I’m excited about the plans for this summer’s Sunday Morning Small Groups. I know that many people enjoyed meeting as small groups during the Sunday School hour last year, and appreciated the opportunity to get to know new folks. We’ll have that opportunity again this summer as we begin three cycles of small groups on June 6th.
I’m also excited about the material we’ll be using for the summer. The Peacemaker by Ken Sande has long been a favorite of mine, because the truths it presents are crucial for healthy Christian relationships, and they grow directly out of the Scriptures. In my opinion this is one of the very few topical books that takes its agenda from the Scriptures rather than bring pre-conceived ideas to the Scriptures.
The format for our study this year will be different than any of the other studies of this material that we’ve done in the past, because we will be using video presentations by the author to communicate some of the basic truths. Here’s a video of Ken Sande opening one of the Peacemaker conferences:
Most weeks we will watch the video together and then divide into ten or so small groups to discuss the material and pursue the Scriptures. We will mostly use the participant study guides, though leaders will probably also bring in material from the book. Kids will use the reproducible materials from the Peacemaker for Kids booklets that we have used in the past. These can be used as part of the group time, or at home.
Here is the calendar, showing the three small group cycles and the progress through the eight Peacemaker videos.
First Cycle
June 6 – Select Groups
June 13 – DVD 1
June 20 – DVD 2
June 27 – DVD 3
Second Cycle
July 4 – Select Groups
July 11 – DVD 4
July 18 – DVD 5
July 25 – Small Group Fellowship
Third Cycle
August 1 – Select Groups
August 8 – DVD 6
August 15 – DVD 7
August 22 – DVD 8
August 22 – Small Group Fellowship
Dan Wales and Murry Billingsley will be coordinating these studies. We’ve ordered materials and we are looking forward to your participation.
