Role Play: Training Session #5

Thank you to everyone who has been out to one of the two training times.

Here is a possible situation that could happen in your group.
After reading this short description of the situation, do the TWO assignments right after it.

Someone comes to your 2nd Soul Care meeting and tells the group they read a great book that shares the ancient mystery that holds the secret of America's future
AND
it is all found in the Bible.  Most of it is found in one verse...
Isaiah 9:10.
AND
they want to take some time to share about it this week or next week.

Assignments

1. Before doing Assignment #2, email me how you might handle the situation.
2. Read one of these two articles and let me know when you finished reading it.  Book Review or Bestsellers.  Both articles are very good.

Prayer Training Time - Training Session #4

IMMEDIATE NEED:  Two people to help with the sign up table this Sunday, August 21, 2016.

For this week's training time there are no videos.
There are two activities to do.

FIRST, PRAY!

Take 10 minutes to pray for Soul Care and this Onward Study.

Here are some specific Biblical prayer requests from the article

How to Pray for your Small Group Ministry

Paul's prayers for the churches make a great place to start praying for small groups—which, after all, are manifestations of the church. Consider these examples:

• Colossians 1:9-14: knowing God's will, spiritual wisdom and fruit, growth in knowledge of God, endurance, patience, joy, gratitude
• Ephesians 1:17-19: spiritual wisdom and revelation, knowledge of God and of their hope as believers
• Ephesians 3:14-21: spiritual power and faith, knowledge of Christ's love, being filled with God's fullness

A major success factor in any small group is meaningful relationships. Here are a few ways to pray for relationships in your small groups:

• Pray for a spirit of grace and forgiveness among group members (James 1:19 and Matthew 6:12, 14-15).
• Pray for humility (Philippians 2:1-5).
• Ask God to protect the groups from grumbling and complaining spirits (Philippians 2:14-15).
• Ask God to create environments of encouragement (1 Thessalonians 5:11).
• Pray that God will reveal small-group members' spiritual gifts and create opportunities for those gifts to be used to honor him and serve the groups.
• Pray for appropriate levels of intimacy, accountability, and confidentiality.
• Ask God to lead new people into the right small groups, and pray for a spirit of acceptance and welcoming.

Here are some specific prayer requests related to our Soul Care ministry this Fall.

• Pray this Onward study would help groups members think Biblically as they engage.
• Pray that new Soul Care Group leaders would be identified, trained and developed.  I would really love for us to commit praying specifically for this ongoing prayer request.
• Pray for group members to be more focused on glorifying God and challenging others to do the same. 

SECOND, EMAIL.

Email Pastor Dave at soulcare@emmanuelbaptist.com 

to let me know which of the trainings you have done.

If you have not done all of the trainings,

 please do them and then let me know.

ONWARD 6 Session Bible Study (Softcover)

The softcover 6 session Onward 6 Session Bible Study is what we are going to be using 

in our Soul Care training this Fall.  

Each group will get one copy of this book for free for the leader.

Your group members can sign up in the foyer to purchase a copy for $12.00

or can purchase a copy at LifeWay for $12.99, with coupons or upcoming sales you could purchase it for cheaper.

ONWARD book (Hardcover)

The hardcover book Onward is not needed for our study 

BUT is a great book that develops the themes 

introduced in the Bible Study and Video.

About the Onward Study: Training Session #3

This week's training is designed to help you gain a better understanding of the Onward curriculum we are going to be using.

Next week's training session will include some schedule options for the study.

Also if you didn't do the other training times AND email me to let me know they were done, then please do so.  Thanks!

Session #1:  What is Soul Care @ EBC and brief introduction to the Onward study
Session #2:  Small Group Leadership 101.

For the free pdf of the Study Introduction and Session #1 of 6 sessions click HERE
Each study will include 
about 10 minutes of intro questions
about 15 minutes
2o minutes of RESPOND questions from the lesson book (see pdf above)
30 minutes of group prayer
Total of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Three options for schedule:

1. Every other week:  Watch the video.  Do Bible studies for personal study outside of group time.
2. Every week:  Six straight weeks of video.  
3. Every week:  Watch the video every other week.  Discuss the Bible study questions during non-video weeks.

