Community

July 16, 2021

Outreach Doesn’t Have to Be Out-of-Reach

What would it take for us, as Christians, to be people of intentional hope—starting right where we are, with what we have?

As it turns out, we can reach others near us with simple acts of hope. This type of outreach simply isn’t out-of-reach. This summer, learn to be intentional through this type of loving community engagement. And you don’t have to figure this out alone.

Learn from Pastor Noe Garcia through his testimony of his church’s work at North Phoenix Baptist.

When I became the pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church, one thing I quickly realized was that God has blessed us with so much square footage. In fact, we have over 350,000 square feet.

I’m here today at our Hope Center. Here, we took part of our building and turned it into a place of hope for people in our community. We’ve taken 15,000 square feet and now offer resources to people in need.

We didn’t just want to be a church in the community, we wanted to be a church for the community. We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ.

So we have dedicated these 15,000 square feet to give people hope. It’s a place where they can come in and get food if they need it. They can get resources. They can get clothing. We have refugee services, and services for fostering and adoption. We have all kinds of stuff here for those in the community.

Here’s our desire: we just want to be a place of hope.

Here’s more truth: you may be saying that you don’t have this much square footage or this size of a church. That’s okay! Let me tell you, you can turn your living room into a place of hope. You can turn your office space into a place of hope.

Whatever God has given you as a follower of Jesus Christ, you can use it.

You can use your backyard, you can use what God has given you as a place of hope for those in your community.

Let’s not wait.

This week, challenge yourself, your friends, or your family to pray. What has the Lord equipped you with that can help spread hope to those around you? Don’t wait for tomorrow. How can you start today?

As we each take steps right where we are, we spread the hope and joy of Christ to those around us.

To learn more from Pastor Noe Garcia (on topics such as depression, pastoral ministry, anxiety, and more) or to view his resources, check out lifeway.com/noegarcia.

Group Answers Podcast

July 14, 2021

Group Answers Episode 213: Trends in Student Groups

By Chris Surratt

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Drew Dixon about trends he is seeing in student groups. Drew is the Chief Content Nerd for Love Thy Nerd and the co-host of Humans of Gaming. He is also the editor of Explore the Bible: Students and co-hosts the weekly CaPC Digest podcast for Christ and Pop Culture. Drew has written for Paste Magazine, Relevant Magazine, Christianity Today, WORLD Magazine, and Think Christian. He lives in the Nashville, TN area with his wife and their three children.

Upcoming Groups Conferences:

Align Atlanta, October 12

Episode Sponsor

Downline Ministries’ mission is to encourage a restoration of biblical discipleship in and through the local church by equipping men and women to know God’s Word and make disciples.

The primary way we partner with churches is through the Downline Institute, a 9 month biblical discipleship training program that walks students through the Bible (Genesis-Revelation), biblical manhood/womanhood, and key discipleship lessons. Listeners can receive $100 off tuition cost by using the code LIFEWAY when you apply at www.downlineministries.com.

Lifeway Bible Studies Podcast

July 12, 2021

Lifeway Bible Studies Episode 20: Momentum Session 6

By Chris Surratt

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This week we’re continuing a new study called Momentum by Colin Smith. Over the eight weeks we’ll explore what it looks like to make progress in our spiritual lives, and we’ll learn ways some of Jesus’ most famous teachings, the Beatitudes, can help us move forward in our faith.

In this session we’ll learn that the concept of mercy is at the very heart of Christianity because it’s a key attribute of God’s character. He’s merciful. He showed us mercy in Christ and forgave our sins. Without understanding mercy and forgiveness, we can’t grasp the ongoing power of the gospel to transform lives.

If you would like to go deeper on this topic, you can purchase the full Momentum Bible study book at Lifeway.com.

Group Answers Podcast

July 7, 2021

Group Answers Podcast

June 23, 2021

Group Answers Episode 210: Mark Croston

By Chris Surratt

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Mark Croston about his new book, Big Results Leadership, and the Black Church Leadership and Family Conference.

Mark A. Croston served as pastor to an urban congregation in Virginia for 26 years. He now serves as National Director of Black Church Ministries at Lifeway Christian Resources. He is also general editor of the YOU Bible Study Curriculum and is the author of Big Results: Sunday School and Black Church Life.

Upcoming Groups Conferences:

Align Denver, June 29

Align Atlanta, October 12

Episode Sponsor

Downline Ministries’ mission is to encourage a restoration of biblical discipleship in and through the local church by equipping men and women to know God’s Word and make disciples.

