Home Group Notes

After our "40 Days of Purpose" campaign back in April of last year we were able to maintain about 10 home groups. These groups are still operating with varying degrees of success. I have taken on the responsibilities to grow and multiply these groups.

The "40 Days" model of using a video to teach and drive the group with handouts and discussion questions to stimulate interaction and community is, I believe, a good model for this day in this culture. The 15 minute videos are short enough that anyone can stay with it and light enough for anyone to digest it. The interaction can be taylored to a groups maturity... simple and near the surface for nonbelievers or new christians... deep and probing for those wanting more transparency.

I have begun working on several teaching series that we will be producing in house for DVD distribution. The video studio is almost ready... lights are being hung... computers in place... even setting up a teleprompter for script support. It has proven to be quite an undertaking but I am excited about the project.

Initially the teaching will be 15-20 minutes with discussion questions presented at the end of the video onscreen... with a 'continue' button to proceed to the next question... I hope it will be 'home group in a box'... something that can guide leaders through provoking interaction.

I am also revisiting the need for training the leaders. "40 Days" encouraged us to invite people to "Host" groups that were not necessarily leaders... therefore, when "40 Days" ended we still had groups meeting with ministry models and leadership models that were all over the board. As a Vineyard church it concerns me when we have "leaders" ministering in decidedly "non-Vineyard" models. I hope to begin a leadership (and prospective leadership) training program that is grounded in Kingdom Theology, Vineyard Values and Priorities and particularly focused on ministry models.

We are seeing many exciting things in our groups right now. A couple of significant healings... a young woman was recently healed from bolemia... another had a tumor disappear from her leg... a pregnant woman had a tumor vanish from her sonogram over a 3 week period after prayer (with pictures to document it). The power of God is moving through the community of small gorups.