Shepherding
What is Shepherding?
As each of us pursues our next step in Christ, our desire is that everyone belongs to someone-experiencing Christian friendship with one another, the church family and most importantly, Jesus. We seek ways to connect people in shepherding relationships and pray we will witness the Holy Spirit in this work. We are concentrating on four areas: supporting existing and new small groups, connecting new members, connecting regular attenders not currently in a small group and establishing one-on-one mentoring relationships.
Planned Activities
Small Groups
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Support existing small groups with prayer, training, membership, etc.
Connecting New Members
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Help match new members with appropriate Small Groups during New Members Class.
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Follow up with new members to assist connection with Small Groups.
Connecting Existing Congregation Members
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Contact congregation members not in a group to recommend an appropriate Small Group and make introductions to Group Leaders.
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Look for opportunities to launch new Small Groups.
Mentoring (one-on-one)
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Establish pool for members with a passion for mentoring.
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Promote mentoring so members can ask for a mentor.
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Provide a process to match and support them.
How do I become involved
We have many opportunities. Do you:
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Want to join a Small Group?
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Want to start a Small Group?
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Want to mentor and support Small Group Leaders?
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Want to spiritually mentor someone?
Why small groups are important to me & our church
By Jim Bement
I am part of several small groups. Three are activity related, Huron River Methodist Pickleball, Huron River Methodist Basketball, and Helping Hands. The fourth, Knights That Say Ni, is a Bible study group. In addition, I typically attend a Sunday school class.
So why are small groups important? I can think of several reasons:
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They allow you to grow spiritually. I think it's much easier to learn and grow in a small group. You can ask questions and get guidance from fellow members. That's rather difficult if you only attend a church service with hundreds in attendance.
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It's easier to make friends. You grow closer to people to people in your small groups. You can help them and in turn, they can help you.
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Participation! You can talk to fellow small group members in an intimate setting. You can't really do that in a church service surrounded by fellow parishioners.
By Jill Dromazos
Being part of a small group has had so many surprising blessings. Not only has it given me a structured framework to help keep me more accountable to working toward my personal goal of taking steps toward exploring my faith in new ways, but the rewards that have come from such a personal relationship with new people are what simply continues to amaze me. Through involvement with small groups, I have met people with amazing stories who God has placed in my life at the right time for mentorship, friendship, and of course fellowship. Small groups have helped me gain confidence in trying new things like leading prayer, suggesting new studies, and even trying dessert recipes without chocolate-all of which were totally out of my comfort zone previously!