October 1, 2009
Group Life Conference @ Crossroads Community Church
Do you want to see your small group grow spiritually? Then you will want to be sure that you attend the 2009 Group Life Conference on Saturday, October 24. One-day conference is being hosted at Crossroads Community Church live via satellite. Take a few minutes to watch the promotional video video below so you can see the great lineup of speakers and the pertinant and helpful topics they are going to bring us!
Wendell Anderson and I went to the Group Life Conference in Chicago a few years ago. I remember he and I dreaming about how awesome it would be to take all of our small group leaders to this conference. But in difficult times like this, who can afford to take time off work, drive to Chicago, pay for a hotel and food and then pay for the conference registration on top of that.
Here’s the solution! You get the same conference in one day hosted via satellite for the low price of $59.oo per person ($39.00 for small group leaders who are members of Crossroads). I also have free tickets for any small group leaders that are willing to come and help serve at the conference by greeting, working in the Cafe or cleaning.
The conference begins at 9:30 AM (doors open at 9:00 AM) and will conclude at 3:30 PM. Go to the Crossroads Community Church website to buy tickets, see the schedule and learn more about this exciting opportunity for small group leaders at Crossroads Community Church.
If you are Small Group Leader at Crossroads and wish to buy a ticket or if you have any questions at all please email me and I’ll get right back to you!
I’ll see you at the 2009 Group Life Conference!
July 21, 2009
Crossroads Day at Cedar Point!
Crossroads Community Church is hosting it’s first ever Crossroads Day @ Cedar Point. This will be a great opportunity for our congregation to spend time in community and also have fun at America’s Rockin’ Roller Coast!
This promises to be a fun-filled day for the Crossroads families, friends and small groups planning to take advantage of the special discount tickets and head up to Sandusky, Ohio and enjoy one of the best amusement parks in the world. If you’re lucky, Maybe you’ll even meet Charlie Brown!
Me and Charlie Brown at Cedar Point!
Below is the pricing for the special discount tickets:
- Adult – $32.00
- Youth (k-12) – $30.00
- Senior (62+) – $17.00
- Persons under 48″ in height – $17.00
- Children under the age of 2 – Free
I can tell you that Crossroads’ Director of Membership, Ron Biddle, has some fun things planned to supplement the events of the day as well. So be sure to stay tuned for more details.
If you and your family or small group want to buy discount tickets, stop by the Connect Kiosk during church services by August 9th.
In the meantime, why don’t you share with us what your favorite ride is at Cedar Point in the comment section.
See you in line for Top Thrill Dragster!
Deering
April 23, 2009
Crossroads To Host Willow Creek Small Group Conference Via Satellite
I’m very excited to announce that Crossroads Communuity Church will be a satellite venue for the extremely popular and effective Group Life Conference at Willow Creek Church. Mark your calendar for October Friday October 23 and Saturday October 24 and come to Crossroads and join us for this outstanding small group conference.
Wendell Anderson and I went to this very conference 3 years ago in Chicago. We both commented how awesome it would be to have EVERY small group leader at Crossroads get the opportunity to go as well. Well, from a financial perspective, there was simply no way that was possible – not to mention the distance to Chicago for 2-3 days was a hardship for most people.
Now – both of those challenges are gone. Crossroads is bringing the Group Life Conference to you – live via satellite.
Check it out – here are the speakers that are expected for this year’s Group Life Conference.
Bill Donahue
Willow Creek Community Church & Willow Creek Association
South Barrington, IL
Andy Stanley
Senior Pastor
North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, GA
Nancy Ortberg
Author and speaker
Founding Partner, Teamworx2, Menlo Park, CA
Alan Hirsch
Activist, author, trainer, missionary
Co-founder, Shapevine, Los Angeles, CA
David Johnson
Senior Pastor, Church of the Open Door
Maple Grove, MN
Henry Cloud
Psychologist, author
Cloud-Townsend, Irvine, CA
This is a great line-up of speakers who are going to be sharing from their experience how small groups are an integral part of our church community.
So mark your calendars and be watching for your opportunity to RSVP to this awesome leadership development opportunity!
March 5, 2009
GYMN’s Africa Team Visits Small Groups
Jane Gummoh and Ken Aringo
Last Tuesday, my small group was pleased to have Ken Aringo join us for some fellowship and to hear their about the amazing work they do for Global Youth Ministry Network (GYMN). Ken and Jane led us in song and prayer as well. There is still time for your small group to extend an invitation to Ken and / or Jane to come and visit your group and share their story with you. I must warn you that when you visit with them be prepared for your heart to be moved, as mine was, by their passion for Jesus their ministry.
