Creating Community

I just finished reading this book which was written by Andy Stanley and Bill Willits. I read it because I have been struggling about how we can do a better job as a church to build community. We have a few lifegroups, but for the most part, we aren’t doing a great job at connecting people throughout the week. As we grow, we have to develop the small group structure to help this occur. So there are some great takeaways from this book which is based on the small group structure at Northpoint. This book forces you to ask some questions, basic questions, but important ones.

  • What do you want people to become? The answer to this question will determine much of your structure
  • What do we want people to do? How do you measure Spiritual maturity? They define this as growing in their love for God and others. I really like the statement: “We want them to grow in their intimacy with Christ, community with insiders, and influence with outsiders”
  • Where do you want people to go? What activities/classes do you offer to make the first 2 questions happen.
  • “What are the steps required to easily and clearly lead people through the process?

Overall there are some really good concepts in the book. I have never really been a huge fan of the analogy of the foyer/living room/kitchen that Northpoint uses, but I do like the logic behind it. I’ve got a few more books to read about developing our small group ministry, but I really want to see Cornerstone setup a system that allows people to be fully devoted disciples of Christ. And that occurs every day of the week, not just on Sundays.

Mike

I am a former design engineer who now pastors Cornerstone Community Church in Galax, Virginia. I'm passionate about following Jesus and I love technology. I've been married to Jennifer for 28 years, and we have three adult children.

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