Welcome to your Monthly Newsletter

I love how community works and I love the fact that God created us for community.  In Ephesians 4:15-16 we learn how the Body of Christ works together to grow itself up.  Listen to this: Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. (Tyndale House Publishers: Holy Bible : New Living Translation. 2nd ed. Wheaton, Ill. : Tyndale House Publishers, 2004, S. Eph 4:15-16)

If you haven't "Joined The Journey" you are missing out!  Through this daily devotional written by Fellowship family members I have  gained new insight into God's Word that I have never considered before.  It has been a great reminder to me of why God created us to live in community with one another.  Our minds and thoughts and experiences are limited.  By learning from each other we truly live out the "unity of the faith" talked about in Ephesians 4.

I love doing life together with you!

- Mitzi

Have you "Joined The Journey" yet?  If not, click here to begin reading through the New Testament with the rest of the Fellowship family.

Do small group leaders need your coaching?

Coaches Meeting: February 10th

The first Coaches Meeting of the year is going to be Sunday, February 10th.  Do you have any groups who "don't feel like they need you"?  We are going to talk about ways to be a good coach for those groups.  More details will follow, but I just wanted to make sure that you had a chance to get that date on your calendar.  Thanks for all that you are doing for small groups here at Fellowship!

- Nate Turner

Living By the Book Training

This is the last week for the Living By The Book training series on Sunday mornings.  Please join us as Dallas Seminary professor, Mark Yarbrough, concludes our time together.  Also, you might want to consider taking your small group through this series.  If you need copies of the workbook and DVDs, please contact Angie Whitis, angiew@fellowshipdallas.org.

Looking for Your Next Curriculum?

The Matthew Series is finishing up this week.  I hope you've enjoyed this "Journey" as much as I have.  Having been a believer and avid Bible reader for a long time, it never ceases to amaze me how much I don't know about the Bible.  Be sure to check out the curriculum options for your group as we go forward (Click here).  Or plan to follow along with the next sermon series on Ephesians beginning Sunday, February 24^th.

BUILDING COMMUNITY : Serving Together

Several of our small groups have stepped up and started serving our community by adopting a refugee family, volunteering in the food pantry, or working in various ministries here at the church.  If your group is looking to grow deeper in their faith, I can think of no greater way than to get involved in service.  If you are wondering how your group can get involved, please contact Ryan Schwanke, ryans@fellowshipdallas.org.

Having FUN Together

Consider going to the movies together!  Studio Movie Grill has moved into our neighborhood and is offering free passes to our church members.  Click here to download yours and make plans with your small group today!

 Mark and Carla McCLanahan faced the many hopes and dissappointments that accompany adoption. Finally, their hopes were met on October 26th, 2007 when Sarah Elizabeth McClanahan came into their lives. But now, they face a second challenge, raising a child! Their small group refused to let them face it alone. Two days later their small group showed up with a pot roast dinner, baby clothes, diapers, baby accessories, flowers and more. They even offered to babysit and are currently planning a baby shower.

“I’ve lived in this neighborhood for years," Carla explains through her tears, "and we have several friends, but it was my small group family that came through. Linda Knox took the initiative to go out and find a bible study for me, “Co-authoring Your Child’s Story” by Tommy Nelson. She met with me every Monday night for 7 months! We would have dinner, and then do the bible study together.”  

God continues to use small groups like this to show the love of Christ.

If your small group has changed your life in an impactful way, please share your story! Email us at smallgroups@fellowshipdallas.org.

 Welcome baby Sarah!

Leader Training for the Just Walk Across the Room curriculm will be held this Sunday morning.  We will be talking through the series and discussing how to use the curriculum to teach our congregation about reaching out to their friends and neighbors with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ.  If you are leading your group through the Just Walk Across the Room series, please join us this Sunday, May 20th, from 9:30-11:00 in room 203 for our training session. 

Don't forget to update Church Teams. Click here to download the instructions.

Here's a starter packet for the new series. Click here to download the series starter packet.

Ironically, during the first 300 years of the church, people didn't meet in temple courts; they met in homes. Since then, we've done just the opposite‹moved from homes to church buildings. The truth is, we need more house-to-house ministry to grow our churches.

To read more about this, click here.

Leaders, have you ever been through a time of purifying? A time where you knew God was working in your life and removing a lot of things that really didn’t matter? “24” was a series like that for me. I have looked at a lot of my habits and realized many of them were not so healthy. Read these verses:

Titus 2:11-14

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (NASB)

One of the easiest ways for God to purify me is to allow me to suffer consequences for my behavior. I used to fight this discipline, but have recently started understanding the blessing of being thankful for struggles. And it has made me a better leader. A book I read recently, “Brokenness” by Lon Solomon, was very helpful in pointing out the positive results of rejoicing in suffering. To check it out, click here.

- Mitzi Arellano 

Facilitating group discussion is a balance of fear and confidence. We don’t know many small group facilitators who come to their small group time without at least small butterflies fluttering in their stomachs. However, we hope to provide our group facilitators with two avenues to gain confidence in leading the discussion time with their group. First, the following overview will give you some basic guidelines for facilitating the dialogue of your small group, while the session-specific sections will provide a basic outline for the discussion flow of each session. Second, the Small Group Facilitator Training on Sunday mornings will give more details with regards to the discussion outline and focus of each session. Be sure to attend this training the Sunday prior to facilitating.

Influencing Dialogue

Dialogue vs. Teaching

In our small groups, dialogue is the primary means by which we learn about each other and learn from each other. God has given each member of the body of Christ specific gifts for building up others within His body. When we come to our small groups, we must learn to facilitate discussion in such a way that each person can share their God-given perspective on a topic. We believe that small groups are a place for open discussion and dialogue between group members rather than a place for teaching or preaching. In order for this to take place, the group facilitator needs to allow the group ample time and opportunity to share their thoughts. Two fundamental elements of facilitating dialogue are asking good questions and listening well.

Asking Good Questions

Good questions don’t always come easily. In the discussion guides of this book, we hope that we have given our facilitators some good questions that will really prime the pump for discussion. However, each group is different and may need further questions to get conversation going. Here are some ways to come up with good questions:

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Good discussion questions often start with “W’s” or “H” (who, what, why, when, where, how) and never end with “Yes” or “No”. Keep this in mind when thinking of a good discussion question, and you will find that discussion will grow in your group time.

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If you find that one question generates a good response from your group and you would like to generate deeper conversation regarding that issue, ask a follow-up question. Remember to make your follow-up question open-ended, and focus on one particular topic that the group has surfaced.

Listening Well

Many small group facilitators don’t realize that listening is an action. In order to listen you must be actively thinking about what someone else is saying. As a facilitator, listening well will encourage your group members and produce more fruitful discussion. Here are some ways to show your group that you are listening:

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A simple nod of the head or an “um” can convey more than a thousand words to a group member who is sharing from the heart. Learning to be a good facilitator is also learning to let others know that you are listening to what they have to say without using words.

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Asking a follow-up question once a group member has shared their thoughts lets them know that you have listened to what they have to say, and your follow-up question will let them know that you are