The Best Season of All
In defense of meeting in the summer

By Jay Firebaugh

I inherited a church small-group ministry that insisted small groups break for the summer. But I am a huge fan of small groups meeting throughout the summer. Our policy now is that small groups can take a break anytime they want—for the entire summer, or even just a couple of weeks—but they're never forced to. Here are 10 reasons why I think groups should meet over the summer.

1. The days are longer, and the kids are out of school. This eases the stress of the clock. It's not necessarily that groups should meet longer, but that there's more opportunity to hang around after the meeting and enjoy each other.

2. Most often the kids can play outdoors during the warmer months, which keeps the kids entertained.

3. There are many fun social events to do over the summer: go out for ice cream, go to the park, plan a cook out, or attend an outdoor concert or play. Use these fun events in addition to regular meetings to strengthen the bonds in your group.

4. The devil never takes a vacation! Long breaks mean that many will lose the ongoing connection and accountability they need.

Read more:

http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2012/bestseasonall.html?utm_source=buildingsmallgroups-html

OPEN SMALL GROUPS

Open small groups have space available for visitors and new members. Most of these groups generally remain “open” all the time, meaning there is no limit to the amount of new people who can join. Some will begin a birthing process for a new group once a specific number of regular attenders is reached. Other models “close” their groups once they reach a certain size—often between 8 and 12 regular members.

CLOSED SMALL GROUPS

Closed small groups limit the number of participants in order to focus on building trust, intimacy, and accountability between group members. Once a group starts, new members and visitors are generally discouraged from attending meetings. Closed groups usually convene for a specific period of time before “opening” back up to welcome new members. This time period can last anywhere from a semester of study to several years.

Read more: http://www.rockbridgeseminary.org/learning-upgrades/10-small-group-models#ixzz1qFzdwEx1

This list of 10 small group models and the website resource that provides this content, SmallGroups.com, are included in the materials for the Rockbridge Seminary course “Building a Small Group Ministry” (a fully online seminary course).

“Building a Small Group Ministry” is an elective course taught by Dr. Randy Millwood for the Master of Divinity (MDiv) and Master of Ministry Leadership (MML) programs offered by Rockbridge Seminary, a fully online seminary (100%). Upcoming Course Schedule for the course “Building a Small Group Ministry” (2012 Term 3 (May 1-Jun 25) – MDiv and MML)