ACC LifeGroups | Ideas for Leaders

If your group is doing 30 Days AND you have chosen to have your group listed on the web finder, please follow these instructions to activate your group listing.

Step One: Go to this page and create an account.  https://accsmfca.infellowship.com/UserLogin/Index.aspx

Step Two: After creating your account, check your email acct. for a verification email.  It may take a few minutes for that to arrive.  The email will have this subject line: “Welcome to Adventure Christian Church Groups”

Step 3: Activate your account by clicking where you are instructed to click.

Step 4: Complete all required profile fields.  Note: You may have already completed a similar form with our church database.  As a Life Group leader you will need to create a new profile with accurate information.  You may use the same email and password for this account.

Step 5: Go to our new Life Group finder and find your group: https://accsmfca.infellowship.com/SmallGroupSearch/Index.aspx
Make sure everything is accurate.

Step 6: Click your name as if you were interested in joining.  Fill out the request form on the right side of the page where it says, “Interested in this group?”  Place your name and email in the form.  Click “send” below.

Step 7: You SHOULD get a confirmation email that a prospect (you) wants to join your group.  Whether you do or not, do Step 8 at least once a day for the next 2  weeks.

Step 8: Go back to the login page: https://accsmfca.infellowship.com/UserLogin/Index.aspx
Login with email and password.  Click on “prospects’ on the right side of page.  Email each prospect with your exact address and any special instructions.  Answer any questions they may have had.  If they list a phone number, you may want to call them.  BE FRIENDLY.  This is a buyers market.

It coming!  30 Days to Save Your Family begins in about 2 weeks.  Here’s what you need to know:

1. The Sunday message series begins on September 13th.  There are 4 messages in the series.  The topic is based on the 4 icebergs that sink families (and individuals).  Pastor Rick is teaching from the life of David found in 2 Samuel 11.
2. The small group curriculum is a 6 week series.  In addition to the 4 main icebergs (temptation, dishonesty, addiction and self-centeredness), the group study deals with 2 additional icebergs: lack of discipline and divorce.
3. There are three parts to the curriculum.  2 are essential.  The DVD and study guide are being produced in-house.  They will serve as the basis for the group meetings.  30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family is the book that Pastor Rick has mentioned several times in August.  It is a great companion, but will not be used in the meetings themselves.  There will be a “for more help” section at the end of each study guide session that refers to certain chapters in the book.
4. The DVD and study guide material will be available for pick-up in the lobby beginning on Sunday, September 6th after both services.  There will be a small charge per group to defray the cost of producing the materials.
5. 30 Ways in 30 Days to Save Your Family will also be available for pick-up in the lobby beginning Sunday, September 6th.  We got a great deal from the publisher and will be selling the books for $12.50 each (cash or check).
6. We are expanding our small group finder capabilities this week.  If your group has made any changes (day or time, type of group, etc.), please Email Us asap.  We want the info to be 100% accurate!

We’re excited about our new church-wide study, 30 Days to Save Your Family, that begins in September.  Here are a few important details (with plenty more to follow!):

• The four-week message series begins on September 13th
• There is a six-week small group curriculum that goes with it
• The small group curriculum will be available on Sunday, September 6th, after both services
• DVD-driven with a participant study guide
• Each DVD session will feature a short segment by Pastor Rick that will set up the group discussion
• Sessions will include applications for families and individuals

We hope every group will join us!  If you’re beginning to choose curriculum, please keep 30 Days To Save Your Family in mind.  Your members will begin hearing about it this week!

Have you ever made the decision to lose weight or start exercising (or any number of other things) only to find that you really couldn’t do it alone?  The benefit of a training partner or participating in a weight-watchers group is unquestioned.  Yet, when it comes to spiritual next steps, most of us attempt to make changes without the benefit of a partner for accountability and encouragement.  Why?  There are several very understandable reasons:

1. We’re private people and uncomfortable sharing what’s really going on in our lives.
2. We’re afraid to be the first to ask for help.  Very much like Junior High dances…no one wants to go first.
3. Even when we know we need help, most of us are great procrastinators.

