W Idea's

Welcome Ideas

In the first few weeks

  • Go round saying your name and course/work but each person has to remember and repeat what the others before have said before they can say their own. (Means everyone really listens to what has been said!)
  • Get people into pairs and give them 2 minutes to tell each other a brief life history then pull everyone back together and go round as everyone has to relay to the group all they can remember about the other person.

 

After first few weeks...

  • How did you become a Christian?
  • What is your earliest good/bad memory?
  • What has the last week been like? -best and worst of it
  • What would you like to have written on your gravestone?
  • What is your first memory of Loughborough?
  • What sort of people do you get on with best?
  • What do you most enjoy doing on a day off/in your spare time?
  • What is your favourite time of the day/season of the year?
  • When did you last get angry and how did you deal with it?
  • What has been an example of answered prayer in your own life?
  • What do you do when someone says or does something that hurts you?
  • What sort of impression do you feel you give to others?
  • What do you like the least and the most about yourself?
  • What has been the most significant time of growth in your Christian life so far?
  • Describe what your perfect day would be like...
  • What are your goals for the term/year ahead?
  • What is God speaking to you about at the moment?
  • Go round the circle with everyone saying one complimentary/encouraging thing about the person on their left

Worship Ideas

Some suggestions:

  • Read out a poem or words of a song
  • Listen to a worship song and pray according to its theme
  • Read out a psalm and get everyone to write their own. End with people reading out what they have written.
  • Get a big sheet of paper and get everyone to write down words on it that describe God. Then go round and find out why different people wrote what they did.
  • Read out some scripture and use it to pray and thank God for who He is and what He has done e.g. 2 Samuel  22, Philippians 2 v 6-11, Revelation 1 v 12-18
  • Go through all the different names attributed to God / Jesus / the Holy Spirit and discuss what they mean.
  • Read out an excerpt from a Christian classic e.g. A.W. Tozer's The Knowledge of the Holy, J.B. Philip's Your God is too small or Colin Urquart's My dear child
  • Meditate on a passage of scripture, asking God to speak through it e.g. Psalm 23 or the Lord's prayer and then feedback what God has been saying through it
  • All make noise together- singing out, humming, tongues, speaking out praise to God.
  • All be silent together and see what God says
  • Use the natural beauty of creation to focus on God and let him speak e.g. Look out at the stars, bring in some leaves/flowers to look at etc
  • Use a video clip alongside a worship song. e.g. Jesus' death and resurecction (copies in the church office).
  • Turn off the lights and light a single candle and focus on it while a suitable scripture is read e.g. 'I am the light of the world...'
  • Break bread together, focusing on different aspects of the work of the cross
  • Bring some art materials and get everyone to draw/paint/make something that expresses worship to God
  • Get everyone to draw their thumb print and read out Psalm 139
  • Get everyone to write down what they have been forgiven of or burdens they are carrying and screw up the paper into a metal container and burn it.

Word Ideas

 

Practical Suggestions:

  • Begin with brainstorming definitions of the subject or devise a short questionnaire on the topic
  • Have pens and paper ready to use. Encourage people to take notes.
  • Work in 2’s/3’s and feedback to the rest of the group.
  • Be ready to respond to what God is saying.
  • Be open to the prophetic and stepping out. Don’t be surprised if non-Christians are hearing from God and responding.
  • End with a few moments of reflection, so people can write a summary of the key points, challenges and the changes they need to make.
  • Give out one or two key verses at the end that sum up the Word, for people to go away with, meditate on and learn
  • At end fill out a questionnaire/mark yourself on a level of 1-10 where you are at with a particular issue. Could then go into 2s or 3s, share and pray into it
  • Activate relevant scriptures by praying them out loud into each others lives eg. Numbers 6  v24-26, Eph 1 v13-14, v17-18, 3 v16-19, 6 v10-17

Witness Ideas

 

Practical Suggestions:

  • Ask God for his heart of compassion for people
  • Make a list of the friendship networks in your cell of people who don’t know Jesus. Pray for them every cell. Feedback any encouraging news or stories.
  • Pray for opportunities and for boldness
  • Plan socials to get to know each others friends e.g. pub quiz, meals together, parties
  • If there are enough friends at the stage of discussing Christianity, then run Alpha as a cell
  • Think creatively about ways to serve your hall/friends e.g. toasty/pancake runs, library books returning, free ice-pops as people come out of exams
  • Pray for the evangelists in the cell, then get them to pray for the rest of cell
  • Set targets for the week e.g. number of God conversations. Feedback the following week
  • Light night-lights for each person you are praying for, which you can then take away and continue praying
  •  Pray into /campaign for a justice issue
  • Have a cell collection to help out a not-yet Christian friend who is struggling financially eg. buy them a book they need
  • Set aside a night to meet up, pray and do some prophetic evangelism. Feed back at the next cell how it went-pray into the contacts made.