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CrossTrain Ministries Coaching Network
This ministry is being partially funded by Grace in Action (GIA) and WELS Kingdom Workers.
Small Group Leadership
(Pastor Jeff Gunn)
The means of grace are the key to people growing in their faith. One way to deliver the means of grace to the people of our congregation is via a groups system. "Growth groups" are gatherings of 12-15 people in homes of the congregation for the purpose of sharing the word of God with one another, praying and worshipping with one another, enjoying fellowship, serving in the congregation and community, and reaching out with the gospel. In this portion of our coaching network we will discuss the groups system: why it is beneficial, how it operates, how to set a groups system up and get it rolling, what the challenges to running a groups system are, how to deal with problems with groups, and how to continue to expand groups to meet the various needs and character of the congregation.
BIO
Jeff Gunn is pastor of Crosswalk Lutheran Ministries in Phoenix, Arizona. A teenage convert to Christ, Jeff was brought into the WELS fellowship through a neighboring family, an experience that God used to develop a life-long passion for outreach with the gospel. He graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 1982 and subsequently served for 14 years in the Central Africa country of Zambia. Six of those years were spent living in the bush, pastoring multiple village congregations. In the next eight years, Jeff continued to serve congregations as a pastor, but also served as WELS field coordinator for the Zambia Mission, and as a professor at the Lutheran Bible Institute and Seminary in Lusaka. Jeff's 14 years serving in Zambia have given him a unique perspective on the management of the ministry of the gospel. Since returning to the U.S. in 1996, Jeff has served as religion instructor and assistant principal at Arizona Lutheran Academy for five years. In 2001, he became Director of Native American Missions for the WELS. Finally, in 2004, Jeff received the call to launch CrossWalk Church on the campus of Arizona Lutheran Academy. Starting with about 30 people in 2004, God has blessed this ministry so that today there are two services and 500 people worshipping each Sunday at CrossWalk. CrossWalk uses a contextualized approach to worship, weekly growth groups, and ministry teams as key components to its approach to gospel ministry in a church that describes itself as a "church for unchurched people."
http://www.nextdisciple.com/giaprojects/crosstraincoaching.html
