Seeker Small Groups

Exercise your Evangelism Muscles

There are several upcoming events in the bay area for those that are interested in exercising their evangelism muscles. Some of those muscles may be stretched for the first time, others have been stretching them for years. But isn’t January the month that we get out those workout clothes and head for the gym to exercise our physical bodies that have gotten flabby?

How about we head to a spiritual gym (like a conference or one of our outreach oriented churches) to get back into shape for outreach in the new year??? Here are several opportunities to not only be reminded of the GREAT COMMISSION, but to equip you with tools on how to effectively share your faith:

1. Conversational Evangelism Conference: **** NOTE: Early-Bird rates through today, Jan. 18th!*****
(if you sign up today through Seeker Small Groups, we can get the lowest group rate of $129. Students can attend for $79 early bird rate. There’s also an option for just Saturday at $79. Contact me directly by e-mail and I’ll give you the details for all of these.) Registration and Details at www.conversationalevangelism.net

Also, we need prayer warriors for this conference. If you are interested in praying for the CEC in the upcoming weeks and pray during the conference with those that are in need of prayer, you can obtain a very low rate.

Where: Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, Menlo Park, CA.

When: Feb. 29 – Mar.1

Learn how to develop skills for effective evangelism in this contemporary culture. It’s all about the conversations we have with our unchurched friends, neighbors, families, and co-workers. We all know how to NOT do it, through personal mistakes and well-intended attempts. But here is a conference that explains the power of listening, healthy productive conversations, and sincerely guiding someone on their own spiritual journey of discovery.

Todd Hunter, National Director of Alpha USA, will be joined John Ortberg, Becky Pippert, Mark Mittelberg, Dan Kimball , Richard Peace and Garry Poole; as well as networking with other like-minded people, worship and prayer.

* Todd will help us understand what is going on in our rapidly changing culture
* Dan will help us contextualize the unchanged message of God’s love to young adults
* Richard will equip us to engage in easy and comfortable conversation about the good news of Jesus.
* John will help us learn how spiritually connect with our Father’s heart
* Mark will give us strategies for helping every part of the church develop an evangelistic edge
* Becky will inspire us to become the kind of people who naturally and easily attract seekers, and will teach us about “Seeker Bible Studies”.
* Garry will give us excellent training on how to invite seekers, and how best to facilitate Alpha groups and Seeker Small Groups
* The Alpha Team – will present Alpha to Conference delegates in a fun, exciting way.

How can you make the most of this Conference?

1. Be sure your pastors and leaders know about this Conference. They may already be familiar with these speakers and their books.
2. Don’t come alone – bring a team. These ministries teach a “team approach” to evangelism. It takes a community to reach seekers in our world today. Your team will be learning how each part of the church can make its own particular contribution; according to the gifts each person has been given.
3. Plan to put into action those things you learn at the conference.

2. Lee Strobel at the Cathedral of Faith in San Jose, this Sunday Jan. 20

They have 4 services. The Sat night 5 pm service will show The Case for Christ Movie, which I recommend you go to and take a skeptical guest with you. Their Sunday services are at 8:30, 10 & 11:30 a.m and Lee will be speaking at all of them. Again I recommend you take a skeptical guest with you. Please pass this message on to others, and do consider inviting a skeptical friend. I'm not sure what Lee's topic will be, but it most probably will be the topic of his latest book: i.e. The Case for the Real Jesus. Their website is: http://www.cathedraloffaith. org/ Address: 2315 Canoas Garden Ave., San Jose, CA 95125

3. Veritas Forum at Stanford University on Tuesday, Feb. 5

Check out details at http://www.veritas.org/stanford. Here’s some of the basic facts taken directly from the website: “The Veritas Forum is a co-sponsor of the Francis Collins lecture at Stanford, an event which is sponsored on campus by InterVarsity Christian Fellowship and Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship.

