This set of tools is designed to help any leader prepare on two levels:
- Special events (e.g., first meeting, special projects – see specific pages for more information)
- Weekly preparation tips (read on!)
Weekly Preparation Tips
We recognize that you are busy people. The following guidelines are designed to help you prioritize your preparation as well as help you define what preparation for leading means. Here are some recommendations on how to prioritize your time (specific preferences may vary).
1. PRAY
There is no substitute for prayer; both talking to God and listening. The main goal of leadership is to center on Christ and share from an abundance of your own spiritual life. Leaders who aren’t regularly communing with God will soon begin to feel pressure, stress, and burnout.
2. Use the Leader Helps Provided
The Pastor of Celebrate AND COMMUNITY is here to help! Ask away, whether it’s questions on how to handle a group circumstance or resources for the road ahead!
Remember we are in this together! Other guides and hosts might have insights to help you along based on their experiences!
Refer back to the Community Group Scoop website often. If there are things you need that you don’t see, holler! We’ll get it updated!
3. Read the Lesson Early, and Often
Even if you can’t stop and do in-depth study, at least plant the Bible verse and the questions in your mind as early as possible. You’ll be amazed at how well your subconscious mind can process these questions until you get the time to sit down and prep more in-depth.
I also encourage everyone to carry some way to capture random thoughts as they occur (small notebook, electronic voice recorder, etc). Your flashes of inspiration may occur at any moment! In my experience, if you don’t write them down, you’ll forget them. So have something handy to capture those thoughts!
4. Remember Your Role
As a Guide or Host, your role is NOT to be the Bible answer-person. Your preparation will never depend on how much you know, so don’t stress. Your role is to facilitate a conversation, to make people feel engaged and involved. Your ability to ask a good open-ended question is of more value than your Bible knowledge.
This is not to say you shouldn’t learn the Bible. However, everyone should understand this is a group effort; we’re all learning together. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a facilitator saying, “I don’t know” and encouraging the group to dig deeper for an answer.
And of course, if there are things that remain unresolved yet are causing tension in your group, feel free to contact your coach for some help!
5. Enlist Help
Enlisting help is NOT shirking duty or being lazy. Enlisting help is using other people’s strengths for the benefit of the group. In a more formal arrangement, it’s also called mentoring. There is no reason any one person has to carry the load when it comes to Community Groups. By definition, this is about… COMMUNITY! So encourage people to take an active role in an area where they are strong, and always encourage participation in the group’s activities and discussion.
What other things do you do to prepare on a weekly basis?
Community Group Scoop 