If you would like to sign up for a Home Group, please contact Teri Miller (tlmiller82 (at) comcast (dot) net).

Q: What is a home group?

A: A home group is an in-home Bible study that focuses not only on studying God's word but also on accountability, discipleship, prayer, care, fellowship and most importantly, “doing life together.”

Q: Why home groups?

A: We believe that change and spiritual growth happens best when people are in community with each other. It is evident that Marriage Builders 2 has become too large to offer class members relationship-oriented discipleship. We have had numerous families/couples inquire about home groups, so we thought this may be a good time to consider setting up a few such groups.

Q: When will the home groups be held?

A: Currently, groups are being held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, but groups can be held any night of the week.  Starting times may vary based on the needs of the individual groups.

Q: How frequently will groups meet?

A: Generally, groups meet weekly. Each group will decide on the best schedule for its members.

Q: How long does one home group meeting last?

A: This is up to each individual group. Typically, a meeting will last 1.5-2 hours.

Q: Where will the groups meet?

A: The groups will meet in a host home. This is either the home of the leaders or of a couple who volunteers to host. Hosting duties may also rotate within a group, if that group chooses.

Q: How big will groups be?

A: Each group will start off with a few couples. The max size for each group will be 8 couples.

Q: What goes on at a group meeting?

A: Though each group will differ in how they do things, many groups have a social time in the beginning, then transition to a time where they conduct the study, and have a time of accountability and prayer. At the inception of the group, the whole group decides how much time they will spend on social, discussion, and accountability/prayer time (as well as the order in which they take place).

Q: How will childcare be handled?

A: In order to ensure that all couples are able to attend home group as often as possible, it is important that we make childcare a priority. Child care needs will vary by group. There are numerous options available to the groups:

1) Youth could be paid to watch kids in another area of the host home. In this case, the cost of the childcare is paid by the members of the group who require the childcare.

2) Couples take turns in rotation to have kid duty in lieu of study one week (so, if there are 6 couples in a group, each couple watches the children every six weeks).

3) Groups can choose to watch each other's children (so, Group A is responsible for watching Group B's children, and vice versa).

Q: How do we sign up?

A: If you would like to join a home group, please contact Teri Miller (tlmiller82 (at) comcast (dot) net).

Q: How will new couples join home groups?

A: When a new couple expresses interest in joining a home group, they can sign up for one of the open groups (any group with fewer than 8 couples). This may be handled through the class website.

Q: What will we study?

A: Each group will be able to choose their curriculum from a list provided by the church. If a group desires to study curriculum not on the list, it can be submitted to the church for approval. For the first study, each group will work on a curriculum that teaches the group how to be a home group.

Q: What is the commitment?

A: When a couple commits to a home group, it is expected that they make every effort to be at each meeting. Unlike Sunday school, this is not a “drop-in” Bible study. We ask that before joining a home group, couples prayerfully consider whether they have time to commit to a group of this kind. In the beginning, we will ask each couple to commit to their group through December. After that, the commitment will be longer (possibly a year to a year and a half).

Q: Will Sunday school still be available to us if we don't join a home group?

A: Of course! The Millers aren't going anywhere. The class will still meet every Sunday morning.

Q: Will I still go to Sunday school class if I join a home group?

A: This is up to each individual couple. It is our hope that people will consider this an opportunity to serve during one of the church services and still be able to attend worship, but everyone is welcome to still attend Sunday school!

Q: Can we invite friends who do not attend FBCW?

A: Of course! Home groups can be a great outreach tool. You do not have to be a regular attender or a member of FBCW to participate in home group. We also hope that we can use home groups to reach out to people who are so involved in ministry that they have not been able to connect with other believers.

Q: Who are our leaders?

A: Leaders do not have to be Biblical scholars or even have all of the answers. Our first leaders are volunteers, people who have led home groups at other churches in the past. Going forward, we will continue to look for volunteers for additional groups, or for when groups outgrow the 8-couple maximum. One goal of home groups is to grow new leaders. Group leaders may ask a couple in their group to become an apprentice, training that couple to eventually lead their own group. In order to lead a group, the couple must be members of FBCW and must gain approval from an elder or pastor of the church before leading.

 

“The goal is not small groups. The goal is developing people, and you can do that much more effectively in a group of ten than in a large group. Developing people happens more in life-on-life encounters than it does lesson-to-lesson or classroom-to-classroom or auditorium-to-auditorium. There's a huge difference between preaching in a big room and getting that message down to the life of each person. When one person's life changes, everything else changes...You want to get down to the smallest form, where people change, grow, and develop.” -Brett Eastman 

http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2008/gearingupforsmallgroups.html