doug http://plantingspace.com/?p=456 The idea behind incarnation is God becoming flesh and dwelling among us.  It is the presence of God amongst humanity.  The Church is the Body of Christ.  Incarnational ministry is the Church continuing God’s flesh and blood presence in the world.  Social Media provides people with a way to stay connected, a way to dwell amongst each other.  The idea is that the church should use social media tools as a new kind of presence, a new incarnation.  How is your church using social media to be incarnational?  Thanks to Chris Brogan’s post for generating this idea.

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]]> http://plantingspace.com/2009/02/05/social-media-and-the-incarnation/feed/ 0 Small Group Resources… http://plantingspace.com/2008/01/02/small-group-resources/ http://plantingspace.com/2008/01/02/small-group-resources/#comments Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:34:04 +0000 Bradley http://plantingspace.com/?p=62 As the catalyst of a new organization, a planter can equip and empower people to a certain extent. On the one hand, it’d be great to have all of your small group leaders as biblically literate as seminary faculty. On the other hand, are there any planters out there that have that kind of time? Besides, if you fall into the trap of setting the bar that high, your small group ministry is going to stagnate. That is, if it gets off the ground at all. Potential new leaders will be scared off, and you run the risk of having a heavy top-down structure instead of an organic, relational network.

DVD curriculum is one great way to open the doors to more group leaders and help create a reproducible small group system. Here are some of our favorites:

H20: A Journey of Faith
STORM
Bob Russell’s Genesis series
Tommy Nelson’s Song of Solomon Series
Doing Life Together
Serendipity Bible for Groups
40 Days of Purpose
Andy Stanley / Northpoint

Do you know of other DVD series out there that are top-notch?

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]]> http://plantingspace.com/2008/01/02/small-group-resources/feed/ 0 The Art of Small Groups http://plantingspace.com/2007/12/12/the-art-of-small-groups/ http://plantingspace.com/2007/12/12/the-art-of-small-groups/#comments Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:41:16 +0000 Doug http://plantingspace.com/?p=59 Posted by Doug Foltz

I recently saw a report on the news on India and how quickly they are developing as a nation. One of the by-products of their economic growth is an increased demand in art. Local artists have reaped huge benefits of this demand for their creations. However, there are not enough artists to meet the demand. The result is a pressure on the art community to “manufacture” art. Artists are responding negatively saying that art cannot be mass produced or it ceases to be art.

This analogy applies well to small groups. The goal of small groups is to develop relationships and community. As much as we would like to try, you cannot force people into community; you can’t manufacture relationships. What we can do is provide the environment to foster relationships and community. When developing a small groups model for the new church ask yourself if you are creating a fixed system that forces people to connect in a prescribed way, or if you are creating an environment to foster relationship and community.

A fixed system says you must experience small groups according to a prescribed set of rules. An environment for small groups encourages creativity and allows groups to form and develop along the lines of the unique people that make up the group. Small Groups ministry is much more of an art than it is an exact science.

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