How can we take the interruption from our normal summer meeting cadence to rest as a small group leader? What are ways to practically come into fall, energized and with renewed vision? Deborah Spooner, from Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, shares a few tips.
Sitting on the white cushioned rocking chair in the upstairs room tucked behind my church’s sanctuary, I looked at the sets of eyes peering back at me. Still masked, the five women in my small group had walked through two hundred-plus days with this room being a constant. One dealing with divorce, again. One hurting from a family member who kept causing hurt. One fighting newfound anxiety that forever altered her life.
How do we make the most of it? How can we take the interruption from our normal summer meeting cadence to rest as a small group leader? What are ways to practically come into fall, energized and with renewed vision?As much as we have seen growth in our group members during the past season, they too have likely noticed growth within themselves or others. One of the greatest ways we can be encouraged and recharged ourselves is to give people space to encourage and recharge each other.
Through prayer, celebrate the wins you’ve seen of group members. Did they grow in a fruit of the Spirit that has meant a real-life transformation of a relationship? Thank the Lord for it and celebrate through prayer. Did one of your group members begin her wrestling with a new topic? Celebrate what the Lord is doing in her life through prayer. Are you just personally thankful for the ways that you see the image of God specifically in each of them? Celebrate through prayer.
This isn’t time spent preparing for how you’re going to pour into others. It’s a time where you can connect with the Lord in ways that are particularly sweet to you. Ask yourself,This might look like creative expression: listening to a song or writing a poem. It might look like physical activity: a prayer walk. It could look contemplative: finding a special place to sit and rest in a foundational psalm.
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