If you want to extend an invitation to the GYMN Africa team to visit your small group you can email Teresa McQuate at GYMN at teresa.mcquate@global-youth.com. I’m sure if their schedule permits, they can still accommodate you. I really encourage your small group take this opporutnity.
Jane, Chris Davis, Ken
February 21, 2009
Small Group Vs. Team
Lori Biddle - Crossroads Director of Magnification
Lori Biddle, Crossroads Community Church’s Director of Magnification, can now add to her resume that she is a contributor to The Worship Community.Com – which is a grass-roots community of worship leaders, artists, singers, musicians, and technicians from all over the world. Below is a recent article Lori wrote about how she went from a ministry team approach to a small group approach.
This revolutionized the way I create teams! A common interest seems to create a successful small group! – Lori Biddle
Sometimes we miss opportunities to foster and cultivate community within our various ministry teams.
Small Group Vs. Team
-By Lori Biddle
Looking back over the past 12 years, if I could begin building teams all over again I would do many things differently. The main difference would be how I create teams. I would start all of them as Small Groups. Even the praise teams.
For a number of years I have tried to corral the artists in our church, I am not referring to musicians but artists. No luck, an occasional art show hosted at our church, a kid’s show, a staff art show (which was hilarious), but no ongoing commitment to the team. So, I let it die.
Just a month ago we launched the Crossroads Creative Arts Small Group. Not much advertising, just in the program and a description card added to our Small Group Hub. First meeting, twelve showed up. Second meeting, 15 showed up. Since then I have been contacted by 3 more interested in knowing when we meet next. Artists want community, not tasks.
I am fortunate to have 2 employees from our local Art Center in the group who think we can begin to meet at the Community Art Center. They have tried to get an ‘artists night’ open to the community started for years with no success, now they think our group may be the answer! Can you imagine the possibilities of reaching our community of non-churched artists?
I have had similar experiences trying to keep a Drama Team together. We waver from periods of continuous drama, to periods of very little drama. So trying to keep a working team together is impossible. On the other hand when I recently launched a Performing Arts Small Group, instantly we had 16 people sign up. I told them from the first meeting that we would sometimes be very busy and other times we would just do life together. They are excited and committed!
Now I have a second chance with our worship teams. With a recent exit and church plant by one of our former pastors (the plant was an independent plant in our town), we lost several band members. Out of difficult circumstances come God opportunities if we just watch for them! It’s the perfect chance to change things up.
At the beginning of this school year we solicited information to identify college students in our congregation. (I was desperate to add younger musicians and vocalists to our teams). Previous to this we have not had a college age group, so when we shipped 55 care packages at Christmas great things began to happen. When people feel connected and cared for, they want to be involved! Small group first, team second!
“…extraordinary young musicians began to not only ask what they had to do to be added to the team, they asked for more. They asked for mentoring, devotional studies, they wanted Small Group – not just a ministry team!”
Here is where my next opportunity began, extraordinary young musicians began to not only ask what they had to do to be added to the team, they asked for more. They asked for mentoring, devotional studies, they wanted Small Group – not just a ministry team! They knew what they were looking for and asked for it! So I now move forward fully committed to turning all our ministry teams into groups.
Our process to be added to the Magnification up-front group is extensive and time consuming, but along the way they spend time together. They become a small group before they ever hit the stage. First, for the singers, there is a 6 week vocal class with our Worship Leader. They also have to take the Crossroads membership class and sign the membership covenant. If they pass the vocal class, they then have to create a CD and turn it into the leaders for review. If the CD is of high enough quality, they then have a live tryout in front of a panel of our top 3 singers with the staff worship leader. Sometimes new vocalists have to wait for an opening, so for a period of time they may be asked to guest when others are on vacation. They finally will be added to one of the teams and will serve one weekend a month, which is our rotation.
Our band has many of the same requirements. We re-mix the teams occasionally trying to create the right fit for each musician so that it is a small group not just a team.
All this to say, if I could begin again, everything I oversee would have its beginning as a small group. I encourage each of you to consider this. Life together is so much more than being ‘on’ a team, it is instead about being part of a group worth doing life with!
February 12, 2009
Meet the GYMN Africa Team!
One of the things we have stressed is the importance of small groups serving together in reaching the lost for Christ through mission work. At Crossroads, we believe that a healthy small group serves together, either locally or globally. A way to stay focused on that priority is to be constantly talking with people who serve in the mission field.
One of our mission partners at Crossroads Community Church is Global Youth Ministry Network (GYMN). GYMN is a missionary organization that trains and equips youth pastors around the world. GYMN is led by Chris Davis. Chris and his wife Penney are long-time members of Crossroads. Chris also serves as a CLASS 301 teacher and Penney is active on the praise team. It is also important to note that GYMN is based right here in Mansfield, so there are several ways your group can serve on a local and global level.