Group Leadership

June 22, 2021

Assimilation & Biblical Hospitality: Two Sides of the Same Coin

By Ken Braddy

On a recent Southwest Airlines flight, I watched the boarding process carefully. I was fortunate to have been in the first boarding group, and I chose my seat quickly and sat down, taking a window seat.

A man took the aisle seat on my row, and proceeded to place his computer bag in the middle seat. One of the crew members made several announcements asking passengers not to do that (save a middle seat so that no one could sit there). The flight was 100% full, and every seat would be needed.

Still, the passenger on the aisle didn’t follow the flight crew’s instructions, and his behavior was in stark contrast to others I observed. I watched another passenger, already seated, give up her seat to an elderly couple so they could sit together. That act of kindness is rarely seen. The older couple was having a hard time assimilating themselves onto the aircraft, but one passenger made it easier for them. Eventually the man on my row was forced to place his computer bag under his seat so that a person could sit between us. How many people passed by our row, wishing to take that middle seat, but uneasy about asking the fellow to move his bag? Quite a few, I bet, since we were on the fourth row of the plane! The man was inhospitable, and people knew it.

The goal in boarding the aircraft is to get everyone assimilated—place luggage in an overhead bin, place a personal bag under the seat, find a seat, buckle yourself in, and voila…you’re assimilated!

I’ll come back to this in just a bit.

During a dinner meeting last night, a friend told me of his recent experience visiting a church. His goal was to find a new church and a Bible study group to which he could belong.

This friend described how he’d visited a group, tried to fit in, and filled out a guest information card, but had not been contacted by the leader of the group, nor anyone from the group. His adult daughter had also experienced this same thing on her quest to find a church home. And now we come to the connection between biblical hospitality and assimilation.

Biblical Hospitality Helps in the Assimilation Process

Assimilation is an art and a science. But it is also one way we express biblical hospitality to others. Biblical hospitality is a way for Kingdom people to welcome others into conversations and into the Kingdom by being friendly. Hospitality is about building relationships with others. However, based on stories I hear frequently from around the country, people everywhere have a hard time being welcomed into Bible study groups. This is painful and disappointing to hear. Believers should be the most welcoming people on the planet. We’ve been welcomed into a relationship with Jesus, we’ve been welcomed into God’s family, and we’ve been welcomed into a new way of life.

Showing biblical hospitality to others means that we:

Value all people as unique creations of God
Treat friends and strangers the same way
Welcome people into our homes, our churches, and our lives

Assimilation is more than just becoming a member of a group. In fact, a person may be a member but never be assimilated into the body. The goal is to help people feel they are wanted, that they belong, and that they are needed

Almost 70% of people surveyed are open to the idea of attending your Bible study group. Another 6% are actively trying to assimilate themselves into a group of some kind. With these high percentages, your group and mine should be growing.

The lack of hospitality to guests is sending the wrong signal to people who are in need of biblical fellowship, relationships, Bible study, and opportunities to serve others.

5 Ways to Provide a Higher Level of Biblical Hospitality as you Assimilate People

Enlist a greeter (or greeters). A greeter’s primary job is to watch for, speak to, and show hospitality to guests. The requirement for such a role? A smile, a firm handshake, and a strong desire to help people fit in.
Introduce guests to others. Helping a guest meet new people is important in their assimilation into your Bible study group. As they meet new people, they’ll find others with similar interests and backgrounds.
Invite guests to fellowship opportunities. Group members can and should offer to sit with the guest in the church’s worship service, ask them to have lunch after church, and encourage them to attend the next fun fellowship the group experiences together.
Follow up with guests. This is a big reason why guests don’t return! If groups don’t follow up quickly with a guest, they send the signal that the person isn’t really that important to them, and that is no way to show biblical hospitality.
Train your group to understand that assimilation and hospitality are everyone’s job. Even though your group may have a designated greeter or greeters, you must teach the group that showing hospitality and assimilating new people is everyone’s job. The entire group must take ownership of the process.

Don’t be like the “aisle guy” I talked about earlier! He made it harder for people to assimilate onto our plane that day. Instead, be welcoming, be open, be friendly, and practice biblical hospitality with every guest who comes to your group.

This post appeared originally at kenbraddy.com

Ken Braddy is Lifeway’s Director of Sunday School, Manager of Lifeway Christian Resources Adult Ongoing Bible Studies & Adult Trainers, education pastor 20+ years, author, conference leader, and blogger.

