In your opinion, how many times a month does a person have to attend to stay connected to your group? What happens when they attend less often? Is it possible to attend regularly and still not be connected?
Great questions, huh! Listen, you don’t control the behavior, opinions, attitudes or actions of others. But you do control what you do and how you lead your group to stay connected to God and one another.
People are fickle. I think you would be a better steward of your ministry as the leader of your small group or Sunday School class, if you focused more on what God expects from you and less on what others expect from you.
Here are three things you can do to create a better biblical community for your group.
- Encourage them to read their Bible daily. What does that have to do with creating biblical community? Simply put, the more a person loves God, the better they are able to love others. You can’t spend time alone with God and not fall deeply and intimately in love with Him. Love God, love others. It just happens.
- Spend time together outside of the weekly group meeting time. Once a month, once a quarter or as often as you can, plan a time of fellowship, bible study, or ministry together. Even if you can’t get everyone there, plan something – DO something.
Relationships happen because you spend time together.
If you enjoy a two-hour Bible study on your favorite topic – do that. If you enjoy just spending time together, eating food and letting the kids play – do that. If you would rather do a ministry project together like, habitat for humanity, yard care for an elderly person, food kitchen service, or thousands of other ideas for projects, just do it together. - Stay in contact. Real needs are not discovered in your weekly bible study. They are discovered during those one-on-one or three/four people groups. Pray for one another. Laugh together (i.e. “Hey I heard this great joke the other day”). Invite them to join you with on a personal project. Call, email, text, visit, and so much more.
Community happens when we are intentional about making it happen. Be a catalyst.