Introduction video:  http://bcove.me/fvf7u9sg

Leader Video:  http://bcove.me/knkk6wjx

Sample of a lesson video:  http://bcove.me/liyjj2t9

About the Onward Study: Training Session #3

This week's training is designed to help you gain a better understanding of the Onward curriculum we are going to be using.

Next week's training session will include some schedule options for the study.

Also if you didn't do the other training times AND email me to let me know they were done, then please do so.  Thanks!

Session #1:  What is Soul Care @ EBC and brief introduction to the Onward study
Session #2:  Small Group Leadership 101.

For the free pdf of the Study Introduction and Session #1 of 6 sessions click HERE
Each study will include 
about 10 minutes of intro questions
about 15 minutes
2o minutes of questions from the lesson book (see pdf above)
30 minutes of group prayer
Total of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Introduction video:  http://bcove.me/fvf7u9sg

Leader Video:  http://bcove.me/knkk6wjx

Sample of a lesson video:  http://bcove.me/liyjj2t9

About the Onward Study: Training Session #3

This week's training is designed to help you gain a better understanding of the Onward curriculum we are going to be using.

Next week's training session will include some schedule options for the study.

Also if you didn't do the other training times AND email me to let me know they were done, then please do so.  Thanks!

Session #1:  What is Soul Care @ EBC and brief introduction to the Onward study
Session #2:  Small Group Leadership 101.

For the free pdf of the Study Introduction and Session #1 of 6 sessions click HERE
Each study will include 
about 10 minutes of intro questions
about 15 minutes
2o minutes of questions from the lesson book (see pdf above)
30 minutes of group prayer
Total of 1 hour 15 minutes.

Three options for schedule:

1. Every other week:  Watch the video.  Do Bible studies for personal study outside of group time.
2. Every week:  Six straight weeks of video.  
3. Every week:  Watch the video every other week.  Discuss the Bible study questions during non-video weeks.

Introduction video:  http://bcove.me/fvf7u9sg

Leader Video:  http://bcove.me/knkk6wjx

Sample of a lesson video:  http://bcove.me/liyjj2t9

Soul Care Training #2 - 2016/17

TONIGHT we have our first live training time at the church in Room 401 at 7:00 pm.  There will be another live training time Sunday, August 21 at 6:00 pm.  Plan to come to ONE of these training times.
During these live trainings we are going to talk about the importance of praying and planning for Gospel Growth in our groups ( Think end game - more disciples makers).

Some other dates to remember:

The week of July 31 - church wide prayer focus for Soul Care.
The week of August 6 - heavy online promotion for Soul Care
Sunday, August 14 - Soul Care sign up in the foyer with Pastor Dave
Sunday, August 21 - Soul Care sign up in the foyer with a couple of Soul Care leaders.  If you are able to help between the services and/or after the service please let Pastor Dave know.

This 11 minute video has some basic but very good, practical things to remember.
You will want to have a piece of paper to take some notes.
After watching this video email (soulcare@emmanuelbaptist.com) one or two of these ten things you need to work on as a leader this year.
A couple of clarifications:  Some things they mention are specific to the resources their groups use.  In asking others to lead a session, please practice prayerful, godly wisdom.




Thank you for your leadership!

Soul Care Training #1 - 2016-17

This is first of six weekly Soul Care training posts.
After you have viewed each of these three videos, email soulcare @ emmanuelbaptist.com
The first two videos are approximately 2 minutes each and the third is approximately 6 minutes.

Post #1 is designed to remind us of the purpose of Soul Care and introduce us to the Onward study.

The Purpose of Soul Care in three videos:

Video #1:  from Camp Patmos.

To watch the video of this information, scroll down.

Hello!  I thought this would be a great place record our first training 2016 training video.
Here at the lighthouse at Camp Patmos.

And I want to begin with telling you about a movie called THE FINEST HOURS.

This amazing, powerful true story is about the biggest small boat rescue in the history of the coast guard.

In the story there men on the sinking boat and on the shore who make some difficult decisions and face some strong opposition.  (HERE is a link to the movie trailer.)

