By Steve Cordle

When was the last time your group left the living room and did an outreach project? Or enjoyed a social event – or spent the whole group time praying? If it’s been recently, my guess is that your group feels healthy and vibrant.

Variety can be the spice of group life! Meeting at the same place, and following the same order with the same material can be comfortable, but predictable. And that can lead to lower expectations on the part of the group members — they think they know what will happen before they arrive.

As leaders, we can help people hear the voice of God in different ways simply by changing the location and the content of the meeting. The “Ws” are a vital framework to group meetings, but most would agree that the life of the Spirit in community cannot be contained by one form. We can help our groups stay well-rounded by intentionally breaking out the standard meeting format and doing things differently every few weeks: creating a schedule that features outreach, fun, service, meals, mission.

What ideas have you found helpful in creating variety?