15 Things To Do in Your Online Small Group

Our small groups exist to MAKE SPACE to:

Grow with God | Grow with each other | Reach out to others for Jesus

Here are some ideas to help you grow in your Online Small Group.

GROW WITH GOD

Follow our Sermon Series using the accompanying Study Guides for group discussion.
Use this Small Group Prayer Guide to pray for COVID-19 in your group. Group members can use this 7-day prayer guide on their own.
Fast a meal together for the pandemic. (Also consider fasting from social media or the news.)
Do communion as a group. (Here’s a resource to help you.)
Sing a worship song together or sing along with a worship song on YouTube.

GROW WITH EACH OTHER

Use these Online Group Icebreakers to get your group to open up.
Check in with each other outside of group meetings (using WhatsApp, phone, Zoom, etc.).
Incorporate a game into your meeting or plan a Fun Games Night using these Online Group Ideas.
Write a note of encouragement and mail it to someone in your group. (Who doesn’t like receiving a letter in the mail!)
Share your stories with each other using these ideas.

REACH OTHER FOR JESUS

Check in on your neighbours to see how you can help. (You can also download these cards to use as a template or print them off to leave at their door.)
Donate to Cornerstone’s COVID fund or directly to an organization that is helping the community.
Call someone who is home alone (eg singles, elderly, students).
Make healthy snack baskets (prepackaged items) for first responders and medical teams
For a list of current serving opportunities check our our COVID response page under the “I Can Help” section.

We need community now more than ever. Here's how to get your group online.

STEP 1:

Choose the online platform

There are many good online platforms available: Zoom, Google Hangouts, FaceTime, Skype, etc. We suggest you use the one you’re most comfortable with. See comparison of platforms below.

The platform we recommend is Zoom. For Zoom Tips including video tutorials (eg. how to set up a meeting, how to protect against “Zoombombing”, how to use Zoom as a leader) select the “ZOOM TIPS AND RESOURCES” tab.

STEP 2:

Sermon study guides & other curriculum

We encourage small groups to discuss our weekly sermon study guides and a vast majority of study materials found at Right Now Media. To sign-up for a free account, click here.

Download the weekly SERMON STUDY GUIDES

STEP 3:

Plan your small group meeting time

Check out an Online Icebreaker to use
Consider these Fun Ideas for your Online Group
Discuss the Sermon Study Guide
Share requests and pray together. (Check out this Prayer Guide for COVID-19)

STEP 4:

Best practices for online groups

Make sure your face has sufficient lighting, no light is coming from behind you and you’re centred in the camera.
Select the quietest location you can find and try to use only one device per household. (Using two devices in one location produces feedback.)
Mute your computer unless you’re talking to minimize noise and improve sound quality.
Give your full attention, don’t multi-task. Engage as if you were physically together!

Below are tips and resources for using Zoom in your groups and meetings. (You can also find helpful information and videos on Google and YouTube.)

How to set-up a meeting

Zoom Video Tutorial

Download Zoom (zoom.us)
Open Zoom and create an account
Click “Meetings”
Select “Schedule a New Meeting” and follow the instructions
opy the Meeting Invitation and email to your group members

When it’s time to meet:

Login to your account
Click “Meetings”
Find your scheduled meeting and click “Start”
Make sure you join with both Audio and Video
Group members don’t need a Zoom account to login — they only need to click the meeting link that was sent to them and download the Zoom application.
Note that free Zoom accounts normally have a limit of 40 min, although they seem to have extended this in light of the current situation. Create a New Meeting if you get cutoff. You can also get a paid Zoom account for extended meeting times.

How to protect against "Zoombombing"

Video on Zoombombing

Zoombombing is when an unwanted guests attempt to disrupt your meeting

Keep your meeting link private. (Don’t share it on social media or on public forums.)
Use a password when scheduling your meeting.
Enable the Waiting Room so that you can admit all participants into the meeting.
Control the Screen. (Consider limiting access to those who can share their screen.)
Lock down your meeting. (Once everyone is in the meeting, go to Manage Participants and select Lock Meeting preventing others from joining.)
Remove them from the meeting. (Under Manage Participants, you can Remove members from the meeting.)