This event is an opportunity for the entire university community to explore and discuss life's hardest questions together. By asking the pressing questions on campus and answering them with respected university voices, we hope to engage the entire university in fruitful discussion.

The planners of the forum are inspired by the idea that Jesus Christ has something relevant to offer our modern university in its search for knowledge, truth and significance. We welcome and honor skeptics and their questions, and even bring some of our own. The Forum is not meant to be a typical academic exchange of abstract and unembodied ideas. Rather, it should come out of real community earnestly exploring questions of real importance.

We have invited presenters who have wrestled with our questions to challenge us, connect disconnected ideas, and put forth their answers and objections in light of our beliefs and doubts. We believe the events will draw participants into real conversations, questions, discussions, stories, and friendships.”

God and the Genome
7:30pm. Memorial Auditorium
Francis Collins (Author—The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief. Director—National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH.)

Well, I hope these are events that can encourage you and exercise those important spiritual muscles! May God bless your efforts to spread His good news to the 93% of the folks in the bay area who are outside our church doors. Grateful for the privilege of working with you. -Mary

Upcoming Events in 2008

I am actually on vacation as I write this, (so much for staying unplugged when there are internet connections wherever you go - even if you don't take your own computer!), but I wanted to wish you a happy new year and briefly tell you about some things that are happening in 2008 in the SF bay area.  Mark your calendars and/or tell your friends about these upcoming events:

Thursday, January 31 from nine to noon in Fremont - There will be a bay area seeker small group leaders planning event for those that are interested in helping in the upcoming year with this ministry.  It will be at Thorton Ave. Baptist Church.

Friday, February 29 and Saturday, March 1 all day in Menlo Park - Register for the Conversational Evangelism Conference at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church to hear from some great leaders on how to effectively engage your unchurched friends and neighbors in significant faith conversations.

Saturday, March 1 at noon - Seeker Small Group Leaders lunch with Garry Poole, held during the Conversational Evangelism Conference from noon to one.  Location TBD.  More details to follow.

A Saturday in April (TBD) - An all day Seeker Small Group Leader training with Garry Poole.  This is a better venue for those that know they're ready to launch a seeker small group.

Stay tuned for more details on all of these events.  In the meantime, I hope and pray that one of your new year's resolutions is to be more intentional in reaching out to those that are far from God with the love of his son, Jesus Christ.

I will be on vacation until Monday, January 14th.  There will be no more posts until I return. - Mary

National Outreach Convention Nov. 7-9

I have been attending the National Outreach Conference in San Diego the last few days, which is sponsored by Outreach, Inc. and attended by a few thousand people from churches all over who are interested in innovative new ways to reach people who don't know Jesus. The CEO of Outreach, Scott Evans, says "when it came to reaching out, Jesus was 'The Great Innovator.' He knew how to get people's attention. He broke out of the religious boxes to reach the hearts of those helld in spiritual bondage. He crossed the chasm between heaven and hell. Fast foward 2000 years and notice The Great Innovator still at work through his Church. Yet, while we see churches trying to fulfill the same mission, they are at times out of touch with the people and the culture they are trying to reach. How do you reach people whose primary forms of communications are blogs, cell phones, films, and YouTube videos? How does a church take the unchanging message of the gospel and reach a culture that is ever changing?"

Over the next few days, I'll highlight a few of the things that I learned from the conference. In the meantime, I am learning a great deal from each of you! Keep sharing your stories! - Mary

Reminder: Conference call 10/16 2:00 p.m.

There is a conference call scheduled for tomorrow, Tuesday, October 16 at 2 o’clock with Garry Poole to ask questions about launching and leading a seeker small group group. If you haven’t signed up yet, it’s not too late. Let me know by the end of today via e-mail (mary@schallerfamily.net) and you can still participate in the free conference call.

Maybe you are having a hard time getting a group together? Or after that all-important first meeting, the follow-on gatherings have introduced new challenges that are puzzling you? Whatever question you may have, you will have a chance to ask it and to also hear others’ questions that you might not have been able to articulate.

