Beyond Sunday - Connect Groups

Dina, Kate, and Tyler explore how Connect Groups help turn a big church into a genuine community. They share what groups look like, why they matter for spiritual growth, and how taking a simple step into community can lead to lasting friendships, support, and discipleship.

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Transcript

Welcome And Meet The Guests

SPEAKER_03 0:04

Welcome to Beyond Sunday, the King of Kings podcast, where usually we dive a little bit deeper into our sermon series and see what we're taking Beyond Sunday. But this month, for the month of July, we are doing something a little bit different at Beyond Sunday. We are looking at some of our King of Kings ministries, diving a little bit deeper into what's happening in different areas. So today I have some amazing guests. They're simply amazing. Go ahead and introduce yourselves, and then I'll tell you what our topic is today. Hello, my name is Kate Solberg.

SPEAKER_00 0:41

And Kate, what uh what is your role was, is, and will be?

unknown 0:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

I'm like, which one do you want? Um, I guess I'm partially still the associate campus director at the Northwest Campus and soon to be the care coordinator at Central.

SPEAKER_01 1:00

There we go. Yeah. Absolutely. And my name's Tyler. And Dina, before we go any further, I have two complaints to lodge. I don't know if it's specifically against you.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

Is it about my adjectives?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

No, the adjectives are fine today. Okay. Um, actually more than fine. They were tremendous.

SPEAKER_03 1:15

I find we spend much more, we we spend much more time talking about the adjectives that I use than I ever expected.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

First complaint was that those pretzels peanut butter-filled pretzels in the green room over there, they're very tasty, they're very addicting, and they get stuck in your teeth. So in my teeth, I should say. So if I am like kind of doing this sort of mouth noises, you're gonna know why.

SPEAKER_03 1:38

It's because you indulged in the pretzels. Well, I had nothing to do with those pretzels. Those are worship or productions, so I cannot claim them.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Well, in that case, Johnny, I'm sorry for eating your pretzels, but they're very tasty. Second complaint, it is like 52 degrees in this studio. I understand we're in the middle of summer, but I did not bring my parka. I wore flip-flops today and my my feet are shivering.

SPEAKER_03 2:01

Yeah. So if you hear Tyler's teeth chattering, it could be the pretzels. It could be his teeth sticking together from the peanut butter pretzels. It could be the temperature in the studio today.

SPEAKER_00 2:11

It is what is going on?

SPEAKER_03 2:13

I am a menopausal woman, prone to hot flashes. So the studio is glorious to me. I would live in here if I could.

SPEAKER_01 2:22

Kate, what's your take on the temperature of the studio?

SPEAKER_03 2:24

I'm fine. I'm just fine. Everything's fine. Kate's the easygoing one. All right. So this week, our first week of diving

Sundae Opinions And A Smooth Pivot

SPEAKER_03 2:35

a little bit into the behind the scenes or um more of what's happening in our ministries, we are talking about Connect groups. But before we dive all the way in, I don't know if you know, but today is a very special day. Well, not actually today, the day we're recording this. Tomorrow, the day that this will drop, is International Strawberry Sunday Day. Okay. So my question to you is what is your favorite type of Sunday if you are a Sunday person? And what is the topping that you absolutely do not like on your Sunday? Dun dun dun.

SPEAKER_01 3:15

I haven't thought about this question maybe ever. Yeah. Um, I'm a fan of all ice cream products. Um, I think if if I was put in a position where there was a bunch of like peanuts on like a Sunday, like in that kind of turtle caramel style, I'd be like, well, I'll still eat it, but it's not gonna be my favorite. But man, you do strawberry, do banana split, do anything, chocolate, any cookie dough, of course. Yes, and amen.

SPEAKER_04 3:44

Yeah. I don't like any of those, but I do like turtle sundae, especially if there's pecans instead of peanuts. Delicious.

SPEAKER_01 3:54

So are you saying you're the exact opposite of what I just said?

SPEAKER_04 3:56

Exact opposite.

SPEAKER_01 3:58

Well, we should go to an ice cream place together because we will not have to steal from each other's exactly. Yeah, there we go.

SPEAKER_03 4:04

I am a big fan of strawberry sundaes. I really enjoy strawberry sundays. I more enjoy the flavor of the strawberry syrup, not so much the chunks of strawberry themselves. I am a fan of many toppings on Sundays. I like peanuts, I like gummy bears, I like, I don't know what else. I like caramel, I like whipped cream, but I don't like them together.

SPEAKER_01 4:27

Oh, you like subtracting?

SPEAKER_03 4:28

Just one topping at a time. Just a singular topping person.

