40 Days of Community Host TIPS for Week Three

"TIPS for Hosts" - Week 3
1. PRAY…
That your group will be more than a meeting but a time of true fellowship and growth.
For each member of your group by name that they would be changed through their participation in the 40 Days of Community.

2. WEEK THREE - SPECIFIC TIPS:
This week's session focuses on the purpose of Fellowship – Belonging Together. You will have the opportunity to discuss how to deepen the relationships within your group and with others outside the group.
Remember that deepening your relationships with one another does not mean that everyone has to go around the group and share their deepest secrets. In your daily readings you saw that it involves admitting your need for others, commitment, respect, support, handling conflict, patience, and honesty. You might want to spend some time talking about the daily readings together. What point stood out most to each person in your group?
In the Grow section, there is a suggestion to break into separate groups of men and women for the discussion time. Depending on the size and make up of your group, this might not be practical. Remember, it is only a suggestion and just another way to build relationships within your group.
The Worship section has a suggestion to have everyone in the group find a spiritual partner who will pray for and check in with each other. It is definitely best to pair men with men and women with women. Let your group know that a spiritual partner is not someone who is there as a task master to make sure you “do your homework.” Rather the person is there to encourage, pray, and check in to make sure you are doing okay. It should be more about relationship than about task.

3. WHAT ARE SOME WAYS WE CAN FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER?
Fellowship is best developed by creating the time and space for it to happen. You may want to make sure that you are allowing a good 15 to 30 minutes of time where people can talk together. This could be either before or after the group, but creating the space for relationships to develop will help your group to fellowship together.
Food is a great way to create the space for relationships to form. If you haven’t already done so, take some time to plan who will bring the food to each of your small group meetings. It doesn’t have to be fancy but food is a great way to help people relax and relate to one another.
Plan a barbecue or social together. You may want to talk about getting together outside the group to spend time with one another. One idea would be to go out to dinner or lunch before or after your group participates in the missions project. Or, you may want to have a barbecue for your group and neighbors to invite them to your group. Fellowship is developed by logging time together. Look for ways to do this as a group.

4. OTHER HELPS:
There may be members of your group who have not attended a membership class, which is designed to help people understand what our church is all about and what is required to become a member. If anyone in your group has not attended a membership class, you may want to attend together as a group.
If you happen to have a group that does not have anyone attending or you are in a neighborhood with many groups around you, you may want to consider joining another group and sharing the experience together. If you picked up too many books and key tags, please return these on the weekends so we can distribute them to others.
Missions Project: [explain current needs or announcements].

Thanks for all you are doing to Host this small group. You are a blessing to those in your group and to the church. We will continue to pray for you and for your group as a staff!
Blessings,
your servant