BUT because they were concerned about people’s lives, they did what needed to be done to save lives.  This is not a spoiler alert:  the crew is saved.

After watching the movie I realized our Soul Care ministry is a rescue ministry.

With the power of The Holy Spirit, God’s Word and the church, we come  alongside one another to encourage one another to grow more and more in Christ.

Over the next couple of weeks I want to remind you how God has been using Soul Care at Emmanuel and I want to challenge each of us to prayerfully consider how you can help others glorify God as worshipping, growing, loving disciples.

Please check back here every Tuesday for through August for some specific training information.

There will be information posted on the church blog this week!



Video #2:  A clip about the Onward study that explains why we are doing this study at this time.




Video #3:  an explanation of Soul Care given in the service on July 3rd.

We want to get a small group of people to come together to encourage one another and help one another grow.

For a timeline sketch of what we are going to be doing to promote Soul Care in August, click HERE

2nd section of SIde by Side - Some great prayer helps in this section.

Once again I have included various quotes from this section along some different ways to use these in your own life and in your Soul Care group.

The opening statement in this chapter is a great truth to remember.

"Suffering feels like our biggest problem and avoiding it like our greatest need— but we know that there is something more. Sin is actually our biggest problem, and rescue from it is our greatest need."  (p.43)  When talking with others and thinking about your own situation, don't get caught up in thinking merely about getting out of your circumstances.

One of the things that we want to do during Soul Care is to help us see our selfishness and sinfulness and look to God!

I really want to encourage you to read the section "Seeing the weight of our sin" on page 44 & 45 and helping people FIGHT SIN!

Page 50 has a section titled Pray the Prayer of Scriptures that goes very well with what our Bible Teaching Hours are doing this week.

Pray for Help in Trouble (Psalm 130:1, 2)

There are mysteries in deliverance but since God has identified himself as our savior or rescuer, we are confident that we will see deliverance, even if it looks different from what we first expected. (52)

 Prayer of Confession  (Psalm 130:3, 4)

When in doubt, confess something. Confess that you are struggling to pray, if needed. Confession is always a good place to start when we feel lost. (53)

Prayer to Know the Lord Better

All suffering raises a relational question: Doe God love me? So we pray to know him accurately and better (Eph. 1: 17; 3: 17– 19). As we do, we aim for rest, because resting in him is a way to honor him.  (54)

Also, see Psalm 62:1, 2

Practice Praying.  Here are some quotes from pages 55 to 57 to help us pray scripture.

What we are trying to do is have Scripture shape the way we pray. 

To this end, we can highlight the prayers in Scripture and make them our own, but there is no reason to limit ourselves to the prayers of Scripture. Instead, we can make everything in Scripture a prayer. 

For example, every command in Scripture becomes an occasion for confession—“ Lord, I fall far short, please forgive me”— and a request for power—“ Lord, give me power to follow you fully.”

The phrase in Psalm 62 about finding rest in God can be prayed as our aspiration: “Father, this is what I want— to rest in you alone. Please teach me that you alone, not my ability to figure things out, are my rock and rescue.” Scripture takes us from circumstances to matters of the heart. Poor health, fears about those we love, financial stability in an unpredictable economy— Scripture takes these seriously and deepens them. 

Prayer for our sick aunt will include her circumstances (physical health) and her soul. We will pray for healing, and we will pray that her inner person is renewed, especially through knowing God’s presence, while her body will never be fully renewed in this life. 

Prayer about our selfish boss will include petition that the boss will act justly and (1) that we will be able to work knowing that Jesus himself is our boss (Eph. 6: 5– 6), or (2) that we will find opportunities to trade kindness for the boss’s selfishness (Eph. 4: 32). Prayer for an out-of-control schedule can include (1) confession of wanting to please people (people pleasers are always saying yes); (2) confession of an obsession with video games; (3) faith to take a weekly Sabbath; or (4) grace to focus on what is in front of us as we trust God for the things yet to do. 

Every cry of our hearts can be further shaped by Scripture. We cry out, God reveals more of his heart to us, we learn of him and speak more, he reveals himself more, we respond in thanks, and on and on. We need this communication, and we look forward to praying this way with others.