SPEAKER_01 4:33

What do you think about mixing the different kinds of ice cream? So, like the Neapolitan is like the vanilla scoop and then the strawberry scoop and the chocolate scoop.

SPEAKER_03 4:40

I think my stomach is doing flip-flops right now. That's a little bit too much.

SPEAKER_01 4:44

Are you sure that's not due to the coldness of the studio, Dina?

SPEAKER_03 4:48

Nor did I enjoy any of the peanut butter pretzels. Because that mixes peanut butter and pretzel. I just don't think I can do it. I like a singular food at a singular time. I'm the person who, when I eat my dinner, I eat like all of one thing and then turn the plate and then eat the next thing on the plate and then turn the plate and then eat the next plate. Not all of my meals, but that's what my my brothers used to make fun of me for that when I was growing up. But Sunday toppings, I don't like to mix.

SPEAKER_01 5:18

What do you think of like a sandwich?

SPEAKER_03 5:19

Um, well, a sandwich is already mixed together.

SPEAKER_01 5:22

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:23

I just don't like mixed pizzas already mixed together. Pasta salad, already things mixed together.

SPEAKER_00 5:29

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 5:30

Yeah. Salsa, already things mixed together. But if I put, okay, there's one exception to the rule. But if I put like green beans and mashed potatoes and turkey on my plate, those things I'd I'm now older and more mature that it's okay if they touch, but I don't like them to mix. The one exception is corn and mashed potatoes. Corn and mashed potatoes are friends and they can be friends in my tummy.

SPEAKER_04 5:57

So many rules.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Our listeners have turning this off now. Like, what is this podcast?

SPEAKER_01 6:05

They're like, they're like, I was gonna invite Tina to Thanksgiving dinner, but maybe this is just too much of a hassle.

SPEAKER_03 6:11

I've got no thermomet content and way too much food talking.

What A Connect Group Is

SPEAKER_03 6:16

All right. But you know what you can do with Sundays? You can go get Sundays with your Kinect group.

SPEAKER_01 6:21

Yes, you can.

SPEAKER_03 6:22

That is a wonderful thing to do.

SPEAKER_01 6:24

There are a lot of activities of joy and fellowship that can happen in the context of Kinect groups. Let's go.

SPEAKER_03 6:29

Tyler, as our Central Connect Group director, tell me like what the basics for somebody that doesn't know what is a Kinect group and why do we want people in them?

SPEAKER_01 6:39

Yeah. Well, I would even just take a step back to like who are we as the church? And so um each of our campuses is significantly larger than the average church in America. The average church in America is somewhere in the 50 to 60 to 70 range. And when you're that size, you do have the ability to kind of know everyone, especially if you've been together for a long time. Um, the Lord blesses us where we have new people all the time, praise God. And we recognize that what God does in the context of worship, as we're uh praising him and praying and receiving his word and responding, all that sort of thing, like God works through that, praise him. But there's a limit to kind of what we experience in our growth in the Lord if all we are experiencing is Sunday, and especially if we are not known by someone else, and ideally, someone's in the context of a connect group. See what I did there, Kate?

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Yep.

SPEAKER_01 7:43

So God has made you, dear listener, and each of us here with a need to be known. Known by someone who sees us and cares for us. And in like, we would love to be in a perfect world that it our churches can stay tight and small enough, wherever, but like, no, we actually want the kingdom to grow. And so here's what here's what connect groups do is as the church gets bigger, Kinnect groups allow the church to actually get smaller. Where you don't need to know everybody at your campus, but you do need to know and be known by someone. And so, with that in mind, Kinect groups are. I'm getting back to the question you originally asked, Dina.

SPEAKER_03 8:26

I know you'll get there.

SPEAKER_01 8:29

I might uh might wind my way there.

SPEAKER_03 8:32

We're all in for the ride.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

So Kinect groups are um, there's so much beauty and flexibility with how we how we structure this, where we say somewhere in the the four, five, six to maybe 12 to 14 range, number of people that commit to consistently getting together to um get to know one another, to study God's word together, to discuss what's going on in their lives and to pray for one another. And Kinect groups look, there are some groups that meet every week and they've been meeting for not just years but decades. There are groups that because of life stage, they say, well, we can get together twice a month or even once a month, or we meet during our Kinect group seasons, where it's like we're gonna meet together for these eight weeks and then we're gonna take a break. There are Kinect groups that it's been the same leaders for a number of years. And there's groups where they rotate leaders throughout. There's been groups that are birthed out of other groups. There are groups that meet on church on our church campuses. There are true groups that meet in homes. There are groups that meet at coffee shops. I um read that we have a new young adult group starting that's meeting at Sozo Coffee House downtown in downtown Omaha. There's another group, young adult group, that's uh um uh you help me fill out or you help me create the form. It's like a it's like a walking group around.

