Below is the guide that was made available last Sunday evening. Feel free to reference it at any time here on the blog, and if any questions arise, please let us know!
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An Introductory Guide
The purpose of this document is to provide a few notes to help us all find our bearings for this experiment with 2.42 Groups. If you have questions that are not addressed below, please feel free to contact Pastor Matt (matt@maranatha-crc.com). As you consider what follows, please feel free to add your own nuances to your group as you see fit. Each group will have its own unique make-up and “culture,” and you should to tend to that for the well-being of your group. That said, here are a few notes to help your 2.42 Group get started.
For Hosts
First, thank you! Your generosity in opening up your home is much appreciated and is not taken for granted. As host, you need not do anything more than open your home and ensure an ade-quate number of seats for the members of your group. Of course, you may take more of a lead coordinating and facilitating your group if you wish, but you are free to allow the other mem-bers of your group take on these responsibilities. On a related note, when it comes to food, you may choose to do as much or as little with this as you would like—but please do not feel as though it is your responsibility to provide/make everything. For more on that, see below.
Food & Fellowship
One of the goals of 2.42 Groups is to get to know each other better. Because of this, you might choose to begin each evening casually with food and conversation. Having food is not a require-ment for 2.42 Groups, but there is something about sharing food and drink together that en-courages conversation and community. With that in mind, if your group chooses to incorporate food, please decide with the other members of your group—and with the consent of your host! —if you would like to eat a simple meal together or to simply enjoy a few snacks…and then share the food prep load as much as possible.
As for fellowship and conversation, you need not structure this time if you find that conversation among your group members carries on quite naturally. However, if you sense a need for a con-versation starter, you might invite each person to share a high and a low from the past week so as to gain a better understanding of each other’s day-to-day lives.
Singing
Once again, singing is not a requirement, but many people enjoy singing—and it’s a great way for us to join together to celebrate and affirm what God has done and is doing through Jesus Christ. Plus, singing has a way of causing what we believe to stick with us. So singing together isn’t a requirement, but you might appreciate trying to incorporate a song or two during each 2.42 Group Session.
If you do choose to incorporate singing, do so in a way that works best for your group. If your group has a pianist or a guitarist—and access to instruments—singing might be relatively easy to do. If you don’t have a musician or the necessary instruments in your group, you might sing along with a CD—or utilize a techie’s digital library and a bluetooth speaker. It’s up to you!
If you’re looking for a list of suggested songs—or would like help with obtaining printed copies of lyrics—Amber would be happy to assist you. Otherwise, decide as a group how you will deter-mine which songs to sing—and how you’ll see to it that you’ll be able to sing them.
Scripture
This component of 2.42 Groups is NOT optional J Since as a community we are committed to “Walking after Jesus” and “Doing all he Teaches,” the main purpose of our time together is to engage Scripture so as to be encouraged in our walk of faith and shaped for faithful witness to our Lord. How much time is devoted to this element each session will vary by group, but do your best to give this enough space to allow the Holy Spirit to guide your conversations.
Each group is free to select the Scripture passages they will engage together. That said, if you are looking for direction on this, you might consider reading and discussing one of the following passages each week: Acts 2:29-47, Luke 4:14-30, Luke 5:17-26, Luke 8:22-25, Luke 12:22-34, Luke 24:36-48, Acts 17:16-34.
Finally, regardless of the passage your group reads each session, you are encouraged to engage it together by considering the following questions:
· What are you learning about God and about God’s love for us?
· How is God drawing you to Jesus?
· What is God revealing to you about yourself?
· How is God prompting you to respond in faith and obedience?
Prayer
Lastly, you are encouraged to incorporate prayer into your 2.42 Group sessions. Each group will incorporate this differently, but take time to pray for each other, to give thanks to God for what you are discovering together, and to ask God to guide your group as you continue to meet.