Celebrate the Resurrection

Use your group meeting to celebrate what Jesus Christ has done, is doing and is going to do.  

"It is finished!" is not just famous last words.  

It is a truth statement.  Remind people of this truth.  

One of the great things about soul care is that it provides an opportunity for people to remind one of God's goodness and faithfulness.

Ministry opportunities to let your group know about:

Children's ministry.  This is a growing ministry.  A lot of new families and kids who need Jesus. 

International ministry.  This past Sunday we were able to see the impact this ministry can have on Toledo and around the world.

Everyday ministry.  Ask if people in your group introduced themselves to someone new this past Sunday.

The Illusion of Control

There are a lot of challenging elements involved with leading a small group. For example, few leaders have much fun when it comes to choosing curriculum. It’s also tough to serve group members with strong personalities, and even finding enough group members to launch a group can be a difficult task right off the bat.

But for many people, one of the most difficult obstacles in leading a small group is giving up the illusion of control.

Let me explain. Most of us who lead groups put a lot of pressure on our own shoulders when it comes to the ultimate success or failure of that group. We set high goals for both ourselves and our group members—goals that usually involve spiritual transformation, spiritual growth, and a march toward spiritual maturity. We want our groups to be an important event in the lives of those who participate. We want people to experience God and experience authentic community.

In other words, we want our groups to succeed.

Unfortunately, many group leaders feel like the success of their group is entirely dependent on their own qualities and decisions as a leader...

Please email soulcare@hotmail.com, if you have read this.

For the rest of the article go to http://blog.lifeway.com/biblestudiesforlife/small-group-monday-the-illusion-of-control/

Clarification about Wednesday night's Soul Care

CLARIFICATION:
THIS WEDNESDAY’S SOUL CARE AT THE CHURCH is NOT in place of your regular soul care.

Please plan to meet with your group as normal and use this week’s message to challenge one another to show Christian love.

This Wednesday night’s meeting at the church is an opportunity for people WHO ARE NOT CURRENTLY part of a soul care group

to find out about our Soul Care Group ministry

Families with children are welcome!

For some insight into why we are doing this Wednesday night meeting check out

http://soulcare-disciplemaking.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-soul-care-groups-and-this.html

MINISTRY NEED:

We are at a critical point in the children’s ministry.

Over the last several weeks there has been an increase in the number of children each week.

This is great but we did not staff for this kind of unexpected growth. 

Prayerfully think about how you can help us with the very good problem.

Here are a couple of ideas:                                        

·       One day help this upcoming Easter Sunday.  With the increases we have been having over the last couple of weeks, we are not sure what to expect this Easter.

Encourage approved workers to let Andrea Fansler (afansler@emmanuelbaptist.com) know if they could help with the children during one of the services.

·       Regular Service in the Children’s Ministry.  Encourage members of your group, who are not currently scheduled, to contact Andrea Fansler afansler@emmanuelbaptist.com about getting on the regular service schedule.

This was posted on 04/17/14

Soul Care Leader (04/12/14)

Tomorrow's message from Acts 9:26-31, provides a great opportunity for group's to look at how they are doing with demonstrating sincere Christian love.

Here are a couple of things to help you lead your soul care group this week.

CONTACT INFORMATION:  Diane Foore would love to get into a group. 

Her email address is mamafoore@yahoo.com 

Her address is  525 E Woodruff Ave Apt 614, Toledo, OH 43604.

She has a transportation need so if your group meets near her house and/or

someone in your group lives near her, please invite her to your group.

THIS WEDNESDAY’S SOUL CARE AT THE CHURCH is NOT in place of your soul care. 

It is an opportunity for people who are not CURRENTLY part of a soul care group.

Families with children are welcome!

http://soulcare-disciplemaking.blogspot.com

THE SERMON SUMMARY for this week is

"The bold preaching of Christ along with sincere Christian love produces an irresistible church."