SPEAKER_03 9:48

They meet at different parks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

Yeah. And hopefully you're kind of getting the picture. The point is we call a connect group. So certainly you connect with God, but importantly that you connect with other people, other Christians, other believers. The Bible says iron sharpens iron. We all need encouragement. And and and that that that certainly happens when you come to a service on a Sunday and you, you, you, you are being led in worship and you hear God's word, but how much more when someone knows your name, they know your story, they know your struggles, they know your temptations. They you know that they're praying for you, and they know that you're praying for them. And I think that's where the beauty of following Jesus becomes less of a me and God thing, and it becomes more of a we and God thing. And all that happens in Kinect groups.

SPEAKER_02 10:39

That's beautifully put. That's it. That's all we need.

SPEAKER_01 10:42

Kate, do you have any kind words to say about what I just said?

SPEAKER_02 10:46

I'd agree with all of it.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Great, thank you.

SPEAKER_00 10:48

You can put stop.

SPEAKER_04 10:51

Kate said Connect Group Pro. I was just as you were talking, I was just thinking about like all the different groups I've been in at King of Kings. And I joined King of Kings shortly after graduating college. So I was in my young 20s, and I was in a, you know, a young ladies' group then, all ladies, and one of them was Jenny Thompson, and we were both in our 20s, and now we're much older. Um, and we're still in a group together. Wow. Now there were many years between there, we weren't in a group together, but um, just it's amazing how God's worked. When I was had young kids, we had a group that met in our home, and we had all the kids come and and one family had older kids who were in charge of the young kids, and they'd either be in the backyard or in the basement. And then there was a season that the adults took turns being with the kids, and we even had like a little curriculum for them to do in the in the basement because what an example for them to see their parents gathering around the word of God, but then to teach them how to do that as children. Like that was a gift to our family. So yeah, they look different, they serve different purposes at different stages of life, but they we do it because it's the model Jesus laid out in the Bible.

SPEAKER_01 12:16

Tell us more, Kate. What do you mean?

SPEAKER_04 12:18

Well, he, you know, he gathered his disciples together and he did that on purpose for the gospel message to spread, obviously, and to plant churches, but also I think he knew there's no way I can leave this to one other man to do. And they were ruined when Jesus was killed and they even scattered, scattered, but you know, eventually they came back together and they walked the road, you know, together. And sometimes Jesus, before he died, sent him out in twos, and he was always building community, always throughout his life.

SPEAKER_03 12:56

Amen. Yep. I really like when you were talking, Tyler, about how you talked about um it just allows us to be smaller. I know sometimes when um part of my role is welcoming new people in here at the Millard campus. And it it's a deer in headlights look sometimes when people come in, because we are a large campus. And I think sometimes when you walk in the room and you don't know anyone, it feels like you don't know everyone. And that's a very overwhelming feeling. And so if you find those six to 12 people that you get to know better and feel comfortable with and they know your story, it makes a huge difference in how you feel when you walk into the room where there's hundreds of people that you may not know all of them, but you do know your group. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

Yeah, it may it makes all the difference. Um, and so we know that some the people listening on the other side, some of you have been in a uh Kinnect group before, some of you have been in the same group for years, and I know a number of you aren't in a group for whatever reason.

Busy Seasons Hurt And Trying Again

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Um there there are certainly seasons to life, and there are times where committing to a group is easier and versus not. So, like my my wife and I, we got three kids, 10, 8, and four. Um, and so everything with scheduling is more challenging, right? Yeah, but I would also maybe just uh uh push a little bit against the busy narrative um because you like God made you for relationships and you need friends in your life, you need brothers and sisters in your life, and you need those to be fellow believers. Connect groups are not the only way that this can happen. I've I've seen I've seen this happen on serving teams, right? We do these pizza with purpose events where we're saying, hey, come discover your purpose. And as you're as you're serving and leading God's kingdom, you become more of who he made you to be. Um but I think connect groups is a really, really great way to do it. And how much more when you're like opening God's word together, which itself carries power, and then you're doing that with other people, it creates a bond that you really can't um put into words. The other thing I'll I'm gonna say is that there might be some people that have been burned in the past by groups where um maybe you you you were vulnerable and maybe you know you were ignored or mistreated or something like that. Um, one, I I do pray that we can put you on the path towards healing. But also if you are in that spot where the devil wants you is to isolate, and that is a really dangerous place to be. And so if you're in a spot where you're like, try it at once, never doing that again, man. If I could just gently encourage you, what does it look like to try it again and say, what does it look like to be safer? Maybe you need to meet with your campus director first and kind of explain what what what didn't go well last time so we can help you. I know um if if if I were if you're meeting with me or meeting with Peter or Seth, like we'd be honored to do that because we want you to be put in a spot where you can grow. Um uh Kate, on the other hand, she's stepping out of the campus role. So you have you have about a month to meet with her and then no care. But that's it all what you're gonna do.