Please join us, if you are interested. Also, I would like to know if you are enjoying the stories??? Do you have a story to tell us too? We’d love to read about your experience with seeker small groups. - Mary

Overwhelmed! Can't Catch Up!

"Overwhelmed!" "Can't catch up!" These are the words I am already hearing from so many, and the fall hasn't "officially" started yet! The tyranny of the urgent and important sometimes is taking precedence over the important (but seemingly not urgent) work God may be calling us to do. The best way for me to be reminded of the important work God has for me (and to somehow find time to do it) is to network with other people that are encountering the same struggle. When I am with other people that have a heart for the lost and are feeling the nudges of the Holy Spirit to reach out to those people, I am inspired and encouraged. My perspective returns. Somehow with God’s help, I reorder my days and my priorities to make time for his work.

But it is a CONTINUAL struggle for me. Is it for you? I'd love to hear your ideas on how you stay in the perfect peace that God has promised us in Isaiah 26:3 - " You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!" My quiet time in the morning of sharing my day with God is a big help. But then I need to keep turning to God all day long for guidance on how I spend my time, or I start getting anxious about how much there is to do.

If you are not too overwhelmed already and would like to be encouraged, it’s not too late to sign up for dinner on Friday, September 7 at five o’clock with Lee Strobel at Harbor Light Church in Fremont. Not only do we have a unique personal opportunity to meet with Lee and talk with him about his new book, The Case for Real Jesus, but we also have a great chance to NETWORK with other seeker small group leaders from five to six thirty prior to the California Christian Apologetic Conference at 7:00 p.m. in the same place, Harbor Light Church. You’ll get a chance to hear Sean McDowell (“Equipping Youth with a Biblical World View”) and Lee Strobel (“The Case for the Real Jesus”) that night at no cost. You can come back the next day (Saturday, Sept. 7) for a full line up of great apologetic speakers for a $40 registration fee. Check out the website on this great conference: www.standfortruthministries.org.

To sign up for these events, register at our website: www.seekerministries.org as soon as possible. I guess this could be considered urgent and important. But maybe we would all be encouraged and equipped to do the work of reaching out to our neighbors and friends in a way that invites effective conversations about faith issues?

Many of you have indicated that you would like to meet one-on-one to discuss seeker small group questions and challenges. I would love to meet with anyone that wants to talk about their plans or process regarding seeker small groups. I have time next week on Tuesday thru Thursday, Sept. 4-6, or the week of Oct. 1 thru 5. Just let me know your availability and we can set it up.

Regardless of whether you can attend any of the events on Sept. 7 and 8, could you please take the time to update us on your seeker small group by filling out the form on the registration page of the www.seekerministries.org website? This would help us to know more about you and your group. Thanks!

I am praying for each of you as you begin your groups this fall. - Mary

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Sept. 7?

It's official. We have a location for our exclusive dinner with Lee Strobel on Friday, Sept. 7 at Harbor Light Church in Fremont. We'll be having dinner with Lee at five o'clock to be some of the very first to hear how we can utilize his book in the context of a seeker small group. With books constantly hitting the news stand questioning the divinity of Jesus, Lee's new book hits those claims head on in The Case for the Real Jesus. His book will just be hitting the news stands late this summer. We will meet with him at the very beginning of his worldwide tour introducing his new book. There will also be time to ask Lee a variety of questions about apologetic issues.

Lee's new book is a great tool for hosting captivating discussions among people with a wide range of beliefs. It might be the perfect curriculum for your new seeker small group this fall. Whether you are planning to hear Lee Strobel later in the evening at the apologetics conference or not, you can come and meet with all of the bay area seeker small group leaders for an early dinner and hear Lee. Lee is willing to meet with us exclusively for our fall quarterly gathering that night at Harbor Light Church in Fremont.

There will only be a $15 charge for a delicious hot catered meal before Lee’s talk. Hearing Lee at five o’clock and eight o’clock will be at no charge. If you want to attend the full Saturday schedule of the conference, we have been given a special group rate of $35.

