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Saddleback: practical steps to growing in worship

Pray by social media, email, or phone. Challenge group members to engage someone they have not talked with in a while. As the thread of conversation draws to a close, ask that person if they can pray for him or her. And then do so right then and there. Social media, email, and phone can be a great tool for reaching out to people. It is nonthreatening (as opposed to a surprise visit, for example) and only takes a few moments out of their day and yours. This even works for texting. Just text a prayer—after all, who wouldn’t want a prayer texted to them?

Surrender an unhealthy habit. Rick says, “To avoid being stung, stay away from bees.” As an act of worship and because it will please the Lord, what is an outside influence you are willing to give up that contributes to a persistent temptation (for example, a soap opera or other TV show, R-rated movies, a magazine subscription, a place you visit, an unhealthy relationship)?

Speak prayers of praise and thanksgiving. Worshiping God is one way of fixing your eyes on what is eternal. Take some time as a group to speak out prayers of praise and thanksgiving to God. This is a challenging exercise in prayer. Don’t ask God for anything yet; just praise him for who he is and for what he has done.

Share God stories with each other. During your worship time invite group members to share a God story. This is a story of a way the supernatural God intersected their life in a miraculous way.

Keep a group prayer journal. Ask someone in your group to collect the group prayers in a journal. As they are answered, mark them in a special way—perhaps put a small heart next to them as a symbol of God’s love. Encourage group members to be creative and have fun. Then spend just a few minutes of every meeting asking if any prayers have been answered and asking for new prayer requests. This is a great way to see God at work in your group.

Beautiful words. Spend a meeting asking group members to read a favorite passage from the Bible. Let them know ahead of time that you will be doing this exercise so they have plenty of time to choose a passage and prepare. After each person reads, have a few moments of silence for members to use in whatever way they see fit. Perhaps they may choose to reflect silently on the meaning of the words, pray for the person who read them, thank God for the words found in that passage, or just sit quietly and ask God to speak to them in the silence. The idea is to allow the Word of God to prompt members into worshiping him in whatever way fits their personality.

Leading Small Groups with Purpose: Everything You Need to Lead a Healthy Group by Steve Gladen