Christian Worship Fellowship Prayer (EHF Logo)



I'm honored that you've allowed me to be a part of your Christian life.  Please return often for fellowship, study and prayer.  Thank you very much for visiting.
Love & Hugs,
Glen

We continue the Bible Study on Christian Small Groups with the remaining devotions of Christian Fellowship and Ministry. Learn what the Bible says your group should be doing.

Continued from Christian Small Groups

2. Gathering is Devotion to Ministry:

Just as God has called each individual to a unique ministry, so has He called each group of Followers. In the Old Testament, different families were known and called to perform specific work. In the New Testament, the emphasis moved from families to groups of believers. Just before He ascended, Jesus instructed us to be His witnesses wherever we are (Acts 1:7-8). Look at Mt 5:14-16: Is the emphasis of Jesus on us preaching to people or doing good for them? Is the emphasis on us being served or on us serving those in the "world". Since Christ came to seek and to save those who are lost, how can we become more like Him by serving only ourselves? In fact, much of the modern Western church model has it wrong when it comes to ministry. First, they hire a trained professional to "minister" to the congregation and to bring in new members, mostly with ad campaigns targeting Christians (more on this in the next session). When the congregation is too large, they hire a few trained professionals to organize the congregation to help minister to itself. The word "minister" in the Bible means "perform a service"…even means "slave"…if the service is performed for us, how are we ministering? 

Jesus met people at their point-of-need. He didn't bother with people who felt they had no need of Him. Mt 9: 10-13 "While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?" On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the _______ ___ ____ _ ______, but the ____. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the _________, but _______." Look at Eph 4:11-16 "It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s ______ for works of ________, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the ________ of Christ. Then we will no longer be _______, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each ____ does its ____." The body "builds itself" by adding new members and nurturing each other. It isn't the job of professionals to do the work of ministry…it's up to you and I to do our part. In fact, as this Scripture suggests, this is the only way we will ever reach maturity in Christ.

You may have noticed, Web-Church and EHF ministries are designed to meet people at their point-of-need. They go to the search engines to get help and find God…what more help could they get? Your Gathering has a unique mix of gifts (review 'blooming' class) and personalities brought together by God to perform a ministry uniquely designed for the community in which you meet…to minister to your community at its point-of-need. I can't tell you what it is (some ideas below). I only know there is something God wants your group to do to help your community. He may call you to direct testimony about Jesus in some areas, but, in my experience, the Western world is better reached by our just helping them when they need and letting the Holy Spirit draw them.

Some ideas for group ministry: 1. Pick up trash at a park or on a busy street (city approval). 2. Plant trees in public areas (city approval). 3. Visit people in jails or retirement homes just to fill their loneliness. 3. Provide free babysitting. 4. Mow a senior citizen's lawn or pick up groceries for them. 5. Help a neighbor keep their home when they're between jobs. 6. Give groceries to people with more month than money. 7. Perform "umbrella service" at local store during storms (permission). 8. Serve local school. 9. Give welcome gift to all new residents of your community. 10. Give a smile/wave to commuters at a specific time/location every day. 11. Do neighborhood watch for local police. 12. Volunteer to assist local hospital. 13. Visit people in the hospital who have no family visiting. 14. Take meals or run errands for people when they're sick or have lost a loved one. 15. Help new businesses get started. 16. Do used article drives for local thrift store. 17. Organize bake sales/rummage sales for local charities. 18. Provide free tutoring services. 19. Paint addresses on curbs for free (permission). 20. Buy books/software for schools.

Take some time to discuss this as a group, get many ideas of how you can touch people in your community at their point of need, pray a lot about it, and begin to set in motion the one action your group is most interested in. Here are some do's and don'ts:

1. Do keep it simple. It should be something everyone, even the older kids can take part in.
2. Do keep it small. Small groups do small things very well. Big things can overwork a small group.
3. Do keep it personal. Small groups can touch the community far more intimately than large ones.
4. Do keep it in prayer. Pray for your ministry and keep praying for those you meet along the way.
5. Do keep it unique. Try not to duplicate other local ministries. You have your own calling. Look at I Cor 12:12-26.
6. Do keep it positive and loving. No one wants to be judged or preached at.
Guess they were do's and do's!

Conclusion at Christian Small Groups-3

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