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Young Adult Small Group Ideas

Discussion in 'Pastoral Ministries' started by ScottEmerson, Feb 22, 2012.

  1. ScottEmerson

    ScottEmerson Active Member

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    Howdy,

    I'm a pastor of a church in Ocala, FL. We have a number of small groups that meet both on Sunday mornings and at homes during the week. I'm putting together a group for young singles - a group that will include people throughout the Christian maturity spectrum, from committed followers of Christ to nominal Christians to non-Christians, about ten to twelve initially.

    I'm looking for a good small group study to begin. I thought about working off of our sermon series, but have decided that I'd rather put something in people's hands that they could be studying during the week.

    Are there any ideas? I looked at Twisting the Truth by Andy Stanley, but we're not going to be able to show a video where we will be meeting (Starbucks).

    Thanks for your help!

    SEC

    (And if this is the wrong forum, feel free to move it where it belongs, mods!)
     
  2. webdog

    webdog Active Member
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    How about The Last Christian Generation by Josh McDowell? It might be a real eye opener for them and help them understand the ramifications of their generation walking with the Lord.
     
  3. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    I think reaching young adults (here I'm speaking of young professionals post-college in their 20s...basically 22-29) is essential for the church to ccontinue to grow and be faithful today. This is a generation that too many churches are providing nothing for and it is damaging them as they wander through life. So kudos!

    Our strategy (by our I mean the church where I serve) is directed home group studies driven with DVD and discussion materials. There are some good ones out there and some not so good ones. The aesthetic matters, a good presentation is essential. There are some excellent studies out there and they are growing.

    You can't go wrong with Andy Stanley stuff btw.

    We've been using Francis Chan's new series from Flannel that starts with Fear God. Also the H2O series with Kyle Idelman (though a touch old) has been useful. There is a group out of Atlanta called the Fermi Project, or Q Ideas, that has some great resources about Christianity and culture that is a mix of video and interaction. Also the Modern Parables series is outstanding. Lee Strobel's Case for _______ (fill in the blank) is great as well. Crave series with Erwin McManus is rather good. We've even gotten into the Faith Lessons series with Ray Vanderlaan for some groups that want to dig deeper. Also John Piper and Tim Keller are usually very well done.

    The primary sites I check these days are Christianbook.com, Bluefishtv.com, and some of the stuff from Threadsmedia.com. Right now most curriculum publishers are putting out DVD series and that is great. Some is good, some is not so good. Just because something is a "best-seller" doesn't mean its good.

    Our procedure for each group is we let them gather until a set time, then watch the video, followed by as long a discussion as they desire. For our singles we typically separate by gender for sanity's sake. We love being able to keep stuff in homes and apartments. It makes the whole approach much more organic and meaningful. Hope this helps. :)
     
  4. gb93433

    gb93433 Active Member
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    I have used the DVD Faith Lessons - In the Dust of the Rabbi, Volume 6 by Ray Vander Laan recently with high school students.

    It is a very well done DVD on the basics of discipleship in the first century.
     
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