APPS:

Each POD group should be aiming to do an App every six to eight weeks.  These should be activities that the whole group (now working as a team) does together rather than individually, and they will usually take some planning and preparation.   Ideally they should relate to, and spring from, what has been studied and aim to take some people into new ventures.  The timing may not be on the same evening as when the group normally meets.   At the end of this document is a list of Apps done in the first year at Holy Trinity, Aldershot.    Apps serve the family of God and the wider community in practical ways.  Apps are both exciting and innovative!

The life of a group will therefore be in cycles.  The first four to six weeks of each cycle meeting together, all the while seeking God for the next App and planning it.  Then there is the week of the App itself.  The following week should involve a time of feedback, discussion and prayer following the App and working through people’s experiences.

The leaders of the groups will need to be good motivators of people and also be pastorally minded, particularly looking out for and encouraging those who may be nervous of what lies ahead or who struggled with an App.

Assuming that a church has a number of POD groups, it will be helpful if the groups communicate with each other about what they are studying and working towards through a facilitator.  In the early stages of PODs, it may be that studies are geared to pre-planned Apps.  Then, hopefully, as they evolve, the Apps will follow as a result of what is studied.  There can be one or more youth PODs (yPODs - follow this link)

Training should be provided for the leaders before they are launched and regular meetings arranged for them once the groups are going.  If a church is going to start POD groups for the first time, clear teaching should precede their formation giving the biblical rationale behind them.  If a small group structure already exists, it may be wise to allow some groups (especially if elderly) to remain as they are, others to become PODs and to start others from scratch.

PODs came about after a long time of praying and seeking God in one church context where a good number had been coming to Christ through witness and Alpha courses, but enthusiasm and discipleship seemed to tail off, sometimes into backsliding, after a year or two in many of those new Christians.  The name ‘POD’ was proposed for these new groups before it was realised that having PODs with Apps mirrored Apple’s iPODs which also have Apps!

Tried and tested POD Apps:

Service:
Helping with a church function/outreach event on or off site
Serving 9.30 congregation a cream tea
Spring clean of church
Cooking meals for Alpha Course
Doing special refreshments one Sunday
Re-vamping an older person’s overgrown garden
Meal for the marginalised on the church fringe
Car wash for church folk to raise funds for a charity one of the group is involved in.

Prayer:
Prayer walks (some in conjunction with police)
Helping the Prayer Ministry Team
Two hours silence in the church building
Leading the monthly PPP (Prayer, Praise and Prophecy) meeting for the church
Praying for each church in town having gleaned prayer requests from ministers
Prophetic workshop.

Outreach:
Joining the Town Centre Pastoral Team on day, night or late-night outreaches
Helping with café Church or a Songs of Rage gig night
Station outreach; giving packs to several hundred commuters from 6am
Town centre surveys
Giving out chocolate and invitations to a church event, in the town centre
Sharing testimonies with x number of people
Great Easter Giveaway (Easter eggs with an attached message given out in town centre)
Prayer and witness to a specific non-Christian contact at work or in their community.

Church:
Leading services at Holy Trinity and, by invitation, elsewhere
Sharing testimonies up front/ doing drama presentations etc
Reading a significant part of the Bible out loud in an open church with pre publicity.

Community:
Practical jobs on a certain street after dropping off leaflets etc
Visiting housebound members of church with gifts
BBQ for homeless on church grounds in conjunction with The Vine
Winter Warmer meal for the homeless.