The Crossline Community Groups Podcast

Fostering Connection and Faith: A Masterclass in Building Impactful Community Groups

• Jordan Gash • Season 1 • Episode 4

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Imagine you’ve been invited over to your friend’s house for a small gathering. You’re not quite sure what to expect, but you know the hosts, Megan and Matt, are some of the most welcoming people you’ve ever met. What you stumble into is a wonderfully chaotic, heartwarming journey of community building. This group, formed through personal invitations, is a testament to the power of connection and shared faith. Join me as I sit down with Megan and Matt to learn about their inspiring journey, their sage advice on fostering a supportive environment, and how their group has not only impacted their family life, but has also reached out to those in the wider community.

Ever wondered how to start a community group that sincerely brings people together? Megan and Matt's experience is a masterclass in creating such spaces. They began by inviting people who attended their son's second birthday party, and from there, they fostered an environment that encouraged growth and connection. Their group, which began as a means to bring God into their home, has transformed into a lattice-like support system for both the kids and the adults. In this episode, they also share some invaluable tips for coaching group leaders. As we unravel their story and lessons, we end with a prayer from Philippians 1:9-11, hoping to bless everyone listening with the courage to start or strengthen their own community group. So, join us, and who knows, you might just be inspired to start your own group!

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Speaker 1:

Well, everyone, we are back to the next episode of our cross-line community groups podcast, where we are discussing groups and group life and group tactics, all those wonderful things. Those that are watching may be group leaders, you may be community life pastors or groups pastors. Whoever you are, I do want to just take this moment to thank you for what you're doing. The decision that you have made to step into this ministry and shepherd these groups is an amazing decision and it's benefiting the kingdom, and so I want to bless you and say thank you for that. Excited for today's episode, we're going to be stepping into really understanding where to kind of begin with groups and how to get people to come to your groups, and so where does this all go? Now you may be a group leader and you decided that you're going to be obedient to following the Lord's calling to lead a group and you think to yourself this is awesome. But now you wonder if anybody's actually going to come and you wonder if they do come, are we going to vibe? Are they going to stay? Do I want them to stay? Maybe we start a group and we don't vibe with the people, but we don't know how to end it. But we're trying to avoid all those things and so we want to begin well, start well. So we're going to talk about that a little bit today, and these are some of the questions that really go through the head of a group leader, and we get to talk about that with my dear friends that I have with us.

Speaker 1:

So today I'm joined by my friends Megan and Matt, and they not only lodged a group in this last year, but they're absolutely crushing it in their leadership and shepherding. Really I know to be a long lasting and fruitful group. So with that, let's give it up for Megan and Matt. Yeah, give it up. Say hello everyone. Hi, all right, perfect Now Megan and Matt we know as really a community life pastor, but maybe many of those watching that groups that are formed predominantly through personal invitation are so much more successful and usually more longer lasting than those that are built by placement Things that you know you sign up on a form or you put your information into the computer and you just get matched with some random group that those sometimes work, but usually the more guaranteed success is a personal invite. So how do we know who the right people didn't invite are you know? And so I'm going to ask you how did you guys find people for your group and then how did you go about inviting them?

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So our group, we really had two kind of key things. The first was that we partnered with two other families before we even started. Like before I came to you and said, hey, we went to two other families and we said, hey, we're looking to do this. Is this something you guys would be interested? Would you team up with us? And so the nights in the hails both were like, yeah, well, we're down to do it. So then we decided on the time and everything. And then the second half was we invited people that had come to our son's second birthday party. So I already had their text. So I was like, hey, we're looking to start a group and this is what we're going to do and would you guys be interested? And then a lot of the families were ones that were from there.

Speaker 1:

That's great.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

Now, where did you meet? A lot of these families. Kind of that came to your son's second birthday party.

Speaker 2:

So our group was really specific. It's cross-line preschool parents and families and so I even asked like, are we allowed to like say that specific? But that was really. Our goal was meeting people that were in the same life stages as us, kids that were around him all the time and really having a like-minded group.

