Month: September 2018

Dear Small Group Leaders,

Attached is the sermon based discussion guide for today’s messages on “Do you trust God?”  Please forward the discussion guide and link to the sermon videos, www.christchurchsl.org/sermons, to your group members.

9-23-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- baptism- do you trust God

Leader Tips:

#1  This is the 3^rd Sunday in our series, “Remembering Your Baptism”.  In case you or others in your group missed it, we gave out blue baptism reminder bracelets in worship today.  There may be extras available in the church office in case you would like to have one.

#2  The Discipleship Leader’s Breakfasts continue this Tuesday at 8am in Jacob’s Well.  All with a role of service in the discipleship ministries of Christ Church are invited.  I typically lead a time of interactive Bible teaching from 8-8:35, followed by open discussion and closing prayer from 8:35-8:50.  The final 10 minutes are reserved for follow up dialogue with other discipleship leaders or connecting with me about theological or ministry related questions.  So far, we have been focusing on learning about how Jesus’ life and ministry was empowered by the Holy Spirit.  This Tuesday, we will be looking to the prayer life of Jesus as a source of strength as well.

#3  The New Room conference in Brentwood, TN was terrific this past week!  2,200 Anglicans, Methodists and Wesleyans of various branches worshiped, prayed and learned together about revivals, discipleship and collectively seeking a new movement of the Spirit in today’s world.  It was very inspiring and hopeful!  One of the things I learned was that J. Edwin Orr once wrote, “History is silent about revivals that did not begin in prayer.”  So we know where to begin for renewal and growth in the Spirit at Christ Church!

#4  New Small Groups are still in process. Please be in prayer for them as well.  I am trying to find enough people to make for a Monday night group in Sugar Creek and a new Sunday night group for adults with young children in a home near the church, with child care offered at church.  There are other groups I am exploring as well, but those are two prayer points to share with you all for now.

I am praying for a great meeting this week for you all!  Please reach out to me via email or phone if you would like to meet sometime for support in your group ministry.  Or just come join us on Tuesday morning at 8am!

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church

Dear Small Group Leaders,

Attached is the sermon based discussion guide for our small groups this week on “Do You Accept The Freedom and Power That God Gives You?”  Please send the guide to your group members in a friendly email that would remind them of your meeting time and location as well as where they can hear the sermon if they missed it- www.christchurchsl.org/sermons. Remember to print out copies for your meetings this week and to have a Bible available for the “A Related Scripture” section.

9-16-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- baptism- do you accept the power and freedom god gives

Leader Tips:

#1 Discipleship Leader’s Breakfast- Tuesday at 8am

Last Tuesday, a group of us enjoyed bible study, prayer and fellowship with other discipleship group leaders over breakfast.  You are invited to join us again this week Tuesday at 8am in Jacob’s Well.  We are discussing the life and ministry of Jesus in the gospels which teach us as his disciples how and where to find life and strength in Christian ministry.   Since most of us had already eaten breakfast by 8am, we decided to go lighter on the breakfast fare- not tacos, but just pastries, fruit and coffee or tea from Jacob’s Well.  Any who are in a serving role in a discipleship ministry of Christ Church are welcome!

#2  New Small Groups

Jorge Font offered a testimony about the nature and value of small groups in the 9:30 and 10:55 worship services today.  Thank you Jorge, it was spot on!  We received 14 sign up cards today!  Over this week and next I will be trying to correspond with people who filled out a card to form new small groups at times and locations they have in common.  Please pray for the new groups and encourage those you know who may be interested to fill out a small group card while the groups are still being organized.  I am hoping to have 1-2 completely new groups to draw from in my doctoral thesis project work.

#3  The New Sermon Notes Papers

Need more space than your bulletin allows to write notes about the sermons on Sundays in worship?  There are sermon notes pages on the round table outside the sanctuary which you can pick up on your way in that have plenty of room for your notes on the inside.  Please share about this new resource with your group members.

 

If you have any questions or would like some help from me about this important small group ministry, please email or call me so that we can schedule a conversation.  I will be out of the office later this week to a Wesleyan discipleship conference in Tennessee called The New Room Conference (https://newroomconference.com/), but will be checking email and voicemail.  I am very excited about this conference but even more excited about God has in store for us in discipleship at Christ Church this fall!

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church

Dear Small Group Leaders,

   Attached is this week’s discussion guide for the first message in our new series on Remembering Our Baptism: Questions For A Disciple, “Do you renounce evil?”  Please forward the guide and usual link to the sermon videos to your small group members- www.christchurchsl.org/sermons.  Please also include the full services video link http://christchurch.yourstreamlive.com as the sermon videos are not yet posted on the church website at this time, hopefully soon 😉.   Remember to bring printouts for everyone for the meeting and at least one Bible to read from for the “A Related Scripture” section.

Here is the discussion guide- 9-9-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- baptism- do you renounce evil

Leader Tips:

#1  If it is more convenient for you for viewing or printing, the attached discussion guide and Leader Tips presented below are also available at www.smallgroupleaders.net.  There you can also fill out the email subscription to have it sent directly from the website to your inbox whenever a new post is made as well.

