10 Ideas To Change Up Your Group This Week

Our Spring Community Group Trimester ends in 4 weeks, on May 25th.

It can be easy this time of year to grow a bit weary of the weekly routine and just look forward to the break.

The goal of Community Groups is not meetings, its relationships.

If we are not careful, we turn Community Groups into a meeting to show up to while missing out on the meaningful relationships God has designed us to share.

One of the best ways to get our heads and our hearts refocused, is to change up our weekly routine.

Here are 10 ideas to change up your group this week:

1. Bring extra snacks for more intentional/extended social time.

2. Do a weekly dinner and communion together.

3. Skip sermon discussion and take turns sharing your faith story (1 person, 1 place, 1 event that shaped your faith)

4. Do “Show and Tell” with your group, sharing about 5-10 items.

5. Have everyone in the group answer a list of questions to get to know each other better.

6. Go to the Lilac Festival together (May 10-19)

7. Have a game night.

8. Help a group member in need (moving, yard work, meal cooking night together)

9. Attend a sporting event, play, or concert of a group member or their child.

10. Have one gender watch kids together while the other gender goes out together.

Instead of a typical group meeting, pick one of these ideas, and change up your group this week.

What is 1 idea you can try to engage in a more meaningful way?

How Can We Help You?

How is your group going? Are there any challenges or issues you or your group are struggling with? Reach out to your coach to setup a meeting. We'd love to help!

Additional Resources You May Find Helpful

• 2 Reasons Why Community Groups Don't Work (Article)

• Do Community Group Relationships Really Make a Difference? (Article)

• The Need For Friendships and Why Building Relationships Is So Hard (Podcast)

• How To Help Your Group Connect - 6 Ideas To Cultivate Relationships In Your Group (Podcast)

• 7 Reasons Community Groups Lose Momentum (Article)

• Tips To Build Relationships During Group Time (3 Minute Video)

Why Group Relationships Are Ineffective

Hi Group Leaders,

Thanks for taking a minute to stay-up-to date on what's happening in Community Groups at Northridge!

Communion Reminder

We would love all groups to pick a week to celebrate communion together the 1st or 2nd week of May.

We have a supply of communion elements for any group that would like some. Just reply to this email if you'd like some for your group and we'll get them to you. First come, first serve.

Do Community Group Relationships Really Make a Difference?

A few weeks ago I raised this question, "Do Community Group Relationships Really Make a Difference?". Maybe you've found yourself wondering whether it is worth your time to attend or lead a Community Group, especially when you already have other good relationships in your life outside of group.

In my first post, I talked about 1 reason Community Groups relationships are not very effective: We focus on meetings over relationships.

Read Part 1 HERE. In the article I emphasize the importance of connecting relationally both inside and outside of group meetings.

I think we would all agree, the more time we spend with someone, the more of an impact they will have in our lives, positively or negatively.

"We can impress people from a distance, but we can only impact them up close." - Howard Hendricks

We see the impact of close relationships throughout scripture:

• The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray. - Proverbs 12:26

• As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.- Proverbs 27:17

• Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble. - Proverbs 13:20

The difference your group relationships will make is going to be limited if:

• your group meetings are infrequent (reconsider canceling that meeting)

• group attendance is inconsistent (which has been more of the case for many groups since COVID)

• you don't talk outside group

• you don't text

• you don't see each other on Sundays

• you don't get together outside of group

So, when we ask the question, "Do Community Group relationships make a difference?," much of the answer to that question depends upon how much time we are spending with each other!

If you are seeing limited fruit and life change inside your group, it could be do to the lack of relational connection outside of group.

But here you may be raising the tension:

"I get it, if I don't spend much time with my group members, our relationships are not going to be as impactful, but who has that much time? I've already got other good relationships with family and friends. Why shouldn't I just focus on those relationships instead of trying to spend more time with the people in my group?"

That's what we'll discuss next time.

What do you think? Do Community Group relationships make a difference? Are they worth our time and investment? What would you say?

I'd love to hear your thoughts as I attempt to answer those questions. Email me HERE.

How Can We Help?

How are you doing? Is there anything we can help with? Reply to this email or reach out to your coach.

If you haven't had a chance to meet up with your coach about how your group is doing and what's next for your group, we'd love to connect.

Upcoming Community Group Dates

• Spring Community Group Trimester: April 3 - May 28th (8 Weeks)

• Red Wings Baseball Game (Group Leader Thank You): Friday, June 3, 7:05pm (RSVP HERE)

Keep up-to-date with what happening in our group ministry on the Group Leader's Website, Facebook Group, and Podcast.

Additional Resources

How COVID Has Affected Our Friendships—and What to Do About It

Only Half of My Group Showed Up Last Night

9 Ideas To Change Up Group This Week

How Do You Get People To Show Up To Group?

Do Community Group Relationships Make A Difference?

Communion In-Group (Instructions)

14 Outdoor Social Ideas For Your Group

While not overlooking the depth of community we can experience in an online setting, it is not healthy to live in a world limited exclusively to online interactions.

We were created to walk side-by-side, face-to-face, in the presence of others physically and not just digitally.

