Joy.

“Tell me what brings you joy?” It is the question  posed this past week to our church congregation, St. Stephanus by Pastor Thompson.  You would think after losing my job of eleven years a week prior that this question would be tough, but I had to keep my hands tightly secure under my legs for fear of pumping my hand in the air like Horshack and yelling, “Oh, I know, Mr. Kotter.”  Thankfully, Ms. Jackie gave the answer I was so carefully suppressing, “We are family.”

Family.  Yes, we are family and it is precisely why I refuse to let the a small thing like losing a job keep me from feeling joy this Christmas Season.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer states,

“God cannot endure that unfestive, mirthless attitude of ours in which we eat our bread in sorrow, with pretentious, busy haste, or even with shame.  Through our daily meals He is calling us to rejoice, to keep holiday in the midst of our working day.”

How true this statement is!  Yes, we all suffer losses, but if we refuse to recognize the joy, then we reject God’s gift to us – Jesus!  Jesus did not just come to give us relief from our suffering here on earth, but rather to give us eternal life, relief from our sins.  Our church family follows Jesus’ example of sharing in each others’ joy and pain.

Our connecting groups at St. Stephanus embrace God’s promise that our Savior will always be here for us and therefore, it is our mission to share our joy with others.  I pray all of you this Christmas Season and beyond, will share that joy that is “down in the depths of your heart.”  After all, we are a FAMILY!

Conncting is Alive!

Thank you to everyone who attended the potluck this past Sunday!  We hope you were able to connect with someone new, learned about Connecting Groups, and got encouraged to connect with people outside of our church!  I saw a lot of conversations taking place, it was great to see!

There were two encouragers that I think served as great take home messages.  The first point was moving SSLC from a “one day Sunday” church to an “everyday Sunday” church.  Connecting Groups is a great avenue in moving the church towards that culture.  It starts with giving you another day of the week to worship God, to go deeper into His word that was covered in the sermon, to talk to someone from church.  You may also learn some lessons in group that you can carry out through the remainder of the week.  Hopefully over time you find yourself in an active relationship with God every minute of everyday. That is the purpose of Connecting Groups, to help you be connected to Jesus Christ and each other through worship, learning and service and keeping that connection going 7 days a week.

The other point, brought up by Mike Zimmer, was making sure to connect with people outside of SSLC.  Connecting with our fellow members is great.  But connecting with outsiders is what God commissions us to do.  Planting seeds will help build up God’s kingdom.  It will also hopefully help us build up our congregation.  We can connect with non-believers through our service projects and inviting people to group. Perhaps people are not ready to attend a large formal gathering on Sunday, smaller groups may help people feel more comfortable to learn more about God.  Challenge yourself to ask someone to group.  If you don’t know of anyone pray that God places a person in your life to invite.

If you are wanting to learn more about Connecting Groups over the next 6 weeks you can attend a series called “Connecting Alive.”  This will give you an opportunity to learn about the importance of connecting, and how the groups are conducted.  Come join us this Sunday for the first session after the early service!  Signs will be posted in the church that will direct you to our meeting place.  Hope to see you there!

Photos from our Potluck on Nov 1st!

Hi Everyone! Here are some photos from our event on Sunday. It was so great to see everyone together and to hear the amazing ways in which God is acting in our lives through these groups.

Jake spoke on how Connecting Groups enhance our worship life.

Let the feast begin!

Good Conversations!

Keith spoke on how Connecting Groups ehance our learning of the Word.

Shirley and Dennis talked about how Connecting Groups provide opportunities for Service.

Hope you enjoyed the potluck and the photos!

Blessings,

Megan, Betsy and Vince

The Power of Invitation.

Then He said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.~ Matthew 9:37-38

One of the purposes of Connecting Groups is to invite people to attend our group. We invite people within the Saint Stephanus community so we can get to know one another on a deeper level while learning about Jesus Christ and deepening our faith.

Connecting Groups are also a great opportunity to invite people outside of SSLC to visit a group, especially those who don’t know Christ. As outsiders come into the group hopefully they will see God’s love shine through as they watch brothers and sisters in Christ care for one another and share fellowship. For many this is a less intimidating way to get to know the Good News. Perhaps seeds are planted as new friendships are formed. If the newcomer attends Connecting Group regularly they also become connected to SSLC, and what better way to grow in faith with the support of friends in a small group and a larger community of the church?

You may be asking how do I invite someone and what do I do if an unbeliever comes to the group? Two key elements here are to pray for an opportunity to ask someone and then plan an event that the new friend would want to attend. Take inventory of your neighbors, co-workers, and extended family members, you may be surprised of names you can think of. As for an event, it is best to have them come when you are not doing a typical bible study. Organize a social event such as a game night or have a meal and fellowship. Simply spend time together and converse. As the group plans the social challenge one another to invite at least one person to the event. It’s okay if you get turned down, at least you are getting practice inviting someone.

God works in miraculous ways when it comes to inviting people. Here is a little anecdote from a small group ministry at another church who has a similar small group ministry as ours…

“One of our Small Group leaders invited some new people to group. The night came for their gathering. The new couple found their way to the neighborhood but forgot the address and unknowingly went to a house that was actually three doors down from the host’s house. They knocked a couple of times and then walked right in and went into the kitchen to find this couple sitting down eating dinner. The owners of the house were friendly and introduced themselves and they were all chatting. After about 2 minutes, the new couple, asked where the people were who invited them to group. The couple who owned the house had no idea what they were talking about!They were in the wrong house! The couple who invited them to group lived three doors down!”

Here are three things that happened:

1. The people who came to this wrong house actually were reconnected with the owners of this house. They went to high school together!

2. The couple who went to the wrong house eventually found the right house and had a great story to tell!

3. The people who lived three doors down, who entertained these “strange visitors,” received an invitation and will be coming to dinner with their neighbors who live three doors down.”

What was meant to be an invitation to 2 people ended up getting extended to 4 people! New friendships were formed, old relationships were re-connected. All because of inviting.

Let’s keep the idea of inviting someone new to Connecting Group at the fore front of our minds and in our hearts. Pray about it and watch how God’s wonderful work comes to life!

Don’t look now but Fall is here!

If you’re anything like me you love Fall in the Midwest! The leaves, the pumpkins and apple cider, the crisp weather and football, I mean really, does it get better this side of Heaven? Fall is amazing, and even better when it’s shared with others.  Here are a couple ideas for you and your Connecting Group this fall:

Social Ideas:

- Take a walk through one of MN’s amazing State Parks. Check out this color guide to see when the colors will be peaking: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fall_colors/index.html.

- Take a trip to a local apple orchard. Pick apples, have some cider, let the little ones pick out some pumpkins and then go back to someone’s house for a pot of chili and a family pumpkin carving night!

- Have a Vikings vs. Packers Party on October 5th. Game kicks off at 7:30pm.

Service Opportunities:

- Fall is such a great time for neighborhood walks. How about adopting a neighborhood and spending a couple hours picking up trash?

- Or adopting a shut-in and taking turns raking their leaves and visiting?

- Operation Christmas Child is fast approaching.  For groups that are thinking about doing that it might be a good time to start collecting items and saving shoeboxes. Check out the link on the right for more information.