AG BLOG

Adult Ministry Makeover

2008-09-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Greetings Adult community of ORB,

God has been moving in some amazing ways among the adults at ORB, and I am excited to be a part of it. You may have heard the "buzz" that in light of all that God is doing among our adult community, we've responded with a shift in focus. We feel that in order to have effective ministry with adults, this new approach will require two things:

(1) An emphasis that every adult has been called by God to serve others and has been given the gifts to do so;
(2) An outward focus on intentional living wherever God has placed us.

This means that every one of us is a functional part of the body of Christ, and that our current life setting is where we are most likely called to minister: our families, work, homes, friends, church, etc.

God is already at work in this capacity among us, and here are the current ways adults are engaging in ministry to others:

-Small groups of adults meeting together regularly to pray for, encourage, and challenge one another
-A mission's team that has already sent one group down to the Dominican Republic and is planning on sending a second early next year
-A mid-week Bible class offering in-depth teaching on the Scriptures
-A mid-week meeting of parents of older children called Mid-Week Oasis that is designed to encourage spiritual growth among older adults
-A mid-week morning prayer group that gathers to intercede for our community
-A service group called ORB Care that understands discipleship as manifesting itself in serving those in need in our area
-A music team that leads and guides the community in worship every Sunday night

So practically, what does this mean, no more "Adult Group"? In addition to the above ways in which ministry with adults is happening, we have scheduled monthly gatherings of all adults at ORB--those involved in ministry and those not yet--to come together, celebrate what God has been doing, and look for new ways of how to minister effectively among adults. Look for an upcoming announcement about our October celebration!

If you are interested in any of the ministries listed, or if you feel there are other areas where your gifts could best be used to serve others, please contact me at mike@theorb.org. My current role is helping adults realize how they can use their gifts as members of this body; as well as encouraging, equipping, and challenging those who are currently involved in adult ministry.

I look forward to serving with you as God leads us,

Mike

Adult Group Update...

2008-09-08T19:19:00.001-07:00

Hello adults,

After much thought, prayer, and consideration, the adult group is going through significant changes. The largest is that it is being restructured so that ORB, as a community, will have a better opportunity to outreach to the adults in our families, friendships, neighborhoods, workplaces, etc. It is no longer going forward as adult "group", but as adult ministries. Quite simply, any ministry throughout ORB that is for adult falls under this umbrella. This goes for adult small groups, softball teams, BBQ's, Bible studies, prayer groups, football games, dinner parties, etc.

As adults in ORB, we have the awesome charge to share God's love in the world, wherever we find ourselves. Contact Mike Oliver for more information and to find out what you can do to serve Christ in this world.

AG round up for March10th...Looking forward to March24th

2007-03-14T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Great meeting. It was great to see all of you and I really enjoyed the small group time. Thanks to all of you who brought food. Thanks also to the Medrow's who continually open their house to us. Dave gave a great example of what facilitating is like. Read the study guide, Read the chapter, make questions, and give a small blurb about what the group will be studying. If you would like to fill this need of the AG group let the leadership team know. I think it would be great if we could get as many people as possible to facilitate. Also, if you have an idea for an icebreaker, give us a shout as well. We are always looking for new ideas. Thanks to Sandi as well for sending out the prayer requests!

Couple notes:
0. Next meeting is at the Eyerman's house. Medrow's are out of town. Same time 5:00pm. Here is the map.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=90+Birch+Drive,+Shrewsbury,+NJ&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.631106,82.265625&layer=&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=40.333722,-74.070339&spn=0.016749,0.054245&om=1&iwloc=addr
1. There will be an email heading out about babysitting from the leadership team. Watch for that.
2. Watch for the next POTLUCK sign-up email
3. Dinner Swap is coming up the weekend of the 31st. Contact Korin at korinoliver@hotmail.com for more details.
4. Read the whole book of James aloud. It is worth the 15min 38sec.
5. More to come this week......

