– You go to
them. You are not bringing them in to your fancy structure
– you are going out and setting up a meeting where
they already are.
- In many church plants – you spend
a lot of time and energy going around meeting people and
inviting them to your church. You are often “collecting”
a diverse group of strangers. The idea here is that you
meet someone and ask them to gather a group of
people of their choice in their own home (their
friends, family, neighbors, etc.) – whoever is already
within their circle of influence.
– In essence, the model is that you begin
to disciple people before they are “converted”
(you belong to a group before you believe). I didn't realize
this is what Jesus did with his disciples.
– Literally someone in
the group reads a few verses or a chapter from the Bible
- then everyone goes around and shares how you will specifically
obey something God is showing you right then with an “I
will” statement (ie. “I will be patient with
my children, I will forgive so-and-so, I will thank God
in all situations, etc.”)
You go around the circle and each person participates:
• Ask what everyone is thankful for
• Ask what is one thing they need
• See if there is input from the group on the
needs mentioned (if anyone can meet those needs)
• Pray for each other’s needs (30 second
prayers per person recommended)
• Read a Bible passage
• Ask one person to put it in their own words
• See if someone else has something to add
• Break it down – verse by verse
• Everyone goes around and shares something specific
that they will obey in the scripture they just read
(or if they don’t want to obey – something
that could be obeyed by someone who wants to).