Video tutorials for leaders

Zoombombing is when an unwanted guests attempt to disrupt your meeting

Keep your meeting link private. (Don’t share it on social media or on public forums.)
Use a password when scheduling your meeting.
Enable the Waiting Room so that you can admit all participants into the meeting.
Control the Screen. (Consider limiting access to those who can share their screen.)
Lock down your meeting. (Once everyone is in the meeting, go to Manage Participants and select Lock Meeting preventing others from joining.)
Remove them from the meeting. (Under Manage Participants, you can Remove members from the meeting.)

How to share your screen

How to share your video

How to create breakout rooms

How to use meeting controls

Great ideas for life transformation

LEARN MORE

Ideas for a great meeting
Did you know there are key things you need to do (at different points of the year) to keep your group healthy?

Creative ideas for your small group
Fun and meaningful activities to “spice up” your meetings?

Small group serving ideas
Opportunities to serve and bless others?

Study recommendations
Small group studies to help you to grow in your discipleship?

ONLINE MEETING PLATFORM COMPARISONS

Many small groups are already using messaging apps like WhatsApp, WeChat to keep in touch, there is nothing like getting together in real-time. While we encourage you to use the online platform you’re most comfortable with, one platform we recommend is Zoom.

Zoom is a feature rich video conferencing app that’s popular in the business world.

Getting Started: Zoom Video Tutorial
Pros: Feature rich app with good tutorial and training support. Supports group video chat, screen sharing, and option for “dialing-in” using voice lines. Lots of professional grade features like ability to mute someone to prevent noise, virtual hand claps, etc.
Cons: Free account has 40 minutes time limit per meeting. (You can restart a new one if you need more time, but 40 minutes is about the right duration for an online small group meeting anyway.)
Supports desktop (Mac/Windows) and mobile (Android and Apple).

Other platforms include:

Google Hangouts is a free and simple group video chat service.

Getting Started: Quick Start Tutorial
Pros: Simple to use. No time limit. Basic screen sharing.
Cons: Requires a Google account (for every member). Only work on Chrome browser on Mac/Windows.
Supports desktop (Mac/Windows) and mobile (Android and Apple).

Facebook Messenger Groups is a group video chat feature built into the popular Facebook Messenger App

Getting Started: Quick Start Tutorial
Pros: Easy to use, especially if the group is already using Facebook Messenger
Cons: No screen sharing. Requires Facebook accounts.

Other Basic Tips for group leaders:

Prepare & test before the first meeting – Encourage everyone to download the app and test connection with you one-on-one first before the meeting. It could be frustrating for the whole group if one or two members struggle to connect during the first meeting.
Ask members to treat it like a real in-person meeting – Ask members to find a quiet place away from distractions, encourage member to use video instead of just voice for a better experience. Start with a prayer – for where two or three gather in His name, God has promised to be in our midst. And that certainly includes online gatherings!
Mind the meeting duration – Don’t run the meeting for too long. Video calling is more straining and it’s hard to keep up attention for a long time.
Watch video content first before meeting – The screen sharing technology does not always work well for watching videos together. If the meeting agenda involves discussion about a certain video content, ask members to watch the video before the meeting.
Be a good moderator – Make sure everybody has a chance to speak out. For introverts, it can be even harder to speak out in a virtual meeting.
Practice using the tool – Take some time to familiarize yourself with the admin functions such as muting/unmuting a participant. This is useful if someone’s connection is generating audio feedback or background noise. If all fails, ask everybody to mute, and only unmute when someone wants to speak. Other functions such as screen sharing can be useful to post visual aids to help direct group discussions.

ONLINE GROUP IDEAS