Guest Post: Small Group Sorority
Haley Veturis is a 2-year intern with our high school ministry. She has taken a unique approach to bonding her girls together while raising the bar for them by giving them expectations to live up to. She’s had a great response. I asked her to share her idea with you. Here’s what she had to say:
Alpha Omega
AΩ
by Haley Veturis
As a fellow small group leader, one of the significant struggles we tend to face is finding a common ground within a group that will bring unity. Small group leaders know that God should be the main force to pull all groups together but students are reluctant and often too blinded by their differences and drama to see the obvious answer. In an attempt to unify my small group of sixteen girls ranging from juniors to senior girls, I have initiated them into the sisterhood of the Alpha Omega small group sorority.
With four new senior girls heading off to college next year and twelve junior girls soon to follow, I had to find a way to bring this group of girls from two rival high schools together. The idea came to me one night when I went to dinner with one of my close friends from college. She and I would never have met had I not joined a sorority. The friends that I made through my sorority in college are some of my best friends that I am still in contact with today. Nothing unifies a group better than the identity of sisterhood.
To make this idea fun for my group, I put together a “new member” packet on what was expected from the group. I basically took our ministry’s small groups covenant and added sorority wording to it. I also made a page that explained what they could expect from me as their sorority leader and listed all of my contact information available to them 24-7. At the end of the packet I added an *optional page for girls who wished to earn an Alpha Omega pin. The optional page included a few requirements that were expected from candidates who were attempting to be pinned. These girls were required to attend all small group meetings in our Refinery building, three weekend services for the month, one social (HSM event), and one philanthropy (service project).
Overall, I have had great responses from my small group girls regarding the idea of being a part of a sorority. The girls even decided on their own to have t-shirts made to wear at each small group meeting. Some of the strongest bonds that these girls have already made this year, have been in response to being a part of a sisterhood in Christ…and that’s what Alpha Omega is all about.
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[...] Dennis stole a post from me when he interviewed HSM intern Haley about turning her small group this year into something like a sorority. Fun idea, and it has definitely given her girls a great sense of community. Here’s some, head there for the whole article: As a fellow small group leader, one of the significant struggles we tend to face is finding a common ground within a group that will bring unity. Small group leaders know that God should be the main force to pull all groups together but students are reluctant and often too blinded by their differences and drama to see the obvious answer. In an attempt to unify my small group of sixteen girls ranging from juniors to senior girls, I have initiated them into the sisterhood of the Alpha Omega small group sorority. [...]
[...] 5. Haley has patterned her group as a sorority. You can read about what she’s doing by clicking here [...]