Winter Semester 2011

Have you decided on a study?  Please make sure I have the details of your group so we can get it on the web for people to sign up!  Lead where you are led.  Questions?  Need help deciding?  Let me know. 

JUST ASK!

And so I did, I have asked more than 40 people to step up and step out to lead a Life Group during our church wide journey of the Holy Spirit.  If you have been asked, then please make sure you give me the day of the week you will want to meet, time that you will meet (plan for 1 1/2 hours), and whether or not you will offer child care.  If you are providing child care, please inform me if there will be a cost to that.

Also, there will be leadership training for life groups as well as information specifically for the church wide journey.  Mark your calendars for October 3rd.  This is a mandatory leader meeting, so please make sure that either you or your spouse will be able to attend.

Thanks leaders for your heart!

Off the Agenda: 10 Tips for Learning in Ministry

Off the Agenda: 10 Tips for Learning in Ministry

LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

 Check out this message from Bill Hybels with details about the Leadership Summit.  Maybe there is someone you would like to hear?  There are many GREAT speakers to choose from, and most of them you will recognize and some you won't but I would bet their message will be pretty amazing too!  Business leaders and Christians alike will enjoy this, don't be left behind!

http://app3.simplycast.com/email_view.php?group_idno=5733984&outgoing_idno=5767483&email_idno=17259

Copy and Paste if you need to...

I WANT YOUR PICTURES

If you have any pictures from your life group, I would love them!  I want to use them to liven up my office space as well as liven up our web space!  Doesn't matter what kind of pictures, as long as your life group is in it.  Don't have any, then don't waste anymore time, TAKE SOME and send them to me. 
Thanks for sharing them.   

Kicking Bear One on One - Great Outreach Event!

COME JOIN IN THE FUN!!!
AUGUST 27TH AND 28TH, 2010
What is Kicking Bear?
Kicking Bear One-on-One is a nationwide mentoring program developed by world-renowned bow hunter Ray Howell. The program encourages our sportsmen and sportswomen to get involved with today’s youth and become mentors. The campout and shoot is a great way for mentors to introduce youth to the outdoors and to the sport of archery. The program’s target is towards helping children outside of our immediate families, such as children from broken homes, in order to give them someone to look up to. Many of these children helped in the past would have never had the chance to experience the outdoors and archery, had it not been for mentors who care. By encouraging our sportsmen and sportswomen to reach outside their immediate families and become mentors, we can really enlighten a young person and make a difference in his/her life, and the future of their own family’s life to come, as well as make a difference in the growth of our outdoor sports. We suggest targeting children between the ages of 5-17, but no one will be turned down.
What is the Event?
The 2010 Michigan Kicking Bear event is two fun-filled days! Friday evening is comprised of supper, fishing, hayrides, games, tug-o-war, videos, camping, fireside stories and maybe a marshmallow roast or two! Saturday will include breakfast, lunch, safety orientation and archery shooting. After a mandatory safety meeting, there will be novelty shoots for the kids-such as shooting at apples on strings, balloon and 3D target shooting and much more. All adults are encouraged to bring children from outside their home, as well as their own children. Each child participating will receive a free t-shirt and hat. Major prizes, such as bows, arrows, targets, etc. will be given away to mentors bringing children from outside their own family. There will also be many other prizes given away at random. All archery equipment is supplied by the Kicking Bear sponsors.
Where is the Event?
The 2010 Michigan Kicking Bear event will be located at the Livingston Conservation & Sports Association on 8532 McClements Road in Brighton, Michigan. The phone number for the park is 810-227-2917. Additional information regarding LCSA can be obtained at www.lcsa.info. You may also reach the 2010 Michigan Kicking Bear event coordinator, Craig S. Mortz at 248.521.0981 or visit www.kickingbear.org for details.
When is the Event?
The 2010 Michigan Kicking Bear event will be Friday, August 27 and Saturday, August 28, 2010. Friday check-in/registration will begin at 4:00 pm. Saturday check-out is approximately 4:00 pm.
What to bring:
Each participant in the 2010 Michigan Kicking Bear event should bring appropriate outdoor wear, a tent, a sleeping bag, a pillow and the necessary toiletry articles for an overnight camp-out, EVERYTHING else is FREE!!!.

Volunteer Celebration This Sunday

Hi all!  If you are a life group leader then you are invited to this!  Kim Phillips and her Next Steps team have put together a great picnic to say "Thanks!".  After the second experience out on the softball field is where it will all be happening.  Come enjoy the company, the food and the nice weather she ordered up.
See you there!!!

LEADERSHIP SUMMIT

All leaders are being asked to attend this amazing event hosted by Connections church in Canton, Michigan.  The dates are August 5th and 6th.  The cost is $95, but scholarships are available at $50 each, making your cost only $45!  These are on a first come, first serve basis and they are limited, so act quickly.  Bill Hybels and his Willow Creek team put together an incredible amount of information for us to use, and when we ourselves add God to that information, the heights we can reach with this information becomes unbelievable.  The River has a special break out room that we get to connect and come together as a team as well.  If you would like to be a part of this incredible experience, contact Kathleen Biggs at the River office. Thanks for all you do!

