Connection Central

Steve Gladen (Saddleback Church) gives a really good overview of the twelve tips he has discovered for churches to enjoy a successful small group emphasis.

Check it out at http://pdsgn.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/twelve-tips-for-a-successful-campaign/

Below is the information and graphics you need to set up your own Prodigal God group on Facebook.

First of all you will have to set up a Facebook account if you don't already have one. To go to the page to set up your account click HERE.

Login to your face book account and click HERE to go to the group setup page.Facebook will ask you to enter some infromation about your group.

1. Group Name: Your group name must be unique but easy to find. We suggest you use Prodigal God Led By (Your name).

2. Description: Use the following as your description:

This six week study is based on the book by Timothy Keller, "The Prodigal God." The book and small group study examine the most famous of the parables of Jesus – the prodigal son. Together we will discover that the gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, neither morality nor immorality, but something else entirely.

3.Group Type: First select "Common Interest" then "Religion & Spirituality"

4. None of the other information is required, but we do ask that you provide an email address for members to be able to contact you directly and use the following link in Website:

http://www.theprodigalgod.com

This link will take people to an information page on the Prodigal God website.

5. Next you are directed to a settings page. To make things easiest and safest for you where you have the option click the button next to "only allow admins to..." and click the button next to closed group. This will allow your group to be found but you can control who has access. This will prevent people from joining who are just trying to disrupt your group.

6. Once you click on SAVE to save your group settings next you will have to "Publish" your group. Then you will be taken to the the group's page where you can upload a picture. We recommend you use this for your picture.


7. Finally, invite your group members!

Hello Connection Central!

Wow! Four weeks before "Go-time" and we already have 160 groups that will be participating in the Prodigal God series during April 4-May 16.

It's not too late to volunteer as a host for this wonderful study. Just think! There are five friends, five family members, five coworkers, and five unchurched folks you know who are desperate for you to host a group so they can attend.

This is a great opportunity to gently blow out religious misconceptions and introduce the idea of an extravagant and loving God!

If you have not yet registered, there is still time. To sign up, just go to this address/link:
http://www.wordalive.org/register.php

Then meet me at the church for a short orientation:
Sunday, March 14 @ 6:00pm
Wednesday, March 17 @ 6:00 pm
Sunday, March 21 @ 11:30 am

Take a chance and be part of the 3G vision to gather, group, and give in 2010.

It’s time to get together – 500 groups meeting simultaneously

What could possibly be so compelling and extravagant that 500 of us would jump at the chance to host a small group study?

Nothing less than the The Prodigal God!!! “Prodigal” simply means extravagantly lavish and luxuriant. This is your chance to be part of a small army of hosts who will blow the lid off religious hypocrisy and judgment and reveal the Father in a way many of us have never seen!

If you have always wanted to be part of a genuine move of God, this 6 week study may be the best opportunity you will ever have. As our church is experiencing extraordinary anointing and power during the services, we expect this same glory to overflow into the community.

Trust me – hosting a group does not require excessive preparation or biblical skill. It simply requires a willing heart, a coffee maker, and a DVD player. If you meet these “host” criteria and you want to see Word Alive accomplish our 3G goal of 500 small groups, the we need you to sign on NOW! All you have to do is go www.wordalive.org and click on the link to register as a host. Or just email me at bill@wordalive.org and let me know that I can count on you to host a small group study for:

The Prodigal God:
a 6 week small group study through DVD, discussion guide, and book.

http://www.wordalive.org/register.php

We will see you February 28th – Sunday at 6:00 in the TAMA Hall on the Coldwater Campus for an orientation and to get your materials in your hands. We will make is so simple and easy to host that you may invite several other friends to host as well, just to meet the demand. (Alternative dates for the Orientation will be announced, so don’t let that stop you!)

Hello Team WAIO,

What an exciting time at WAIO! We are simply in the hands of the Holy Spirit and will continue to seek Him and His will for the future. We are embracing the ramifications of our little fire and our relocation to TAMA Hall where another little “fire” started a little over nine years ago.

Regarding our small groups for this “season,” I encourage you all to be flexible and available for whatever the Spirit might lead to do. Our plans call for a concentrated effort during Easter to group around the book and six-week preaching series called The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller.

I will operate on the assumption that all the groups from the Fall Season will continue to meet as they did in the Fall schedule, with the same basic focus, location, target group, childcare conditions, and time and frequency of meeting. This info is available to the public through www.wordalive.org. You may want to check the listing for your group and confirm that the info is correct.

The exception here is for those of you who led L.I.F.E. (Living in Freedom Everyday) groups. We will not re-launch this series until the Fall of 2010. We all were tremendously blessed by the series and the Retreat Weekend, but we could not discern a way to promote and complete the 12-15 week cycle for L.I.F.E. while also promoting a church-wide grouping campaign around The Prodigal God.

I encourage those of you who did lead the L.I.F.E. groups to continue to meet during this spring season on some regular schedule and prepare to embrace a leadership roll in the Prodigal God small group emphasis. You will want to identify some within you group who can host the six-week small group during the Easter season (April 4- May 9) and encourage them to do so.

We will sponsor a training and orientation (about 30 minutes) which will give you the basics on how to host a group, get you your material, and get the info on the "who, what, when, and where" of your group meeting. Orientations are scheduled for:

Sunday, February 28 at 6:00 pm in Connection Classroom 102
Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00 pm in the Connection Classroom 102
Sunday, March 7 at 11:30am and 1:00pm in the Connection Classroom 102

Thank you again for your prayer, support, service, gifts, and anointing. The small group leader, moving in the Spirit, is an essential key to sustained spiritual impact! You are at the right place, at the right time - connecting to God, people, and purpose.


Please feel free to contact me for clarification or counsel. Continue in prayer and I know we will see extraordinary advances in the spiritual realm. Be blessed!

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 44 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:"

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone..
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15.. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful..
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ''In five years, will this matter?".
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don't take yourself so seriously.. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
34. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd
grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.