There are six elements that we are striving to achieve in our groups.
An environement or a place to:
Belong
Learn and Grow
Be accountable
Be real with one another (Transparency / care)
Apply
Serve
Whether you are in a C-Group or a Sunday school class, these are the expectations that we have because they will bring about individual life transformation in our members. A good exercise for your group would be to continually list these elements and from time to time evaluate yourselves as a group. My guess is that some of these are strengths and some are not. And they are different for each group. If you take time to evaluate them and discuss ways that you can improve the one’s that need improvement.
Another good exercise is for the shepherd to evaluate each member of the group according to the six elements (Please don’t do this publically, I get enough phone calls already). Sure this evaluation is somewhat subjective. However, by evaluating each person mentally or privately on a sheet of paper, you can begin to see opportunities to specifically minister to each individual and encourage each of them personally. This is the advantage of having a smaller group. You are able to spend time with each member. This is the importance of the role of the Shepherd; to help others bring about life change.
I plan on expanding my thoughts about each of these elements in future blogs. But for now take a few moments and go through this exercise with each person and then do a group evaluation. It reminds them why we are here and what we are trying to accomplish.
I look forward to hearing from you.