When we asked each of you how we could best support you as you began leading a seeker small group, you consistently mentioned a few things. One of the most popular requests was to meet and network with others on a quarterly basis that are attempting to launch a seeker small group too. This fall will be the first of several gatherings planned this year to meet this need. Our Friday, Sept. 7 time together will be an hour and a half of good food, networking, encouragement, and hearing a wonderful speaker that can better equip us in speaking about our faith.

At 6:30 p.m., we will be free to attend the California Apologetics Conference, which begins at seven at the same location, Harbor Light Church (4760 Thorton Ave.) in Fremont. Lee will be the second speaker that evening. In addition to Lee Strobel, other speakers include Dr. William Lane Craig ( author of over 30 books on Christian Apologetics and Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology), Sean McDowell (son of Josh McDowell and author of Ethix: Being Bold in a Whatever World) and Greg Kookl (adjunct professor in Christian apologetics at Biola University and founder of Stand to Reason Ministries). Here are some of the topics for the full conference on Friday night and Saturday: Christian Apologetics: Who Needs It? The Existence of God & the Beginning of the Universe, The Case for the Real Jesus, Never Read a Bible Verse, Tactics in Defending the Faith, Cultural Discernment: The Message Behind the Music, Spellbound: The Paranormal Seduction of Today's Kid's, The Apocalypse Code: Understanding the end Times Debate, The Secret: Chicken Bones for the Hungry Soul, and Who's Waiting for You? Check out more details about the conference at http://www.standfortruthministries.org/conference_frontpage.htm.

Mark your calendars for 5 o’clock on Friday, September 7th at Harbor Light Church in Fremont, California! Go to the dinner with Lee, his talk on his new book, The Case for the Real Jesus, and the Saturday conference for ONLY $50 per person, if you register before August 15th OR just attend the Friday night dinner with Lee for $15. Send your check for $15 or $50 made out to Seeker Ministries and mail to the attention of Terri Rogers at New Hope Peninsula Church, P.O. Box 1486, San Carlos, CA. 94070. In the next few days, I will also try to make an online registration option available to everyone.

I hope to see you then! - Mary

Special Reception with Lee Strobel & SSG Leaders 9/7

Lee Strobel, author of The Case for Christ and several other books that examine the facts that undergird our faith in Jesus Christ, has agreed to speak exclusively to our HUNDRED PLUS seeker small group leaders in the San Francisco bay area on Friday, September 7 at five o'clock in Fremont, California prior to the California Apologetic Conference that night. There will be a special dinner reception for all of you who have signed a covenant this past spring indicating that you are launching a seeker small group. We are hoping to have it at the conference site, Harbor Light Church, but we are still in the process of confirming our exact location. Please pray that God would provide a convenient location.

Lee Strobel will be sharing with us his thoughts on how we can use his new book, The Case for the Real Jesus, in the context of a seeker small group. He will also leave time for us to ask him questions on any subject related to evangelism and apologetics. This will also be a time to connect at dinner with other seeker small group leaders to support one another and network with like minded believers.

Please mark your calendars NOW for this special dinner reception with Lee on Sept. 7 and the subsequent talk later that night when Lee will talk about the main points in his book, The Case for the Real Jesus. As mentioned in a previous post, this talk of Lee's at eight o'clock would be very appropriate to bring your seeker friends as well.

I will be providing more details on location and cost as soon as they become available. This is a very special opportunity to partner with Lee Strobel and others in the bay area to reach spiritual seekers. - Mary

Chance to Hear Lee Strobel in Fremont 9/7/07

Lee Strobel will be discussing his powerful new book, The Case for the Real Jesus, at Harbor Light Church in Fremont, California on Friday, September 7, 2007 at the California Apologetics Conference. Here's a description from publisher Zondervan describing Lee's new book (taken from their website):

"From college classrooms to bestselling books to the Internet, the historic picture of Jesus is under an intellectual onslaught. This fierce attack on the traditional portrait of Christ has confused spiritual seekers and created doubt among many Christians – but can these radical new claims and revisionist theories stand up to sober scrutiny?

