First Chi Alpha Live of the Fall 2011 Semester!

Last night was our first Chi Alpha Live gathering of the semester! We spent a lot of time praying and preparing for this meeting since we typically have a good number of new students attending.

We also launched our small group Bible studies; we have groups available for both guys and girls on Monday and Tuesday nights. I was asked to plan how to present the groups during our first meeting. I wanted to find a different way to introduce our group leaders; the only way I saw as a student and on staff was to invite all of the leaders to the front and each group introduces themselves and tells a little about their group. I wanted something different, something new and that would allow our students to have a conversation with the leaders. I saw another campus pastor at UNC Chapel Hill advertise a "small group fair" for her Chi Alpha on Facebook. The wheels started turning in my mind and I talked with the other staff members. We decided we would try the fair approach and see how it worked.

Thursday, we set up the chairs in the sanctuary and left the back half open. We put out small tables, one for each small group with Monday groups on one side and Tuesday groups on the other. We encouraged our leaders to stand beside or in front of their table and talk with students, to tell them what their group was going to be studying, when they would be meeting and where. As students began to arrive, we explained what the tables were for and encouraged them to visit the groups and talk with the leaders. I was very pleased with our students, how they stepped out and began conversations with new and returning students and talking with them. I also was pleased with the results of the fair; we had several students sign up for each group, with the plan to continue the fair approach for the next few weeks.

Since one of our core values in Chi Alpha is discipleship, we believe it is very important for our students to get plugged in to a small group. These groups allow the students to interact in a more personal level than our large group meeting (Chi Alpha Live) allows. I have heard many testimonies and know from my own experiences that small groups are where the closest friendships are formed in college, friendships that will last for many years beyond graduation. I am very excited to see how God is going to use our small groups this year and what He is going to do through them.