Can I make a suggestion?  Isn’t it time to take a first step?  Aren’t you really ready to put your toe in the water?  If you’re ready, let me give you a simple way to begin:

1. Test drive the idea of a spiritual training partner with a limited first step.  The next time your small group meets try pairing up at the end of the session to share prayer requests and pray together.  Guys with guys and gals with gals.  Nothing permanent, just for the session.
2. The next time your group meets, look over the study ahead of time and decide which of the questions lend themselves to “sub-dividing.”  Rather than doing every question as a large group together, sub-dividing into groups of 2 to 4 allows your members to participate more fully.  Have them stay together to share prayer requests and pray.
3. Print off copies of the Purpose Driven Health Assessment and ask your members to complete it.  Then, take advantage of the growing familiarity your group has with sub-dividing to ask them to pair up with someone (guys with guys, gals with gals) and have them share their results.  A next great step is to have your members use the results from the assessment and create a Health Plan.

Craig Groeschel recently posted an excellent set of questions that could be used for members who really want to grow spiritually.  You can find them right here.

The spiritual discipline of accountability is an essential ingredient in the life-change process.  Few of us really have the capacity to change on our own. Why not take advantage of these steps to move in this direction?

In the next couple weeks you’ll begin hearing about an upcoming Life Group event called a Connection.  We’d love your help making it a great experience for those who participate that day.

First, what is a connection?  Easy.  A Connection is an event for unconnected adults at Adventure.  They’ll hear about it beginning on Easter and will be invited to sign up and attend.  At the Connection we’ll provide an environment that will create a number of new groups.  The event lasts about an hour (75 minutes on average).  This is a very effective way of beginning NEW Life Groups.

Second, when is it? Sunday, April 26th.

Third, how can you help? In order to pull off a Connection we can really use your help!  In fact, it might be a way that your group could serve together.  There are several opportunities:

1. Lunch Set Up and Tear Down: There will be a quick lunch served out on the patio by the Student Ministry right after the 11:00 service.  We need a team of 6 people to help set up the tables and chairs and then take them down afterwards.
2. A101 Set Up and Tear Down: The room is used by our Children’s Ministry on Sunday morning.  We can begin setting up the tables and chairs for the Connection at 12:45 p.m.  The event will conclude at 2:15 p.m. and the room will need to be converted for use by our College Ministry.  We’ll need to take down the tables and put away the chairs.  We need a team of 6 to do this (or two teams of 6 – one to set up and one to tear down)
3. Childcare Teams: We need 6 to 10 people to help with childcare during the event.

Want to help?  Great opportunity to do something together that will enable another wave of unconnected adults get connected at Adventure.  To join in Email Me and sign up!

We’re in the first days of introducing a powerful new tool at Adventure.  Fellowship One is our new data management system and will give us huge capabilities to provide the best information to our members about upcoming ministry opportunities and exciting church-wide programs.

As a Life Group leader here at Adventure I’d like to invite you to get in on learning how to use Fellowship One.  You can start by creating your Life Group leader profile RIGHT HERE.  Once you’ve created your profile and your information has been confirmed you’ll be able to keep track of who’s part of your group.  In the near future you’ll also be able to update your Life Group info (day and time you’re meeting, material you’re using, whether you have a childcare solution, etc.), keeping it as fresh as possible.

First step?  CLICK HERE to create your profile!

Hey everybody!  Thanks to all of you who came out on the 9th to join us for Life Groups United!  It was a very good first step in our journey together.  It was great to hear Pastor Rick’s heart and commitment to group life at Adventure.  My dream is that the day comes when we really do have 150% of our weekend adult attendance in a Life Group.  Sounds wild…I know…but it is happening in some places around the country.  And it can happen here…

Life Change Begins with the Leader

If you want change to happen in the life of the member…what has to happen?  Let’s just say that change in the life of the member level is unlikely to happen unless they can see change happening in the life of the leader.  Does that make sense to you?  Although there are other factors at work, it is clear that change (learning to pray, developing a regular devotional habit, becoming more patient) is more likely caught than taught.

So how will that happen in a Life Group?  It will require change in the leader.  And that begs the question, “What was the last thing in your life that moved in the direction of becoming more like Jesus?”

One of the places in the New Testament that inspires me the most is when Paul wrote,

What’s he saying?  He’s saying that he knew he had a ways to go, that he was on the way and intent on reaching his goal.

And the question I ask myself is, “Am I?  Am I on the way?  Am I intent on reaching that same goal?  Or have I settled for being the way that I am?  For the rest of my life?”

We ought to all be asking that question.  Have we settled?  Are we on the way?  Are we intent on reaching that goal: that we would be like Jesus?  Or have we settled?

