Community Group Agreement
Every set of relationships has written or unwritten expectations. In the same way, our Community Groups agree to a set of community commitments that maximize each member's experience. Very simply, the level of community we gain from our group will be directly related to the level of commitment we give to our group. As a leader, use this Community Group Agreement at the beginning of each season to be sure your whole group is on the same page.
Before You Serve In The Coffee Cove...
Instructions for Serving in the Coffee Cove
An opportunity for Community Groups to share life by serving together
The Coffee Cove provides an immediate connection point between the Sunday Worship services for newcomers and regular attenders.
Before your scheduled day of serving:
- You will get an email request about a month before your service date. Please respond to the request as soon as possible so we have enough time to find another group.
- Communicate with your Community Group, encouraging everyone to be involved in serving. You should plan at least 5 people serving throughout the morning.
- A reminder email will be sent to you a couple days before you serve.
On your day of serving:
- Plan to arrive in the kitchen to begin preparing around 8:15am. Everything needs to be ready to go by 8:45am.
- Pray with your Group before you begin. Pray especially for opportunities for meaningful conversations and connections that will be happening throughout the morning in the Coffee Cove.
- The Coffee Cove opens after the first service ends (approximately 8:55am) and closes after the third service begins (approximately 11:05am).
- The church orders donut holes and they are delivered to the kitchen early on Sunday morning each week.
- Please wear gloves when handling any food.
- Place the donut holes on large black serving trays, placing a variety on each tray. Reserve half of the donuts from each box for the second Coffee Cove.
- Make a separate mixed tray of donuts for Rise Up and have it ready at 8:45am in the kitchen. Rise Up volunteers will come pick it up.
- There are four square high-top serving tables. Use two for food and two for beverages.
- During each Coffee Cove period, place two-three donut trays on the two food tables and add napkins.
- Place two pitchers of ice-water on each of the two beverage tables and add styrofoam cups.
- Your Community Group will replenish donuts, water, cups, napkins, etc. throughout the morning. (Do not use the donuts reserved for the second Coffee Cove.)
- Coffee volunteers (not your Community Group) will put out the coffee carafes and other supplies on the beverage tables.
- Communicate with the coffee volunteers to make sure the coffee carafes are full. Help replenish if needed.
Clean up:
- Help clean up as the third service begins (approximately 11:05 am).
- Vacuum the Coffee Cove area (vacuums are stored in the supply closet along the south wall of the Coffee Cove).
- Empty the trash bags from the kitchen and Coffee Cove area into the rolling dumpster in the supply closet.
- Clean coffee pump pots (water only) and trays and put away in the kitchen.
After your day of serving:
- Take time to talk with your Community Group about how the experience of serving together impacted your group.
- Thanks for helping with this ministry. This ministry is a blessing to visitors and gives people a great place to connect with others.
Questions? Contact Pastor Abe at 515-371-1466 or abe@saylorvillechurch.com
Starting Well: Your First 90 Days As A Group Leader
If you're just kicking off your first season as a Group leader, you may be wondering, "What did I get myself into?" The truth is, leading is a huge responsibility, but it's also a great privilege. Your first ninety days of Group leadership will help pave the way for the rest of your experience - and the experience of those in your group. We've put together a little checklist to help you with the details that come along with your first few months. Walk through the list before your first meeting and begin to set the foundation for a great Group season! Grab the checklist here.
How Can We SERVE As A Community Group?
Matthew 20:28 reminds us that Jesus didn't come to be served, but to serve others. Putting the needs of others before your own as a Community Group is a great way to be more like Jesus. Plus, if you're looking for a way to help your group connect with each other outside your weekly gathering, serving together can be a great way to deepen relationships. Check out the list of opportunities here and pick a few options for your group this season! Pro tip: Use the passages and questions on page one to get your group thinking about WHY Christians should serve together before you begin.
How Healthy Is Your Group?
When was the last time you stopped to check on the health of your group? How would you even know if your group is healthy? Assessment is essential for growth. It’s true for your personal walk with Christ and for your small group leadership. This tool is designed to help you assess your Community Group’s health based on Saylorville’s 9 Essentials of a Healthy Group. This check-up provides a great framework for personal evaluation and discussion with your group. Take a few minutes to work through this assessment on your own, and then share it with your Co-Leaders, and then with the rest of your group. Don't forget to develop a few immediate growth plan steps at the end.