Speaker 1:

That's awesome. So we really can thank MacArthur for really being the instigator of this awesome group. So he's the champion there. So you drew from a community. This is what I want you guys to hear. They drew from a community that they were already a part of and you basically it wasn't so much the challenge of asking them to join a group, but really was a presentation of, hey, we're already part of a community. Would you want to go deeper into this community? And that's what you were bringing and kind of inviting them. So can you describe, maybe, what some of those first group meetings were like and did you guys feel like you vibed instantly with everyone? Obviously you knew some of them from the preschool, but maybe some of them were new. How did those first meetings go?

Speaker 3:

Yeah, it was pretty chaotic. It's a start, because all the kids were invited too, so it's parents and kids, and part of the hardest thing was to get the baby scissors coordinated so that we could do the study. But after a while it really kind of meshed.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, it was kind of like one family at a time would kind of open up and then we'd be like, hey, we heard from this couple that we didn't really they didn't have them been talking. And then he started cracking some jokes and we're like, hey, you know what? Now we know this couple better and they're opening up. And we were pretty specific in the beginning. I told people that we wanted to build like, if you picture a plant like a climbing vine, I said I want us to be like lattice, where Matthew overlaps with other dads and I overlap with other moms and then, as all of our kids are climbing, they go like different directions, but yet we have this support that's there for these kids and that was really kind of my heart in the whole thing. And so it's just slowly been opening up and people have really been doing that.

Speaker 1:

Look at you guys getting all like pastoral with your illustrations. We're going to be like lattice and the vine's growing.

Speaker 2:

Your stale was like. That's what we got to do.

Speaker 1:

Natural shepherds and pastors here. I love it. So you talked about this idea. You started cracking jokes. Maybe you started to notice a few things there that maybe were the signs of really that you had something special, that actually this could be something that was going to grow and be something that could be developed. Was there anything that, outside of using awesome illustrations like a lattice, was there anything that you did to help really further those relationships once you began to see that this could actually be a really awesome group put together?

Speaker 2:

I think that when we started doing things of service outside of our group, then we noticed like hey, this is the bomb team, like we're awesome. One of the first things was at the preschool we had the fall family night and like all the dads are together and they did all the cleanup and like set up and then the moms were helping me decorate and then it was just like it was kind of like our group jumped in and facilitated that and they've kind of been like that all along with each other. We've had families where a kid's been in the hospital and someone's taken the kids. We've had families where losing jobs, getting jobs, funerals, and another family took the kids while they were at the funeral. We had issues in times where we needed support and they all rallied around us and men talking to him, women talking to me, and so it's those kind of external, outside of just the meeting that really have been amazing.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's. You guys bring up a great point and we actually we talked about it in our first episode that we did that there's some vision and there's purpose that we want to put to our groups. And I love what you're saying and that really where you began to see the opportunities for that group to grow was in the opportunities to serve one another. And that's the reality with groups. Is that so often we are living life and we face challenges, right? Nobody's on just this cruise ship of perfection. We're all kind of trying to figure out life and we have families and we have friends, we have finances and all these things, and it kind of just it happens.

Speaker 1:

But what you did and I would encourage you guys in this, I want to encourage you guys in this is don't ignore the moments, those that happen when somebody shares a challenge. You know how does the group respond to meet that challenge with them and how does the group step into that, because that's really where relationship is formed and that's really where groups really come together. And I've noticed that in groups all around is the ones that really have to go through the fire are the ones that stick forever. It was like this happened in my life and my group was there for me and so beginning to notice that you had that special dynamic with some of the relationships and the kids in the preschool and the jokes.

Speaker 1:

That was one thing, but then you saw the opportunities to take it even deeper and deeper and I want to commend you in that. That's just, that's amazing. It's great, great advice. If you're not hearing that, that's great advice, good ways to kind of go there now, knowing that you have this depth with these people, how have you seen this impact your family's life? How has it impacted your faith?

Speaker 3:

Matthew, maybe I want to share a great example I can just think of is one of the dads and I tonight are going to graduate gets healthy, so it's pretty amazing. That's great. We could bond in a way and just go through it together and it's from our group Pretty cool.

Speaker 1:

It's good Any other ways that you could just see how it's impacted your family or your faith?

