Seeker Small Groups

Transitions

As you have probably noticed if you are a regular visitor to this site, there have been no posts for quite some time. My role as the new president of Neighborhood Bible Studies and our new beginnings have been taking most of my time both in traveling and developing our new ministry plan. NBS has plans to create a new website that will include blogs and other social networking features. In the meantime, if you would like to be a guest blog poster for this site, please let me know and we can all participate in keeping this site going together. - Mary

Vision for the Future

A few days ago I picked up that magazine called "Real Simple" which is supposed to be designed to "make life easier" according to their slogan on the cover. In my opinion, it often doesn't deliver on that promise, since the magazine is full of advertisements of expensive things that most people don't need or ideas that make life often more complicated. Nonetheless, in a serious attempt to help Mom achieve more simplicity in my life, my daughter bought me a subscription last year.

However, I was struck by an article in the May, 2007 issue (OK, I know I am little behind in my magazines!) that was entitled "What's in your future?" The subtitle read, "We all want something: a smaller dress size, a bigger bank account, a less stressful job. Well, if you can visualize what you want, you can get it, says Real Simple's life coach and author of this article, Gail Blanke. Just paint a picture in your mind and you're on your way." I am thinking as I read this, "this sounds like something like out that popular New Age book, "The Secret." But for some reason, I kept on reading.

The author talked about the importance of vision, and referenced that when Walt Disney was building Walt Disney World in Florida, he told the executives building the theme park to "build the castle first." The logic of this plan, was that if the team could look at the castle for inspiration along the way, then they could get through the hard parts of making the whole vision happen. Then the author laid out four steps to fulfilling your "wildest dreams."

Here's the steps:

1. Find your vision - what would you love to see happen, if anything were possible?
2. Build the castle - flesh out and color in your vision of what the best outcome would look like?
3. Set the date - determine in what time frame you think it could happen.
4. Commit - figure out how it could possibly happen and put in place the tasks necessary to accomplish the vision.

The reason this struck such a chord for me, is that a little over a year ago, I followed these steps regarding seeker small groups (although it wasn't that intentional or formalaic). But when I think back on what happened it followed this formula. My vision was to launch ONE HUNDRED SEEKER SMALL GROUPS in the SF bay area so that HUNDREDS of unchurched folks could find a relationship with Jesus Christ. The one hundred groups were my castle. I put a plan in place with the necessary tasks to make it happen.

Now there are over 150+ leaders that are in varying stages of launching groups. Our vision is now growing larger. We're asking, "what if there were ONE THOUSAND SEEKER SMALL GROUPS IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA in the next three years?" Wouldn't that be a great castle of hope in an area that is reporting an unchurched population of 93%? I can already visualize that outcome and we're planning the tasks that could make that vision a reality.

And how about you? Although this was a secular article, it has something to teach us about the importance of vision, which is nothing more than "a preferred future." Do you know the vision God is calling you to have? What does your castle look like? When could it become a reality? And what are the tasks that by committing to them, you along with the power of the Holy Spirit, could see God make the vision a reality? - Mary

New Beginnings For Me

As many of you know by now, a month ago I accepted the position as president of an organization named Neighborhood Bible Studies (NBS), a ministry very consistent with my passion and outreach goals. I started working officially with them two weeks ago by hitting the road traveling to our three strategic cities (New York, Chicago and San Francisco). Hence the break in posts on this Blog. :-( It is a DELIGHT and a PRIVILEGE to join NBS as their new leader and merge everything I have been doing in the bay area regarding seeker small groups into the new NBS ministry plan.

This verse from Isaiah 43:19 expresses succinctly what is happening at NBS and for me personally. These New Beginnings are authored by our Sovereign God: “For I am about to do a brand new thing. See, I have already begun! Do you not se it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness for my people to come home.” I want to share with you how these new beginnings got started.

As some of you might know, NBS was founded by Kay Schell and Marilyn Kunz back in 1960 in New York with the purpose of bringing unchurched people from a neighborhood together into a small group to discover what the Bible has to say. Hence, the name of this ministry was Neighborhood Bible Studies. The primary goal was to provide a safe place to question, reflect, learn and grow as people studied the Bible and figured out what it said and what they believed.