But, it's the middle of winter in Rochester and we are still in the middle of a pandemic.

55% of Northridgers are attending in-person at our Rochester and Webster Campuses, while 45% of Northridge is attending the Online Campus.

Gathering in-person with other's is still a challenge, but many people are willing to meet in-person in an outdoor context.

So, as you look to create community with those in your group, here are some ideas for you to meet in-person, outside, where you can do life side-by-side with each other.

14 Outdoor Social Ideas For Your Group

1. Go for a Walk

   • 30 Winter Walks Around Rochester

2. Go for a Hike

   • 71 Hiking Trails Around Rochester

3. Go Snow Shoeing

   • 11 Best Places To Rent Snow Shoes Around Rochester

4. Go Sledding

   • 15 of the Best Sledding Hills Around Rochester

5. Go Skiing

   • The 16 Best Places for Downhill and Cross-Country Skiing Around Rochester

6. Go Snow Tubing

   • 3 Places to Go Snow Tubing Around Rochester

7. Go Ice Skating

   • 20 Outdoor and Indoor Ice Skating Rinks Around Rochester

8. Visit A Nature Center

   • 52 Nature Centers, Preserves, Refuges, and Observatories Around Rochester

9. Visit the Zoo

   • Seneca Park Zoo

10. Go Fishing

    • Places to Fish

    • Ice Fishing in Monroe County

11. Go Hunting

    • 10 Hunting Places Near Rochester

12. Celebrate Maple Syrup Weekend

    • Places to Celebrate Maple Syrup Weekend in 2021

13. Grab a Hot Drink and Go to A Park or Playground

    • Coffee Houses in and around Rochester

    • Top 20 Playgrounds in and around Rochester

14. Visit A Garden and Enjoy The Flowers in the Spring

    • 40 Public Gardens Around Rochester

Have you tried any of these? What would you add to the list?

Share your ideas on the Northridge Leaders Facebook Group.

Upcoming Sermon Series

• How to Be Rich (February 7-21)

• Amazing Grace (February 28-March 7)

• The Courtroom (March 14-April 4)

Trimester Dates

• Winter: January 17 - March 27 (10 weeks)

• Spring: April 11 - May 29 (7 weeks)

Additional Resources

• 8 Ideas To Help Your Group Engage The Bible

• Recharging Your Groups Momentum

• 8 Ways To Find Mature Christians Who Will Help You Grow

• Leading Great Discussions

• 10 Games You Can Play Online With Your Group

• Group Leader Podcast

2 Reasons Why Community Groups Don't Work

Have you ever been frustrated with the lack of relational depth in your group? Even with the people who show up to group every week?

Does it ever feel like group discussion is just 30 minutes of surface answers but no one is really sharing their life, their struggles, or challenging each other spiritually?

Sometimes it feels like Community Groups just don't work.

The purpose of Community Groups is to Apply the Bible, Build relationships, and Care for each other, but maybe for you it feels like all that is being accomplished is that people are sitting in an awkward circle each week.

Here are 2 reasons Why Community Groups Don't Work

1. You focus on meetings instead of ongoing relationships.

• When people only see Community Group as an event to attend, your group will struggle.

• When your only time together begins at snack time and ends after group prayer, your group will struggle.

2. You focus on answering questions instead of sharing your lives.

• When the goal of discussion time is to get through all of the questions, your group will struggle.

• When people view group discussion as the time to share right answers, your group will struggle.

How do you fix this?

The goal of Community Group is not to hold good meetings. The goal of Community Groups is to create authentic Biblical community.

Your group can't accomplish the ABC's until you experience community together.

So, how do you create community?

Here are a 6 ideas:

1. Pray for your Community Group members consistently

   • As you pray for your group, God uses your prayers to increase your love for your group members. Do you struggle to pray regularly? Set a reminder on your phone or use this prayer reminder app: www.prayermate.net

2. Text your Community Group members at least 1 time a week

   • You don't need to text them all yourself, assign each person to a Group Leader or spiritually mature group member for weekly follow up.

3. Sit together on Sundays

   • Pick a section in the auditorium, let people know what service you will attend each week, and make a point of sitting together. You could even grab coffee at the cafe together before you find your seats in the service. This is one of the reasons we encourage Northridgers to attend the campus nearest them and attend a group from their campus.

4. Skip sermon discussion and share your stories

   • Do you really know each other in group? Until you do, answers to discussion questions will probably remain on the surface level. Take a few weeks, or maybe a whole trimester, and take turns sharing your stories and asking follow-up questions.

5. Assign prayer partners

   • Encourage everyone in prayer time to pair up and connect with their partner one time during the week over a text, phone call, coffee, a meal, or even hanging out at each other's homes.

6. Invite people into the natural rhythms of your life

   • Birthday parties together

   • Kids band/theater/sporting events together

   • House work or yard work together

   • Eating leftovers together

   • Watching the game together

   • Doing school work in the same place together

   • Date nights together

You can inspire people from a distance, but you can only influence them up close.

Community is developed as you share life together.

Which one of these steps can you take this week to help create Community in your group?