Speaker 2:

I mean, I think when we started this I don't know if you remember, but we came here and we're like we want to host. We can't lead anything, but we'll open our home, and the goal was just like I want to have the things of God in my home, like I know that if I bring God into my home as much as possible, he's going to work things out. And I think if you were to interview us before, maybe you know we wouldn't have been chosen to be group leader, because you know what I mean. But I think just getting the things of God in your home is going to impact your daily walk. And so there's decisions that we make, you know, based on we have a group. Hey, we can't do that, we can't mess around like that, we can't go that route, because we have other people that are involved in this, in this family, and we need to protect them as well. And I think about that a lot like my choices and how it's going to affect this family that we built.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, there's, and I could see obviously that means something to you. You know, I see that beautiful vision, you know, of being able to bring God into my home, right, and how do I do that? And I've actually talked with people in your group and they're like, well, we could go to our home or they can use that. You've actually said, no, we want to, let us host it, let's have it at our house. And that beauty of saying that's your heart and that's where I began. And you know, this is something that I want you guys to hear. This wasn't something we were going to talk about, but you got to begin your leadership in the way that God's designed you to be a leader. Right, you are a different type of leader than some of these people watching. Right, and where you saw as you want to bring God in your home, you had a hospitality. But you told you to your point. You came to me like I don't know if I could be the leader, the host, and yet look and see what God has done with both of you because you offered what you had. You offered those gifts up and that's incredible.

Speaker 1:

So we call our group, that it's our family, right, it's the friend family and I have a family. We all have families that we love and we care for, and but there are something very special about the group that we have that it's just it's got this depth to it that really can't be mimicked anywhere else. I mean, it really leads you into a deeper place, spiritually, emotionally, and really, for us, we feel completely supported, come what may, with our family, and that's the beauty of group. So I want to ask you you began this group last year. Now you're a veteran. Oh, you're getting into it, you're getting into the veteranship. What advice would you give to new group hosts, new group leaders?

Speaker 3:

Just do it.

Speaker 1:

Just do it, do you have the passion. I think that's taken actually.

Speaker 3:

If you have the space do it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I think. Yeah. Just we were going back and forth for a long time, and mostly because of our thoughts on ourselves. And you know, I've always been taught that as you handle the things of God, god will handle your things. And so I think, like you said, go in, go for it and get involved and get used to it all and reach out to people, like talk to them. It's a little scary.

Speaker 3:

Because the tenetsas we've made through this group. This is amazing.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's good. Well, thank you guys for sharing a little bit of your story. You guys are doing a great job. It is scary that first moment that we have to welcome people into our group and ask people to come into our group. That is a scary moment and you're not really sure who exactly to ask and sometimes you wrestle with do they have time? You know well, they have kids. I don't know. I mean figuring out this.

Speaker 1:

You said Whatever, I'm in the stage stage, we're all the same stage. Let's just find the people that all can relate to where we're at and we'll just do what works for us. It may not work for other groups, it may not be the same for the groups, but we're going to champion community for what works for us and what I've always found in that is there's always people that fit that exact same kind of style and they're looking for them. They're wondering about that and you knew exactly where to look. You looked in the preschool, you looked at that birthday party and you said perfect opportunity for us to step into. I enjoy these people. I think they would enjoy going even deeper in community.

Speaker 1:

So that's maybe some tips for anybody that's listening or watching, or if you guys are a pastor, just a kind of ways to coach your group leaders that just start with where you are. Where are you, where's the environments that you're a part of, whether it be a sports team, whether it be a preschool, whether it's a baking club or whatever it might be just begin with that. So maybe it's your work, a lot of people. You might have people at your work and it doesn't have to just be people from your church. Just find where your community is and begin with that, and that's a beautiful way to kind of reach out. So that's going to wrap some things up here and we are going to continue on next week as we continue this discussion around groups and really building the best environment for that.

Speaker 1:

But before we do that, I want to end this episode as we always end it is. I want to bless each and every one of you that are watching this and anybody that may be a pastor that's overseeing these groups. I want to bless you with our particular blessing prayer from Philippians 1-9-11. It's this, and this is my prayer that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. God bless you all and have a great rest of your day.