Have a great week

Matt

AG Meeting, Mar 10th.....Read James

2007-03-05T18:42:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

The AG leadership team has been working hard to make AG a success. As a team, we wanted to fill you in on what the next AG meeting would look like, when we start the Book of James. First, as a team, we put a standard operating schedule together so that the night runs smoothly and with purpose. Second, we discussed what specifically the format of the study should look like so that facilitators know what to expect.

First the schedule - It is not hard and fast, but should be a good guideline. We will see how it works and make adjustments as needed.

5:00 - Evening Starts
5:05 - Prayer
5:05-5:45 - Eating and Talking
5:45-6:05 - Meet as Group, Group Icebreaker, Facilitator gives 5-10 minute overview of what is being studied that night
6:05-6:45 - Break into groups of 5-8 and discuss questions provided earlier in the week by the facilitator.
6:45-7:00 - Reconvene as a group under guidance of Facilitator
7:00-7-15 - Announcements and Prayer Requests
7:15 - Evening ends

Second - Format of the Study
We have 5 meetings to cover the 5 Chapters of James. In addition to the text itself, the AG leadership team has purchased 25 study guides to be handed out. Couples can share. You will receive these on Saturday. The study guide is from Tyndale, and is titled "James (Life Application Bible Studies:NIV). This study guide is intended to help our study of James. It provides the text of the book, background information, commentary, as well as suggested study questions for small groups. This guide should be seen as a resource by all, but especially for facilitators. It is our hope that with this added resource, that more people would be comfortable facilitating the study.

One last note and challenge: The Book of James was probably written as a circular letter. It would be carried from congregation to congregation where it would be read aloud in its entirety. I would urge you to read the whole book of James aloud this week. This is the way it was intended to be read and understood. Do it with a friend, or by yourself. Korin and I did it and it took 15min 38sec to do. It is a great way to spend 15min and 38sec. Doing this will prepare all of us to hear and discuss the book of James, Chapter 1 this Saturday.

As always, the meeting is at the Medrow’s at 5:00pm.

http://maps.google.com/?q=181+3rd+St,+Fair+Haven,+NJ+07704&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.631106,82.265625&ie=UTF8&z=16&ll=40.36064,-74.035921&spn=0.008371,0.027122&om=1&iwloc=addr

See you soon

Matt

2007-02-27T05:15:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

The votes are tallied and scored, and I had a great time doing nerd statistics with them. If you don't care about that sort of stuff and just want the results, then the winner is James, followed by a close second of Making Room for Life. These two came in first and second respectively in both the scoring and the ranking. So, it looks like we have a 22 week schedule ahead of us. Next meeting starts our James study. Stay tuned for more info this week, as the leadership team digests the results and moves to implement the new study.
There are some nerd plots attached. If you have any questions, send me an email at oliver@imcs.rutgers.edu

Matt

Next AG meeting, Feb 10, 5pm...choosing a new study

2007-02-03T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Well we did it, we got through Romans. We decided to study this book on Feb 25^th2006, and finished it in January the following year! What a haul. I know that I will look back with fond memories of our times together while studying Romans. Just think about how we have all changed and what God has put in our lives in the last year! I know it was a great experience for me, and many of you have told me the same thing.

I want to thank Christian and Michelle Andrews and Dave and Nancy Medrow for generously providing their homes for all of us to use. I also want to thank all of you who brought delicious food, and those of you who facilitated the study of Romans. It really was a group effort!

As you all have guessed, one of the next big decisions for AG (if that is what we still want to call it) is what to study next. In Romans, we ran the table of topics….from the guilt of mankind, faith, the supremacy of Christ, the place of Israel, transforming our minds, and how to treat people as Christians. Looking back on it…it was a tall and worthwhile order!

At the next meeting, I am asking you to come with answers to two questions in mind, and be ready to discuss them.

What do you want to study next?
How long do you want to study it?

After the meal, the AG leadership team is going to break us up into smaller groups where we will discuss these questions. I think if we break up for discussion, it will allow more ideas to be heard. The goal of this break up is for the AG leadership team to listen to the group, to see what we should study next.

