Introduction
As we begin a new year of Fellowship Groups, we want to help your group start strong. For the first three weeks, the Discussion Guides will not follow the current sermon series in Proverbs. Instead, they will focus on helping your group connect and renew a vision for cultivating deep Christian community in the year ahead. Starting September 28, we’ll kick off a new sermon series in Hebrews, and from that point, the discussion guides will align with the sermons.
Conversation Starter: Each week, we will provide some interesting conversation starters designed to help your group laugh, connect, and get to know each other better. Here’s the conversation starter for this week:
- What’s your name?
- Where are you from?
- If a song played every time you walked into a room, what song would it be? Why?
Goal for the Evening: Talk about the year ahead and get on the same page.
Discussion Questions
We all bring unstated hopes, fears, and expectations with us into a Fellowship Group. For example, we might hope that our Fellowship Group will be the place where we finally find “our people” and develop our closest friendships. Or we might fear that our Fellowship Group will be like other groups we have experienced: stale, lifeless, shallow, and perfunctory. Alternatively, we may have expectations regarding aspects such as the commitment level of group members, the frequency of our gatherings outside of scheduled group times, or the depth of our Bible study together. If left unexpressed, these hopes, fears, and expectations can cause frustration for us and others in the group.
- What are some hopes and desires you bring with you into this Fellowship Group?
- What are some fears you carry with you into this Fellowship Group?
- What are some expectations you have for this Fellowship Group?
Looking Ahead
Having taken some time to express hopes, fears, and expectations, leaders should now give their groups a picture of the year ahead by answering at least the following questions:
- What will your group meeting rhythm be?
Briefly introduce the 7 Habits of Fellowship Groups to help explain the rationale for your group rhythm. We’ll spend all of next week looking more deeply at the 7 Habits:- Breaking Bread – feasting together as a foretaste of Jesus’ Kingdom
- Engaging Scripture – to know God and to be formed as disciples
- Praying Fervently – to worship Jesus and ask for His help
- Getting Small – to know and be known in meaningful ways
- Loving Sacrificially – to care for one another as Christ cared for us
- Making Room – for new people to discover and follow the original Jesus
- Cultivating Leaders – to eventually start and lead new Fellowship Groups
- What will your Biblical content be?
- How will you communicate?
- What is your plan for children? (if applicable)
Close in Prayer
Every meeting should close with a time of prayer for one another and for our broader church family. At this time, leaders should also introduce the Fall Prayer Guide and explain how you will utilize it as a group each week when you pray.