Proclaimer Blog
A different kind of mid week meeting
Anybody in church ministry knows that it can be hard to make midweek meetings work. Substandard Bible leaders, unenthusiastic members, tired contributors, bypath meadows – these are the bane of small groups. Thankfully there are lots of good materials to help and some churches which model excellent midweek groups – e.g. St Helen's just up the road from us. But, increasingly, I think there is not one size fits all. Here's something we did for a few years back at our old church and we are now putting into place in one of the groups at my current church.
- We read Sunday's passage together
- We review the sermon. Did we understand it? What were the main points? Can we explain it to those who were absent?
- We spend some time in the passage answering 3 or 4 application questions that arise from the sermon
- We pray it in – specifically, intentionally and for one another
- We share pastoral concerns and encourage one another, praying for one another.
There are some immediately obvious advantages:
- it reinforces the whole church Sunday teaching
- it helps those who missed it
- it helps sharpen the application from the general to the specific
- it is easier at the end of a long working day
- it enourages us to support one another pastorally/spiritually
- it is easier to lead
I know several churches who do it. Perhaps (and I only say this if you are struggling in small groups), it's worth a try?