Download the Group Health Check-Up here.
Steps to Confrontation
Confronting sin in another person’s life can be a challenging thing to do, but it is essential if we desire to “spur one another along in love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24). One of our 9 Essentials of Healthy Groups is Scripture. We rely on the truth of God’s Word as the final authority in our lives and in our Community Groups. God’s Word is profitable for teaching, rebuke, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), so let’s dive into how the Scripture can inform us in this area of confrontation.
Prepare for the conversation - “The heart of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things.” (Proverbs 15:28)
- When we see sin in someone’s life, it may be tempting to go on the attack right away. While we should never shy away from confronting sin, it is important to have a game plan. Think through ways that you can tactfully bring the problem to their attention. Consider things like time and place to bring up the issue, and be mindful of ways that you are given to sin yourself. Remember what Matthew 7 says about getting the log out of your own eye first!
Affirm your relationship - “Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” (Proverbs 27:6)
- When you rebuke someone’s sin, it can be a very hard thing for them to hear. It is important for them to understand that you are coming at the situation from a place of love towards them, and a desire to see them be more like Jesus. Take some time before diving into the problem to tell them why you appreciate them or to simply affirm your love for them.
Attack the problem, not the person - “Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil… Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-27, 29-32)
- Be honest, but always speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
- Avoid “unwholesome words” that attack a person’s character, tear down, or hinder growth (James 3:5-12).
- Our words should always be edifying, giving grace with an aim at producing growth in the person we are confronting. Zero in on the conflict and be solution-oriented!
Leave them with hope and a plan - “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)
- Remind the person of the Gospel and the hope we have in Christ! If someone is a child of God, then their old, sinful bodies have been crucified with Christ and they no longer have to be a slave of sin (Romans 6).
- Come up with specific steps for change. What is something they can do this week to put off their sinful behaviors and replace them with God-honoring ones?
- Avoid vague commitments. Be intentional. (Example: Instead of saying “I will try to love my spouse better this week” say “I will make a point to cook my spouse their favorite meal this Friday night.”)
Using the Bible Study Journal
Download the current Saylorville Bible Study Journal here.
If you're a Community Group Leader, check out the Leader Guide for the Bible Study Journal here.
This resource has been designed to help men and women read, study, and listen to the Bible in more meaningful ways. We believe God has created us to live and learn in community with His people, so, the Journal is used best in groups. When you show up to your group having personally spent quality time in God's Word, your group benefits, and each member has the opportunity to grow. The goal is to challenge every group member toward personal life transformation - moving from where they currently are to where God intends them to be.
The Sunday Sermon
The first step is to make sure you take great notes during the Sunday morning message at Saylorville. Messages are posted online on Sunday mornings in case you miss a Sunday. The resources and helps in the Journal are designed to be used in conjunction with the key passage(s) from the Sunday sermon. Each Bible Study Journal includes sections for every week of the current Saylorville sermon series.
Preparation
Ideally, you and your other group members will dive deep into Scripture by working through the main steps of Bible study each week. Depending on when your group meets, your leader may ask you to complete the steps before or after your weekly meeting. The Journal has built-in flexibility, so your group will be able choose the best way to use it. You might also enjoy checking out the weekly Sermon Questions that are posted every Sunday morning.
Participation
In order to get the most out of this resource, and out of your time together as a Community Group, it's important that you participate during and between group meetings. Your group may have a text thread, or an email chain for specific questions or new learnings each week. Jump in and share what you're learning! Celebrate with your group when someone makes a discovery in Scripture that's new to them. Be sure to help build a group environment that highlights the transformation that comes from Holy Spirit-led application of God's Word!
USING THE BIBLE STUDY JOURNAL
Personal spiritual growth takes commitment, so The Bible Study Journal begins with a Commitment page. At the beginning of each sermon series, your group will prayerfully agree to becoming more like Jesus together. Refer back to these commitments throughout the season to celebrate your own wins and encourage ongoing growth in those around you.