SPEAKER_04 16:27

You can still meet with me. Your job is to care. I'm going nowhere.

SPEAKER_01 16:32

I'm really excited for this, by the way. Like you're you're gonna do a great job. Um but yeah, like the if there was hurt in the past, don't let that stop you from what God wants to do. It's very possible the next group that God puts you in is going to be the vessel for healing. Um, and I would hate for you to lose out on that opportunity. There are a couple things we do with groups that I think make make things easier. So, one is we do try to build them out by season. One of the big fears when I'm talking to potential people who are either looking at leading or joining, they're like, So am I signing up for a lifetime?

SPEAKER_04 17:13

Forever. No.

SPEAKER_01 17:17

No. But it can feel that way if it's like, hey, we're starting a group. Do you want to come join us? It kind of left open-ended, like, ah, like I'd love to try it out. And so for many of our groups, we do it by seasons, where we look at the fall and the winter. And there are some groups that do seasons in the spring and summer as well, but certainly the fall and the winter, where somewhere in the kind of the eight to 10 week range, where it's like, hey, commit for this. That's enough time to really kind of know if it's gonna work or not. Um, and like there's just no shame or worries if you make that commitment and then you get to the end of it, like, hey, this wasn't for me. I'd love to find a different group, and maybe I'll start my own group, um, or maybe I'll just meet up, schedule a meeting with Kate every other week in her new care role.

SPEAKER_04 18:00

Um bring it on.

SPEAKER_01 18:02

But don't let that fear of a um uh like permanent commitment get in the way. Um, and then the other thing is we're continually building out more and more groups in different settings. So many of our groups meet on Wednesdays at campuses. Our Fremont campus is kind of still building towards that. Um, but if if you're like, man, I Mondays is really the best, best time to meet, and I'm not seeing that available, well, maybe that's an indication that God's asking you to start your own group. Um the there's this great story in the Gospels where um, I think it's Luke 5, but where uh the miraculous catch of fish, Jesus and Peter, and there's the idea of in ministry, there is a there is a catch, as it were, of a fish to come, but we have to strengthen the nets. We have to be prepared for it. Um, and so it could be that even if there's not already a group rearing to go, maybe this is a strengthening the nets season where God's asking you to step in to be a leader. And then you who knows the

Leaders Training And Real Care Stories

SPEAKER_01 19:10

who the Lord might bring to you, but you're ready for it. Um, we uh we kind of have a regular rhythm of trainings. One of that's one of my kind of responsibilities is to make sure our leaders are equipped and resourced and trained. Am I doing a great job at that? I don't know, but I'm I'm learning.

SPEAKER_03 19:27

Um You're doing a fabulous job.

SPEAKER_01 19:30

But uh, like we'll we'll we have another training coming up at the end of August, both for current and prospective leaders. Um, and uh, Kate, actually, uh, I'm talking about this publicly on the podcast with you for the first time. I probably should have had a prior conversation, but we're gonna talk about what it looks like for that connect group to be the point of caring for one another within the congregation. Um, and so like we had a story out of um Fremont. This would have been back in November, and this Kinect group had only been together for about four months. Um the uh there was a there was a new mom, uh, mom and daughter. Mom was probably in her 80s, daughter in her 50s, both single, and they they were loving Fremont. They got connected with um some people and started coming to the the Thursday Connect group. The mom suffered a stroke on this on a Sunday night. Daughter found her the next morning. And even before Christy and I found out that Ann was in the hospital, their connect group leaders were there in the hospital with her. And I'm like, Lord, that is a picture of what the church is. The church is not the the paid professionals who have all the experience doing the ministry and like, well, we can only you can only do something if you talk to to Greg or Zach or or Peter or Tyler or Seth first. No, no, no, no, no. This is God releasing his church to care for one another, to lead one another, to disciple one another. And I I I I remember talking with those connector bleeders. I said, thank you so much for being there for them. And of course, they're like, Well, where else would we be? And like they they weren't even thinking strategically, oh, we but we better show up. But no, it's just what we do. We care for these people. They're they're they're family now. Um, and that's so in some ways, our our August training is just going to be an affirmation of where people already are and they're already feeling it, giving them permission, but then also giving some practical skills of like, well, what does it look like to care? Are there some boundaries we want to create so that no one's being overextended, but we're serving one another in love? Um, and so if you're listening to this and you're interested in like, man, I maybe God is calling me to be a leader, um, reach out to me, TylerKingKings.org, um, so we can get you connected. There'll be some communication coming out as well for that training coming up. Again, it's at the end of August, Saturday, the 29th.