Our culture has substantially changed in the past 48 years. In the 60’s and 70’s, most people fundamentally believed that the Bible was worth studying, even if for a variety of reasons, they had chosen not to attend a local church. However, increasingly over the last five decades, this belief (that the Bible is worth studying) has diminished. In addition, NBS has struggled to thrive and grow since their beloved founders Kay and Marilyn retired fifteen years ago. Recently, the NBS board began asking tough questions: Did NBS still have relevance and purpose in today’s culture? Were there changes that needed to be made to continue it’s mission? Can we find a leader that can carry out these changes and maintain the values that have been at the heart of NBS?

Little did any one of the three of us know when we met in May, 2007 for the first in Cupertino, CA. that God was already “doing a new thing.” At the table that day were Fran Goodrich, the NBS western regional director and author of e-Help, Garry Poole, and I discussing the possibility of learning from one another.

Nine months later (January '08), a new birth occurred: NBS has adopted Garry’s Seeker Small Group concepts and resources for a more culturally relevant approach to those outside of our churches that are spiritually seeking, and they asked me to be their new leader. Our budding partnership with Garry will enable us to initiate “Question Forums” throughout the U.S. and ultimately the world, in which our friends, neighbors, and co-workers can discover truth in the context of a small group for themselves about the toughest questions regarding God.

Ultimately, when people genuinely start wrestling with the toughest questions about God, eventually they are ready and open to looking at Scripture. The 40+ NBS guides provide an easy way to transition a group from general questions about God into a serious, but non-threatening look at the Bible using the same self-discovery method. We are calling these “Bible Study Forums.”

Here’s a little about my background for those of you who don't know me well. Most of my professional adult life has been spent as an entrepreneur starting companies as well as new community/church initiatives. Six years ago, I enrolled in Fuller Theological Seminary and began a seeker small group in my Portola Valley, California home with two other leaders. This group was life changing as I saw friends of mine begin a relationship with Jesus. These activities culminated in a passion for effectively reaching those that don’t know Jesus (outside our church doors) with small groups for spiritual seekers. In the last 18 months since I finished my Masters in Divinity, God has furthered this work by enabling me to launch and support over 150 seeker small group leaders in the San Francisco bay area.

As I got to know Fran Goodrich and everyone at NBS, God knit our hearts together with a new vision to reinvigorate NBS with a more expansive outreach/discipleship strategy. My prayer is that you will catch the vision (if you haven't already) and join us in these exciting new NBS beginnings! - Mary

Conversational Evangelism

"Conversational Evangelism" may be this year's newest buzzword in outreach circles of the church at large. At the National Outreach Conference last week, there was a special workshop track by that name which included workshops with Garry Poole, Lee Strobel, Mark Mittelberg, Alpha, and Richard Peace, as well as a panel with all of them on the first day. Todd Hunter, the head of Alpha USA, introduced the panel with a primer on the postmodern culture and how things have changed from a world in which we loved and listened to experts (like pastors or other specialists) to a world in which community and comversation are the venue in which people are most apt to grow and change in their faith. The most effective evangelism is that which involves dialogue (conversation) between a believer and unbeliever, where each person is learning from the other and listening is the most effective way to build a relationship with someone that is far from God.

If conversations with unbelievers are a challenge for you, I would suggest you take a look at Richard Peace's book, "Holy Conversation: Talking About God in Every Day Life." It's ideal for use in a small group of believers who are interested in learning how to have holy conversations with unbelievers. It's a twelve week study that provides opportunites to safely practice having dialogue with unbelievers that gets them talking rather than clamming up. And you can learn how with others that have that same desire. I hope churches all over the country will consider using it to get folks ready for holy conversations with their unchurched neighbors, friends and co-workers. Richard Peace is an author of over 150 books, and a professor of evangelism at Fuller Theological Seminary. For those of you who have been around awhile, he was the one that wrote all of the questions (and edited) the Serendipity Bible.

Alpha has become a leader in promoting conversational evangelism. In that regard, they hosted a Conversational Evangelism Conference last spring in southern California with Becky Pippert, Lee Strobel, Garry Poole, Mark Mittelberg and Alpha. There's another one in the SF bay area schedule for Friday, Feb. 29 and Saturday, March 1st at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. I'll be providing more details in the upcoming weeks about this. But mark it on your calendars now. Dan Kimball and John Ortberg will join the faculty for this one. In the meantime, keep having those holy conversations with your unchurched friends both one-on-one and in your small groups. - Mary

Is Your Name on the List?