Church Leadership

June 17, 2021

4 Keys to Regathering in Small Groups

By Chris Surratt

This past year has definitely been a seesaw ride for churches and church leaders. As the pandemic became a reality in March of 2020, churches around the nation had to make the difficult decision to stop in-person gatherings for a period of time. This included small groups for a large part of the country. As a result, research has shown that there is some good news, bad news, and potentially concerning news for the future.

Let’s start with the bad news: Not everyone has returned to weekend worship yet, and it may be awhile before they do. Unstuck Group data shows that the average in-person attendance over the previous 12 months of churches dropped by more than 28%, and most churches are seeing ½ to ⅓ of pre-pandemic attendance since regathering.

Now the really good news: Recent Lifeway research shows that 91% of churchgoers are planning on returning to their pre-pandemic attendance levels when COVID-19 is no longer an active threat to people’s health. That’s an exciting statistic and gives hope for a return to normal for churches.

But there is also some concerning news for church leaders in the research: According to a recent survey by Lifeway Research, discipleship habits have changed because of COVID. In January 2020, prior to the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 3 in 5 U.S. churchgoers said they participated in a church small group. A year later, fewer U.S. churchgoers overall said they were involved in any type of church small groups. A third (33%) said they were participants in January 2021 and 4% said they served as a leader.

This drift away from participating in groups is concerning because of these facts found in the research for the book, Transformational Groups.

People who are in groups serve more often using their spiritual gifts. 73 percent of group members who attended four times a month or more said, “I am intentionally putting my spiritual gifts to work serving God and others.” In contrast, only 42 percent of people who did not attend a group said this.
People who are in groups are more financially generous. People who regularly attended a group reported they gave 10.34 percent of their income to their church. People who did not attend a group gave at a significantly lower rate.
People who are in groups share their faith more. The research demonstrated that people in groups are more evangelistic than those who do not attend a group. People who are in groups practice sharing their faith at a rate of almost four times more than those not in a group.
People in groups are more relational. Again, the research proved that people not involved in a group were significantly less concerned about building relationships with other believers than the people committed to attending a group Bible study. People in a group are almost twice as likely to intentionally form relationships with the people they meet at church.
People in groups pray more. The results of the survey showed that people who regularly attend a group are almost twice as likely to pray for someone who is not a professing Christian. Sixty percent of regular attenders pray for people who are not connected to God or the church, while only 35 percent of people who do not attend a group do so.

So how do we correct this drift in discipleship habits and encourage people to regather in groups again? Here are four things to think about.

1. Plan an all-church campaign for this Fall.

A small group campaign is where all of your groups are studying the same thing for a set number of weeks (usually around six). The campaign gets everyone on the same discipleship page and builds excitement for being part of a small group. You can even go as far as including the students and kids ministries in the alignment. Producing a “whole church” study initiative is a lot of work, but it can be worth it to have everyone going the same direction spiritually.

2. Intentionally recruit and train new leaders.

Now is the time to check in with all of your current leaders to see about their willingness to lead again in the fall. I would make the assumption that not all of them will be ready, which is why it is critical to start recruiting and training new leaders immediately. It’s also time to reexamine your leader training. Leaders will need new tools in order to lead effectively coming out of the pandemic. You will need leaders with the gift and heart for shepherding like never before.

3. Give people options for where and how they gather.

One thing this past year has shown us is the need for options for where and how people gather for community. Online Zoom groups have become viable for churches around the world. Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA, has added hundreds of online groups that are now gathering thousands of people internationally. Let’s not abandon new methods for the sake of returning to what is comfortable. Plan to offer a few online only groups as well as traditional in-person ones.

4. Teach the why from the pulpit.

Your people will need to know the why before the what. The best way to sell the idea of gathering together in small groups is to share the vision from the pulpit. This can be done in a single sermon, or even better, a sermon series on why biblical community matters and is essential for spiritual growth. This is a message we need now more than ever.

CHRIS SURRATT (@ChrisSurratt) is the discipleship and small groups specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources, a ministry consultant and coach with more than 20 years of experience, and the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

Group Answers Podcast

June 16, 2021

Church Leadership

June 11, 2021

Finding Unity in Diversity

By Deborah Spooner

I took over North Phoenix Baptist church just about five years ago. And when I arrived here, the church was over 90% caucasion. Now, that’s not a bad thing obviously. But I knew the church didn’t reflect the city. So, I began to pray and ask God: “What do we need to do?” I know this is God’s heart—that church is supposed to be a church for the city. It’s supposed to reflect the city that it’s in, and we weren’t doing that very well.