SPEAKER_03 22:00

I really liked how you use the word releasing there, releasing God's people to care for each other. And it just gives me the mental image of being behind the gate, like pushing against it, that you have the hunger and the passion and you're just ready to point me in the right direction, fire me out. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

I want to ask each of you if it's okay, um, um, if you could share a time in your life when being

When Groups Carry You Through Life

SPEAKER_01 22:25

a part of a Kinect group was was really a blessing. Like the Lord really worked through that experience.

SPEAKER_03 22:34

You want me to go? Go ahead. So um I have two examples, but actually the funny thing is, neither one of them are for me. Oh, but because I was a part of one of them and just heard about the other and knew the family, um, they really like affected me. Like, so one of them is very similar to your story. It involves a stroke, but it was a there was a family at my last church who was in their Kinect group and um they had a very young child, and I think she was nine months when she had a stroke. And a child going through something like that, totally unexpected. You know, they sent out a text to our senior pastor and to their Kinect group explaining what was happening. They were heading to the hospital. They did not know cause what was going on, what the outcome would be. Um, our senior pastor received that text. He was, we were in a meeting together. He relayed the text to the group, went and packed up his things and headed to the hospital. By the time he got there, half of the Kinect group was already there. The other half of the Kinect group was organizing a meal plan for the family for the week, like going to the grocery store to buy things to start cooking for meals to prepare for this family. Like you said, that is what they're just caring for each other. But it was before, like I said, our pastor got the text, packed up, went to the hospital, and they were already in action.

SPEAKER_00 23:55

So beautiful.

SPEAKER_03 23:55

Yes. Um, it I'm just tearing up when I like just the impact that that had. Um, but for me personally, like it was a Kinect group that I was a part of. Um, and there was a couple, it was all married couples. And at the time I was married, at the time I was in this group, and it was all married couples, and our children would come and play together and the older kids would watch the younger kids. It was great. Um, and then one of the couples got divorced. And it was very hard. And it eventually broke our Kinect group apart. Um, but in it, the way that people ministered to each other, the way that the women of the group surrounded the woman that was going through the divorce, and the men of the group touch group, touch base with the man in the story. It wasn't taking sides, and it wasn't a right or wrong, or you have to stay together, or you have to do this for your marriage. It was just walking with them. And I think that that is an important part too, because we all experience high highs and low lows in life. And it's not that your group is there to fix it for you, they're there to sit in the mud for with you and they're there to celebrate the joys with you. And I just remember how grateful that couple individually was for the people of the group that that just walked with them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:17

Yeah, I can remember a ladies' group I was in when my kids were young, and Rebecca had to have a uh she was born with a tethered spinal cord. So she had surgery on her spine at eight months old. And I was just petrified. Like it didn't matter how many times people told me, like, this is this surgery happens often, she's gonna be fine. You know, like, nope, I wasn't believing them. You know, I just I kept envisioning terrible things. But um, the ladies in my Bible study group, they just passed one card around and they wrote scripture, they wrote down truths, and I can't tell you how many times I got that card out and read it. Because, like you talked about, you know, Satan loves to isolate us. And that's when I my mind would wander to these horrible places about what could happen to my daughter. But I literally would get that card out. I knew these women, I knew they loved me, they loved my daughter, they loved the Lord, and they reminded me of truth.

SPEAKER_00 26:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 26:24

And and how God commands us to think of these things, think of the truth, think of the character traits of who he is. And it really helped me get through that time. So yeah, that was a gift. And I'm sure they had no idea. They were just writing something down. They probably had no idea I was gonna read it 999 times, but I sure did.

