Story of Redemption in Melissa, TX

[James Nored]

Last Wednesday night we started a new Story of Redemption small group study in Melissa, TX. I used to do most of these studies with just the seeker and their Christian friend who introduced them to us. And the conversion rate from this has been about 90%. It is still a good way to share faith.

However, I have discovered the multiplying power of sharing the Story of Redemption in an evangelistic small group. There is a stronger experience of community in a small group, and people seem more likely to invite other seeker friends. Plus, within this group, there is a greater chance that the seeker will find someone else to connect with.

• There should be a mix of seekers with little to no church background/Bible knowledge and more knowledgeable Christians. I recommend at a minimum 1/3 of the group be seekers so that they do not feel outnumbered. I would say that ideally, the group is at least 1/2 seekers, up to 2/3.
• The study should be for a fixed number of lessons - say, 4, 6, or 8. The Story of Redemption is 8 lessons for a reason. People are reluctant to sign up for a never ending commitment, but they can conceive of attending a more manageable 8 lessons.
• The group should include people that seekers can identify with. For instance, single moms should find a single mom, a Latino should find a Latino, a young married couple should find a young married couple, etc. Similar life experiences, backgrounds, and current situations help draw people together.
• The study should assume no Bible knowledge. This is true of the Story of Redemption.
• The topic chosen should be of interest to those that are seeking. The Story of Redemption does this, as it asks the deep purpose, identity, and meaning questions that people are asking about God and themselves.
• The official study itself should be limited to 50 minutes to an hour. Beyond this, people may enjoy the discussion, but if it is too long, they may not come back because people are so busy. Plus, the more intimate sharing and friendship often comes in the mingling time after the study.

The evangelistic small group pictured above attempts to follow these principles.

• On front right are Lindsey and Jason. Lindsey is a single mom without a lot of church background. She came to our Intro to High Pointe class, where she heard about this study. She expressed her interest, and we invited her to come to the study. She showed up--with Jason! Jason is also a single parent who lives in Dallas. See, seekers know seekers!
• The next couple towards the back right are Matt and Ruth. Matt is a hospital chaplain, who obviously has a lot of church experience. Matt and Ruth live out in nearby Anna and have not yet connected with a group.
• In the very back is a guy with a goatee. This is Sandy. He and his wife Cindy recently move to Melissa. They are a wonderful, experienced Christian couple. They are hosting the study, and have even invited their neighborhood. Cindy is not pictured here. She is in one of the rooms watching the kids. God bless her!
• The next person is Cindy. Cindy and her husband Armando (he is not pictured) have a nominal Catholic background, but have started questioning this. Armando is from Mexico originally, and Cindy is from Honolulu (but she is Cuban). They lived in California before moving to the Dallas area. They also came to our Intro to High Pointe class. They were struck by how nice everyone was, and when told about the Story of Redemption study, they very much wanted to attend. In the first study, when discussing the brokenness of humanity, Cindy remarked how she is genuinely surprised when she comes across nice people. Wow. Hopefully she and Armando will continue to experience the blessings of (a nice) Christian community in this group.
• The next couple is Ryan and Claudia (Ryan is sticking his head out). Ryan served as a missionary in Chile, where he met his wife Claudia. Ryan and Claudia live in Melissa. Because they speak Spanish and are similar in age, they may connect well with Cindy and Armando.
• At the very top of the picture is my wife Becki! She is a spark of sunshine, and great at connecting with new people.

A few other tips. Some type of meal or dessert each week is very much needed in these studies. This group is meeting on Wednesday nights at 6:45 PM, so we are eating dessert as we study. This is simple, and yet food helps draw people together. Each lesson should start with a prayer, and then prayer requests taken at the end and pray for the group. Many people have never had people lay hands on them and pray, and this physical type of prayer expression is a good thing to do about mid-way through the study.

Finally, encourage members to bring a non-churched friend each week. Seekers know other unchurched people.

What other thoughts do you have about evangelistic small groups? What studies have you used? What questions do you have?

[James Nored]

Last Wednesday night we went through the second part of the Story of Redemption with the group in Melissa. Below is a Facebook post that I made on the Facebook Story of Redemption page. As you will see, there is a hunger amongst the participants to study the Bible, experience community, and pray for one another. Isn't this great? You can also see in here how encouraging the group to friend one another on Facebook can draw the group together.

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Story of Redemption Lindsey Flenniken, who is part of the Story of Redemption study in Melissa, will not be able to go to the study this Wednesday. However, she asked for the lesson that she missed, and took one goer her friend Jason.