It's been a year since we've had a vision to launch ONE HUNDRED seeker small groups in the San Francisco bay area so that hundreds (maybe thousands) of unchurched folks could figure out what they believe about Jesus in the context of a safe, small group setting. In March, 2007 in Redwood City, CA. there was a Seeker Small Group conference with Garry Poole (author of the book, Seeker Small Groups) to train leaders that might be interested in leading this kind of small group. As a result, there are now 152 leaders from 34 bay area churches that have signed a covenant to launch a seeker small group.

Here is the list of the 152 seeker small group leaders in the bay area:

Matthew Alden
Elsa Amboy
Aaron Anasco
Megan Anasco
Linda Arrillaga
Denise Blocker
Laura Brasser
Reuben Brasser
Tom Breen
Jim Brumme
Dann Bryant
Deborah Buonfiglio
Nita Carlstone
Jason Chan
Brian Chan
Mia Chang
Mike Chang
Chantra Chao
Henry Chen
Bo Chen
Mary Cheung
Peter Cheung
Mary Cheung
Kam Cheung
Bryan Cheung
Jiseon Choi
Peter Choi
Hope Choi
Jonathan Chu
Rosalin Chung
Gary Claassen
Polly Claassen
Katie Cornejo
Seema Dajani
Lois Darbonne
Susan Dau
Greg Davis
Kristin Day
Trevor Deng
Wilma Derr
Lillian Eng
Debbie Fitz
Tim Fitz
Bill Fleig
Wilson Fong
Becky Fong
Ruthann Formica
Shoshana Foxwell
Gladys Garder
Greg Garrott
Hubert Gee
Sabrina Gilliam
Fran Goodrich
Todd Gumbrecht
Kristy Hamlin
Gina Han
Kevin Han
Joy Han
Helen Hauser
Jim Herrera
Kim Herrera
Carmen Hsu
Xin Huang
Joe Hwang
Jin Joo
Dennis Kang
Clint Kelly
Donna Kenison
Andrew Kim
Matthew Kim
Helen Kim
Lesley King
Lauren Kwon
Richard Kwon
Ellen Kwon
Amy Lau
Mark Lauer
Pete Lavorato
Nancy Lavorato
David Lee
Miranda Lee
Daniel Lee
Naomi Lee
Clara Lee
John Lee
Mark Yoon Lee
Patrick Lee
Hyun-jung Lee
Jeannie Lee
Seung-Soo Lee
Eunice Lee
David Lee
Cindy Lee
Leeanne Li
Jimmy Lim
Edwin Limanto
Carol Lind
Lisan Junan Ly
Nhu Ly
Cathy Maddams
Linda Martinet
Jane Miclean
Hong Min
Hyun Soo Min
Bob Newell
Shauna Nash
Daniel Ng
Caroline Ogasawara
Abel Orozco
Teri Osterman
Sally Pak
Chris Pak
Jay Park
Helen Park
Catherine Park
Kevin Pasien
Daniela Pedley
Ruey Peh
Ben Pierce
Sandee Plymire
Timothy Rhee
Alice Rhee
Katie Ritchie
Tim Sandquist
Kathy Sandqust
Paul Schaller
Frank Schwartz
Cathy Seckel
Keith Seckel
Jerry Shen
Jerry Shen
Andrea Sim
Marilyn Smith
Brian Smith
Peter Son
Michele Steinhauser
Bruce Stryd
Tony Sun
Dan Thornton
Leo Ting
Richard Tjhen
Rod Toews
Dot Toews
John Vang
Barbara Wada
Judy Walters
Bill Weir
Linda Whitley
Briane Wong
May Yee
Hannah Youn
Joseph Yu

Take time today to pray for these leaders that are taking a leap of faith out of the comfort zone and into a whole new adventure of seeing God at work in the lives of others that are not sure about what they believe.
- Mary

A Covenant to Launch a Group

At the time of this writing, there are 152 seeker small group leaders from 34 different churches that have said they are launching a seeker small group! What does that mean? It means that there are 152 people who have recently signed a covenant with Garry Poole and I indicating you are in the process of launching (or have launched) a seeker small group in the San Francisco bay area. A covenant is a solemn declaration of a promise. In this case, our covenant is reciprocal. As you made promises, Garry and I made some back to you. We believe these were all made with the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Here’s a summary of those promises:

Your commitment:
1. With God’s help, you intend to do your best to launch a seeker small group some time in the next 9 months.
2. You are willing to participate in periodic gatherings for prayer, support, coaching and mutual encouragement.
3. You are willing to receive periodic electronic forms of communications with updates and support.
4. You are willing to share your experience/story with others.
5. You are willing to identify yourself as the leader (or co-leader) of a HUNDRED PLUS seeker small group launched in the San Francisco Bay Area to reach spiritual seekers in your community.