#2  Discipleship Leader’s Breakfast This Tuesday at 8am in Jacob’s Well in the Gathering Hall.  This is for leaders in discipleship ministries of Christ Church (yes that’s you!) who are interested in ongoing spiritual learning, fellowship and prayer with a pastor and other discipleship ministry leaders.  Initially, I will be offering devotional messages on approaches to ministry which Jesus modeled for us in the gospels.  This is primarily to support you in your personal walk with Christ but also to provide support or guidance for your ongoing discipleship ministry as well.  We’ll have Jacob’s Well coffee and tea available as well as breakfast tacos which I am planning to bring in.  Whether you are able to attend or not, please RSVP at the evite link for food planning purposes- http://evite.me/CVSutP9mBj.  If you have trouble with the evite- you can just email me.  FYI- even if you don’t choose to start a free evite account after responding, I will still receive your evite event response.

#3 New Small Groups– This week and next we are encouraging anyone at Christ Church not yet connected to a small group, Bible study or Sunday school class to fill out a small groups card and get in a group!  I received cards in the basket today and we will have the cards in the bulletin again next Sunday.  If there are participants in your small groups whom you believe would serve well in the role of leader or co-leader in a new group this semester, please email your suggestions.  We may need some new small group leaders soon and usually the place to find the best prospective leaders are in existing small groups that are functioning well!  If they are nervous about the idea of leading, please share with them announcement #4 below- God does not call the equipped, He equips the called!

#4  I will be leading the first of five sessions of the Small Group Leader’s Equipping Track course this Wednesday at 6:30pm in Faith Corner in the Gathering Hall.  If you have not done the course in the past, please consider joining us as we review the most important base of skills and knowledge for small group leaders for successful meetings.  Leaders of other discipleship groups such as Sunday school classes and Bible studies are also welcome.  We will be discussing small group best practices, unique characteristics of the Methodist tradition, the meaning of the gospel, discerning our own faith stories, spiritual gifts and an overview of the Word of God.  Potential leaders are welcome too!  Please email me if you are planning on coming.

#5 It is time to invite others to small group!  Remember, the fall semester is about 8-10 weeks which ends the week before Thanksgiving week.  If you have some friends or neighbors you have been thinking about inviting to small group, now is the time!  You may wish to emphasize the limited timeframe of commitment of one semester to encourage them to give it a try!   

I am praying for you all and for your small group meetings this week!  

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church

Dear Small Group Leaders,

Attached is the sermon based discussion guide for this week.  Since it is a little later than usual, do not feel the need to forward it to your group members if your group is not meeting this week.

Discussion Guide– 9-2-18 Sermon Discussion Guide- when your work is killing you

Leader Tips-

#1  A New Sermon Series – Remember Your Baptism: Questions For A Disciple

This Sunday we begin a new 6 part series on the vows taken in the church ritual of baptism, beginning with “Do you renounce evil?”  Over these weeks we will look deeper into what is meant by these vows as they pertain to our ongoing life of discipleship as individuals and as a community. The series will culminate on October 14^th with one combined worship service at 10am in the sanctuary in celebration of the church’s 35^th anniversary.  If there is someone in your group who has not been baptized before, please encourage them to talk to a pastor, that day may be their day!

#2 Signs Ups for New Small Groups

Over the next two Sunday, we will have sign up cards inserted into the bulletins for people who would like to participate or serve in new small groups that will be forming later in September.  I invite you to join me in praying for at least two new small groups to form this fall.  Please pray that people respond with filling out the interest cards, both participants and potential small group leaders and home hosts.  While the small groups will continue to be defined primarily by their location and meeting times, we may also have groups of people that fit a particular life stage.  I am praying for a new young adult and/or young families group!

Also, please be prepared to receive new people into your group over the next few weeks.  Some of the cards received may not merge well into newly forming groups because of conflicting schedules.  In such cases, schedule permitting, I will try to steer these new people to join your groups.  However, please do invite new people into your group on your own as well.  No need to wait to see what the cards bring us!

#3  Discipleship Leader’s Breakfasts- Tuesday 8-9am, Jacob’s Well

As leaders of a discipleship ministry of Christ Church, you are invited to join me this Tuesday (Sept 11), from 8-9am in Jacob’s Well for spiritual encouragement through a devotional message by me about the example Jesus’ life in ministry, prayer together and fellowship over breakfast tacos.  Please rsvp via email by 10pm the night before for planning purposes.  This is intended to be primarily a source of spiritual support for you as a leader in your personal walk of faith, but also to be available to you to discuss any questions or issues you would like to address that would help you in your ministry.  If you can’t make it this Tuesday, please give the next week a try!

#4  Small Group Leaders Equipping Track- starts Weds Sept 12^th at 6:30pm

This is a five session course that Pastor Temple and I developed and have offered before.  If you have not done it in the past, please considering joining us as we review the most important base of skills and knowledge for small group leaders for successful meetings.  Leader’s of other discipleship groups such as Sunday school classes and Bible studies are also welcome.  We will be discussing small group best practices, unique characteristics of the Methodist tradition, the meaning of the gospel and discerning our own faith stories, spiritual gifts and an overview of the Word of God.  Potential leaders are welcome too!

Blessings!

Dan Conway

Pastor of Discipleship & Outreach

Christ Church