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Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Building Relationships


In an effort to help people develop relationships in our church, we have Care Groups that meet on a weekly basis. Our group consists of about ten couples and a couple of singles. We met four times a month, twice as an entire group, then one week the ladies meet and one week the men meet. These small groups are where you really get the opportunity to build relationships and do life together.

I treasure the people the Lord has put in my life through my small group. These are the people who know the things I am praying for and the sins that I struggle with. These are the people who will reach out when I want to isolate, will point to scripture when I need encouragement, will rejoice when I rejoice and will comfort when I am hurting and will always be willing to pray. Meeting as a small group gives us opportunity for going deeper in the Word, mentoring, and serving one another in a practical way.

These are the people who cooked, drove me to doctors appointments and did laundry for me after my mastectomy. We have helped each other move, cooked meals after births of babies and watched children so parents could have a night out. Most recently one of our members stayed with a hospitalized friend round the clock until her husband could fly home. 

Last month our group decided to do an activity called Supper Club. Besides being fun, we thought it would be a great way to continue to build relationships. We divided our small group into even smaller groups by drawing names out of a bowl. Each group would have five to six people in them (we have two singles in our Care Group) After the groups were drawn they would get together and decide when they wanted to meet, who would host and what each person would bring. The meal doesn't have to be elaborate, we did Stew, Salad and Bread, another group did Tacos. This month we will meet again but with a new group of couples. that's the fun part, the group you meet with changes each month.

No small groups at your church, don't let that stop you from inviting someone over for lunch after church or dinner or even dessert, it's the in smaller get togethers that relationships are built.

Linking up with Roxy at Living From Glory to Glory

8 comments:

Debbie said...

Good morning! Your right..nothing like the support and love of a small group. We haven't participated in one in quite a while and I miss it. We did one for quite a while that was a supper 6. There were 3 couples in a group and you met at each one of their houses eventually. (once a month we met) And after you had met at all 3 your group would change and you would begin again. It was fun and wonderful way to get to know people. Enjoy your group!

Janettessage.blogspot.com said...

God has been convicting me on this..so thanks for the confirmation.
Enjoy! Relationships keep us healthy.

Sue said...

Love this, maryann, it brought back many memories for me, our previous church did something similar, and it was so wonderful small groups are the best, it builds lasting friendships. Thanks for sharing.
Sue

Lea @ CiCis Corner said...

Oh, I so agree with everything you said. We have small groups every so often but not reguarly at our church. We just finished a small group time and it was wonderful, just felt such a closeness and unity with one another.

What a beautiful and refreshing post!

Creations By Cindy said...

I so agree with everything you have said as well. Nothing like small group time with others. I just shared tonight that I could not make it without my sisters in Christ. Thank you for sharing this! Hugs and blessings, Cindy

Lace up and Walk said...

I love this idea. There's something about sharing a meal that really brings people together. Thanks for sharing.

Pam said...

I think it is wonderful. My parents do a supper club, and have always liked it. We don't really have anything like that at our church, but we have been trying to invite couples and families over periodically to enjoy fellowship with them. We live out in the country about 30-40 minutes from everyone, which isn't always an easy drive for people but we seem to make it work even so. Love hearing your "doings". Your group sounds very special.
Blessings,
Pam

living from glory to glory said...

Good Morning,I know we sometimes do not connect with those we have been in the body with sometimes for years! This is a great way to inspire us to become more involved and reach out. I called the part where you said, sometimes we isolate ourselves!I do live very far from my church and town! So if I do do anything I have to feed my company or they would starve after the long trip out and the return home ;o)
Thanks so much for coming to the Link Party! I am going to try to get it up on Tuesday nights as Wend. Mornings, seem to come really early!
It is well with my soul...
Love, Roxy