groupLEADERS

Leader Huddle Tuesday April 10th!

Here are the details.  

• Tuesday 4/10 @ Prairie Lakes Church (Cedar Falls Campus)
• 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Room 210
• Food is served at 5:30 p.m. and the program starts at 6:00 p.m.

We will be sharing valuable practical tools as well as encouraging you as leaders.  Grab a potential leader and bring them along.  

RSVP to Alicia Whalen at 319-266-2655 ext 141 or groupleaders@prairielakeschurch.org

Freedom Week!

I’d like to invite you to be a part of what God is doing during Freedom Week on the UNI campus. Prairie Lakes Church has partnered with the UNI and other campus ministries to bring awareness to the reality of slavery in our world today. 27 Million people are suck in slavery today... that is more people enslaved NOW than in any other time in history.  This is an amazing opportunity for us to reach out to the campus and bring the name of Jesus. 

There are several ways to help and several events open to the public.  Everyone is welcome!  So, grab your group, help out and attend what you can.  Help is needed to set up, tear down or take a 50 minute shift at the walk through exhibit which runs Monday 3/26 through Thursday 3/29.   See below to sign up.

• Click to sign up for a time to serve

Volunteer sign up list for exhibit March 26-29th

Monday, March 26th Set Up Crew

Thursday, March 29th Tear Down Crew

• Come to the Kick Off Event

It will be a night full of worship, teaching and much more. Pastor Carl is preaching, theRiver is leading worship and a speaker from the Hagar organization will be talking about real stories from women caught in trafficking

• Come to the Walk Through Exhibit

check it out during your break if you can

• Spread the word

ask others in your network to join you as you serve!

•  Pray for Awakening

Keep praying that God would use this week to awaken the heart of every student. Awaken them to the reality of His love for them. Awaken them to the next step in their calling. Awaken them to the power of His name.

You Probably Wouldn’t Like My Small Group

If you’re looking for a small group, you probably wouldn’t like mine.

Why you won’t like my small group

• Nobody’s perfect.  Our group is rather messy…in fact, much messier than I ever thought it would be.  If your life is clean and put together and messiness frustrates you, you’ll hate our group.
• We celebrate small steps, not just the ‘huge’ ones.  And small steps may seem insignificant to you, so if you’re not willing to get excited over a step towards Jesus (no matter how seemingly insignificant), you’ll not feel at home with us.
• There’s no teacher.  Just a facilitator.  And the facilitator doesn’t have all of the answers, so if it’s merely answers you’re looking for, mosey on.
• We talk about challenging stuff.  And I don’t mean that we debate obscure theological dogma.  I mean that we work to apply the Scriptures to our lives.  If you love a great, obscure theological debate, you may not enjoy our group.
• We expect full participation.  Nobody in our group is lazy.  In one way or another, every member participates and is vital to the success of the group as a whole.  If you want to be a lazy sponge, don’t join us.
• We know each other’s stories.  No hiding in our group.  Our group kicked off its first month by encouraging everybody in the group to share their faith story.  Comfortable?  Nope.  This group’s not for you.
• We’re transparent.  Mere platitudes aren’t acceptable.  If all of your answers start with, “Someone once said…” instead of, “I am dealing with…” then you’ll never be comfortable in our small group.
• We’re diverse.  If you’re looking for people that are just like you, who look, smell, act, read the same books, live on the same side of town, have the same number of kids…keep moving.  You’re not going to find that here.
• Our group is going to end soon, and I’m going to ask each group member to take a step of faith and lead a new group…each one of them.  No moss will be gathering with us.  If you like moss, find another group.
• We serve together.  Don’t want to serve?  That’s fine.  Just don’t get frustrated with us when we ask you to join us in making a difference in our community.
• We have fun.  Every week.  We laugh so hard that we snort.  We play games, share stories, and study the Bible…all while having fun.  I wrote more extensively about the importance of having fun in small groups HERE.  If you don’t like having fun, you’re an old codger.  And old codgers don’t last long in our group.

Based on the reasons above, would you want to join my small group? 

Written by Ben Reed, Small Groups Pastor at Grace Community Church in Clarksville, TN.

Leader Huddle Tuesday February 7th!

Here are the details.  

• Tuesday 2/7 @ Prairie Lakes Church (Cedar Falls Campus)
• 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Room 210
• Food is served at 5:30 p.m. and the program starts at 6:00 p.m.

We will be sharing valuable practical tools as well as encouraging you as leaders.  Grab a potential leader and bring them along.  All attendees will be entered in a prize drawing.

RSVP to Alicia Whalen at 319-266-2655 ext 141 or groupleaders@prairielakeschurch.org

Valuable resources for small group leaders!

SmallGroups.com has developed some really helpful resources in the form of Digizines.  They have published three to date and they are free.  They explore relevant small group topics and offer lots of ideas for curriculum.  You can check out all three of them here.  Enjoy!

What Really Makes Us Happy

Check out this hilarious video on What Really Makes Us Happy.  While you're there check out the website for all of the resources that you might use in your groups.  There are great videos, articles and even free studies.  

Christmas is almost here! What's your group doing?

Christmas is a time to celebrate Jesus' birth and the relationships in our lives—including our small-group friends. With Christmas right around the corner, it's a good idea to begin thinking about what your small group will do together for Christmas.  Read this for ideas!

Free tools!

Check out these free interactive small group assessments.  They are quick, fun and helpful. 

Leader Huddle November 8th!

Here are the details.  

• Tuesday 11/8 @ Prairie Lakes Church (Cedar Falls Campus)
• 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
• Room 210
• Food is served at 5:30 p.m. (Sub Sandwiches)

We will be sharing valuable practical tools as well as encouraging you as leaders.  Grab a potential leader and bring them along.  All attendees will be entered in a prize drawing.

RSVP to Alicia Whalen at 319-266-2655 ext 141 or groupleaders@prairielakeschurch.org

Upcoming Marriage Conference

 

FamilyLife presents A Weekend to Remember marriage getaway November 18-20 in Cedar Rapids. Check out all the details here.  For half off discounts call or e-mail Julie Sigmund at 319-988-9212 or julie.sigmund@yahoo.com.  If you can't see the video click here.  Share this with your group!