Our commitment to you:
We have agreed to provide (to the best of our ability within the next year) ongoing training, support and encouragement to those that commit to being ONE of the HUNDRED PLUS to launch a seeker small group in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I am amazed at how many of you are committed to this form of outreach! May God bless your efforts and enable you to persevere in the upcoming month as your group either gets started or begins again in the fall. - Mary

New Beginnings Take Time

For the past week, I have been moving out of my home of 19 years in Portola Valley. My husband Paul has been the president of a company (Quest Aircraft Co.) building an airplane for mission aviation applications in Sandpoint, Idaho since November, 2004. He has been commuting there from the SF bay area for the last two and one half years. When our youngest went off to college this fall and I graduated from seminary, Paul and I decided that since he needed to be there running the company full-time, we would move our main residence to Sandpoint. We have been on the "go slow plan" moving at a pace that has enabled both of us, as well as our three young adult children, to adjust to the idea of spending more of our time in the Pacific Northwest in the years ahead.

We have also been following the Holy Spirit's promptings for each new step. Psalm 127:1 has been an encouragement to me: " Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain." God seems to set the right pace for new beginnings. It's usually slower and more gradual than those of us that are "type A's" would expect! A few months ago we bought a log home in Sandpoint, Idaho. Over this past weekend, we moved into this new home. It was hard to make the transition but we know that God is guiding us.

Since I am still very committed to supporting the 150 seeker small group leaders in the San Francisco bay area, I will be back there one week out of every month for the next year to empower, equip and encourage each leader that has committed to launch a seeker small group. Much of what I do can be done via the internet and phone as well. In addition, there is a leadership team forming to broaden the base for this form of outreach. A dozen leaders met on May 12 (after the nine to noon session) to begin planning how we can best support one another. Afterall, even if I was still in the bay area full-time, the best way for us to move forward is to have a broad leadership team rather than a single individual driving this effort. God can use the gifts and talents of several of us more effectively and powerfully than just one person.

Here are some of the areas that we discussed which could benefit from additional leadership:
1. Blog support
2. Quarterly gatherings of all seeker small group leaders
3. Coaching/shepherding
4. Prayer team
5. Leadership development
6. Another seeker small group training conference with Garry

If you are interested in partipating on the leadership team in any way, let us know through your comments on this Blog or e-mail me at mary@schallerfamily.net.

I am planning to pray for each one of you this summer. I know this upcoming fall will be a time for many of you to actually launch your seeker small group. New beginnings (and ministries like this one) take time. God is slowly walking you through the six steps that Garry outlines in his training much like He has been slowly transitioning me to the Pacific Northwest. He is building a new place in your heart (and your schedule) for reaching your unchurched friends and neighbors one small step at a time. I know that it will not be in vain if He is getting you ready!

Check in tomorrow for a story from one of the HUNDRED PLUS about what God is doing in the seeker small group Bruce Stryd started six months ago. God bless! - Mary

Recap of the 5/12 NEXT STEPS and MORE QUESTIONS

This past Saturday, May 12 we held our first Quarterly gathering of seeker small group leaders at Peninsula Covenant Church, in which we focused on next steps and more questions. Many of the HUNDRED PLUS leaders who agreed to launch a seeker small group in the SF bay area were there to participate in an interactive session with Garry Poole and I from nine to noon in Redwood City. There were also others there that had either not been able to attend the March 3rd Seeker Small Group training conference, or that weren't sure at the time that they were ready to launch a group.

At the end of the session, 27 more people submitted a signed covenant indicating that they are ready to launch a group. There are now 150 leaders in the SF bay area that are part of our HUNDRED PLUS vision to reach those that are not coming to our churches to hear the gospel. Isn't that exciting? Here is a recap of what we did at that session:

We reviewed the six steps of launching a seeker small group which include:

1. Catch the Vision
2. Build Strong Bridges
3. Extend Irresistible Invitations
4. Launch the All-Important First Meeting
5. Facilitate Captivating Discussions
6. Maximize the Impact

We heard testimonies from people that are at each one of the six steps. The overwhelming feedback afterwards was that these were very helpful to people. These were real people with fresh stories about their experiences with one of the six steps. Thanks to these eight people for be willing to tell us a little bit about their experiences: Pete Lavorato, Bill Arrillaga, Donna Kenison, Bill Weir, Ben Pierce, Leslie King, Bruce Stryd, and Abe Orozco. We also had time for table discussions with others in various stages of launching their groups. The end of our time together was in prayer for one another.