She said that this is the first time she has ever read the Bible. And she loves the Christian friends that she has found . . .
Post by James Nored

Cindy Oden Detherage - Lindsey will be missed. What a sweet friend !
Sunday at 6:19pm · Like ·

Cyndi Moncada Yes, she will be missed.
Sunday at 6:23pm · Like ·

Story of Redemption Hi guys. Please search for Lindsey on Facebook and add her as a friend. Let's stay connected and encourage one another on Facebook.
Sunday at 6:26pm · Like

Sandy Detherage It's great to get to know new friends who share our spiritual interests. We'll miss Lindsey and Jason this week, but we hope to see them again soon!
Sunday at 6:38pm · Like ·

Cindy Oden Detherage Looked for Lindsey on FB and could not find her.
Sunday at 7:18pm · Like ·

Cyndi Moncada I found her but her page doesn't give an option to request her. Very odd.
Sunday at 7:22pm · Like ·

Story of Redemption Here is her link. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=855269642
Sunday at 8:55pm · Like

Lindsey Flenniken Just saw this, thank you everyone for thinking of me!!! This is the first time that I have read the Bible & I'm so glad that I'm getting to experience it with all of you!!!
14 hours ago · Unlike · 2 people ·

Cyndi Moncada The first time I have ever read it too. So far I'm really enjoying it.
13 hours ago · Like ·

Cindy Oden Detherage We feel so happy to experience this with you, Lindsey!
...and the Moncada family too! God has brought us together.
13 hours ago · Like ·

Sandy Detherage Learning together! What a great way to travel down the road of life!
13 hours ago · Like ·

Lindsey Flenniken Yes he has & I am so grateful!!!
12 hours ago · Like ·

[James Nored]

I left to take a D.Min. class at Fuller on Oct. 17 and was gone for two weeks. During this time, two of our members, Sandy Detherage and Ryan Newhosue, led the study. While I was gone, Cyndi and Lindsey both came to the conclusion, independently, that they wanted to be baptized. Note the Facebook messages that they sent to me below.

Cyndi Moncada October 23 at 9:25am Report
"More than anything else right now I want to be baptized. Can we make that happen?"

Lindsey Flenniken October 20 at 8:40pm Report
"Hey James! We missed you tonight, Sandy did a good job though!! I wanted to talk to you about being baptized. I was baptized when I was younger, 9 I think, but it was during a very traumatic time & I don't really remember it, it almost seems like a dream to me know. I have been through a lot & I'm starting a new life for myself & my children with God & I would like to be baptized again. I'm new to this so I'm not sure what I need to do, but I will do whatever I need to!"

How wonder it was to get these messages. I offered to let Sandy baptize them, or I could do this when I returned. They chose to be baptized when I returned. I was so excited about their decision, and the fact that they decided when someone else was teaching was great too, because it shows that others can use these studies to lead people to faith.

[James Nored]

Cindy and Lindsey were baptized into Christ on Sunday, October 31. Halloween will always be a great day for them. Here are their baptism pictures. Some of them have the small group surrounding them.


Find more photos like this on Missional Outreach Network for the Missional Church

[James Nored]

In going through part 1 of the Story of Redemption, in which we talked about God's original goodness, I'll never forget what Cyndi said. She said, "I'm always shocked when I find anyone who is nice. I don't know anyone who is nice. You guys are so nice."

There is tremendous power in nice. Most people have never experienced what we take for granted in the church--genuine love and caring.

I wrote this to Lindsey after she said that she wanted to be baptized: “Hi Lindsey. I just wanted to let you know that I said a prayer for you and little Averi tonight, and for your son and for Jason . . .”

Lindsey wrote me back and said, “Thank you James, that is probably the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, for all of us!” Isn't that amazing, that a prayer and someone thinking of them could have such an impact? The whole group has done such a great job of showing love to these seekers and their families. Don't forget the power of nice in sharing our faith with others!


--James

[James Nored]

Lindsey also has brought Jason, who is the father of one of her children, to this study. Jason has a Church of Christ background, but has not gone in years out of disillusionment with church. We pray that this study helps bring him back closer to God and the church. Jason stood with Lindsey at her baptism, which was great to see.

And though Armando has not responded yet to baptism, he did stand with his wife Cyndi. Remember, people come to faith at different times and in different ways. Jason and Armando are still journeying with us, asking good questions and helping with the discussion. I know that God is at work in their lives.

[James Nored]

Lindsey invited her mother to come to the baptism, and she came! She just moved down to this area. Hopefully we can have a positive impact upon her. And Cyndi posted her decision to be baptized proudly on her Facebook page!

This is exactly what we try to teach people in the Story of Redemption, that being a Christ-follower is to help others be Christ-followers. When someone is baptized into Christ, right away start asking them to reach out to their unchurched family and friends. This is when they know the most unchurched people, and when they have the most enthusiasm and excitement.

[James Nored]

Here is video of Lindsey and Cyndi's baptisms!

[James Nored]

Tonight we went through part 6, this time with our newly baptized sisters in Christ, Lindsey and Cyndi. We started out reviewing part 5 a bit, really emphasizing living out our faith and actually doing what Jesus says. They really liked the BELLS missional lifestyles, especially the BLESS part. In making life changes, Cyndi talked about how she was learning to forgive others, including her family.

Lindsey also told about how she got hit by a car on Sunday (Oct. 31). She was upset about this and was thinking to the other driver, You had better be glad that I got baptized today! We all laughed at this. It is great to see that they are taking their faith seriously.

Becki gave these women prayer journals tonight, and they appreciated this.

We also committed to doing the review of lesson 6 and extra study from this lesson before our next meeting. I challenged them to also do the BLESS portion of BELLS this week. It is so great to see these ladies excited about following Jesus!