The last section in this reading entitled "Say 'Help' to Others"

Here is a great challenge for everyone...

How often?  We want to ask more than we do now. 

How to ask? We want to ask prayer for things seen and unseen.

 There are two great exercises you can do with your group:

1. in your Soul Care group might be to read one of the prayers from page 61 to your group each week.  Read it before sharing prayer requests.   
2. Acknowledge His work when it comes (62-64)

We all need help and are helpers!! Side by Side, pages 11-42

Over the next couple of weeks, I will be posting some quotes, questions and thoughts from the book Side by Side.  While much of the content will be focused on Soul Care groups and leaders.  It will also be helpful for other ministry leaders like deacons and Bible teaching hour teachers.

Today's post is related to the content on pages 11 through 42.

Welch has included two or three Discussion/Response questions at the end of each section.  These are very helpful.  Think about how you can use these to help you become even more sincere in God's love.

Two of the big ideas of the book are we all need help and we are all helpers.

We all need help

Anything that reminds us that we are dependent on God and other people is a good thing. Otherwise, we trick ourselves into thinking that we are self-sufficient, and arrogance is sure to follow. We need help, and God has given us his Spirit and each other to provide it. (p. 12)

We are all helpers

In our era we consult experts, professionals, and specialists, but when you look at your own history of having been helped, it’s likely that you’ll notice very few experts among those who have helped you. Who were your helpers? Were they professional counselors or specialists? Probably not. Most often, they were friends— the regular, everyday people in your life. Friends are the best helpers. They come prepackaged with compassion and love. All they need is wisdom, and that is available to everyone. 

It’s the perfect system. If God used only experts and people of renown, some could boast in their own wisdom, but God’s way of doing things is not the same as our way. We ordinary people have been given power and wisdom through the Holy Spirit and are called to love others (John 13: 34). From this beginning, we are compelled to move toward others rather than stay away.  (14)

Here is a helpful group leader tip:
Be honest and transparent.

As a Soul Care leader, it can become very easy to appear the expert in the group and speak AT people rather than growing with the group and conversing with them about life and godliness.

We spend too much time concealing our neediness. We need to stop hiding. Being needy is our basic condition. There is no shame in it— it’s just the way it is.  Understanding this, accepting it, and practicing it will make you a better helper. (p. 15)

Here is a helpful training tip:  
Use resources we already have in place to help you and your group grow!

Plan to come to the 9:00 am Bible Teaching Hour classes in March & Invite others in your group to come.  I know most of you do but these class times.
Our topic on March 6 is praying scripture and hopefully the lesson will help you and your group.  

Here is a helpful discipleship/counseling tip:
The HEART is the target of real change.

What we do, think and feel is connected to the heart.  Welch describes a couple of basic emotions in a way that connects them with the heart.

When happy, we possess something we love; when anxious, something we love is at risk; when despondent, something we love has been lost; when angry, something we love is being stolen or kept from us.  (p. 25)

This section closes with some great thought developed from Psalm 22.  Take time to read not only this section in the book but also Psalm 22 several times.


Psalm 22

Side by Side by Ed Welch

Many of you received a copy of the book Side by Side by Ed Welch.

You should have also received the following schedule

by 2/24 read page 11 through 42
by 3/6 read page 43 through 64
by 3/16 read page 65 through 84
by 3/27 read page 87 through 110
by 4/6 read page 113 through 139
by 4/17 read 141 through 163.

I believe this resource could be a good resource for your ministry to others in the church, not only in Soul Care.

Through April 17th, I am going to be posting various quotes, ideas and resources related to this book.

For now, here are a couple of things to remember.
Some of you may find this information very basic.  If that is the case, look at the book as an assessment tool and  as a way for you to help other people live out the Biblical truths in the book.

Some of you may find this book has a lot of ideas you need to implement in your life.   DO NOT try to do them all. 

Thank you for all you do!  

Studying Romans 6 with Soul Care

This week's Soul Care questions have a specific observation question.

Don't over complicate the question or allow your group members to do it

Here is the observation question "From Romans 6:1 - 11, what should we know?"