It’s important to develop a consistent plan for getting into the Word of God daily. The Bible Study Journal includes a simple Bible Reading Plan that will help you follow along with our Sunday morning sermons. If you'd like to read through bigger sections of Scripture at a time, feel free to add your own reading plan to the one provided in the Journal.
Each Journal includes a Resources section specific to the current sermon series. Use these resources and helps to deepen your understanding of the passage each week. When you meet together with your group, share some of the Bible study resources they found particularly helpful that week.
The Attributes page is a reminder that all of Scripture points to Who God is, not just what He does. Whenever you read a passage, look for Him before asking how this relates to you. The Bible is a book about God! Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes not. The more you look for His character, the more you start to see it in every passage. When you gather with your group each week, share them which of the attributes of God were on display in the key passage(s) that week.
Each week, the Journal includes sections titled, "Observation", "Interpretation", and "Application". These three key steps of Bible study will guide you and your group into deeper engagement with the text each week. Since the steps are the same every week, you'll get familiar with them quickly and will be able to dive deeper into each one as time goes on. Use the resources, suggestions, and helps as you study study the Bible for life transformation. When your group meets together, don't be afraid to share some of your key learnings from the passage - remember, we're better together!
One of the keys to learning is to take Sermon Notes. Follow along carefully on Sunday mornings, and then write down important statements, passages, illustrations, or questions that stood out to you. The notes you take during the weekly sermon will provide great discussion material when you get together with your group!
Use the Personal Study pages throughout the week to put your thoughts down as you observe, interpret, and apply Scripture every day. These pages are blank canvases, so jot down notes, write down quotes, or journal your key learnings as you work your way through the passages each week.
Fill out the Growth Plan every week to help you memorize, paraphrase, and stay accountable with what you’re learning. Be ready to share your Growth Plan with others in your Community Group as a way of living and learning together.
The Prayer Journal is for personal or Community Group prayer requests. Use it and watch God answer prayer.
Our vision at Saylorville is to be a church that makes more people more like Jesus. We want to be changed daily into people who look more like our Savior. At the end of each Bible Study Journal, you'll find a "More Like Jesus" section. Walk through the questions in this section to help solidify the lessons you have learned throughout the sermon series.
Bible Study Journal - Leader Guide
Download the current Saylorville Bible Study Journal here.
This resource has been designed to help men and women read, study, and listen to the Bible in more meaningful ways. We believe God has created us to live and learn in community with His people, so, the Journal is used best in groups. When people show up having personally spent quality time in God's Word, the group benefits, and each member has the opportunity to grow. The goal is to challenge group members toward personal life transformation - moving from where they currently are to where God intends them to be.
The Sunday Sermon
The first step is to make sure everyone in your group takes notes during the Sunday morning message at Saylorville. Messages are posted online on Sunday mornings in case someone in your group misses a Sunday. The resources and helps in the Journal are designed to be used in conjunction with the key passage(s) from the Sunday sermon. Each Bible Study Journal includes sections for every week of the current Saylorville sermon series.
Preparation
Ideally, you and your group members will dive deep into Scripture by working through the main steps of Bible study each week. Depending on when your group meets, you may ask your group to complete the steps before or after your weekly meeting. The Journal has built-in flexibility, so you can choose the best way to use it with your group. As a leader, you may want to add specific questions each week, custom-designed for your group. You can also pull a few questions from the weekly Sermon Questions that are posted every Sunday morning.
Participation
In order to get the most out of this resource, and out of your time together as a Community Group, it's important that you encourage participation during and between group meetings. Start a text thread, or an email chain with specific questions or new learnings each week. Celebrate when someone makes a discovery in Scripture that's new to them. Be sure to build a group environment that highlights the transformation that comes from Holy Spirit-led application of God's Word!
USING THE BIBLE STUDY JOURNAL IN YOUR GROUP DiscussionS
Personal spiritual growth takes commitment, so The Bible Study Journal begins with a Commitment page. At the beginning of each sermon series, encourage your group members to prayerfully agree to becoming more like Jesus together. Refer back to these commitments throughout the season to celebrate wins and encourage ongoing growth.
