Tuesday night I had a great event to speak to the Women at Mauldin UMC. Not just a circle but a general gathering. We had great food and a good turnout for an event like this. I would say close to 60 women and a couple of men helping me were there. I sold a lot of items from my African curio shop visits.

A lot of these women had never heard me talk about the ministry of Tumaini (Hope) Evangelistic Pre & Primary School. Those that have heard me talk, commented on the stories I told about some of our individual students and how much they love hearing me talk about them. I say that not to brag but to let them know how much comments like that mean to me. I am comfortable speaking to a group, but it is always great to get some feedback about the material I decide to include in the presentation.

I would love to tell you we had a great meal, but that would be bragging. (just kidding I ordered sandwiches from Walmart and the chicken tenders were Tyson and I just cooked them in the oven). This was interesting because I did not do a sign up or a cost because I wanted people to feel free to just come. Like I mentioned we had around 60 which was pretty close to my guesses and donation jars were filled so I covered the cost of the meal and then some.

But this night was not just about me. It was about small groups. I have noticed a lot of small groups inside the church are struggling or have quit meeting after COVID. This is true of a lot of churches as I have been doing casual research on the subject. That is a problem, not just for missionaries that need to speak to small groups in more intimate settings for questions and answers, but also for the church and the members. If your church is over 200 in regular Sunday attendance, small groups become the backbone of the church as a whole. Sunday attendance is great and worship is vital to the members, but plugging into small groups is also vital to develop real friendships and a community of love and support. It can be a strong Sunday School, a men’s group, a woman’s group, a couple’s group, teen groups, children’s ministry groups. But here is something not everyone realizes, a lot of those small groups (teen and children’s are an exception here) need laity leadership not staff. They need members of the group to feed some life energy from their love of the group into said group to make it work.

So we talked about the UMW circles and which ones survived COVID, which are struggling and what groups need to be kickstarted. It was a good discussion and I hope that people took me seriously when I said talk to each other that night and not put it off. I stand ready to help if you need me, but I pray for each of you to start meeting and work at finding your footing to become a strong and vibrant small group.

So MEN, the gauntlet has been thrown down. I expect at least 60 as a minimum for your night next Tuesday, August 23rd at 7 PM for pancakes and bacon. No sign up. No cost. I have been asked to bring my curio items out again so they will be there. Come have as much fun as Karalee and my mom were having in the photo below.