Below is the passage with the simplest answers to this question.  The answers are highlighted.

Be sure check this Sunday's blog post about leading the discussion time:  http://blog.emmanuelbaptist.com/bible-reading-helps-for-this-week-and-beyond/

1  What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound

2  By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?  

3  Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 

4  We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5  For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6  We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.7  For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8  Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

My Lack of Preparation & What Your Preparation Should Look Like! - Life of Preparation.

For this upcoming week's Soul Care, you are going to need 5 index cards for each person in your Soul Care group.
If you need index cards, email me how many cards you need.

First of all, I want to apologize for not getting prayer helps out this week.
There was a post on the church blog, blog.emmanuelbaptist.com, yesterday with some prayer tips connected with the Fighter Verse

Hopefully you had a good time meeting together and praying.

Recently, I have spoken to a couple of people about Soul Care leader preparation.
The title of the email I sent out today was "My Life of Preparation."
I want to remind you in this post that almost all of your preparation for leading your Soul Care group is what we all should be doing all the time.

Living life to glorify God by helping others!!

Here are a couple of thoughts about leading a Soul Care group:

• Soul Care is what we all should be doing all the time.  
• Soul Care groups provide a time and place to practice what we should be doing all the time.
• Soul Care group leaders are imperfect examples of church members trying to do and show others what we should be doing all the time. 

• As a Soul Care leader, you are NOT teaching material.  Here is a good way to think about your role.  "Leaders prompt and cultivate the sharing of current life concerns with an eye towards how the sermon might speak to it."

• As a Soul Care leader, openly share about how you are thinking about and applying the sermons and Bible truths to life.  

• Your preparation time for Soul Care should be about 1.5 hours per week.  Now you might be thinking "I don't have that much time to study and read.   Let me break down the 1.5 hours for you.
• 15 minutes:  Think about how you are going to talk to people about how you have been thinking about and applying the sermon to your life. 
• 1 hour 15 minutes:  Pray that you and the members of your group would be living out the Biblical truths they are hearing.  If you take 10 minutes a day to pray like this for your group, that is 1 hour and 10 minutes.  
• There is about 1.5 hours per week of preparation.  83% of this preparation time is praying for others which we all should be doing all the time.

Training Email from 08.19.15

Here is the email I sent out with additional thoughts in red

First of all, this week:
The last summer training times are Tonight, August 19, (7:00 in Room 201) and Sunday morning, August 23, (9:00 am in Room 201).

Tonight's training is #4:  Praying for and with Your Group.  Information about this topic will be posted later. 

Sunday morning we will be talking about
#3 Leading your Group (Another way to think of this is Discipling Disciplemakers.)

#4 Praying for and with Your Group

This Sunday's Bulletin Insert:
Here is some of the Information that will be on this Sunday's Bulletin Insert.   (I wanted to give you a heads up about what is going to be in the bulletin this Sunday)

NEXT STEP through SOUL CARE GROUPS
Meeting at different places and different times

What is Soul Care?
A Biblical Command:  See 1st Thess. 5:11; Heb. 10:24, 25, 1 Pt 4:8-10

Soul Care groups?   
What EBC uses to promote Soul Care.
Not the only place this happens but is a great NEXT STEP

What are Family Friendly Groups?  
Groups that connect families with children.  (Here is a resource from another church to help you understand what a Family Friendly Group is http://tinyurl.com/soulcarechildren1  It is my hope that every group LOVES families and would be friendly TOWARDS families but a Family Friendly Soul Care Group is determined to help families with kids connect with others in our church.   They will help families develop a plan to meet together.)

Sunday, August 30th @ 9:00:  NEXT STEP info meeting in room 201.

For more go to blog.emmanuelbaptist.com/nextstep 

This Summer's Bible Teaching Hour Study

Our Summer study "A Christ Centered Church" is a great Bible training time for everyone at EBC.  

The lessons have focused on not only what we believe about God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible and the Church but also these truths should impact our lives.  

