HELLO!
At Pinelake we make the most of every moment by living on mission and loving our world! On October 8, we have a special opportunity to purposefully live out this principle through our small groups. Together, we will look for special opportunities to bless those around us with practical helps or simple methods of encouragement to point people toward the love of Christ. In the Gospel of John, Jesus gives a declaration to his disciples as to the purpose and aim of their lives. He said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35) Through GroupServe, all of Pinelake small groups will band together to do exactly what Jesus told us to do -- to love our neighbors and bringing the kingdom of Jesus to all those around us. The remainder of this packet will serve as a simple guide giving you and your group step by step instructions to live on purpose together on October 8!
LEADER OVERVIEW TWO WEEKS AWAY - SEPTEMBER 24
This week in your small group, paint a picture of why we are serving together through GroupServe, and the steps it will take to accomplish a simple serve opportunity. Keep in mind the “why” of our service is more about loving a person well rather than the service itself. We want to show generosity and live on purpose as a mechanism to point people to Jesus in a practical and loving way. This week, you will focus on simple planning steps and a general brainstorm of ideas that will direct your plan. Keep in mind, this is not meant to be overwhelming. It’s meant to be simple, fun and encouraging!
ONE WEEK AWAY - OCTOBER 1 During your small group session this week, we encourage you to begin to prepare and pray for how God has designed your small group to serve. Last week, you talked about having eyes to see the way that Christ sees and began praying together about ways you could serve those around you. This week you will take the steps you need to take logistically to accomplish a great afternoon of service together. You will conclude your preparation time simply praying together as a group for God to bless your service as an act of worship!
GROUPSERVE DAY - OCTOBER 8 Today is the day! Your small group is ready to serve together as a part of GroupServe! We couldn’t be more excited about the steps you are taking to live on purpose. As you serve today, be mindful to encourage your group. Some of them are incredibly comfortable in leading and serving relationally while. For others, the journey could be much harder. Be sure to encourage your group for their faithfulness and bravery to serve and love others. Celebrate every win – big or small. And remember, success is defined by our faithfulness to God’s calling, not the result. Lead your group to be continually prayerful throughout the opportunity to serve and have a lot of fun together!
ONE WEEK AFTER - OCTOBER 15 You had a great day of service last week! We are so thankful for your faithfulness and obedience! This week, you will spend time helping your group process what they experienced. Take time to think about the easy things, but also the difficult ones. As you continue to discuss your time of service, give the majority of your time to what God did in you and through you. Keep in mind that Jesus’ call on our lives is to live on purpose every day – at home, work, school or anywhere that He may lead. As you lead today, give your effort and energy toward leading people to understand better what that might look like.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES If people in your group are interested in taking next steps in missional living & service, encourage them to complete our next steps form (bit.ly/MISSIONSNEXTSTEPS) or contact the missions team at
[email protected]. Additionally, everyone in your group can get up-to-date information on Pinelake Missions by following us on social media or subscribing to our text groups text “plmissions” to 70-000 for general information and “missionaryprayer” to 70-000 for prayer updates.
@PinelakeMissions
LIVE ON PURPOSE
@PinelakeMissions
We make the most of every moment by living on mission and loving our world.
@PLMissions
TWO WEEKS AWAY
SMALL GROUP PRINCIPLE - LOVE A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. – John 13:34 When we care for those around us, we show them the same love that Christ shows us. Will we be obedient in making room in our hearts and in our schedules to show that same overwhelming love to those whole live the closest to us? LOGISTICAL NEEDS - As a small group, begin to look at your schedule. Who is available to join in on GroupServe? - Begin to think about the needs you know about in your local neighborhoods and communities. Here are a few ideas of how you may serve: > Help an elderly couple in your community by offering to cut their grass. > Prepare dinner for a single mother in your community. > Do you live on a college camps? Offer to give international students a ride to and from the store. > Are there people in your geographic location that you do not even know? > Are there people in your neighborhood that don't know the name of Jesus? How could you meet them where they are by serving them? PRAYER POINTS Pray that the Lord continues to open your eyes and your hearts to the needs in your local neighborhoods and communities. Pray for Making Room: Community Outreach as a whole. Pray that lives all across the state of Mississippi would be touched with the Love of Christ through Pinelake.
www.pinelake.org
ONE WEEK AWAY
SMALL GROUP PRINCIPLES - PREPARE & PRAY Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. – Philippians 2:3-4 LOGISTICAL NEEDS - Discuss what the Lord has placed on your heart over the past week as to who you will serve on October 8th. - Decide who will take the lead on October 8th. (Preferably not the small group leader) - Once you have decided how and where you will serve, register your event at bit.ly/groupserve17. This will allow Pinelake to know which communities are being served and ministered to though our small groups. - As a group, discuss how you will share Jesus with who you are serving. What does that look like? Could it be an invite to church, praying with someone, a presentation of the Gospel, a call to follow Jesus? - Discuss what practical things you will need next week when you serve. Will you need rakes or shovels? Who will bring them? Who's house will you prepare the food at if you're cooking for a family? PRAYER POINTS Pray for the families or individuals that have come up in conversation today? Begin to pray that that the Lord will open doors to share the Gospel with the people you will serve. If you know the families or individuals you will serve, begin to pray for them by name. www.pinelake.org
GROUPSERVE DAY
SMALL GROUP PRINCIPLES - SERVE Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in Heaven. – Matthew 5:16 Today is the day! We are excited that you have made room in your heart and in your schedule to serve those around you. Before you go take a few minutes and pray for the people you are about to go love. Pray for them by name. Pray that doors open for you to share truth. After your group is done serving today, come back together for a short debrief. While you served together, it is likely that each of you had a different perspective. Take a minute to share your perspective. Ask questions like: - How was your service received by those you served? - How did you see truth being communicated today? - How will we follow up? Scripture is a collection of stories. Stories of life change and of Jesus's name being made known. Today, we want to know stories of how Jesus is changing your small group. What is the story of the experience you just had. Share your story by posting a photo or short videos on social media using the hashtag #PinelakeGroupServe #SeriouslyAwesomeGroups *Please be sensitive to the people you serve when sharing stories. Keep their privacy a priority. We never want to objectify people or glorify our own service. Yet, we want to share stories about how God has called us to live in his kingdom as a family of faith.
www.pinelake.org
ONE WEEK AFTER
SMALL GROUP PRINCIPLE - KEEP SERVING Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore pray earnestly for the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest." – Matthew 9:37-38 This was true when Jesus said it, and its still true today. Will you continue to answer His call to serve? Take a few minuets before you start your normal small group time to debrief your experience with GroupServe. This is a time to reflect on your experience, positive or negative, and think of practical ways to move forward. Below are a few questions to guide your time. This is only a guide. Please build on these questions and let the Spirit of the Lord guide your discussion. - What are some general observations you had about the people that you served? - What needs did you see that you did not expect to see before you arrived? - What ways were you were able to share truth with the people you served? Did you pray with them? How was the prayer received? - How will we continue to serve? - Do we need to follow up with the people we served? - How will we continue to serve? Think about ways to serve through Thanksgiving or Christmas Holidays. PRAY Spend some time praying together about all that God has done in your lives and in the lives of the people who had the opportunity to serve. Ask God to show you the harvest around you everyday and give you boldness to step into his calling daily. www.pinelake.org
