How to Set Up a Fellowship at Your Church

Fellowship involves people who like to be around others who are like-minded. For some, it can be sports, Bible studies, cooking or kids. If you have found that you would like to start a fellowship at your church, your first question is, where do you begin?

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Invitations
• Bulletin ad

1. Brainstorm the type of fellowship you would like to create. Will it be a Bible study, "mommy and me" or singles, for example?
2. Select the type. If it will be a Bible study, then decide on the curriculum. Will there be a teacher or a workbook that you go through? Is it topic-specific or just an opportunity to study the Bible together? If it is an activity fellowship--such as sports, cooking or movies--then you plan according to the season, holidays or other activities.
3. Decide how often to meet and for how long. As a general rule, 90 minutes is a good length, particularly at a Bible study.
4. Get approval if you want your group to be sanctioned by your church. Churches generally want to know, particularly if any Bible study is going on. It instills accountability into what is happening and who is leading.
5. Determine the location. This is essential for any group. Most people feel safer at a church building, but there is a trend of meeting at people's homes. Of course, some fellowship locations will be determined by the activity, such as a biking group.
6. Set the launch date. This may be made easier by your church if they have particular times of year that new groups are introduced. If not, give yourself a reasonable amount of time to market your group to your potential recruits.
7. Market your fellowship. Just because it is a group at church does not mean you don't have to do some marketing. Sometimes a simple write-up in the church bulletin or a flyer will do. If possible, make some calls to people who might be interested.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep within your set time frame. If you said 90 minutes, then it needs to be done by then, because people stop coming if it goes over too often.
• Keep your church in the loop. They need to know what is going on in your group.
• Do not use your group as a way to start your own church. This is one of the reasons that some churches will not sanction a group.