You can get the notes from the lessons at  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6weakwuh0uckg5y/AAAzAAJHfufp4o5AwNVWQarKa?dl=0

(One of the chapters in Christ Centered Biblical Counseling is about Transformational Small Group.  You can read a summary of this chapter at http://biblicalcounselingcoalition.org/blogs/2013/08/05/transformational-small-group-ministry-and-biblical-counseling/)

Soul Care Summer Calendar, for what is left of summer.

As summer comes to an end, we are gearing up for our fall ministries.  

I want to let you know that it is important that we get the year started with everyone on the same page,
  which is why we have had these FOUR summer training times,
  which is why it is important that EVERY Soul Care leader be at the training times,
  which is why I have set up some additional times for the training before the fall kick-off.

In July, I sent out an email stating that leaders needed to attend THREE of the FOUR training times.  Please make note of these training times.

This Sunday morning @ 9:00 am in Room 201.  Training Sessions #1 & #2 summary.
If you were not able to be at Session #1 – Overview or Session #2 – Sermon Discussion, PLAN to come to this summary session during the Bible teaching time. 

This Sunday night @ 6:00 pm and This Wednesday night @ 7:00 pm.  Final Training Session #4 on Prayer for and in your groups will be in Room 401.

Next Sunday morning, August 23, @ 9:00 am in Room 201.  Training Sessions #3 & #4 summary. If you were not able to be at Session #3 – Making Disciplemakers or Session #4 – Prayer for and in your group, PLAN to come to this summary session during the Bible teaching time.

On August 30 @ 9:00 am in Room 201, there will be a connection time for people to find out more about getting connected with a Soul Care group and/or a Bible Teaching Hour class.  There will be more information about this time next week. 

Notes from Cancelled Soul Care Leader Meeting

Sorry I wasn't able to have the Soul Care Leader meeting tonight!
Wasn't feeling well today!

Here are the notes from the meeting.

Soul Care Group Leader Training

EBC’s mission is Glorify God by making disciples who are

Submitted to His Lordship

Grounded in His Teaching

Sincere in His Love

EBC’s Soul Care ministry has been designed to cultivate, help grow disciples who are “sincere in His love.”

Here is another way to think of what Soul Care is about

In our Soul Care Groups we want people

  to share how they are growing in relationship to truths they have heard and

  to encourage one another to grow.

Pray we would be known as more than a church with a strong pulpit ministry but rather a church that is a congregation of believers living out strong teaching & preaching.

Remember the congregation’s responsibilities for preaching:

1. Responsibility for what preaching they support (Galatians 1, 2 Timothy 4:3; Revelation 2:17)

2. Responsibility to change (James 1:22)

3. Responsibility to help each other change (Ephesians 4)

Preaching that equips is not simply truth that we hear on Sunday, but truth that reverberates back and forth throughout the congregation all week long.

In Soul Care this happens through

sermon discussion that  is application focused.  See “Banning Bible Studies” article.

prayer that is personal, God-glorifying

Training #2:  Leading Sermon Discussions (07.19 @ 6:00 OR 07.22 @ 7:00)

Training #3:  Leading your group to become disciplemakers (08.02 

                             @ 6:00 OR 08.05 @ 7:00)

Training #4:  Praying with and for your group (08.16 @ 6:00 OR

                             08.19 @ 7:00)

  

Summer Leadership Training

The summer seems to be going quickly!  We are already starting to plan for fall ministries such as Soul Care.  

After reading this email, please respond to the questions andRSVP to Jane jlee@emmanuelbaptist.com about which training PIZZA or ICE CREAM you are planning to attend.

Looking back and looking ahead…

There have been some great relationships built and people growing through relationships and conversations in Soul Care Groups.  We want to thank God for what He is doing in and through those who attend EBC.

There have also been some challenges and difficulties as we continue with this ministry.  We want to prayerfully evaluate how we can improve our Soul Care Group ministry.

Your answers to the following questions will be helpful in improving our Soul Care Group ministry.  I would appreciate your answers to these questions, whether you have been a leader or are thinking about/planning to be a leader this fall.

• Are you planning to lead a Soul Care group next year?  Why or why not? ?

• What have been some blessings this past year you have witnessed in your Soul Care group?

• What have been some challenges this past year you have faced in your Soul Care group?