Later in the month, GYMN’s Africa director, Ken Aringo will be visiting Mansfield and is willing to visit some small groups while he is in the area. Ken is a seasoned youth minister and evangelist. Ken is also much sought for motivational speaker and a Pan-African leader.
Ken and Ruth Aringo
This would be a great opportunity for your group to hear first hand about how God is using servants like Ken to build His Kingdom in Africa. This is also an opportunity for your group to partner with an organization like GYMN for these folks who are spreading the saving message of Jesus Christ across the globe.
The GYMN Africa team will be in town from February 26 to March 15 and is available most of those evenings to visit small groups. Keep in mind that his schedule may fill up quickly, so get me a date or two your group might be interested in having Ken come and share with you. To schedule Ken, please call me at 419-529-0750 ext 109 or just reply to this email with the date and time your group meets.
January 29, 2009
Updating Your Group on CCB
Well most of you have answered the call to sign up for a user name and password on Church Community Builder. I’m glad that all the announcement time hasn’t been in vain. If you have yet to request a user name and password, you can do so by clicking here. Now I want to encourage small group leaders to take a few minutes and update your small group information into CCB.
As a small group leader you have been given permission to manage your group by adding participants, etc. When you log into CCB you will see your home page. Under your picture you will see the heading “My Groups”. The small groups and ministry teams that you participate in are listed in that collumn.
If you are a small group leader, look for the group you lead in that listing and click on it. You will be directed to the home page for that small group. If you don’t see the group you lead, please contact me and I will create it for you.
From the group home page you can upload a picture of the group, set dates of group meetings and special days on the group calendar. This calendar is viewed only by the members of the group. You can also send group members messages on the group message board. You can also send an email to the entire group by clicking on “Send a quick email”.
You can update group information by clicking on the “Group Settings” tab (found above the group picture) and update the logistical information about your group, such as meeting date and time.
It is also necessary for you to add group participants. You do this by going to the “Group Participants” tab (also above the picture) and searching the database for those that are in your group. Click on the option “Add or invite new group participants”. You will be asked if you want to add a person using “people search” or a “specific person”. Click on “A specific person”. You will then be able to search for the person and either invite them via email or add them directly. I suggest searching by first initial and last name. You may notice that some of your group members may already be added to your group if you submitted a small group roster to me.
Within the group participants section you can do things like print out a photo directory of your group or print a report with everyone’s birthdays.
I realize this can be confusing. If you get stuck, you can always call me and I’m more than willing to help you. Just play around and have fun with this and encourage all your small group members to check it frequently.
January 23, 2009
Why Are We So Afraid To Evangelize?
Why are we so intimidated when it comes to sharing the Gospel? Are we afraid that it will ruin friendships? Relationships with co-workers? Are we afraid we might get asked a question and not have the answer? Are we afraid of the moniker of “Jesus Freak”?
Take a few minutes and watch the video of Penn (one half of the comedic magician duo Penn and Teller) telling a story about a man sharing the Gospel with him after one of his performances. Penn is a self-proclaimed atheist and believes vehemently that there is no God. Watch his response to this man sharing Christ with him.
Were you as surprised as me? Penn was touched by this man’s genuine care and love. He was moved by the fact this man would risk ridicule to witness to him (and trust me, if you’ve ever seen a performance by Penn and Teller, there’s no doubt there was a risk Penn might try to make a comedy routine at this fellow’s expense). I am sure Penn’s response to this man would have been different if this guy was holding a picket sign telling him to repent with a bull horn.
So I ask the question again… Why are we so reluctant to witness to people? When we share the Gospel in authentic love, we should trust God enough that the person hearing will receive our words in the manner intended. And we must trust God enough that He will do the work of His will in the heart of the person hearing His Good News.
One thing is for sure, God was glorified in this man’s obedience, courage and genuine love for his fellow man.
January 22, 2009
Small Group Leader Opportunities with Church Community Builder
Church Community Builder
This past weekend we rolled out our new church connectivity tool, Church Community Builder (CCB). CCB is more than a web-based church database program. It’s much more! For small group leaders like you, it is an easy way to manage your group activities and keep connected with your group members and your coach! I want to emphasize that it is very important that you make the effort to become familiar with CCB so that we can lead by example resulting effective use of this tool.
If you have not requested a user name and password, please do so as soon as possible by clicking here and following the simple instructions. A username and password will be emailed to you within 1 business day.
Once you have your username and password you will have the ability to update your profile and view your groups.
We have made every effort to list all the small groups. The small group that you lead should appear on your home page when you log in. To view/manage/update your group just click on the group to bring up the group homepage.
From the group homepage you can upload a picture of the group, enter when your group meets, send messages to the group and even email.
Again, if you have any questions please let me know. You can email me or post questions as a comment at the end of this post.