To get you thinking about this subject, I am going to put a few examples of topics to study next. These are just suggestions….you can think of your own. Hopefully these will get you thinking about this important question for the group (they do not appear in any particular order).

Another Letter from Paul (ie. Galatians, Philippians, Timothy I, II)- One of Paul’s main concerns was for Christians to understand what Christ had accomplished for them on the cross, and how that relates to the way they understand themselves and how they should treat each other. Paul addresses a variety of disputes that arose in the early church, such as the role of spiritual gifts, resurrection, and leadership in the church. We also find some of the most beautiful expressions of love in these letters. Most of these letters are short (unlike Romans which is Paul’s longest letter).

Book of James. A letter written by James the half brother of Jesus. This is a short book focused on the works and deeds that Christians should be engaged in. He is deeply concerned to tell us that true belief always shows itself by what we do. This is a very practical book and basically shows Christians how they should be living in real-life concrete situations.

Book of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. These four books are around or a bit longer than Romans and recount the life of Jesus. Each of these books is concerned with showing us different aspects of Christ’s life. I think any of these would be enormously helpful as we are called as Christians to live like Jesus lived. Instead of asking ourselves “what would Jesus do?”, we could just go see what he did.

Books of Proverbs or Psalms. These are lengthy books written by a variety of authors that instruct us primarily in wisdom, worship and prayer (although there are many other things). Each of the chapters of these books is more or less self contained which makes them amenable to short and brief study. These books are often poetic in nature, but communicate many rich truths about the life of the believer. These books seem to lend themselves to topical studies.

Books of Ecclesiastes. A book written by King Solomon. The focus of this book is in comparing the wisdom of God over against secular culture. It is a magnificent work that exposes the folly of trying to find meaning to your life in this world as opposed to finding meaning in God.

Old Testament Narrative Books: (ie Genesis, Exodus Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1,2 Samuel, 1,2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah) These books recount the lives of real people who have real encounters with God. They are not stories of people who “got it right.” These books have the excitement and intrigue of novels. The things that happen to the people in these books are, quite frankly, amazing. These books are a great opportunity to look how real people encountered God, and how God used them (warts and all) to accomplish his purposes. I can imagine studying the life of Moses, or David, or Ruth or any other character to see what we could learn as believers from their successes and failures.

Books that teach Christian principles: There is an array of books that many of you have read such as “the other 6 days”,“blue like jazz”, or many of the C.S. Lewis or N.T. Wright that I know have impacted the life of people in the group. If you have a favorite which you think would be good for the group, bring it and be prepared to talk about it.

Topical studies: instead of looking at a specific book, we can study specific topics such as relationships, finance, leadership, etc. This sort of study is generally very practical, and draws on a variety of resources for learning. Bring your suggestions if a topics!

Hopefully this gets you thinking about what you want to study next!

If you have any questions, contact me at oliver@imcs.rutgers.edu

Matt

2006-12-04T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

An outstanding meeting! What a great discussion about how we are to relate to each other on issues of faith and practice. Dave Medrow did a great job with the questions and with leading the discussion. I honestly think it was one of, if not our best meeting. This topic is so critical for a community of grace to operate properly Paul gives us some very practical guidelines to live by, while focusing our attention on the work of Christ. Let's remember and be sensitive to the fact that all of us are at different points in the path that God has for us in our lives, yet, despite these differences, we are all united in the work and person of Christ. Thanks Dave for all of your effort. Also, the meal was fantastic! The Medrow's cooked a whole turkey…mmmm so good. All of the food was delicious. Thank you to all of you who brought it. Hopefully you saw the prayer requests and the announcements from Sandi…if not, here they are again.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Our next meeting will be on December 16th at Christian and Michelle's at 5:00pm. Our plan is to finish Romans that night. Chapters 15 and 16. And maybe, possibly, combine that with a Christmas party?

The Lootsma's plan on hosting a New Year's Eve party at their home for the Adult Group. Kids are welcome. It will probably start around 7 PM or so. Think about some sort of either traditional food from your family that you would like to bring or some type of finger food that reminds you of New Year's Eve or the holidays.