SPEAKER_01 26:50

You know, it's such a trite phrase, and but like it it we say it over and over again because it's true, we are better together. Um, your life is better when you are known and you know that others know you. Um when I think about when groups have been most transformational in my life, it's when we've, especially with in a just with other guys um committed to holding one another accountable to like, yeah, we're gonna take this following Jesus thing seriously. Um, I think we all know this in our relationships where it's like, yep, surface level, maybe I'll share a little bit, but then there's all this space of like, can't really share that. They're gonna think I'm a weirdo or I don't want to be that one, right? And it's usually that space of vulnerability that we actually most need to talk to people about. And but it needs to be in a safe Christian environment. And it it's not gonna happen on your first connect group meeting. In fact, if you're if you're envisioning that as a leader, I would say slow your roll, learn each other's names and jobs first. But like over time, um, the Lord can do it. And um, if we're gonna be following Jesus on this journey together to have that space to, you know, we we say one of our values is authenticity, that we're authentic and we sharing our lives with one another. That means that there, there, there is that handful of people that know me really, really, really well. Not hiding anything from them because we're all on the same journey together. Um, yeah, man, there's so many good things that God does. Can I share two more things?

SPEAKER_03 28:37

You can share whatever you want. We got all the time we want to take, Tyler. Go ahead, Tyler. Take it away.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

Um yeah.

Find A Group And Build A New Habit

SPEAKER_01 28:51

When I think about what God does in groups, I guess just to make this really, really practical, um, we we do have a group finder on our website.

SPEAKER_03 29:03

King of Kings.org slash groups.

SPEAKER_01 29:05

KingKings.org slash groups. And like it is as easy as it sounds. You identify your campus, you see what's available, and and you you say, oh, interesting. You can even see pictures of the leaders. If you ever are one, if you're like, I don't know how confident I am with this technology, or or you're like, I don't know how I feel about this, go to your next steps room, your next steps area on a Sunday, and we'd love to get you connected so that you're the don't don't let that hold you back. Um, and then especially as we look towards the fall, um the kind of beginning the school year is a great time to like say, what new habit am I going to develop? And so if you have been in a connect group that you've been taking time off, well, then let's re-up that. And then if you haven't been in one, man, take the step, make the commitment. Again, we're not saying for the rest of your life, but for that kind of eight to 12 week season, and and maybe even like write down in your own personal journal what you what you would what you're praying God would do in your life over those over that three months, and then come back to it at the end and see what God did. Like when we say we transform lives, God does that. God does that in our lives. But it often takes us, it takes us taking a step of discipleship and obedience to put ourselves in the position for God to transform our lives. Um and yeah, the in terms of types of groups, Kate, you said you actually are a part of two groups right now because when you when you're only at one, why not go for a second?

SPEAKER_04 30:43

For sure. There's one group at Northwest. I I'm not gonna say I have a favorite, but there's one group that um I just adore. Um, and these people I would say are 50 plus and they have um so much fun together, they decided to bring their dinner each Wednesday night. So they actually have dinner together first, and then they do the questions based on the past Sunday sermon sermon, which is the curriculum we provide for groups. So that's another thing to know. If you're interested in being a group leader, we give you all the tools you need. You have to come up with nothing. Anyway, there's a young man who's still exploring Christianity, investigating it, which you are invited to come before you believe. Anyway, this young man wanted to join this group, and I was there that Wednesday too. And he has been struck one thing he's been struggling with is finding a job that he likes and that can pay the bills. Common problem when you're a young adult. So he just said to the group, like, how did you guys find your jobs?

SPEAKER_00 31:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 31:52

And each person in the group just it made me think of it when you said learn the names and what they do for a job. But that's literally all we did that night for like an hour and a half. Each person, but I learned so much about each person in the group because I was like, oh man, I didn't know he worked for the railroad for 30 years, you know, and and each person kind of told their story, how they came across their job, how they saw God working through their profession, the people they met. And it was like one of my favorite groups. So sometimes it's not even deep content, it's just being, you know, open to share. And and sometimes it's not even for you, it's for the other person. You know, there's someone who just needs to say the thing, you know, whatever's going on. And there's someone like, I'm willing to listen. So I mean, that's invaluable, I think.

SPEAKER_01 32:43

That is just like wearing kind of the pastoral hat. Like, that's just like the Lord, right? Where like the leaders, if they had a plan, it was two bullet points of one, introduce members to share about yourself, right?

unknown 33:00

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

And then like it in and you you guys just take the step to do that together, and then something beautiful happens.

SPEAKER_04 33:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Like that that sounds like God.

SPEAKER_04 33:11

Well, and actually their plan that night was to discuss the sermon. And I don't think we ever got to that. And that's another thing, you know, that God God works in unexpected ways sometimes, but each person could see this young man is struggling. He would appreciate some honesty from the rest of us. So the plan went out the window that night.

SPEAKER_00 33:31

Yep, good.

SPEAKER_04 33:32

And it was a beautiful evening, and we prayed over him.

SPEAKER_00 33:35

So good.