It’s important to develop a consistent plan for getting into the Word of God daily. The Bible Study Journal includes a simple Bible Reading Plan that will help your group follow along with our Sunday morning sermons. If you or your group would like to read through bigger sections of Scripture at a time, additional reading plans can be added to the one provided in the Journal.
Each Journal includes a Resources section specific to the current sermon series. Use these resources and helps to deepen your understanding of the passage each week, and encourage your group members to do the same. When you meet together, ask your group to share some of the Bible study resources they found particularly helpful that week.
The Attributes page is a reminder that all of Scripture points to Who God is, not just what He does. Whenever you read a passage, look for Him before asking how this relates to you. The Bible is a book about God! Sometimes it is obvious, sometimes not. The more you look for His character, the more you start to see it in every passage. When you gather with your group each week, ask them which of the attributes of God were on display in the key passage(s) that week.
Each week, the Journal includes sections titled, "Observation", "Interpretation", and "Application". These three key steps of Bible study will guide you and your group into deeper engagement with the text each week. Since the steps are the same every week, you'll get familiar with them quickly and will be able to dive deeper into each one as time goes on. Use the resources, suggestions, and helps as you study study the Bible for life transformation. When your group meets together, don't be afraid to share some of your key learnings from the passage - remember, we're better together!
One of the keys to learning is to take Sermon Notes. Encourage your group to follow along carefully on Sunday mornings, and then to write down important statements, passages, illustrations, or questions that stood out to them. The notes you take during the weekly sermon will provide great discussion material when you get together with your group!
Use the Personal Study pages throughout the week to put your thoughts down as you observe, interpret, and apply Scripture every day. These pages are blank canvases, so encourage your group to jot down notes, write down quotes, or journal key learnings from the passages each week.
Fill out the Growth Plan every week to help you memorize, paraphrase, and stay accountable with what you’re learning. As a group leader, these Growth Plans could be a great resource to help encourage your group to apply God's Word. Ask your group members to fill out their Growth Plans each week, and then review them when you gather together again.
The Prayer Journal is for personal or Community Group prayer requests. Use it and watch God answer prayer.
Our vision at Saylorville is to be a church that makes more people more like Jesus. We want to be changed daily into people who look more like our Savior. At the end of each Bible Study Journal, you'll find a "More Like Jesus" section. Walk your group through the questions in this section to help solidify the lessons you have learned throughout the sermon series.
How Do I Build Greater Intimacy In The Group?
After the initial excitement of group formation begins to wear off, it can be easy for group relationships to plateau. If you want people in your group to continue to experience life change together, you'll need to intentionally pursue intimacy. As a leader, this can seem like a daunting task, but it is possible! Watch this Two-Minute Training video for some ways to help your group start to grow closer this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jat9VN0T96o
What's New With Groups?
You might have heard that we're making some changes...
The Short Version
Starting September 2021, all of our Cell Groups and Bible Studies will be united under the banner of “Community Groups”, and we will encourage people to join at least one per season. Community Groups are gatherings of 6-12 people centered around life and learning together. Groups meet weekly throughout the Des Moines metro.
The Long Version
We're all about community here at Saylorville. We often say, “Together is better.” That means we're at our best when we're living and learning in community with others who are trying to be more like Jesus.
Community isn't confined to one place, one time, or even one event or program. Community happens whenever and wherever Christ-followers meet to live and learn together.
So, community can happen in a Thursday night Cell Group, where a group of married couples and their kids sit around a dining room table, sharing life, and talking about how to apply the message they all heard that previous weekend at Saylorville.
It can also happen every Tuesday morning, where a small group of women meet at their favorite coffeeshop and learn about how to study their Bible together.
It's the Young Adult crew that you'll find out on the back deck on Monday nights, taking the lessons from the Book of James and wrestling with how to live faithfully during their unique stage of life.
There's no one-stop-shop for community. It happens all over the place, all through the week, with all kinds of people. You can't squeeze it into a mold, force it to be what you want, or even contain it in one place.
Community happens when people of God live and learn together.
Mature disciples are men and women who are less lopsided and better balanced - they're growing both relationally AND spiritually. Living AND learning together.
So, starting now, we're shifting some of the ways we think about “community” here at Saylorville.