If anyone is not already sponsoring a Connect Family for Christmas and/or would like to be involved in that for the Adult Group, please let Matt Oliver know so we can decide ASAP if we are able to sponsor a family or not. Thanks!

Our responsibility for the Sunday service for the next two weeks is as follows..

Dec 10: Power point responsibilities

Dec 17: Welcome announcement

If you would like to volunteer for these please let me know so I can pass it on to the Sunday service team.

Also, our last night on Romans is Dec 16; After that, we don't have a topic. I propose that the start of our next topic be on January 13 so that we have time to decide. I have heard some good suggestions from all of you, so please throw them out there via email.

As always, look for updates and the POTLUCK sign up sheet in a separate email.

Matt

Next Ag meeting....holiday schedule

2006-11-20T06:16:00.000-08:00

Hi All,
I heard from several of you that the meeting on the 28th went well. Thanks to all of you who brought food! Also, thanks to the Medrow's once again for hosting. I know that we are a hard bunch to host, especially when we are swinging from the lamps. Thanks to Andy for leading...from what I heard....a very good discussion on Romans 13. Andrea, thanks for leading the icebreaker as well.
Ok...down to the dirty work. If we kept to our normal schedule, our next meeting would be this Saturday. However, ORB has about 1.2 billion events going that weekend, two of which all of us should try to attend. The Turkey Bowl, and the Fall Festival.
If you haven't been to a turkey bowl, don't miss it. There is no better way to celebrate thanksgiving than to play pick-up football and to launch assorted frozen water foul skyward. Afterwards is the Fall festival. It is going to be great, and try to come dressed as anything fall-ish (but you don't have to). For more info, check out the flier at www.theorb.org.
Back to the original point...I think it would be best to not meet this weekend. We are all going to be sore from the gridiron, tossing water fowl, and dancing the night away dressed as farmers.
I propose the next meeting to be held on Dec 2. Then, have the next meeting be on Dec 16. Then, reconvene in the new year. If you object to this schedule, you can either throw a tomato at Korin's car, or just send me an email at oliver@imcs.rutgers.edu

Things we need for DEC 2 meeting. Facilitator for Romans 14.
We also need a theme for food....Maybe leftovers from thanksgiving??

Were not done yet....

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

-This New Year's Eve the Lootsmas will be hosting a gathering at their
house. This will be a kid friendly affair. So, families are welcome,
but if you want to arrange babysitting that's fine too. Details to
follow about what time and such.

-The Fall Festival will be held on Friday, November 24th at 7PM. All
ages are welcome. There will be desserts and finger foods. No dinner
served! We are responsible for helping set up the food, keep the food
organized during the event and for clean up of the food. So if you
are willing to help, we need a point person to organize our group into
shifts. Set-up, During and Clean-up. If someone would be willing to
organize us, that would be awesome. Please let either Andy Newberry
know or Sandi Andrews. (908-890-2945-Andy, 732-671-0809-Sandi)Set-up
for food will begin around 6PM and clean up will happen after it's
over at 11PM.

- HELP set up and take down for Sunday service....yep it's our turn again... we need volunteers to help out with that. It is a big job for the Sunday team given the growth of the Sunday service..lets pitch in a help out. If you want to volunteer, give me a shout or let Matt L. know.

-Connect shopping....I think this would be a great way for our group to act as a community of grace in this holiday season. Want info, talk to Rayna rayna.eyerman@verizon.net

-Thanksgiving for a family in need....Also a great way for our group to serve! Talk to Megan Anderson for details studiostr5@aol.com

Just one more note.....I know that the holiday season for many of us is hectic with all of the things that we feel like we are supposed to do. Take a deep breath, enjoy them, but let's not forget that our primary mission as a community of grace and as the Body of Christ is to serve others. You don't have to serve at ORB or through the many activities that ORB has going on, but just be sure you serve someone, somewhere, somehow. I know that you guys already know this, but, when you serve, take time to rejoice in the fact that you are doing the very thing that God asks us to do! It makes all the difference in the world.

