How do I sign up for a Community Group?
For the month of July there will be three ways for church members to sign up. They can either sign up on the bulletin board with their respective “zone” (NE Springfield, NW Springfield, Ozark, Nixa, etc) or can fill out a bulletin insert that will be distributed each week, or you can sign up online. After the deadline for sign-ups, Aug. 1st, the names will be organized by zone and groups will be created based on proximity within that zone. Depending on the location and number of groups available, there may be some flexibility with the zones. For instance, if someone in “NE Springfield”lives closer to a group that is considered to be in“NW Springfield” they may be matched with the group in NW Springfield.
What is the Grouplink Event?
On the last Sunday in August there will be a kick-off dinner for Community Groups. By this time, all leaders and hosts will be in place.Each Community Group will have an assigned table with leaders and hosts seated at their table to welcome their group. This event will allow people to see who is in their group, get to know their leader and host and hear a brief introduction to the purpose and goals of Community Groups.
What happens at a Celebration Service?
This will be different from both our typical Sunday morning or Sunday Evening worship services. This will be a special time of worship,testimony, and encouragement for those involved or desiring to be involved in a Community Group. For those who are not already involved in a Community Group,this will be a chance to meet/join a Community Group in their area.
What happens when Community Groups are not meeting (December, spring break, Summer, etc)?
There will be some events that occasionally will take place on a Sunday night that will interrupt the Community Group Meeting, i.e. Fall Festival.On nights like that, Community Groups will not meet and we encourage Community Groups to make plans to support that event as they can. On one of the Sunday nights in December, when groups are not meeting, the Christmas musical will be performed. On the other weeks in December and in the summer our plan is to have a Sunday night worship service similar to what we have done in the past. During Spring Break, if the groups should choose to do some fellowship, ministry project, etc, that is up to the discretion of the leader and host.
What types of ministry projects should the Community Groups be performing?
Evangelistic/Mission opportunities are up to the creativity and talents of the particular Community Group and need to be approved by either the Pastor of Discipleship or the Small Group Director. Possible ideas include neighborhood-wide bbq’s, block parties,servant evangelism, etc. We ask that each group plan at least one mission activity in the fall and one in the spring. Our preference would be that these take place prior to the Celebration Service so that other groups may be encouraged by each other’s work for the kingdom.
Additionally, each Community Group is expected to meet the needs of those in the group when they can. This may include doing hospital visits, organizing meals, special prayer, or support in other ways that they can.
Who can participate in a Community Group?
This is something we strongly encourage every member to be involved in. We also strongly encourage members to invite friends or Sunday morning visitors to their Community group as we desire this to be a means of outreach for our church.
What about those who do not participate in a group?
We view Community Groups as much more than another program our people can attend, but something that is vital to their growth in discipleship. We do not require people to be involved, but openly invite everyone to participate.
