Guide for Small Group Facilitators

Though it is possible to go through a single course or even the entire school on your own, we highly encourage you to consider going through it with others, so that as you process through these resources God can take the content even deeper into your heart.  At the end of each chapter we have included several items with the hope of helping these courses become a practical application guide.  In encouraging you to invite others to join with you on this journey, we hope that this will be a tool that God is able to use to do a deep and lasting work in your life.

At the end of each week there is a short section that includes:

Discussion Questions: These questions are there to help you process individually, as well as in a corporate setting.

Action Points: Too often we can learn something intellectually, but fail to make the practical adjustments in our lives that will lead to long-term transformation.  It is our hope that these action points will help you to cross a very practical line to implement what you are learning.  If you are going through this as a small group, you may consider using these action points as a means of seeking to hold each other accountable to the things that God has been speaking to you as you go through the book.

Prayer Points: We believe that though we may discuss something using our minds, it is often only as we bring things to God in prayer that we come to really take hold of them in our hearts.  These prayer points are just an initial guide that we hope will launch you into deep times of prayer so that each section of the book becomes a part of your daily life.

Small Group Format

We would suggest leaving approx. 2 hours per meeting in order to process through that weeks material.

–          You may consider beginning the group with a time of worship and prayer to focus everyone’s hearts on Jesus.

–          The discussion questions are valuable in processing through the course as a group.  As a facilitator you will want to encourage open interaction rather than attempting to be the primary one sharing.  Often it may be necessary to attempt to draw out quieter members so that everyone has an opportunity to share.

–          For the action points section, you may consider breaking up into smaller accountability groups of 2 or 3.  If you are in a mixed group, since it is often easier to share more deeply in environments with all men or all women, consider breaking up into smaller groups to allow for deeper transparency and accountability.

–          You will also want to leave time to pray for each other.

Some of what is shared during the group may be confidential as those within the group are processing through deep wounds or struggles with sin.  We would encourage you to regularly announce to the group that this is a safe environment to be open and honest and that their confidential confessions will stay within the group.

Personal Preparation

As a group facilitator you will want to be prepared and refreshed in the material yourself so that you can share it with the others.  A good goal would be to ask God to do a deep work in your own heart as you go through the material so that as you are sharing it comes from a place of personal experience rather than mere head knowledge.

Commitment to the Group

It is important to stick with the course all the way through in order to get the maximum benefit.  At the beginning of the course you may consider holding an introductory meeting in which you share why you believe this material would be valuable to go through as a group.  Then you may consider asking participants to make a commitment to remain with the group throughout the course.

Moving Forward

When the course is completed then what?  This is a common question, especially among leadership groups.  As the group facilitator, we would encourage you to begin praying through the next steps that God would have you take after you have completed the course.  If you decide to go through the entire school then you can simply transition into the next course.  In time we hope to offer more courses that you can go through with your group.  After completing a course, some within your group may be led to take this study into another area of their sphere of influence.  (For example, a teacher may see a way that they could start a School of Renewal and Transformation with a group at their local school, a CEO may see how they can begin a group at their place of work, a member of a local congregation  may see how this school could begin to spread throughout the rest of the church body.)  Be praying into how God would have you transition from going through the school to spreading this message to your sphere of influence.

Let us Know About It

We would love to come alongside you as you begin taking others through the School.  By signing up as a Small Group Facilitator this let’s us know who you are and how we may be able to be of support to you.

[contact-form-7 404 "Not Found"]