INTRODUCTION
Welcome to one of our Humanity groups.
We are so excited to have you join us for this powerful and meaningful gathering of people, committed to connecting to Christ, create authentic community and being commissioned as people of faith, love and hope in our cities. Whether you have been connected to Jesus for a while or are still searching in your spiritual journey, you have a place here. The purpose of this group is to experience the love and power of God together. Our aim isn’t to simply learn some great truth or spend time together (and we hope both happen during this meeting) – our aim is to come together and have Christ show up in and through us as we connect to one another. We hope you all walk away from this time together knowing that we have touched God, and he has touched us.
So, remember that participation = value. If you hope to receive anything from your time together, I encourage you to engage conversations fully, open yourself up to be authentic and vulnerable with one another, serve each other in love, and trust that Christ will show up and do great things. He has promised us that when we come together for that purpose, He will show up!
WELCOME & CORE VALUES
Suggested Time: 5 minutes
Welcome everyone to the group. Have someone share the following core values for your meeting together:
- Everything is confidential that is spoken in this room forever.
- We do not just study the Bible here. We live under its authority.
- Love is the context for our gathering together.
- We will all minister to one another other.
- We will multiply our group when we grow beyond twelve.
Remind the group of their mission and purpose for meeting
WORSHIP
Suggested Time: 15 minutes
Psalms 55:6 “Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!”
Spend time focusing and aligning your hearts toward God. The possibilities for this time are endless. Use some creativity in setting aside a space to connect to Christ
- Song
- Poetry
- Mediation on a truth
- Reading the Scriptures
- Dance
- Prayer
- Art
- Sharing Stories
Have someone in the group come prepared to lead one another in this worship time, or be spontaneous together. The possibilities are endless.
MINISTRY
Suggested Time: 30 minutes
1 Corinthians 14:25 “The very secrets of his heart would be revealed, and right there—mystified—he would fall on his face in worship to God, proclaiming all the while that God most certainly dwells among you.”
Go around and share some of the struggles and needs that your group has. This is an opportunity to create intimacy, vulnerability, courage and care in the group. Remember, everything is 100% confidential.
As people share needs, have someone in the group write them down in the group’s prayer journal.
Also, check in on past needs.
- Have they been met?
- Has an answer been given?
- Is there an opportunity to celebrate a victory?
After the needs have been shared, have the group ask Christ to come and bring his insight, wisdom and comfort. Encourage the group the share what they hear or see, as Christ moves and leads them. Prophesying is giving a word from God for strengthening, encouragement or comfort. This might be a specific scripture for someone, a picture that comes to your mind, a song, a specific prayer or a question that Christ leads you to ask.
This isn’t a time to give your own personal advice or diagnose a need. Just spend some time asking God for how He wants to work during this time, through you.
As you minister to one another, point out moments where Christ is obviously moving in the group. Likewise, point out moments where you feel stuck.
WORD
Suggested Time: 30 – 40 minutes
Psalms 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Select this week's Study: choose a book of the bible to go through. There are also great resources on RightNow Media and thebibleproject. Have someone read the scriptures out loud. Have a conversation about how you can apply this passage of scripture to your own life. Encourage everyone to share and connect.
SAMPLE CONVERSATION QUESTIONS:
- What does this passage say about who God is?
- What does this passage say about who we are?
- In light of this passage, what needs to change in my life?
- What is most challenging about this passage?
- What is surprising in this passage?
- What action does this passage call me into?
- Who in your life would benefit from this passage of scripture?
- How would you apply this to a specific current situation in your life?
- Why does this passage matter?
You may want to repeat this process with different scriptures as you continue the WORD time.
FUTURE
Suggested Time: 5 – 10 minutes
Spend a short time planning for next week’s group, and future events.
Next week, who will:
- Lead the worship time?
- Lead the word time? (preferably teachers)
- Bring snacks / refreshments?
- Who will reach out to those missing this week? (preferably PASTORS)
Who are you inviting to next week's group?
Write names in the prayer journal
What is our next outreach opportunity?
An outreach opportunity is an opportunity for the Humanity group to serve or connect with people outside the group.
Example of this include:
- Serving a neighbor that needs help moving, cooking, etc.
- Planning a dinner party to bring friends, family, neighbors and coworkers
- Inviting Humanity group members to the movies with some friends
- Planning a night out to invite others to join in
