Building Community

By: David C. Cook Publishing Company Staff

How do you build a sense of community in your group? It's a challenge every singles ministry leader faces. The fact is, singles are living the single life. Many approach their problems in an individualistic way--out of necessity. Yes, many have come to see that a few solid, caring relationships are essential to their survival. Still others have build incredibly strong ties of friendship or enjoy loving relationships among relatives. But nevertheless, the focus often comes down to: "Me against the world." Yet the biblical vision of the body of Christ is the functioning together of all the members to do the will of God in His kingdom. And that is the focus of this volume of studies on building community. It's learning to view one another as members together in the body. Learning to think of the group working as a unit to accomplish God's will. Learning to trust that as we share deeply of our lives together, we will grow to depend on one another for emotional and spiritual support. In this way, your singles will come to know that they can seek God's will, not only through a personal relationship with Him, but by going to one another for discernment and wisdom that God has given their brothers and sisters in Christ. After all, this is so often how God speaks to us and leads us--through the encouraging wisdom of a fellow believer. Building community requires increasing doses of mutual trust. That's why these sessions are filled with trust games and group challenges that demand teamwork. This is an active study series. It gets your group members moving around, touching one another, pulling together. It's not just a cognitive exercise; it requires committing to and knowing one another at increasingly deeper levels. The exercises and activities should help you do that, but feel free to adapt them and make them fit your group's particular personality. And whatever you do, keep pushing the idea that we are all in this together.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0781454263
• ISBN13: 9780781454261
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: David C Cook