SPEAKER_04 33:36

And here's a picture of people who are genuinely wanting to encourage this young man.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

And so it was a great night. So there's a verse that I reference when I talk about connect groups with people, and it's Hebrews 10, 24, and it says, and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. And I love that verse and I love what that encompasses about groups. But right after it is verse 25. And verse 25 says, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. And I think I like that part better because it's all too easy for the busyness to creep in and to say, even if it's, oh, I'm not gonna make it to church this Sunday, or oh, I'm not gonna make it to group, or I don't have time to be in a group right now. God knew, like, we were gonna make these excuses when, you know, and it says right in the scripture, not giving up, meeting together as some are in the habit of doing. He knew. And he's telling us right there, no, we need to keep encouraging each other. And so I think that that feeds right into being in a group. And I do know people where it literally is very difficult to find a time. But we have some groups that even meet online. I mean, yes, do I think face-to-face is better? Personally, yeah. But you are still in community when you are meeting face to face on a screen and sharing about each other's lives in that way.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

I will take a group meeting weekly on Zoom for two years any day over a group not meeting at all.

unknown 35:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:10

And you'd be surprised. There's a group that meets at Northwest at 6 a.m. on Monday morning. So there are a variety of times and places.

SPEAKER_01 35:18

Yeah. I already kind of said this, but it strikes me like, man, if you are a beyond Sunday podcast listener, all 14 of you. Dina, you keep making that joke. There are more than that.

SPEAKER_03 35:28

But like it makes it feel exclusive, and then we feel cool. Or something else. I'm just kidding.

SPEAKER_01 35:38

Yeah. But if

The Need For More Leaders

SPEAKER_01 35:40

if you are a listener which tells us that you really care about what God's doing, King of Kings, you feel involved and invested here, it's really possible God might be calling you to be a Kinet Group leader if you're not already. What I love about it is it's one of the best places within our ministry. I mean, we talked about the word release earlier, like in the best of ways, where we we we support, we resource, we bless, we encourage. But there's very little where we say, well, if you have to do it, it's much more of meeting with group leaders and saying, Well, what do you feel like God's calling you to do? And um, now if you say something that's out of bounds, we will tell you it's out of bounds. Let me just tell you, that's never happened for me. It's it's it's like, oh, that sounds awesome. You might think about it doing it this way and this way. Here's a resource I might point you to, and we'll put it on the website. And we can't wait to see what God does. Yeah, I just it's possible God's calling you to make that step.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

And I can tell you, I don't know what campus you go to, but there is a need for leaders at every campus. Here at Millard, Seth and I right now organize the groups, and I am desperate for more leaders. I'm not saying we don't have room for people. We do because there is a constant shifting and people will always make room. But there are a lot of our groups that are considered full because they have reached that 12, 14, 16, you know, mark of people. And there is a level of where it is better when you keep the group smaller. You're able to know people more. And so we are needing more groups. And I am right now planning for fall, like gearing up, trying to find new spaces on campus for groups to meet in because all the spaces are full. So it's an amazing problem to have. Right. But don't sit back and think that we don't need leaders. If you're feeling that nudge, just know there is a need for it. And like Kate said, we give you everything that you need. And it is not a hard job. Like it really is not a hard job.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

You're totally right on the need. I would also just emphasize the opportunity. Like, honestly, it's a lot more facilitation than leading, right? Kate, you hit the nail on the head of, you know, it's not like you're writing a curriculum every week.

SPEAKER_04 37:56

Right.

SPEAKER_01 37:57

It's done.

SPEAKER_04 37:58

That part's done. That's my job.

SPEAKER_01 37:59

Good job, caller. I'm the one studying Obadiah so that I can prepare a Bible study that they you can facilitate for your group. But man, the opportunity to kind of have a front row seat to God working in people's lives, that is so worth the investment of the time and the commitment and the text chains and the all the RSVPs, all that sort of thing. Because you get to see what God is up to in transforming lives. And he chooses to use us to be a source of encouragement and godly wisdom and blessing to his people. Like there's no greater privilege.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

And then I think that just feeds the desire to be together more. We have a group here at the Millard campus who it used to be two groups, and they were both groups of six or eight people would show up each week. And then one set of leaders needed to step away for something that was going on in their personal lives. And so they reached out to me, let me know, and asked, is there another group that the rest of their group could join together? Well, we found a group that had about six people. So we combined them. So they were coming in all different ages, different life stages, and kind of mesh together. This started last fall. So they met through the Connect group season last fall. They continued to meet in the winter season. And then they reached out to me at the start of the summer and said, We want to meet. Can we have a room on campus? Because they wanted to continue being together.

unknown 39:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:30

We had a young lady in her 20s, and she really had a heart to lead a young adult small group. And some Wednesdays there was maybe one other person, and she would join the 30, 40s group. But she wasn't discouraged. She kept coming. And slowly God would bring another young adult, a young married couple. But by the end of the spring, there were about eight young adults. Let's go. Yeah, which is like a testimony to her faithfulness to keep coming, to be flexible. She hopped in another group. She wasn't discouraged. She didn't, she didn't say, you know what, this doesn't look like it's gonna work out. That was just a blessing to me and an encouragement to me, especially in her 20s. You know, like you don't see that often. God was good and faithful, and it was beautiful what he did in that group.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Praise God.

