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Step 1: Teach them to “know their faith:”
- 1 Peter 3:15 says to “Always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you the reason for the hope that you have.” When asked, I am amazed at how many believers do not know what they actually believe or why they believe it.
- We become strong and spiritually mature believers by building a strong biblical foundation. Groups are an excellent place to study the foundations of your faith. Tom Holladay and Kay Warren of Saddleback Church have an amazing small group foundations series.
- Ephesians 6:10 says to “Be strong in the Lord and in His power.” To become strong in the Lord we must study and know His Word. To prove this point, at your next group meeting ask your members these two questions:
(1). “If you were to die tonight, on a scale of 0-100 what percentage do you feel you would make it to Heaven?” Many group members will automatically write down 100%, and amazingly there will always be one or two that score themselves below 100%. These are the group members who say they are believers, but somewhere they have weak spots in their spiritual foundation. Spend time with them until they can boldly answer 100% when asked this question.
(2). “Can I lose my salvation?” This question stumbles many believers. Jesus said in John 6:39, “I will lose NONE of all that He has given me,” and in John 10:28 He says, “No one can snatch them out of my hand.” These are just two of the many Bible verses on the security of the believer. This topic would make an excellent group study and would definitely build strong foundations in your group members.
- When group members know what they believe, they will have both confidence and boldness in their faith.
Step 2: Teach them how to “live their faith:”
- 1 John 2:6 says, “Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.” Have you ever met a believer who was in love with Jesus? It is amazing how contagious their faith is to the lives they touch. It is so sad each Sunday many believers leave their faith on their favorite church pew. After each service they head home and through their work week leaving their faith back at church until the next Sunday service. What would our world be like if every believer lived their faith between the Sundays? Leaders should challenge their group members to begin walking closer to Christ during the week.
- First, have them start by focusing on their daily personal devotional time, teaching them the time they spend alone with God is the most important time of their day. It will bring them closer to God and begin changing their hearts towards the lives they daily touch.
- Next, focus on the lives around them. Have them write down five names in each of these categories: their family, friends, neighbors, co-workers and the people in their day. Then as they look at each name have them write down how they feel that person would rate their faith on a scale of 1-10. This exercise is a great eye-opener and will get them to see how their faith is or is not impacting others.
Step 3: Teach them how to “share their faith:”
- God has hand crafted each believer and surrounded them with people hungry to hear their personal story of how He has changed their lives. Most times they are unaware they can lead these people to Christ better than anyone else.
- Take several group meetings to study different ways to share your faith with others. William Fay has an excellent group study titled “Share Jesus Without Fear” printed by LifeWay.
- When group members know what they believe and boldly live their faith, their love for Jesus will become contagious to the lives they touch. Sharing will automatically come from their hearts.
Note: The above steps were taken from the Small Group Study titled, “Living Your Faith: Between the Sundays,” by Randy Grimes. You can receive a free copy clicking the below link and clicking the download button inside the article. Feel free to make all the copies you need.
5 Keys to Creating Great Curriculum
Author
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Randy is a full-time Principal Broker for Century 21 Real Estate and a Ministry Intern for Redeemer's Fellowship in Roseburg, Oregon. He holds both M.Div. and D.Min. degrees from Rockbridge Seminary. Randy views his professional career as his personal ministry to serve the Lord. He is also the Oregon and Washington State Leader for the Small Group Network and writes articles for their blogging team. Randy loves to write his own small group curriculum. You can email him at randygrimes.realtor@yahoo.com
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