Talk to you all soon!

Matt

Oct 28 wrap-up....next meeting Nov 11

2006-10-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

Once again, I think an excellent time was had by all. Although, I have to say that the "high-school" food we ate last night was not designed for my thirty-something stomach.....uuugh.
Thanks to all of you who brought food....my stomach is still feeling the reverberations. Thanks also to the Medrow's.....your house is awesome...thanks for hosting once again.
Just a couple of quick things this time.....
It was great to hear from all of you on Romans 12..I had a great time hearing how the group should work on being transformed for Christ!

1. Go to the Communication Workshop on Nov 3-4......simple.
2. On Nov 5, it would be cool if someone in our group would lead the Sunday service in prayer. If you are interested in doing that, let me know ASAP
3. Romans 13 is coming up on Nov 11....Andy will be leading that discussion. Look for questions from him. (Thanks Andy)
4. Nov 11 food theme.....soups, bread and salad...hmmm sounds good
5. If you have anything you want to put into the ORB news letter let me know today!

As always, look for the POTLUCK sign up in a separate email!

Talk to you soon

Matt

Next AG meeting...Oct 28...

2006-10-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

Well, it is good to be back in NJ! I missed hanging out with all of you. It was great to see all of you on Sunday and on Saturday. Just as a reminder, the next AG meeting is Oct 28 at 5pm at the Medrow's. If you need directions I will put them below. Thanks again to the Medrow's for opening up their home to us! We should not take that for granted....thanks again Dave and Nancy. Also, thanks to all of you who brought wonderful casseroles. I love the casserole, it is hard for me to overstate that. Also, thanks to the Lu's for the Ice Breaker, I was laughing like crazy. Also, I realized just how good the group can sculpt...amazing. We should also give a special thanks to Michelle for leading us in a very difficult chapter in Romans. Romans 11 is a pretty deep chapter. It is really difficult to design a short study for a chapter that has so many rich theological themes in it. I'm sure we could spend months on that chapter and not get everything out of it. Thanks to Michelle, I feel like that the group got some of the major themes out of that chapter. You did a great job Michelle. I thought the drawing was a brilliant way to illustrate a very difficult chapter....thanks for that. Also, there is a lot of wisdom in the email that Michelle sent to all of us about the future of the group. We are getting closer to the end of Romans, and we should start looking for our next study topic. I have heard some suggestions for books from NT Wright...but we can talk about that as a group. In the mean time, in Romans, Paul is making a dramatic shift from some very deep theological themes to some very practical, concrete principles to live by. I can't wait to study these with you guys on Oct 28. I want to hear how you guys can connect or have connected with these.

On a different note, we have been talking as a group about service. I have seen people in the group reach out and help people in the last weeks....this is so great. Keep it up. Also, if you are interested in how you might be able to serve the community, there are opportunities for you to do that on Sunday. Let me explain. As the Sunday service grows (which it has been doing rapidly) more and more responsibility is falling the lap of the Sunday Service team. Their work is so critical to the success of the Sunday worship, and to the mission of ORB. They have requested that people in the other ministries help out and pitch in so that Sunday worship can continue to operate at a high level. For example on Oct 22nd, they have requested that people from the AG group help with set-up and take-down. If we could get a few people to show up early and stay late to help out with that task, that would be great. Here are their official requests for the AG group

Oct 22. Help with Set-up and Take-down
Oct 29. Help with the Powerpoint presentation
Nov 5. Do the initial welcome for the group
Nov 12. Lead the Sunday service in prayer
Nov 19. Lead the Sunday service in a time of silence
Nov 26 Help with set-up and take down

It would be great if we could fill these needs. Remember, we are the body of Christ. We will function only if the parts willingly work together. Right now, the Sunday service has an itch, and we need to scratch it. If you are interested in these, please let me know and I will let the Sunday worship team know when you will be helping.