SPEAKER_03 40:23

So, like Tyler said, there is a page on the website where you can find out more about groups, king of kings.org slash groups. The Connect Group season, um, as far as what happens on campus on Wednesday nights, which is a larger, more um popular night for groups to meet, looks different at each campus. Check it out. Ask the campus director, find out more. Some of our campuses have students' ministry going on, some of our campuses have kids' ministry going on. Just ask, find out what may work

What To Pray For This Season

SPEAKER_03 40:55

for you. But now, my question is what can be prayed for for Kinect groups as we start to wrap up today? What can our listeners, whether they're in a group or looking for a group, what can we all be praying for?

SPEAKER_01 41:08

That's a great question, Dina. I would encourage our people who are listening to kind of put on their King of Kings hat as a whole. So not like my campus or my ministry or that sort of thing, but like as a whole. And what would it look like for you to be praying for our current Connect group leaders? You can go on the groups finder page, kingofkings.org slash groups, certainly to go find your group, but also you then can see all those group leaders. And you can be praying for this upcoming season that the Lord would be already preparing the people that he's called for those groups, and that each week the meetings are happening, that the Holy Spirit would be at work through the Word of God, that there would be safety and vulnerability and joy and friendship. You can pray for those that are on the fence of whether they're going to join a group or not. And maybe they are in that spot that they've been burned or hurt in the past. And man, what would it look like for the Lord to just kind of gently nudge them to say, yes, I'm gonna give it a go again. And would you pray? You know, the Lord says this pray to pray to the Lord of the harvest that he might send laborers into his harvest. You know, we pray that in seminary all the time. The harvest is plentable, but the workers are phew. Thank you. Kate and I are going on the road next week. Uh that'd be fun. I'm just gonna, yeah, I'll say I'll say the first part of the Bible verse, and then that's right. Yeah, but like pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would raise up more leaders, and it might so happen that as you're praying for that, the Lord might nudge your heart to say, Oh, God, are you asking me? He might.

SPEAKER_04 42:59

Yeah, I had that exact same verse that you were talking about, Dina, Hebrews uh 10, 25. But I'm just gonna finish it. It says, and let us not neglect our meeting together as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Like there's nothing else we're preparing for that's more important than when Jesus returns or calls us home. You've probably heard this, but busy is being under Satan's yoke. That's foolishness. Everyone has the same 24 hours in every day. What we need to do daily is figure out what are our priorities. And as Christians, we're called to know him and encourage others. And this is a perfect opportunity. So don't miss out. Our time is limited. And when he returns, we want him to find us doing what he's

Share Your Story And Closing

SPEAKER_04 43:55

called us to do.

unknown 43:56

Amen.

SPEAKER_01 43:57

I have one final thing, Dina. I know we're already at 45 minutes. I I have the worst have him on this podcast.

SPEAKER_04 44:04

The yapper.

SPEAKER_01 44:07

Um, if you have a story of how God has worked in your Connect group, um, I'd love to hear it. And so you can, again, you can email me, Tyler at kingofkings.org. It's very possible that your story can be an encouragement to others. Um, and that might be just the encouragement they need to take a step of faith.

SPEAKER_03 44:31

Yeah, I just want to really encourage that, just the way that we've been sharing some of these stories. And hopefully you as a listener maybe felt something during some of those. Or, oh, that reminded me of this story in my life, or oh, that makes me want to go join a group. Sharing those stories is a way that God nudges people too. And so email Tyler with your story and watch for Tyler and Kate on the road with scripture show. I don't know what that first. There you go. It's now it's like a trivia show. It'd be fun.

SPEAKER_01 45:03

Peter's gonna open for us on banjo and it'll be great. It'll be great.

SPEAKER_03 45:08

I really like that idea. Coming, coming soon to a campus near you. You guys thought I was going into care ministry. Thank you guys for being here. And next week we will dive a little bit deeper into another ministry of King of Kings. Um, I'm trying to remember our schedule to even think what it is. Community.