• What are some things you could do to improve your ministry fruitfulness this year?  (not just in Soul Care)

• What are some things I can do to help you improve as a Soul Care leader? 

Preparing for a new year of ministry…

We are going to have 4 different training times throughout the summer and 

there are going to be 2 different time options for each training, Sunday and Wednesday.

Training Topic #1:

Refocusing on Biblical Soul Care and a time of fellowship/encouragement with leaders and potential leaders.

Sunday, July 12, pizza lunch meeting after church Sunday morning in room 400.
Wednesday, July 15, ice cream meeting at 7:00 in room 400.

Please RSVP to Jane Lee by Thursday, July 9.

Training Topic #2:

Receiving and sharing helps for leading discussions. (Sunday, July 19 @ 6:00 OR Wednesday, July 22 @ 7:00)

Training Topic #3:

Leading your group to become disciplemakers (Sunday, August 2 @ 6:00 OR Wednesday, August 5 @ 7:00)

Training Topic #4:

Praying with and for your group (Sunday, August 16 @ 6:00 OR Wednesday, August 19 @ 7:00)

Please plan to come out to at least 3 of these topics. 

Thank you very much!

How to use Soul Care blog resources

Click on the picture for a pdf version of this.

Enter the Arena to Take Attendance.

Here are instructions for attendance in Arena.
Click HERE for a pdf version of this note.
You should have received a paper copy of this in your mailbox.

Disciples Taking the Word to the World!

February Plan

Sunday, January 18th & 25th	Soul Care promotion.Informing those who haven't connected with a group, current group leaders, potential leaders and others of the February 1 meeting (see below)  This is going to be done through announcements, the bulletin, Bible teaching hour classes and this week’s welcome classes.
Sunday February 1st @ 9:00 am Possibly Tuesday, February 3rd if needed.	Get together with anyone interested in learning more about Soul Care groups or getting reconnected with a group. Current and Potential Soul Care leaders are encouraged to come to this time also.
During our Soul Care Group times in February we are going to do a two week Bible study on "What is a disciple?" Please don't overlook the importance of each of us growing in our understanding of what this word means and how it is lived out in our church. We are going to use a free online resource called MULTIPLY.   These two weeks will emphasize “Taking the Word to the World” Here are a couple of reasons for this study: Preparation for this year’s theme and missions conference Great starting point for new groups and new people. Challenge existing groups to be intentional about disciple making. Challenges people to find someone to share the Gospel with.    The Soul Care questions would be developed from the chapters of MULTIPLY and geared to help group members think more about their Soul Care groups disciple making mission. The resources below would be made available to the leaders and group members would have these resources. Other material can be found at www.multiplymovement.com/material
Soul Care the Week of Feb 1st	WHAT IS A DISCIPLE? Chapter 1 resources: Free pdf:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/multiply/material/p1-s1.pdf Free audio reading of the chapter:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/multiply/audiobook/p1-s1.mp3 6 minute video:  http://vimeo.com/51355116
Soul Care the week of Feb 8th	THE COMMAND TO MAKE DISCIPLES Chapter 2 resources Free pdf:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/multiply/material/p1-s2.pdf Free audio reading of the chapter:  http://s3.amazonaws.com/multiply/audiobook/p1-s2.mp3 4 minute video:  http://vimeo.com/51355117
There is a possible third week study to do.

Here are some possible questions from the week 1 lesson.

1. Up to this point in your life, would you call yourself a follower of Jesus Christ? Why do you say that? Do you see evidence of your faith as described in Luke 6:40
2. Evaluate your approach to following Jesus. Would you say that you view Jesus as your Lord, Master, and Owner?  Why or why not?
3. As you look at your life, how would you say that your love for God is shown in your actions? (If you’re having trouble coming up with an answer, take some time to think through some changes you may need to make in your lifestyle?
4. If you choose/have chosen to obey Jesus’s call to follow, what might/has it/should it cost you? (Avoid being vague. If following Jesus would cost you specific possessions, comforts, or relationships, list them below.)
5. What might hold you back from following Jesus at this point? Are you willing to let go of these things if necessary?