Bouquets of thanks go to Peninsula Covenant Church for hosting us once again, our advisory team of Tim and Kathy Sandquist, Ben Pierce, Carol Lind, and Donna Kenison, the event team beyond the advisors which included Lois Darbonne (registration), Shauna Nash (handouts), Kristin Day (hospitality), and my Tough Questions group for all their hardwork and food (especially Tatyana Shev, Deborah Potash, Margie MacKenzie, Cindy Pollett, and Judy Decker).

I will share a little more in the days to come about Saturday. I'll will also post some pictures. But I'd love to hear your comments. Tell us all what was helpful for you? - Mary

A Lesson from the Past

Englishman John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist church, was instrumental in bringing the gospel from the established church to the streets in 18th century England. At first, he struggled with the concept of bypassing the more orthodox ways of his time, which required the people to come TO a church to hear the good news about Jesus Christ. Here is what he wrote in his journal: "In the evening I reached Bristol, and met Mr. Whitefield there. I could scarce reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the fields, of which he set me an example on Sunday; having been all my life (until very lately) so tenacious of every point relating to decency and order, that I should have thought the saving of souls almost a sin if it had not been done in the church." (excerpt taken from Garth Lean's "Strangely Warmed: The Amazing Life of John Wesely" on p. 47).

Ultimately, John Wesley had his greatest impact on the unchurched, common people. He had a four-step vision for reaching out to the unchurched culture of his day. First, Wesley went to where the "pagans" were, not expecting them to come to him (the church). Second, a spiritual seeker was invited into fellowship of a small group, which he called a “class meeting.” Whether they had decided to become a believer or not, that person was welcomed into the Community. Belonging came before believing, in Wesley's opinion. Third, the class meeting leader encouraged the seekers to seek God “until they received the assurance of their salvation,” or conversion. Fourth, the leader taught that each person could expect to experience sanctification or Transformation.

Today’s culture is spiritually curious and possibly similar to Wesley’s day. People need a safe place to ask their questions and seek answers about God and grow spiritually. It's an active process that is ideal in a small group environment. But just like John Wesley, it takes a while to catch the vision and make it a reality because it is still a little unorthodox to many people. Have you caught the vision? - Mary

Making The Most of Every Opportunity

A few weeks ago I walked into a small retail store near my home. The man behind the counter asked: “Are you a good speller? I have an important e-mail that I am writing to someone and I want to be sure that it is written well. Would you mind looking it over?” “Sure, I guess” was my reply, feeling a little bit caught off guard with his request.

Turning the screen toward me, I started reading his e-mail. I realized it’s very private and personal nature. It was written to a woman that he obviously loved. He apologized for the ways he had hurt her. He told of his deep depression and the help he had gotten in psychotherapy and through good medications. Harry (not his real name) expressed a desire to reconcile with this woman. He expressed how much he loved her and always will. I found myself drawn into this middle-aged man’s pain, wanting to pray for him and encourage him.

I gave him some spelling suggestions and grammar feedback. After a quick prayer for wisdom and the right words, I asked, “Sounds like you are in a lot of pain over the relationship with this woman?” He seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to tell me, a complete stranger, more of his story. The woman was his estranged 21 year old daughter who had been alienated by his ex-wife after a bitter divorce shortly after his daughter was born.

In a short time, he told me of his life struggles and his current hope that God was watching over him. “Oh, do you go to church?” I asked. He answered, “No, I have a lot of issues with the church. I grew up in a church and had some bad experiences.” I told Harry I know of some small groups that meet in people’s homes that help them figure out what they believe about God without going to a church. Would he be interested? He said he would love to find a group like that. I put him touch with a friend of mine Bill who started meeting with him for coffee every week. Eventually, Bill asked Harry to join his seeker small group.

In Ephesians 5:16 (NLT), Paul tells us to "make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days." As we all encounter people every day that are struggling to cope with some of life's curve balls, do we make the most of those opportunities? I wish I could say that I always do, but often I am preoccupied with my own plans for the day and miss them. The good news is that there will be another chance for me to catch that next opportunity tomorrow regardless of how much I missed it today to play a role in God's drama with others. - Mary