As I began to pray, I recognized something needed to take place if we were going to truly be a church for all people.

Now, here’s a phrase I’m going to give you, and it might scare you. But, we found it to be true. I knew that we were going to have to be a “culturally relevant” church without being “biblically irrelevant.” That’s a tough balance. Sometimes, if we are not careful, we can say, “We’re going to be so culturally relevant, and we’re going to water down the gospel.” That’s not what we want. And then other times, we’re going to say, “We’re just going to preach the Word and let the Word reach the people.” Now that’s true, and the Word is powerful; however, I think God also wants us to understand the context in which He’s placed our church.

I had to take this church-culture-box that we had; it was really filled with a bunch of traditions that may have worked ten, fifteen, or even twenty years ago. I took this church-culture-box, and I recognized that every single weekend, we expected people to leave their culture outside the church doors and conform to our culture on a Sunday morning. Well guess what? That didn’t work very well.

So, we exploded the box. We exploded the box because we wanted to reach people for Jesus.

Now again, we got a little more “culturally relevant.” We understood the context. We understood the style of worship needed to change a little bit. We understood that things needed to change if people were going to walk in these doors to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me tell you what didn’t change: Bible teaching. We preached the gospel. We preached the Word of God. And we stayed very faithful to who God was calling us to be.

We never lowered the standard of holiness, but we opened the window of grace.

This wasn’t easy because this meant that we had to cut some of our typical traditions. Some of those had to die because here is the truth: sometimes we keep traditions, and these traditions when they’re not biblical, we let them trump truth. But we took out these traditions that were not biblical. And we began to really form and create a church where anybody can walk in and hear the gospel.

Let me share with you what took place. The church exploded. It exploded not only in growth, but for me, most importantly, it exploded in diversity. It completely looks differently than it did five years ago. Last time we checked, we had 82 different languages represented in our congregation. The church went from over 90% caucasion to probably 60/40; we’re so mixed. Politically, we’re split down the middle; we went from being a red church to a purple church. When you walk on the campus now, we have everything from a traditional service to a contemporary service to a spanish service to a swahili service. Then, when you come into the main service, it’s diverse.

Here’s what I’ve seen. That even in the midst of so much diversity, unity is possible.

Although we are all so different on a Sunday morning, what brings us together is much stronger and much more powerful than what separates us. And what brings us together is the blood of Jesus Christ. That can unify anything and anyone. I want to encourage you. Look at your city.

Does your church reflect the city that God has placed you in? If it doesn’t, what is God calling you to do?

It may be hard, but you are the shepherd of this church. God has called you to lead the sheep to places they wouldn’t otherwise go on their own. See, I believe there are a lot of shepherds out there that are being led by the sheep. I want to encourage you with boldness—lean into your calling. Lean into your covering. Know that God has called you for this time and this city to be a place, to be a church, for the people in your city.

I hope this encourages you. Through the power of Jesus, you can do it.

—

To hear more encouraging and practical videos from Noe Garcia (as well as learn about his upcoming Bible study and book releases), visit: lifeway.com/noegarcia.

Group Answers Podcast

June 9, 2021

Group Answers Episode 208: Tim Cosby on Making Coaching Work

By Chris Surratt

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On this episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris talk to Tim Cosby about how to make coaching work with small group leaders.

Tim Cosby is the co-founder of the Coaching-Based Ministry™ model, a revolutionary leadership development program that empowers people to grow spiritually through coaching. Tim’s model was developed to help pastors and Christian leaders with a more effective way to help people change. The model of just telling people what to do won’t lead to sustained life transformation. Tim discovered, after years of pastoring, that receiving information and advice alone does not lead to transformation and growth. Transformation happens only when a person becomes internally motivated to change.

Upcoming Groups Conferences:

Align Denver, June 29

Align Atlanta, October 12

Episode Sponsor

Downline Ministries’ mission is to encourage a restoration of biblical discipleship in and through the local church by equipping men and women to know God’s Word and make disciples.

Outreach Doesn’t Have to Be Out-of-Reach

Lifeway Bible Studies Episode 20: Momentum Session 6

Finding Unity in Diversity

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