Building Up!

This week Pastor Mark spoke about 'Affirming Together' in the continuation of his series, 'Let's Get Personal'. The idea here is that we are called to encourage one another, and that part of building relationships with each other is building each other up!

As an example, I shared in my Life Group last night about a time I was encouraged. See, I spent 10 years working part or full-time for a McDonald's franchise in Santa Barbara, from my junior year of High School until I was 27 years old. I began as your average crew worker and worked my way up into middle management, then carved out a unique role for myself as a Training Coordinator and Specialist, helping launch new stores.

When I decided to move on into a new career path, the amazing people who owned and operated this franchise honored me at a manager's conference, presenting me with the plaque you see above. It hangs in my office to this day!

My point? That encouragement, which was both verbal and tangible, has impacted me forever in a powerful way. It not only gave me the courage to move forward in my professional life, but it also inspired me to grow more like those who were giving the encouragement, people who are among the most admired in my life.

As you spend time sharing life together in your group, I'd challenge you to pause and ask yourself, 'How can I give this kind of thoughtful, tangible and authentic encouragement to others?' You'll be glad you did!

The Numbers Game

I'm not one to focus solely on numbers as a measure of ministry success, but I do believe that a wise leader in ministry will pay some attention to what is going on with the numerical qualities of their flock. After all, the book of Acts records that at Pentecost, when Peter and the disciples spoke in other tongues, three thousand came to Christ!

That said, I'd like to share some numbers with you about Life Groups at Desert Springs! You see, as I spent time evaluating the ministry this past Summer and as we approached the three year mark in this journey, I felt compelled to set some goals that we would try to achieve this year.

My heart's desire is that as many people as possible find significant relationships that help them grow in Christ here, and so I feel it's safe to say that my ultimate goal is 100% participation in Life Groups! I am a realist, though, and I know that such a goal is not truly attainable. Thus, I have set a more pragmatic short-term goal for the ministry, as a jumping-off point to keep working toward the future.

Twenty-five percent. Pastors Mark, Tom and myself all agreed on this as our first goal when we determined to begin a dramatic shift in how Life Groups work here at Desert Springs, and we have planned, prayed and prepared to do all we can to reach it as we launch our first 8-week session. In fact, I have set up a white board in my office with the number of groups, number of people in groups and the percentage of adults in groups on it, just to remind myself where we are at in comparison to our goals.

So, how are we doing? Well, I'll let this photo answer that:


That's right - with only one of our three sign-up Sundays behind us, we've already reached the first goal! Do we let up? No - there are still 75% that may or may not be experiencing belonging through significant relationships! We must continue driving home the importance of this purpose, as well as how it is integral to the purpose of Desert Springs.

But we should definitely celebrate and give praise to God! He is the one who has made this possible, and He is the one who will make even greater things happen! Amen!

ALL ABOARD!

The Life Groups train is leaving the station!


That's right, we've begun sign-ups for our first 8-week session, which will take place in February and March. Our first Sunday of sign-ups, January 17th, had great results, with 25 people signing up for groups and 9 more on waiting lists! I've had to close a few of the groups because they are already full, and we have two more Sundays to go!

If you are a Life Group Leader reading this, you should be encouraged and excited!

If you are someone who is thinking about joining a group, DO IT! Or talk to me about how you can start one, because we've got people lined up to get in one!

Leaders Workshop

We held our first ever Life Group Leaders Workshop on Saturday, and it was a great success! Twenty people were in attendance, and I gave a presentation (with plenty of breaks) from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm on the vision & purpose of our Groups ministry, along with a lot of the how-to's of Life Groups.

We begin sign-ups for our first 8-week session this Sunday, and we have several new groups that people will be able to get into. Exciting!