Frank's Blog

My latest series of posts is all about how social networking tools on the internet can enhance our small group ministry. My last post shared how our social groups use blogging as a tool but it doesn’t end there!

Another group in our church that utilizes blogging to keep enhance their group experience is one of our Young Adults Home Teams. Home teams at Christ’s Church of the Valley are traditional small groups that study the Bible and socialize together.

This group started their blog in April of 2007 and have been using it for over a year now to enhance their group life experience. They utilize blogging for the following reasons:

• To notify the group of the meeting schedule
• To inform members of cancellations
• To schedule social events
• To share pictures with group members
• To remind group members of reading assignments and homework prep for future meetings and discussions

This small group is a prime example of how to make blogging work to enhance group life. Has your small group ever taken a picture together at an event or a meeting that you wanted to share? Setting up a blog for your group can help you do that, plus it provides you with a place where you can record your memories from seeing that picture and your group members can comment and share their thoughts as well. However, while maintaining a blog is quite simple it does take a little time. So, before jumping into the blogosphere, I would recommend sitting down with your group and asking them what they would like to use a blog for so you appropriately meet the need . For example, if your group only wanted to share pictures, and nothing else, you may want to use a photo sharing website like flickr instead. This way you are not wasting your time maintaining a blog but still using Web 2.0 technology to enhance your group experience.

Photo sharing on the internet would be a great place to start for any group. Especially if using the web is a new thing for them.

UPDATE: I just talked to the group leader and they are upgrading their blog to include some other features!  I post on them again in the near future to let you know what they are up to!

Next post – task groups and the web.

Question: what kind of ways can you think of for small groups to use blogging?

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Does your small group ministry take advantage of all that the web has to offer? Are you utilizing all of the functionality of Web 2.0? In order for us to dig deeper into how the web can enhance your small group ministry experience we first should define what Web 2.0 is.  Here is how Wikipedia defines it:

Web 2.0 is a term describing a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.

Does all of this 2.0 stuff really enhance group ministry? ABSOLUTELY, because it is all designed to encourage relationships, networking, and social interactions in an online setting! Plus, the best part about it is that it is ALL FREE. Your ministry can take advantage of all these tools at no additional cost.

Over the next few posts I will be going over how we use these technologies in our church and specifically our small group ministry context. Then I will post a list of online resources so you can get started with your small group or your ministry.

The type of small group that blogging, in particular, is great for is our social groups. Blogging about upcoming schedules, events, locations, pictures from previous events, all can really enhance the experience for members of a social small group in your church. Plus, like I said earlier... it's all free, and free is good. Here is an example of a social group at our church that utilizes a blog to help stay connected. The group is called our "Small Wonders Play Group." Click here to view their page.

As you can see the front page is static (it doesn't change) and you can tell because it is dated 2007 when they started using it. But notice that it is password protected. Once a new mom joins the group she receives a password and can view the current schedule and other content to keep up on the group's activities. Using simple social networking tools like these will provide our groups with an easy way to stay organized and enhance a small group experience. Especially for younger generations that expect technology to be more integrated into everyday life.

Feel free to post questions in the comments section and I can answer them in future posts.

 

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I used to be a youth pastor so I just love crazy icebreaker activites.  Here is a fun one I was reminded of by a youth ministry site:

Make-A-Santa Game This is purely a game to invoke laughter, teamwork, and to start your meeting off on a note of fun. You will only need some red construction paper, shaving cream or whipped cream in a can, tape, and few towels. Split the group into small teams and have each team pick someone to be their "Santa." Have the Santas sit in chairs, cover their shoulders with a towel (this is going to get a little messy), and distribute the paper, tape, and one can of cream to each group. When you say "Go!" each team is to work as fast as they can to transform their team member into the likeness of Santa, using the paper to form a hat, and the shaving cream to make the beard, trim for the hat or whatever else they can think of to add. Make sure you have a camera on hand as this will make for some great photos for the website or for the kids to use for a new FaceBook profile pic! (Note: if you choose to use shaving cream, it's a good idea to give all the Santas cheap plastic googles to protect their eyes).

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the Young Life retreat center in upstate NY.  The retreat is put together every year by the Orchard Group which is a church planting organization that helped Christ's Church of the Valley get started. 

What has been really valuable about the whole experience up here is networking with other new church leaders around the Northeast.  I have been gather ideas and swapping stories about the joys and challenges in group ministry. 

Sometimes we can get wrapped up in our own church context that we forget that there are others who have been where we are going.  Even if they are not more experienced, a fresh pair of eyes can be very helpful in generating new ideas. 

On this trip I met Nic (yeah he doesn't use a k), a new guy from Community Christian in MD, who gave me some new ideas about an approach to starting new groups that I have been hesitant to implementing.  I will share more we get figure things out and I talk more with our team.

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www.holyobserver.com/detail.php?isu=v03i01&art=top10_spice" target="_blank">Holy Observer blog and I couldnt stop laughing. Here is the top 10 ways to spice up your small group!

10. Start floating air biscuits and wave your hand in front of your face, exclaiming "Whooo, who was that?!?"

9. Mention you're not sure who you'll vote for in the upcoming democratic primary.

8. Show up dressed like Huggy Bear. Act offended if anyone comments.

7. Explain how you're so glad all people go to Heaven because witnessing is such a drag.

6. Two words: Leather Pants

5. Insist that The Message is the only true Word of God.

4. Offer back rubs to other people's spouses.

3. Bring a batch of your famous Snap! Crackle! Pot! Rice Krispies Treats.

2. Excuse yourself to the bathroom for an awkwardly long period of time. When you return, ask everyone if they think masturbation is a sin.

1. Talk more: After all, it's the other people who are so boring, not you!

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