TWO RECENT TWITTER POSTS related to small groups:

·       A new group makes is easier for newcomers to connect than existing groups. lfwy.co/1kCDbhQ #GroupsMatter

·       Without new small groups we may see a plateau or decline in participation lfwy.co/1gvlGLb #GroupsMatter @eddiemosley

http://soulcare-disciplemaking.blogspot.com

MORE INFORMATION AT THE DISCIPLEMAKING BLOG.  I really want to make these emails more concise. In order to do that, I am sharing additional helps and resources related to this Wednesday at the church and twitter posts at http://soulcare-disciplemaking.blogspot.com. Please be sure to check out this resource page.

This was posted at 04/17/14

New Soul Care Groups and This Wednesday's Test Drive

Be sure to check out the Powerful and Pathetic post on the church blog http://blog.emmanuelbaptist.com/?p=352

Test Drive a new group this Wednesday at the church?

What is the purpose of doing something like this at this point in the year?

• Easier connection point.  "A new group makes is easier for newcomers to connect than existing groups." #GroupsMatter
• Short term.
• Familiar setting.
• Communicating specific purpose of Soul Care ministry.
• Build momentum for the end of this year and next year.

Four key ideas for connecting the unconnected

It’s easier to connect in a new group than in an existing group.  The longer a group has been together, the more difficult it becomes for a new member to connect.  

It’s easier to connect in a familiar setting than a stranger’s living room.  Long-time church members and very connected people sometimes have a hard time understanding what it feels like to be new.  

Choosing from a menu is preferred over assignment.  When an unconnected person is assigned to a group (i.e., you live in 90210, you’re assigned to the Wilson’s group) they feel limited.

Choosing from a hand-selected menu is easier than choosing from a full buffet.  An unconnected person is more likely to choose from a short menu of the best options than a wide menu of all options.

To read the entire article go to biblestudyinsider.com/2013/07/10/four-ways-to-connect-the-unconnected/#.U0lU6ie9KSO

Specifically for Soul Care groups meeting on April 2nd but everyone should read it...

If you are checking this thanks!
There is an additional prayer request for tonight and this weekend.

Tonight (April 2), the devotional for the kid's today at practice and the parent's on Saturday is from John 3:16.
Pastor Shane will be sharing with the parents on Saturday!

Here is the team devotional for this week...
› Virtue: You are part of God’s Big Story!
› Scripture Verse: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NIV)
Bottom Line: God loves you and gave us Jesus to trust and follow.
We’ve had a GREAT season! It’s been so much fun watching each of you become better players and better friends with each other! We’ve learned a lot about basketball…but we’ve also
learned a lot about ourselves and about others.

Think about the things that we’ve learned during our huddle time this year. Do you remember the three virtues we’ve discussed?
What were they?

First we learned about Honesty. Honesty is choosing to be truthful in whatever you say and do. We learned that many times when we tell a lie, we try to cover it up by telling another one and another one. However, if we stick with telling the truth the first time, we can build trust between ourselves and others. More importantly, when we are truthful, God delights in us and helps us build strong relationships with friends and family.

Then we learned about Patience. Patience is waiting until later for you want now. Sometimes
it’s hard to have patience when we want something now. However, God says that if we
trust him and wait, there is so much he can teach us. Also, when we are impatient and
decide not to wait, we can forget what is true and what God wants in our lives. Another great
lesson we learned about patience is that it can protect the relationships we have with others,
such as our friends or siblings.

We also learned about Kindness. Kindness is showing other they are valuable by how you treat them. Our verse about kindness is also known as the “golden rule.” We should always try to treat others that way that we want to be treated. To take that one step further, we  should treat others the way that Jesus would treat them. Why is this important? Because we learned that everyone is important to God, and that even though it’s hard, we should treat them the way he would treat them.

Listen to this week’s verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 (NIV)
We have all made mistakes. The Bible tells us that because of sin, we are separated from God.
But because God loves us so much, he provides a way back to him. Our verse teaches us that this way is through his son, Jesus. He sent his only Son, Jesus, to live a perfect life on earth and then pay the price for all of our sins on the cross. And because of that act of forgiveness, we can be with God forever.

I’ve got something else to tell you. Did you know that you are part of God’s BIG STORY?
That’s right…he has a BIG STORY and each one of you are in it! You will learn more about that  BIG STORY at the awards celebration. It’s gonna be great! Let’s pray to God and thank him for all
he’s done for us.