Month: August 2018

Dear Small Group Leaders,

Attached is the sermon-based discussion guide for this week’s message, “Put On Your Armor” based on the scripture Ephesians 6:10-18.  As usual, the sermon videos are available at www.christchurchsl.org/sermons .   If your group has not been meeting yet, please email them let them know the time and location of your meeting times so they can already be holding that time in their schedules as they quickly fill up in this Fall season.

Sermon Discussion Guide- 8-26-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- Put On Your Armor

Leader Tips:

1.  In your first meeting back together, it is ok to spend time at the beginning catching up with life updates from the summer time.  That is part of sharing in community together and also writing the concerns brought conversations on the discussion guide in the prayer box for later in the meeting.  This is one of the reasons why having copies of the guide available for each person at the meeting is helpful- they can carry them home and remember one another in prayer during the week as well!
2. Remember to email out the discussion guide to your group members in advance during the week.  This helps them know what to expect and may open up opportunities for invitations to be extended to friends as well.  Please remember to include a link to the online sermons so they will be encouraged to come even if they missed worship this week.
3. In regrouping this fall, if you have needs of additional support- a host home to meet in, a co-leader to help cover leading discussions, please let me know and I can help recruit help for you.
4. A few Save The Dates:
   1. The Small Group Leader’s Equipping track starting Wednesday Sept 12^th at 6:30pm (5 sessions on the most valuable knowledge and skills for great small group experiences)
   2. The Discipleship Leaders’ Breakfasts starting Tuesday Sept 11^th at 8am (any leaders of any Christ Church discipleship groups are welcome to join me for prayer, a devotional, fellowship and breakfast tacos!  Taco Tuesdays with Timely Teachings!)

I am praying for a great new fall semester of discipleship within our church family. Thanks for being a part of the team and helping others grow in the faith!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church

Dear Small Group Leaders of Christ Church,

            Here we go in this new fall semester friends!  The sermon-based discussion guide is below for your personal use or group use if you have resumed meeting after the summer break.  Even if your group is not yet meeting, you may wish to forward the discussion guide to them for their personal use as well and to begin getting back into our discipleship rhythm.  As usual, please include the sermon videos link as well- www.christchurchsl.org/sermons. Remember also to bring a Bible with you if you are meeting as the new format has “A Related Scripture” category in which a volunteer will need to read an extra Bible passage out loud.

Sermon Based Discussion Guide:

8-19-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- buy up the time

Leader Tips:

1- If you did not read the last post, please note the two announcements below about resources for Small Group leader’s this semester-

1. The Small Group Leader’s Equipping track starting Wednesday Sept 12^th at 6:30pm and
2. The Discipleship Leaders’ Breakfasts starting Tuesday Sept 11^th at 8am (I know, I neglected to mention the start date below)

2- Also, remember now is the best time to extend invitations to friends or neighbors to join you in your weekly small group meetings this fall semester.  It helps to mention that the first few visits are on a trial “come and see” basis with no commitments to continue necessary and that the fall semester will end the week before thanksgiving. 

I am happy to talk with you or meet with you about getting restarted this fall or exploring new ideas for small group ministry support.  Just email or call/text 832-360-8295 to connect with me.  Thanks for being a part of this exciting discipleship ministry at Christ Church with me.  I believe there are some terrific “Kairos” ministry moments in store for us all as we offer ourselves to Him in service this semester!

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church

Dear Small Group Leaders of Christ Church,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  I hope you all have enjoyed a break from leading the weekly meetings and are rested up for a new exciting fall season at Christ Church!  Personally, I have been busy with my doctoral program in discipleship and outreach with the study and residency experiences in Seoul, South Korea and Singapore.  I have attached a pdf page of a few pictures from the trip if you would like to see them.  I believe the insights and experiences gained through this program will prove to be extremely valuable in shaping the discipleship programs of Christ Church in the months to come.  I am excited to be writing my doctoral dissertation over the course of this year on the topic which we have been involved in together here at Christ Church, sermon-based small groups!   In fact, in mid-September I will need to begin at least two new small groups for the purposes of my thesis project this year.  Therefore, we will be highlighting both existing groups and new small groups in August and September with the intent of involving new people in this life giving ministry you are all such a vital part of.

Beginning this Sunday, the sermon based discussion guides will be made available again at smallgroupleaders.net and in a weekly email.  It is up to you and your group to determine when the best time is to begin meeting again.  Some may choose not to begin until after labor day weekend, and others of you may wish to start again right away.  For the purposes of inviting new people into a limited timeframe of commitment to a small group experience, its best to define a fall “semester.”  To keep it 8-13 weeks, I suggest ending the semester the week before thanksgiving week.  You can still choose to meet after that time frame as the group determines for regular meetings or fellowship meals, but the upfront time commitment for invitations should probably be no longer than that.  You may want to start inviting new people to your group right now.

There are two resources available to you to support you in your service as a small group leader at Christ Church this fall.  The first is the five session Small Group Leader’s Equipping Track on Wednesday nights at 6:30pm, starting Sept 12^th.  If you have done one of the prior courses before, there is no need to do it again.  But if you missed the previous courses and are available, please join me this fall semester to review topics such as how to lead spiritual conversations, tools for understanding and sharing the gospel of Christ, what is the Bible, and what is my story to name a few.  This group is open to current and new leaders and those who are considering serving as leaders in a discipleship group of some kind.

*New this year- Discipleship Leader’s Breakfast, Tuesdays at 8am with me, Pastor Dan, at Jacob’s Well in the Gathering Hall.   This is for small group, Bible study, home group, and Sunday school class leaders or teachers.  It is also for those who are attending the Small Group Leaders Equipping Track with the intent to be leaders in new discipleship ministry groups.  The purpose of this experience is primarily to support leaders in their personal discipleship and small group evangelism and secondarily to offer opportunity for the informal review of the sermon themes from the previous Sunday and next Sunday.  Each Tuesday will offer a time of a devotional message which I will bring, a time of prayer as a group and the chance to have some good coffee from Jacob’s Well and breakfast tacos that will be brought in.  We will need to RSVP for quantity planning and donations will be accepted for reimbursement.

Welcome back everyone!  I’m so glad to be getting back to our small group community life and growing together in Christ!

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church