First - We're going to double down on prioritizing a knowledge and love for God and His Word. We're going to help provide communities that dig deep into the character and the Word of God. Alongside the Sunday morning preaching, our quarterly teaching modules, and the occasional Sunday night teaching environments, we're committed to developing more consistent learning groups for our adults. These groups will focus on content and education - digging deeper into Bible study in the context of community.
So, here's what this looks like: Up until now, we've encouraged people to get into some kind of Bible Study - two or three 6-8 week studies for men and the same thing for women each year. We'd like to strengthen those learning environments by making them longer and working hard to find gifted teachers. These learning groups will also follow the same seasonal schedule as our other Community Groups, making it easy to keep track of when they are starting and ending.
Along with reshaping our Bible Studies into learning-focused Community Groups, we're also putting together a scope and sequence for what we hope will become a set of “Core Classes” - classes available for everybody at Saylorville - in personal and practical theology that will meet throughout the week, have set curriculum, homework, and benchmarks. We're super excited about the potential of these "Core Classes" as part of our goal to prioritize more opportunities for people to access solid, theological teaching at Saylorville. More on this as we continue to develop the idea in the months to come.
Next - We're going to broaden our scope of community options. Up until now, we've highlighted Cell Groups as the primary place to find deeper connections. While that's been true, we've seen God use other small group environments to develop deep relationships too. For instance, our Men's and Women's Bible Studies have both provided community for those who might not have been able to be in a Cell Group because of their work schedule, stage of life, or family season. We want to encourage these kinds of learning communities - as well as those that focus more on sharing life together.
So, here's what this looks like: We’ve consistently said that it's an expectation for every member, and everybody looking for community here at Saylorville, to be part of a Cell Group. And many of in our congregation are. Almost 75% of those who are here on Sunday mornings are also part of a Cell Group - which is really amazing. But what about those who aren't? What we've found is that many of you are experiencing biblical community in environments outside of Cell Groups - places like our Men’s and Women’s Bible Studies. And that's fantastic. We want to encourage those kinds of relationships by broadening our definition of “community” beyond Cell Groups to include some of these other groups that are also offering life and learning in small gatherings.
Finally - We're going to work harder to encourage and promote opportunities for Believers to use their gifts. Some of our leaders are amazing at hospitality - making everybody feel like family when they walk through the front door. A lot of hospitality folks are Cell Group leaders, and that's awesome. But some of our members have the gift of teaching, and might not using it because they aren’t sure where they can.
So, here's what this looks like: Up until now, we've only had a handful of environments in which those with the gift of teaching, preaching, or leading can really plug in consistently. This new model of Community Groups will open up more opportunities for gifted teachers to serve consistently. God has given our church every gift that He wants us to have in order to do what He wants us to do. And unless we unleash the church to use our God-given gifts to the fullest, we'll be falling short of His best for us all.
So, here's what we're trying to do:
This new Community Group model will emphasize balanced discipleship (people who love God and love people) by broadening our definition of community to include both life and learning groups. The new model unifies Young Adult groups, Men's Bible Studies, Women's Bible Studies, and Cell Groups into one combined category called “Community Groups”.
All of our Cell Groups and Bible Studies are now simply “Community Groups”
Each of these groups will focus on either life - prioritizing connections and application; or learning - prioritizing content and education
A few examples of what this might look like:
A Young Adult Community Group might focus on learning for a season by digging deep into a Book of the Bible, or maybe the group leaders feel more led to focus on getting people connected to Christ and to each other - more of a life-on-life focus for a season.
A Community Group of mostly married people might gather on Tuesday evenings to eat dinner, apply the Sunday morning message, and pray separately as men and women - focusing a little more on Biblical relationships rather than Biblical education.
Or the Men’s or Women’s Community Group meeting early in the morning, or after the kids go to bed at night - might choose to dig deeper into the Sunday morning sermon series using the resources provided by our Discipleship Team.
Each Community Group, through their leaders, is free to decide whether they will use this season to focus on life, or focus on learning, because both are an important part of making less lopsided and better balanced disciples.
What’s really changing?
