Should I Cancel Group?

It's 5:30pm, you just got off work, and in the last 30 minutes you received 3 texts and an email from group members letting you know they can't make it to group tonight.

It's only going to be you and your spouse, one of your co-leaders, and one other person.

Is it worth it to still meet?

We've all been there before; kids get sick, someone has to work late, vacation plans conflict with your group night, and then there are the people who simply text 5 minutes after group begins that they are too tired to come.

So when those occasions arise, what should we do?

These are the times that it is helpful to be reminded that Community Groups don't exist for the sake of holding meetings, they exist to help each other experience community.

Can you experience community with only 4 or 5 people? Certainly!

In fact, some of our best conversations can happen when there are only a few people in the room. 

When only a few people can make it, that may be a great occasion to grab coffee or dinner together, to skip the curriculum, and spend more time getting to know each other and what's really happening in our lives.

But what do you do if the weather is bad? Or your host home falls through?

Both of those situations were true of my group last week. 

My first thought was to cancel, but then I realized I am in the process of rolling out online groups at Northridge for people who's circumstances prevent them from attending a meeting in-person. 

The lightbulb came on, an online group meeting may be just the answer for nights like these.

So I quickly contacted my Community Group, sent them some instructions on how to meet online, and we moved our group meeting time back to 8PM.

A later meeting was easier because there was no commute, people had plenty of time for dinner, we could all bring our own snacks :), and we could get kids to bed before we started.

Meeting online is a bit more efficient, so we were able to wrap up in 1 hour. Even my Group Coach Aaron Hixson was able to join us.

So am I saying we should never cancel group? 

No. But I would encourage you to consider what God may do in a conversation with a few, or even a conversation online.

What do you think? In what ways have you experienced God at work when your group night didn't go as planned? I'd love to hear your feedback!

Additional Resources

How To Host An Online Group

This is a page I put together for anyone wanting to host an online group. It covers which technology to use, best practices for an online meeting, and a typical schedule.

Only Half of My Group Showed Up Last Night

How Do You Know If Your Group Members Are Growing Spiritually?

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