1. Growth Through New Groups! Bruce Raley Director Church Education Ministry LifeWay Christian Resources

3. People Reached For Christ People Matured In Christ Commonalities…and Distinct Differences

4. FADS

5. If Churches desire: More people reached for Christ More people matured in Christ Start New Groups

6. What Types of Groups? Connecting people through Bible study groups living and sharing the Gospel.

7. Realities 1.Discipleship takes places best in the context of relationships (group)

8. What is discipleship? 1.Discipleship is not information. 2.Discipleship is not behavior modification. 3.Discipleship is transformation.

9. A disciple is being transformed into Christlikeness so that he/she thinks and acts like Christ.

10. Realities 2.The Word of God is the focal point of life transformational groups

11. Realities 3.Barriers must be overcome 4.Time and location no longer define groups 5.Need for Sunday and weekday groups

12. Realities 6.Catalysts are essential for the creation of new groups 7.New groups are created proactively

13. Realities 8.Organization attendance will increase approximately 10 for every new adult groups properly started.

14. New groups are offensive! HOPE!

15. What are the possibilities of uniting in a vision to Grow through Groups? More people accepting Christ and being baptized More people maturing in Christ More people engaged in ministry More people giving to kingdom causes

16. A dream of State/National Sunday School Directors… 200,000 new groups in 5 years Resulting in 2 million more people in on- going Bible study and Hundreds of thousands of new church leaders and thousands accepting Christ and following him in Baptism.

17. A dream fulfilled… Every church begins at least one new Sunday School class each year … one group for every hundred people in attendance.

18. Watch For The Breaks in the Sandbar