With that set up, we spent the next few minutes around tables working through two handouts.  I’ve linked them here:

Purpose Driven Life Health Assessement This assessment is a helpful way to examine your own spiritual life.  It is also an excellent tool for a Life Group to use as a way of evaluating the group as a whole.  The outcome can then be used to develop next steps, either for an individual or for a group.

Purpose Driven Life Health Plan Once you’ve worked through the assessment, your results can be used to formulate a plan, a way to grow in each of the five purposes (fellowship, discipleship, ministry, mission, and worship).

Accountability Questions

During the meeting I asked people to share their devotional pattern or habit.  It was very interesting to hear how different people spend time with God in different ways.

Next, I asked people to share who fills the “shepherd” role for them.  Dr. Wayne shared that he meets with someone and they ask each other the following questions (Taken from Chuck Swindoll):

1. Have you been with a woman anywhere this past week that might be seen as compromising?
2. Have any of your financial dealings lacked integrity?
3. Have you exposed yourself to any sexually explicit material?
4. Have you spent adequate time in Bible study and prayer?
5. Have you given priority time to your family?
6. Have you fulfilled the mandates of your calling?
7. Have you just lied to me?

Every parent is looking for certain things to happen as their children mature (turn over on their own, crawl, talk, walk, etc.).  In the same way, there is the expectation that as we mature there will be spiritual growth.  And yet, for many people there is little change or growth after conversion.  This prompted the writer of Hebrews to observe:

How would you evaluate your own life?  I know in many ways I’m still battling some of the same things day after day and year after year.  Which makes a passage like Hebrews 5 a challenging one.

If I were attempting to lose weight it would be clear what to do.  I might need to eat less.  Or eat differently.  Or exercise more.  There is certainly a way to evaluate my physical condition and then make changes.

Is there a way to evaluate my spiritual life?  To bring things into perspective so that I can see where to start?

The Purpose Driven Life Health Assessment was developed to help individuals evaluate their lives according the the five purposes:

• Worship: Planned for God’s Pleasure
• Fellowship: Formed for God’s family
• Discipleship: Created to become like Christ
• Ministry: Shaped for serving God
• Evangelism: Made for a mission

I’ve found the Purpose Driven Life Health Assessment to be a very helpful way of starting a process of thinking about my spiritual life.  In addition, it can provide a great snapshot of a group of people.  Asking everyone in a group to complete the assessment and then adding up the scores and dividing the total by the number of people in the group can be helpful in choosing what to study next.

I don’t know about you but I almost always need a plan if I want anything of substance to actually happen.  If I want to lose weight I know that I’ll need to eat the right things (and the right amount) and I’ll need to exercise.  I also know that if I make it up as I go along, I probably won’t lose weight.  I’ll need a plan if it is going to happen.  And then, I’ll need to work the plan.  Otherwise, I’ll still be in the same spot a month from now or a year from now.

Same thing from a spiritual perspective.  If I want to become more like Christ I will need a plan and then I’ll need to work the plan.  Otherwise…I’ll be in the same spot a month from now or a year from now.

The Purpose Driven Life Health Plan is designed to give you a way to take the results from the Purpose Driven Life Health Assessment and create a plan.  The assessment helps you think about where you are.  The plan helps you think about how to get where you’d like to go.

Hosts and Leaders:
You’re
invited!  Join the family of Life Group leaders and hosts on Sunday,
November 9th from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. for an opportunity to be
encouraged, to share what’s working in your group, and hear where Life
Groups are headed at Adventure.

FYI, we KNOW that about 10% of our Life Groups meet on Sunday night.  We also know that this is the time when we can wedge ourselves into already busy schedules the easiest.  Bottom line? We want you to make plans to join us for this event.
If you can, hold your meeting a little later.  If you can’t reschedule,
ask someone else in your group to host and lead on that night.  Your
presence at Life Groups United is really important.  It’s important for
you…and it’s important for all of us to be together for our own good.

Here’s some important information:

1. There is childcare available.  If you need childcare please RSVP by CLICKING HERE.  Be sure and let us know the ages of your kids (and how many).
2. We’ll be meeting at William Jessup University (333 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin, CA 95765).  Need directions?  CLICK HERE
3. We’ll be starting at 5:00 and finishing at 6:30 p.m.  Carve out these 90 minutes.  We’ll honor your time and commitment.
4. I am really looking forward to getting to know you!