Your group takes a break at Christmas, but a group member has a baby. A winter ice storm forces your church to shut down, and that week a group member’s son dies. A group member is sent out of the country for a month. The COVID-19 virus strikes and groups are discouraged from meeting face-to-face. Continuing care between group times (whether 7 days or 7 weeks) is essential for many reasons. Consider this list:
- preventing relational drift,
- discovering and meeting needs,
- praying together,
- communicating events and plans,
- sharing nonprivate needs and prayer concerns,
- building relationships and trust,
- enabling deeper sharing during Bible study sessions,
- and much more.
Genuine care does not have to be time-consuming. At the same time, real relationships take time. They are developed over a period of time, and they should not be not rushed. Care that is missing leads to unmet needs and people that are missing.
Continuing Care
There are so many ways today to deepen relationships and to extend care between group meeting times. Look through this list and add your ideas by pressing Leave a Comment (under the post title):
- find ways to pray together with everyone in the group,
- call during breaks,
- calendar birthday contacts (by text, mail, or phone),
- text brief prayers, scripture, event updates, status report requests, etc.,
- share nonprivate concerns on social media,
- set up appointments to visit over a meal (gonna eat anyway),
- use online meeting apps, like Zoom, etc.,
- email longer updates (don’t overdo because of length),
- and much more.
Care enough to do care. Show your care. Ask the group to help you extend care to group members and others. Deepen relationships by continuing care between meetings and even when circumstances force you to take a break. Make disciples. Be revolutionary!
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