Summer Style

I am hoping to keep all life groups open over the summer so we can use this as a connection point for those who would like it! The groups that are open will be on the website for anyone who wants to sign up.  If I get an interested party then I will forward you the name.  Thanks for what you are doing and remember that God doesn't take the summer off.

Stay Connected! Stay Committed!

Summer Semester Sign Up has started!  Encourage your group from Winter Semester to sign up, there is a wide variety of summer groups to choose from.  Help those around you stay connected and stay committed! 

GOD DOESN'T TAKE THE SUMMER OFF, Don't Miss Out!

So, what are you going to do this summer?  Summer semester starts May 16th and you know what you like to do in the summer, all I am asking is that you include your life group in the fun.  Possibilities are endless:

Morning coffee
Golf
Walking
Tennis
Baseball
Playdate with the kids
Basketball
Cards
Game Night
Bonfires

Yes, any of these can be a life group.  Let us be the hands and feet of Jesus in a way that touches lives for an eternity!  Life is going to happen no matter what, but who are you going to have around you to see you through it when it does?  You know Jesus, right?  Then do as he did and invest in those around you through your actions.  Teach them through your actions and not just your words, and why not have a little fun while you are at it!  God does not take the summer off so don't miss out!

Contact me so we can get your group on the schedule!!!!

Prayer and Fasting Note from Terry re: Easter

Team,

Spring is upon us … Easter is fast approaching … and there is just a lot going on! With that, I want to invite each of you, on behalf of our Management Team, to join us in fasting and praying for our upcoming Easter Experiences. Every day, we need people setting aside time to slow down, recalibrate and be thinking about what is happening in our Children’s Ministry, at the Easter Egg Hunt, in our Easter Experiences and in the lives of those who will experience Easter with us.

We, as a Management Team, starting this weekend, are going to fast & pray until Easter, focusing on three areas:
¨ God’s Presence;
¨ Spiritual Transformation; and
¨ Impact - that the turnout from the community would be significant!

Will you make a commitment to join us? Fasting can mean different things for different people. It could be going without any food, giving up something significant for the day, or giving up a specific meal. Whatever it means for you, fast in such a way that it will cause you to spend focused time praying about these things.

I look forward to sharing Easter with you.

"Feed the Need"

Here are some great opportunities for your life group! 


April 10th - Promise Village with the Live Third Team
                    Sign ups will start on the 28th of March


Hospitality team needs a leader! This is the team that brings breakfast to our volunteers every Sunday morning.  Maybe you can not lead, but how about just a meal? 

FEED THE NEED...whatever that may look like!

How is your group "Feeding the Need?"

I am just wondering what your group is thinking about doing this semester to "Feed the Need"?  Last semester we had the Christmas Store, Operation Christmas Child and adopt a family kinda things, but what about now?  If you need ideas, I have some.  You can also check out the Compassion link on the right hand side of this blog and that will have contact information for any of the organizations we have partnered with in the past.  So, let me hear it, what cool thing is your group going to do?!?!?!

LIFE Groups, what are they?

L = Locking arms with others that are committed to your small 
       group
I  =  In the Bible and investigating what God has to say to us
F =  Feeding the Need, whatever that may look like
E = Eating together and taking time to invest in others

This is what it looks like to do "LIFE" together.  Pass it along!

SUMMER SEMESTER!

It may be the sun today, but I am thinking about summer and our upcoming summer semester and wanted to give you my ideas of what it will look like!  The theme for summer will be, "God doesn't take summer off, don't miss out!" and I am thinking a beachy look to it all. (Tons of blown up beach balls that people will get for signing up!) 
What does this mean for each of the groups?!?!?!  Fun, casual, groups where people are still getting together even if they are not around to be at church on Sunday, and here are some of my ideas:

Camping Life Group
Rock Bank Life Group
Dinner Life Group
Euchre Life Group
Game Night Life Group
Coffee Life Group
Kids Play Date Life Group

You get the idea, right?  So start thinking about something you enjoy doing in the summer and make it a life group!  Also think about who in your group might be willing to either co-lead with you, or take them under your wing NOW so they can lead(with you watching them and helping when necessary) a summer group!

WEAR EXERCISE CLOTHING TO CHURCH THIS SUNDAY!

Join the new look for The River this weekend by wearing exercise clothing to church! 

Be a part of the "experience" as other's come in and enjoy the theme of the day. 

ENJOY and HAVE FUN WITH IT!  I AM!!  

Kathleen 

BRUCE BARTON SEMINAR

Bruce Barton is holding a special seminar just for YOU, the leaders in the church!!!



Your attendance is appreciated since this is for YOU! This is not like the one that will be on Sunday for the whole church on how to use an application bible, but it is for leaders like you that need to know how to lead a bible study. If you think you already know how, come anyway, this is a great way to refresh what you know and learn what you may not know.


Saturday, February 20, 2010 (The day before the churchwide one)
The Warehouse
9 am - 11 am


Light Breakfast will be available

This is an invitation only event, and I encourage you to invite the potential leaders in your life group.  These would be the leaders in your group that you are mentoring.  Just let me know how many will be attending with you so we have enough breakfast stuff for everyone.


See you there!