How to use this resource: COME TOGETHER Small Group Sharing Cards

Understanding what COME TOGETHER Small Group Sharing Cards are all about

Building authentic community means building authentic relationships.  In our hustle-n-bustle, highly-individualistic society, authentic relationships and community are become endangered species.  Even in many communities of faith, people struggle to find common ground and may rarely share heart matters with each other.  The result is that people don't share life, don't have a chance to heal, and don't really find the kind of fulfilling bonds they've been looking for.  Even worse, the Holy Spirit, who works across the connections of relationship, is limited to working in self-focused devotional time and personal reflection.

Because contemporary Westerners naturally lack many skills to grow community and relationships, the COME TOGETHER cards help coach them through developing a spiritual friendship.  This is an attempt to fulfill God's value of "Nurturing Relationships" which is part of the "DNA of the Gospel" (see Becoming Organic pg. 18).  By talking about revealed truth in one's life, blessings, and struggles, participants share the most important aspects of their lives.  In prayer they ask for God's direct involvement and encourage each other by "bearing one anther's burdens."

These cards facilitate a process that often is quite new to many.  Most people, whether churched or unchurched, have had few deep spiritual conversations, and definitely not on a regular basis.

Preparing to use COME TOGETHER Small Group Sharing Cards

All you really need are the cards themselves.  Print out as many sheets as you need on your computer by downloading the PDF file and printing from Adobe Acrobat Reader (to get this free program click here).  It might be nice to laminate the cards and give them as book marks.  Lamination can usually be done at an office supply story or copy center such as Kinko's, Staples, or Office Max.

You might want to encourage your group to have Bibles available should they want to share Scriptures related to what they are discussing.  Also, you could suggest people bring songs, artwork, books, poetry -- anything that has been part of how they have seen God work in the last week -- to share together. 

Using COME TOGETHER Small Group Sharing Cards as a "break-out session" activity

We developed these cards after our first Sunday sharing time flopped in a simple church.  The whole group of about 14 people were together and the group leaders asked, "so, what's God doing in people's lives?"  People just stared at their shoes.  After the tension was over and the closing prayer was given, the room broke into a dull roar of conversation.  One church planter noted that the larger group naturally broke into groups of 2 or 3 for conversation.  If a forth person joined a group of three, it would soon become two conversations of two people each.  This spawned the idea of developing something that could be done in an intimate and natural "friendship environment."

Based on this experience, we recommend using these cards as a "break-out" activity to divide down a large group into more intimate twos or threes.  This could work as an activity for a simple church, house church, small group, support group, etc.  Participants should be given a rough time when to wrap up and rejoin the rest of the group.  We found it took about 30 minutes to complete with a pair and 45 minutes with a group of 3.  Some experimentation may be necessary.  When the group gets back together, you have the option to discuss any themes that seemed to come up in the break-out session or you can bring appropriate prayer requests before the group (care should be taken to respect privacy since some very sensitive concerns may be shared in the break-out). 

Using COME TOGETHER Small Group Sharing Cards for Spiritual Friendship

These cards could also be used in the context of Spiritual Friendships.  Maybe a few friends will get together during the week and work through the questions on the card during a lunch break.  Or, it would be possible for friends to use the card over the phone in the evenings.  The relationship building objective of these cards could be applied to a variety of situations.  In this type of friendship, participants may wish to not use the card as these components become part of regular conversation.  If the conversation seems to stagnate or not penetrate, the cards could be referenced as a refresher.

It is suggested that those involved in this type of group pick a Bible reading for the week for each to read to increase the depth of answers to the first question.

<<Back to COME TOGETHER Home