Spiritual Growth: Community building

Hello,

"Dear friends let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7)

I hope and pray that your week has gone well and that you are keeping up with your classes! As you continue to build the ministry on campus this semester, please keep in mind the need to grow in love for one another. Cultivating community in your ministry is one of the best ways you can help students to grow in love and compassion for each other.

As students connect with one another in your ministry, they will grow in their concern for one another and their desire to come to other events and activities is likely to increase. If they keep coming, their relationship with the Lord is likely to grow. When they become more comfortable with others in the ministry, barriers will be broken down and people will more willingly open up about what they are thinking and struggling with.

Some simple steps to cultivate community:

• Incorporate simple ice breakers or games into your weekly meeting/bible study. Activities to get people sharing about themselves and laughing together. You can go to the website http://www.godsquad.com/discipleship/icebreakers.htm for some great ideas. If it isn't too difficult have snacks or refreshments at/after your meeting or Bible study.


• Plan some fun activities outside of your regular meeting times: game night, bowling, mini golf, make your own ice cream sundaes, go to a fall festival together. Go out with others after the meeting


• Get together as a smaller group - invite 2-3 people over to your apartment (if you have one) for dinner, or ask them to meet you at the dining hall. You could also meet for lunch on campus. It could be as simple as picking a day and time each week to meet in a particular area of the commuter cafeteria.


• Plan a girls night out/guys night out. This is a great way to bond and develop friends.
  People are much more apt to open up at bible study and volunteer their time to help out if they are friends with the people in the ministry. Don't forget the fun!

Acts 2:42,46 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." "Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,"