Hello all! Let me elaborate on my title real quick!
A group of friends (ages 18-25) at my church are getting together for a "small group" that we are going to turn into a Bible study as well as just a general discussion group. We are a very tight knit group of friends, Some of us have been friends for 10 years, others for only a few months, but we all treat each other like we've known everyone our entire lives. It is truly a great group of guys and girls to be around and I'm blessed to have them in my life.
I, along with one friend in the group, will be leading this Bible study/discussion group. Not "leading" per se, but nudging it in the right direction and making sure everyone gets as much as possible from the group, making sure people participate, and making sure any and all concerns are taken care of in the group. We want this group to not only focus on learning more about Jesus, but to also be somewhat of a support group for each other. As I said, we are already a very close group of friends, so that last part is basically covered already.
Our problem, though, is that a few of our members are up for talking about anything under the sun, but when it comes to Jesus/God, or any kind of scripture, they are dead silent. This is a problem for numerous reasons, i.e. these particular members play big roles as mentors to our youth groups, as well as being key figures in our church. It's hard to be in a position like that when you can't talk about Jesus to anyone. Personally, it irks me because I can't know that they are growing in their relationship with Christ unless they open up a little.
I'm not looking for them to just open up about every aspect of their life. I'm shy sometimes and I understand not wanting to share occasionally. But these guys and girls couldn't be closer to me...We've been through everything together, so I don't think that they're just not comfortable talking about things. I would just like to hear any and all suggestions for what I can do, or maybe what I shouldn't do, to get them to open up and engage in a Christ-centered discussion in our group.
(I'm sorry I wrote so much there, but I wanted to make sure I got my information across.)
Also, I'm so sorry if this is not the correct forum for this thread. It seemed to fit into a "General Discussion" category.
A group of friends (ages 18-25) at my church are getting together for a "small group" that we are going to turn into a Bible study as well as just a general discussion group. We are a very tight knit group of friends, Some of us have been friends for 10 years, others for only a few months, but we all treat each other like we've known everyone our entire lives. It is truly a great group of guys and girls to be around and I'm blessed to have them in my life.
I, along with one friend in the group, will be leading this Bible study/discussion group. Not "leading" per se, but nudging it in the right direction and making sure everyone gets as much as possible from the group, making sure people participate, and making sure any and all concerns are taken care of in the group. We want this group to not only focus on learning more about Jesus, but to also be somewhat of a support group for each other. As I said, we are already a very close group of friends, so that last part is basically covered already.
Our problem, though, is that a few of our members are up for talking about anything under the sun, but when it comes to Jesus/God, or any kind of scripture, they are dead silent. This is a problem for numerous reasons, i.e. these particular members play big roles as mentors to our youth groups, as well as being key figures in our church. It's hard to be in a position like that when you can't talk about Jesus to anyone. Personally, it irks me because I can't know that they are growing in their relationship with Christ unless they open up a little.
I'm not looking for them to just open up about every aspect of their life. I'm shy sometimes and I understand not wanting to share occasionally. But these guys and girls couldn't be closer to me...We've been through everything together, so I don't think that they're just not comfortable talking about things. I would just like to hear any and all suggestions for what I can do, or maybe what I shouldn't do, to get them to open up and engage in a Christ-centered discussion in our group.
(I'm sorry I wrote so much there, but I wanted to make sure I got my information across.)
Also, I'm so sorry if this is not the correct forum for this thread. It seemed to fit into a "General Discussion" category.