Looking into small group resources: MissioLife

I was sent a copy of the MissioLife resource for small church groups. I have been trying to find good group materials - I'm convinced that active small groups are important for the spiritual life of congregations. So far we have had a Christian meditation group, and a group study of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank Seven Days to Tend the Earth booklet on faith and food. In Lent we will be studying the United Church of Canada's doctrinal statements, prior to our Sesssions voting on our statements of faith. Now I'm looking for a group resource that does what MissioLife claims to do: "guide adults, youth and children on a pilgrimage through Scripture from understanding to participation in the mission of God."

The MissioLife module I received came in an attractive translucent plastic envelope, with a DVD of videos and lesson samples, and an explanatory booklet. This arrived a few days ago, but as usual in the season of Advent it's taken me a while to get to it, and I'm only just starting. But the introduction in the booklet grabbed me:

...many lifelong Christians have discovered that though they can recite well-known passages of Scripture from memory, they still do not always see how these passages fit into the story of God. For many Christians, biblical literacy - while necessary and important - has not translated into a solid understanding of God's redemptive plan as one contiguous stretch throughout history and into the future...Many of us fail to see that the story of Scripture is our story.

This echoes something I have said before, and often, about believers needing to see the history of salvation in the broad sweep of Scripture, and to understand how we are players in the story as God's plan continues to unfold.

MissioLife claims to "provide a theological framework for spiritual formation tailored to all age-groups' unique needs and cognitive abilities while allowing for the unpredictable and unexpected movement of the Holy Spirit to transform lives." I hope it does, and I'll be delving further into it.