We’ve always expected people to be in community at Saylorville, but we’ve essentially narrowed that community down to Cell Groups. Now, instead of seeing Cell Groups as essential and Bible Studies as extra credit, we’re recognizing that both play an important role in balanced discipleship. So this Fall, we’re combining Cell Groups and Bible Studies under the banner of “Community Groups” and committing to shepherd our Saylorville family to find their people in at least one of these groups.
Each of these groups will use the same basic seasonal schedule, with intentional time for rest and reset between seasons:
Fall Season: Labor Day until Christmas (approx. 14 weeks)
Break: Christmas until Super Bowl Sunday
Spring Season: Super Bowl Sunday until Memorial Day (approx. 14 weeks)
Break: Memorial Day until July 4th
Optional Summer Season: July 4th until Mid August (approx. 6 weeks)
Especially for those who are newer to Saylorville
Break: Mid August until Labor Day
People will still join Community Groups through Group Connect and the familiar ChurchCenter app or website like we've already been doing for a few years now.
Like always, our Ministry Leaders will work hard to shepherd people to find a Community Group where they can practice life and learning in a Biblical way.
What do Group Leaders need to know?
Leaders can now choose what type of group they want to lead - based on your gifts, your stage of life, and your schedule: Young Adults, Men's, Women's, or Mostly Married
Then, choose a focus for your group this season - life or learning.
Then, choose your content…
Are you going to lean into learning - studying a specific book of the Bible or digging deeper into the Sunday morning sermons using personal Bible Study Journals? Our team will provide several resources for those of you who are leaning this direction.
Or, maybe you feel like your group needs to focus on building relational connections - maybe eating a meal together, going over Sermon Questions, or serving together as part of life-on-life discipleship. Again, we'll help you figure that out if you need.
If you're a Young Adult leading a YA group, great! Keep it up.
If you're a Cell Group Leader along with your spouse, and you want to keep doing that together, great! Keep it up. The biggest change is that your group is now a Community Group, not a Cell Group.
Or maybe you'd like to try leading a Men’s only group, or a Women’s only group for a few seasons. That's great!
For those who have leading a Men’s or Women’s Bible Study, we'd love for you to keep doing that under the unified banner of Community Groups, and even digging deeper into the Bible and into relationships with the new, longer seasons.
The new group schedule will also give leaders a chance to rest and refresh at important times throughout the year, as well as natural times for groups to multiply and grow.
What do people joining groups need to know?
Community happens when the people of God live and learn together. So, we're going to work hard to help you find your people here at Saylorville.
All of our groups will continue to be listed on our ChurchCenter page and through the app.
On our Community Groups web page, you’ll choose a type of group (YA, Men, Women, Married).
Then you'll use filters to choose the options that look like the best fit and contact the leaders right there through the website.
If it seems overwhelming to try to pick a group - let us know. We'll help you find your people.
If you’re brand new to groups at Saylorville, we’d still love for you to attend Group Connect before each season begins (fall, spring, summer)
Summary:
Emphasize balanced discipleship (people who love God and love people) by broadening our definition of community to both life and learning groups. Putting Young Adult groups, Men’s Bible Studies, Women’s Bible Studies, and Cell Groups into one combined category called “Community Groups”.
Each of these groups will focus on either life - prioritizing connections and application; or learning - prioritizing content and education
So, let’s find our people...and experience life and learning together.
Guidelines for Meeting In-Person
Our national and local governments continue to loosen the limitations of in-person meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic. While we are grateful for the opportunity to begin meeting again, we want to be cautious and careful to be a good testimony to our church and local community. Before you meet in-person with your group again, please read these important guidelines.
Pointing Your Group To Scripture In Tough Times
"But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty." - 2 Timothy 3:1
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought new levels of anxiety, confusion, and fear for many in our world. Yet, with great difficulty comes great opportunity. People in your Community Group are undoubtedly struggling with a range of emotions during this time of uncertainty. So, where are they turning for help?
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about ministering during difficult times. While the attack in Paul's day wasn't a physical virus, the defense is the same today as it was then: the inspired Word of God.
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
God gives us a way to be complete during times of crisis - by living our lives according to His Word.
Our counseling team has put together a resource designed to help you point your group to Scripture during difficult times. Check it out here, send it along to your group members, and encourage each other to run to the source of hope in times of crisis.