Merry Christmas to you! I wanted to give you an update on what has been happening with seeker small groups in the bay area. It was only a year ago that God gave a group of us a vision and call to launch ONE HUNDRED seeker small groups in the San Francisco bay area. As I write you a year later, there are over ONE HUNDRED FIFTY seeker small group leaders that have launched or are planning to launch a group that is specifically designed to meet the needs of spiritual seekers in the bay area from THIRTY different churches. We are receiving stories from many of you that indicate the fruitfulness of these groups in bringing people into a relationship with (or closer to a relationship with) Jesus Christ.
Shortly after the training conference in March 2007 with Garry Poole in which many of you said you would become ONE of the ONE HUNDRED seeker small group leaders, I met with another ministry that has a similar vision for reaching unchurched people through the self-discovery small group process by the name of Neighborhood Bible Studies (NBS). Throughout the rest of 2007, Garry and I have gotten to know this wonderful 47-year-old organization that is based in Dobbs Ferry, New York. We were astonished at the similarities that we found in their method and ideology. Here is their mission: to mobilize and empower followers of Jesus Christ to introduce and multiply small group discussion Bible studies among their neighbors, co-workers and friends so that participants can encounter God, grow in faith and pattern their lives after Jesus.
Within the last month, NBS and Garry have determined that there are significant benefits to both parties in forging a partnership that provides new direction and life into each ministry in reaching the unchurched with small groups for spiritual seekers. NBS has asked me to be their new CEO, based on this new partnership with Garry Poole, and I have accepted. Our vision is to grow NBS into a well-known resource for unchurched people to find a relationship with Jesus Christ through the self-discovery, question-asking process in a small group. And all of you in the bay area that are leading (or getting ready to lead) this kind of a group are part of that vision! Somehow, we are all finding ourselves in the middle of a movement that is sweeping through the bay area and to some degree, through our increasingly secular national culture. We all have the privilege of walking alongside and partnering with this established godly organization that is beginning a new chapter of Kingdom building. NBS has Bible studies that are a natural follow-on to SSGs for those who find a relationship with Jesus! It is exciting to see what God is doing with this form of outreach. - Mary
Congratulations, Mary. God is certainly blessing your ministry! Merry Christmas!
Pat
Posted by: Pat J. Sikora | December 23, 2007 at 10:42 PM