This coming week I am expecting a smaller group again because of the high school retreat. We also have Romans 12 ahead of us. As usual, look for the potluck sign up in another email. We don't have a theme, and we don't have a facilitator yet......

By the way, SIGN UP FOR THE COMMUNICATION WEEKEND. This was my shouting email text...it was probably too violent. Seriously though, get the registrations in or you might find a bluefish in the back seat of your car.

See you all soon
Matt

P.S. link to Medrow's house

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=181+third+street,+fair+haven,+nj&ie=UTF8&z=15&om=1&iwloc=A

AG round-up: Summary of September 9th Round-up meeting

2006-09-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

AG round-up

Summary of September 9^th Round-up meeting

Last meeting, instead of doing our normal chapter study in Romans, we examined ourselves as a group to see what we are doing well and what we need to improve on. Everyone had a chance to share their past experiences with AG, and offered both encouragement and suggestions to make it better. It was really great to hear all of the positive things that have come out of AG. People shared mostly of building real relationships and learning about God as the things they enjoyed the most. In particular, the group really likes eating meals together, the shared leading of the chapter study, the two retreats we had, and the extra events such as bowling and baseball games. It was said that this group is a catalyst for real relationships to develop outside of AG.

There were also items that we discussed that we felt we could do better in. Prayer was an element of the group that we decided needed improvement. Small groups outside of our regular AG meetings need to be established as well. Also, the group currently lacks a way of effectively communicating needs that people might have to the group, so that the group could help them resolve those needs. Another common observation is that the group is lacking outreach type events.

Out of the discussion about what the group does well, and what it needs to improve on, we identified four attributes that the AG group should display in some capacity: Fellowship, Edification, Evangelism and Service. Fellowship and Edification were areas where we were doing well, but the group felt that Evangelism and Service could be significantly improved. Briefly, we identified some concrete ideas to help the group exhibit these four attributes.

1. Fellowship

1 John 1:1-4 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. We write this to make our joy complete.

Even though fellowship was seen as an area where the group has been successful, because the group is growing, some changes need to be made. First, the space that we currently meet in is too small to hold everybody in the group. Second, even if everyone in the group was able to fit in one space, the ability for everyone to participate would be significantly diminished. In a way, the need for space has already been met, with the Medrow’s offering their house for us to meet in. The next meeting on September 23 will be held there. It is large enough for all of us to meet together to eat, and for us to split the discussion group. Thanks Dave and Nancy for meeting that need. The second need is to identify two facilitators for the discussion. Tom Truman has volunteered to facilitate Romans 10 for one of the discussion groups. We are still looking for someone else to volunteer to facilitate Romans 10 for the second discussion group.

The AG also needs to be a place where small groups (size 2-5 people) outside our regular meeting times are established. Andy Newberry has stepped up to the plate and has become the SPAN (Small-group Pusher, Andy Newberry). However, be aware that there is also SPSA (Small-group Pusher, Sandi Andrews). Talk to either SPAN or SPSA if you want to be in small group.

2. Edification

2 Tim 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So far, the group has been studying the book of Romans. In order for all members of the group to be able to participate in the discussion, the discussion groups need to stay small (I’m thinking less than 15 per group). This need is linked to the needs discussed in relation to fellowship. Another suggestion was that the AG host more learning conferences and retreats. Michelle Andrews has already stepped up to this challenge by putting together a communication conference with Dr. Deborah Hunsinger from Princeton Seminary. If you are a person that has ever had any kind of relationship with any other person (meaning everybody), you should be at this conference. Contact Michelle Andrews for more info.

3. Evangelism

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This is not an area that we have been pursuing in the same way as fellowship and edification. However, events like the baseball game organized by Chris and Meghan certainly could fall under this category. As a group, we decided that we need to be more intentional about this area of ministry. Some specific examples were as simple as taking responsibility to welcome and get to know new people on Sundays rather than hanging out with people we already know. I think as a group we could do this very easily, but we have to be intentional about it. It is our entire tendency to talk to the same people we have always talked to. Another suggestion is to have more parties (yeah). Some suggestions were a chili cook-off or other types of general events where people would feel comfortable in a friendly atmosphere. If this is going to happen, we would need people within the group to lead those events like the way the Lu’s lead the bowling event, and the way Megan and Chris led the baseball game event.

