BICF - Beijing International Christian Fellowship

• Be a growing, born-again believer in Jesus Christ.
• Is an Associate Member. (Please see Q&A no 6 – How do I become a BICF Associate Member?)
• Involved in the life and ministry of BICF.
• Demonstrate a teachable spirit.

You need to have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, be baptized, completed the 1 hour Associate Membership class, and have signed our membership covenant that is available in the class book.

If you would like to form a group as a certain affinity – like ethnicity (Malaysians or Cantonese), common interest (Beth Moore bible study or card making) or stations in life (like couples with toddlers only), please email smallgroup(a)bicf.org. When people are far away from home, special affinity groups are effective as an evangelism tool because people can assimilate instantly because of the common factors. This is not meant to be a segregation at all but an inclination towards ’birds of the same feather flock together’. In a multi-cultural and multi-national congregation, we thrive in diversity which makes life more interesting and find unity in Christ.

Once or twice a year we ask all groups to study the same material associated with a church wide campaign. Otherwise, we ask each group to select what they want to study based on the interest of their members and their spiritual maturity. We recommend Life together, NavPress, Christianity Today International or other solid evangelical small group Bible or "felt need" studies. For available small group studies email smallgroup(a)bicf.org. We have good resource materials that come together with permission to photostat for use in BICF.

Have a party and celebrate the time you have shared together as a small group. Affirm those that leave and assure them of your prayers. Schedule your next meeting with those that will be continuing, decide on the study that you will do next, and move on ahead.

First, make childcare a top priority in order to make Small group happen. You may want to rally together. You might be able to get a sitter to watch the kids in one part of the house while the group meets in another room. If there's a home nearby, one person can watch the kids there while the group meets in another house. You may even try to rotate people out of the group to take care of the children. There are many childcare options these are just a few.

BICF has a very transient community. A big number stays in Beijing for about 6 months to 2 years. Once a leader steps on board we encourage them to actively: LOOK FOR YOUR REPLACEMENT & TRAIN THEM. This is a process where your group members are delegated to do small tasks of your small group. Based on their giftedness, rotate leadership and have members lead a sub- group. They can lead when you are out of town and then they can be released to lead their own group when the group is bursting at its seams. Encourage your small group members to attend BICF Leader Training so that they can effectively develop as leaders.

Yes, we do. We find it very beneficial to have both the husband and wife lead in couples small groups. Each one brings different gifts to the leadership position. They each fill in and compliment the other.

This starts with the vision, mission and strategy of your group being very clear to you and to the members of your group. The BICF Vision and Small Group Mission Statements help small groups understand why their group exists:

BICF Vision: “To build a vibrant, reproducing community unified in Christ that embraces and transforms people of all nations to impact their cities, their nations, and the world for Christ."

Our Small Group vision: “To see every person, connected in a healthy small group for the purpose of living a transformed life in Christ and community.”

a. Absolutely! Inform your friends, neighbors, family members, coworkers and casual acquaintances about your small group study. Most of BICF's study materials are appropriate for both believers and seekers. Pray for God's guidance as you can make an eternal difference in the lives of others.

b. While it is not our desire to attract people away from other Bible believing churches, BICF's desire is to both connect "unconnected – not in Small group" people at our church into small groups.

Yes, we have found over time that people do move from one group to another. It is important that you let people have the ability and the flexibility to move to another group. It's important that the leaders understand that meeting the members' needs is the primary concern, even if it means they find another group. We encourage leaders to remember that not all people grow at the same rate, or have the same needs over time. It is healthy for people to seek a group that meets their needs at the time.

We ask you to update your group information on your Small group Leader list by emailing smallgroup(a)bicf.org.

We want every small group leader to understand the distinctive principles of BICF small groups. Also, we believe that leaders are learners and we strive to provide advanced Leader Training and growth opportunities for our leaders. As an experienced leader you can mentor the new ones by sharing your experiences with them.