SUPER EARLY BIRD PRICE has been extended through Sept 30th! Grow as a leader, strengthen your team & accelerate the health & growth of your small group ministry by attending “Accelerate!” The “Accelerate!” small group workshop will help you & your leadership team build a 12 to 18 month strategic plan for your Small Group Ministry by going through the 20 key questions every small group point person needs to know. You will finish the workshop with a strategic plan in your hand. REGISTER HERE
Outdoor groups, Zoom groups, Hybrid groups, 3-friends groups, the list goes on and on. COVID-19 is forcing Small Group leaders to get creative and think outside the box. How can we reach and engage even more people in Small Groups? Many people use Facebook on a daily basis, for a wide variety of purposes, so why not consider starting a Facebook Small Group?? Below are 5 ways you can engage your group members within your Facebook Small Group.
- CONNECTION ACTIVITIES. Small Groups are a place where relationships are built. Fostering relationships helps creates an environment where people feel comfortable being open with one another. Connection activities serve as a way for small group members to learn more about one another, especially if the group is new. You’ll want to choose a new connection activity each day, and post it on your Facebook Group page. Encourage everyone to engage in the activity and share in the comments section. This will get the group “chatting” away, and group members might find some unique connections with one another. Here are some Connection Activity Ideas to help get you started: (1). Tell Us About Yourself – invite the group members to share three unique things about themselves, ask them to post a picture also! You could also ask them to describe themselves using all the letters in their name. (2). Share a High and Low – Encourage group members to be open and share their lives with everyone in the group, and this means the good times & the bad. Ask everyone to share a “high and low” that happened that day or week. (3). “Would You Rather” poll — ask a few questions and have the group members cast their vote in the comments section! (4) Photo Stories – ask group members to share the last photo taken (from their phone) and tell a brief story about that photo. Or, have them to share a photo of a special object from their home & share why it’s special to them.
- BIBLE STUDY. Determine ahead of time what Bible study your Facebook Small Group will do. There are a variety of options you can choose from. Perhaps you’ll follow your pastor’s Sermon series; or maybe you want to pick a book of the Bible and study it together; maybe you’ll even consider a “Book Club” option for your group. Whatever it is, have a plan in place to engage your group on Facebook throughout the study. For example, after your pastor’s Sunday message, have a series of questions on hand to post each day, and ask the group to comment. Challenge your group to personally apply the message in their lives throughout the week, and encourage group members to share stories (who did they share with, how and what was the outcome). If you’re studying a book of the Bible, challenge group members to post specific verses that stood out to them each day they read, and share why that verse was meaningful to them. Ask them to consider who they can encourage with that verse, and encourage them to share with others! Last but not least, for “book club” options, engage your group using a specific paragraph, or use specific questions to get your group digging deeper and sharing their thoughts.
- FELLOWSHIP & WORSHIP. While your group will be mainly a virtual group, you can still plan to meet “face to face” whether actually in-person or using a Facebook Messenger Room. Your group can come together and chat, do something fun or share a meal, etc…. Be creative and think outside the box about what your group could do (consider group demographics). If you plan to meet online, why not invite everyone to share a meal together (virtually) and play a trivia game, or simply talk about how everyone’s week is going. If your group is local, and people feel comfortable, why not arrange to meet for a picnic in a park, or gather together for a bonfire and some worship? This fellowship time will serve to help deepen the connections within your Facebook small group.
- PRAYER & PRAISES. Just as you pray together in a Small Group, encourage your group members to share prayer requests in your Facebook Group on a weekly basis. Here are a few suggestions in how you can encourage your Facebook group to pray: (1) simply ask everyone to pray over all the requests that have been posted; (2) use the Facebook Messenger Room feature and set a specific day/time for the group to gather and pray together; (3) encourage prayer partners (will depend on numbers). Encourage group members to share contact info (email and phone number), so that they can reach out and pray together. Creating “prayer partners” within your group will help to build deeper relationships. Within your Facebook Group, you’ll also want to have a weekly post where everyone shares their praises for any answered prayer, which will encourage and uplift the group!
- SERVICE & OUTREACH. As with any other small group, be on the look out for any opportunities to serve and reach others. Be sure to include a weekly post within your Facebook Small Group for any service or outreach opportunities. Ask your group members to share any opportunities, and consider how you can come together and serve those in need as a small group. Encourage your group members to also be thinking of any unique outreach ideas — brainstorm together! Being a virtual group, you’ll need to be creative, but outreach can be as simple as hosting a Facebook “Watch Party” for your Sunday service online. If your group all lives locally, and your group members feel comfortable, why not plan a simple “Ice Cream” meet up at a local ice cream shop (a win-win, you can invite your friends/neighbors and help support a local business at the same time), or a local park meet up (maybe for a BYO-picnic). There are all kinds of unique ideas, you just need to brainstorm what might work best for you and your group. Pray, set a plan, and then watch and see what God will do!
Facebook is used on a regular basis by many people for many purposes – why not give it a try and start some new Facebook Small Groups? A Facebook Small Group has the ability to meet all the purposes of small groups, and it also offers your group members the ability to connect on a daily basis. Why not give it a try and see how it might work for your Small Group ministry?