4. Service

James 1:27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

This is also an area that has not yet been a major focus of the group, but there were many good suggestions to change this. The first and most obvious one the group identified was group prayer requests. Someone yet needs to be identified who will collect prayer requests from the group so the group knows what specific things it can pray for. Another idea was to have a service contact person. This person would serve as a confidential (if needed) liaison between the AG and the person in need. In this way, our group can start to meet financial or other material needs of people in our community (I use this term in its broadest sense). For example, as a group we could decide to sponsor a local family in need or to sponsor foreign orphans. These are all great ideas, but it will take someone to devote a few minutes a week to it in order to make it happen.

Clearly, we had a big brain storming session in which we identified key areas that the AG ministry can improve. I would suggest that our goal would be that in 1 year from now, we should be able to look back at our group and see qualities of fellowship, evangelism, edification and service. While we are returning to the normal chapter study on September 23, I would encourage everyone to keep thinking and praying about the AG ministry, and how we can accomplish all of the things that God has set before us.

I will be traveling until Oct. 5, so Amanda Agresti will be taking over email duties while I am at sea. Stay tuned for her emails describing the upcoming meetings.

SEPTEMBER UPDATE ! ! !

2006-09-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

Well guys, here we are again - looking into Fall! Leaves changing, kids back in school, football, new jobs, and of course the AG group!

I am sure that we all have some memorable moments from the summer, so think of a few to share with the group this Saturday. For example, I met a man who regularly shoots deer from his kitchen window - definitely a memorable moment! Seriously though, I know that this group has folks with new children, new jobs, new relationships, new memories from summer vacation.....and I think it would be great for those things to be shared at summers end.

This week coming up we are meeting at Andrews'....but starting Sept 23, we will be meeting at the Medrow's. Directions to the Medrow's are below!

This week, instead of the normal chapter Bible study, we are going to reconvene as a group - figure out where we have been, and where we want to go. What have we done well, and what do we need to improve on. I think it will be a good time to check ourselves before the busy fall session begins. I will be facilitating the discussion on that, but in order for it to be successful, we need input from everybody. Even if you are new to the group, please, we need your input! The more people that are willing to contribute to the discussion the better.

Also, the theme for the POTLUCK is Greek...

Now I've never really had Greek food - so.....I'll need some help figuring out what to bring. As always - look for the POTLUCK sign up...

Directions to the Medrows:
From Trinity Episcopal Church...
-Take Front Street east out of Red Bank (towards Fair Haven).
-Front Street changes to River Road as you leave Red Bank.
-Take River Road to Maple Avenue. (2 blocks past the Sunoco). Turn right onto Maple.
-We are at the northeast corner of Maple and Third (181 Third Street).

Nancy & Dave

Update for mid-July

2006-07-14T07:36:00.000-07:00

Hello adults!

We are resuming our regularly scheduled adult group meetings at the Andrews/Agresti house on Saturday, July 15. We are still working through Romans, although I'm not all together sure where we're at! But come and we'll have a good Romans discussion anyway. Make sure to check your email to sign up for food and whatnot.

Also, on Monday, July 24 we are headed to Lakewood for a Buleclaws game! Check out the steroid free stars of tomorrow! We are going to meet in the parking lot of the stadium in Lakewood at 6:00 to have a tailgate dinner. The game starts at 7:05. Contact Chris and Megan(studiostr5@aol.com) if you have questions or want to go.

Hmmmm....that's about it. I hope that you are all having a great summer. I'm looking forward to getting back in to the regular swing of Saturday adult groups...I miss it!

See you all!

Adult Group Blog

2006-07-01T08:46:00.000-07:00

Hello all!

This is the new adult group blog. Visit here for all of the adult group news and happenings.

Thanks and see you later,