Has modern scholarship debunked the traditional Christ? Has the church suppressed the truth about Jesus to advance its own agenda? What if the real Jesus is far different from the atoning Savior worshipped through the centuries?

In The Case for the Real Jesus, former award-winning legal editor Lee Strobel explores such hot-button questions as: • Did the church suppress ancient non-biblical documents that paint a more accurate picture of Jesus than the four Gospels? • Did the church distort the truth about Jesus by tampering with early New Testament texts? • Do new insights and explanations finally disprove the resurrection? • Have fresh arguments disqualified Jesus from being the Messiah? • Did Christianity steal its core ideas from earlier mythology?

Evaluate the arguments and evidence being advanced by prominent atheists, liberal theologians, Muslim scholars, and others. Sift through expert testimony. Then reach your own verdict in The Case for the Real Jesus."

Invite your seeking friends to hear Lee present the evidence on Friday, Sept. 7 at 8 o'clock at Harbor Light Church. I believe this is the first time you'll be able to purchase Lee's book too. This event is sponsored by Stand for Truth Ministries whose mission is to equip believers to stand for the truth of the historic Christian faith, grow more intimate in their relationship with God, and lovingly and biblically engage the culture for Christ.

Friday night is FREE to all attendees. The California Apologetic conference actually starts at seven o'clock with Dick Knight opening with a discussion on truth. I think that talk will be great as well, setting the stage for Lee's comments. The following day, Saturday, Sept. 8 will be filled with sessions from well-known apologists like Dr. William Lane Craig, Greg Kookl, and Sean McDowell. We have been given a special discounted group rate for the Saturday sessions of $35. This is a perfect way to strengthen your faith for discussing core truths of Christianity with seekers.

In the days ahead I will provide more details for how you can register and obtain the special group discount. In the meantime, check out more details on the conference at http://www.standfortruthministries.org. I hope you are staying cool and relaxed in these hot summer days! - Mary

P.S. Regarding the last post about Bruce Kennedy, his daughter Karin Kennedy Hejmanowski is a pastor of Sunnyvale Presbyterian Church where three of the HUNDRED PLUS seeker small group leaders from the bay area are members. Please continue to keep Karin and her family in your prayers as they grieve the loss of this great man.

California Christian Apologetics Conference 9/7-8/07

In Isaiah 43:10-12, Isaiah the prophet reminds us that "you are my witnesses, O Israel!' says the Lord. 'And you are my servant. You have been chosen to know me, believe in me, and understand that I alone am God. There is no other God; there never has been and never will be. I am the Lord, and there is no other Savior. First I predicted your deliverance; I declared what I would do, and then I did it - I saved you. No foreign god has ever done this before. You are witnesses that I am the only God,' says the Lord."

You might be thinking, "that's an overwhelming idea!" that we are God's witnesses. Like me, you might feel ill-equipped for such an important responsibility! Fortunately, there are wonderful resources out there to help equip us for being effective witnesses when the Holy Spirit leads us.

For example, on Friday night, September 7th and all day Saturday, September 8th 2007 in Fremont, CA. at Harbor Light Church you can attend the California Christian Apologetics Conference. Some of the greatest apologists of our age will be there including Dr. William L. Craig, Lee Strobel, Greg Koukl, and Josh McDowell. Check out the details at this website, as well as the content on other apologetic-related topics: http://standfortruthministries.org This website is a great launching place to other websites as well.

Maybe if there are enough of us that want to go, we can get a group discount too? I am planning on going. It looks like it is going to be a great conference. Let me know if you're interested through the comment section on this entry. We ARE God's witnesses. Wouldn't it be great if that concept invoked great excitement (and fruit!) instead of apprehension and fear? - Mary