Footprints
Leader Notes
Growth Group Meeting Overview
An action packed evening with a totally relaxed feel
The meeting's success (humanly speaking) requires group leadership members to seamlessly execute individual roles. These will be assigned in voluntary rotation so that no single leader carries the same responsibility continuously. In this way each leader will have sufficient opportunity to contribute their unique spiritual gifts throughout the Growth Group year.
Our group has primary and special roles.
- 4 Primary Roles : (1) Starter, (2) Time Keeper (The Hammer), (3) Scripture Memory Teacher, and (4) Session Leader. [Primary roles will be described below
- Special Role: Men's and Women's Prayer Coordinator.
Prayer Coordinator Details
Each of the designated Growth Group leaders is critical to the program's success. It is crucial that all leaders show up prepared for their role for the evening, but also ready to step in to support any others should the situation arise. Having a different group leader who is primarily responsible for an individual role at each meeting ensures a fresh perspectives to be gained by all, and prevents any single leader from becoming overwhelmed. In cases where 4 different leaders are not available, individual leaders may share roles, but it is not a best practice. When roles are shared, it makes sense that time keeper not also be the Session Leader, or the Scripture Memory Teacher.
The Starter
"Readiness"
The Starter sets the tone for the evening, guiding the group in the initial phases. This role is essential to ensure the program starts on time with members properly focused and ready!
Starter Details
The Time Keeper
"Order"
Guides the meeting to maintain the Footprint schedule. Involves actively adjusting timings, holding life stories to allocated time frames, making transitions, and ending the meeting.
Time Keeper Details
Memory Teacher
"Confidence"
Teaches the verse connected to next week's program, anchoring it to the Growth Group material's developmental framework, and making an initial "burn" to memory engaging and effective.
Memory Teacher Details
Session Leader
"Direction"
Facilitates lesson, ensuring the members are actively involved in discussing the material. Responsible to prepare to present ONE BIG IDEA for the lesson, so the curriculum flows cohesively.
Session Leader Details
The Starter
Brings The Energy to Set the Group Up for Success
Importance:
This role is ESSENTIAL to start on time so we finish on time, and accomplish everything on the agenda. Make no mistake: The Starter's role is to get things off on the right foot.
1. Secure a copy of the 'Footprint' from the Leader before the meeting. It reveals the meeting agenda and holds the keys to a successful evening.
2. Be time aware. You are the Starter of the clock and must not be afraid to disturb otherwise comfortable and fellow-shipping people.
3. Call people to pray before dinner. This teaches folks to arrive on time and leads us in giving thanks and preparing our hearts for the evening.
4. Call people to memory verse reviews.
5. Get everyone in the meeting area, seated, and prepared to start. You are the shepherd guiding your flock to greener pastures.
6. Lead the "Catch up" discussion, handle announcements, lead prayer, song, or whatever else is needed.
7. Be upbeat, positive, direct, and confident. You are the opening monologue Emcee, setting the tone for the evening.
8. Cover News, quick recap, and prayer. You are the one who ties it all together and keeps us informed and connected.
9. End at the time on the Footprint. Your ability to keep us on track is essential for everyone to get the most out of the evening.
Challenges:
You will always be interrupting people's conversations and "commanding" them to stop. This task will become more challenging as the year progresses, and people become more comfortable at the table. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it!
Essential Traits:
Upbeat, Positive, Direct, Confident
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The Time Keeper: AKA The Hammer
Helps Control Activity to Keep Things Moving
Importance:
Having a Time Keeper lets the discussion leader focus solely on the lesson. Without a time keeper, every activity runs long.
1. Secure the Footprint from the Leader before the meeting. This is your roadmap for the evening, and you are the navigator.
2. Synchronize your watch with the Starter. You two are the dynamic duo that keeps everything in sync.
3. Keep Life Stories within the allocated time frame. This is a crucial task that ensures everyone gets a chance to share and be heard.
4. Adjust other time blocks to ensure the meeting can end on time. Your flexibility and quick thinking keep us on track and respectful of everyone's time.
5. Inform the person responsible for a section about the length of the time allocated. For example, "The lesson will have x minutes, we have 10 minutes to teach the memory verse, we will pray for 20 minutes, etc."
6. Plan, adjust, and orchestrate transitions. Your expert orchestration ensures smooth transitions from one part of the evening to the next.
7. Call for the end of the meeting at 9:00 PM.
Challenges:
Keeping the Life Stories within the prescribed timeframes.
Being sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading and adapting the program to follow.
Communicating throughout the meeting about upcoming transitions. ("There are 5 minutes left before we move to ...")
Orchestrating transitions.
Guidance:
Despite the power and responsibility of The Hammer, each Growth Group meeting is run under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We all want to be sensitive to His guidance and obedient to His leadership. This means that, despite the Footprint, things often change. People may bring situations that require adjustments to everything. It's not typical, but it's possible.
Adaptability:
Times are rarely, if ever, exact. Active adjusting is critical. But without intentionality, everything runs long, and prayer is neglected. (Prayer, particularly among the ladies, tends to run long anyway.)
Essential Traits:
Attentive, Flexible, Communicative, Adaptable
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The Memory Teacher
Helps Build Confidence in Scripture Memorization.
This role is critical to the group's success because it guarantees that members accomplish the most challenging part of memorization - the initial "burn" into memory. Memorizing is the act of learning and then relearning over a definite period. Our program provides a 7-day model to learn a verse and reinforces it for 5 weeks while adding other verses to memory. [Click for Tools]
Leader Responsibilities:
1. Anchor each verse to the development framework of the Growth Group material. All verses are structured within a framework that ties them to the Growth Group material's development as a whole. As part of your teaching responsibility, you must anchor each verse to this framework.
2. Teach next week's verse. You will teach the verse connected to the following week's program (See tools at GBC Group Memory Tools.) By having the group accomplish the first phase of learning before leaving the meeting, each of the other 6 days before returning with the verse firmly in mind will be a much simpler "re-learning" and later, "review."
3. Use the formula as much as possible. Lead with the framework for context. Show how the new verse fits. Get the group able to basically repeat 1. Topic 2. Reference 3. Verse 4. Reference. This is the "First Burn" that is the most difficult thing about all memorization.
4. Make it (as) fun (as possible) and memorable with use of mnemonics. Use sounds, exaggerations, motions, etc. to make the process engaging and effective.
5. Cover the 5 basics: Topic, Reference, and the 3 parts of the verse. Practice saying the verse in the full format. [Topic, Reference, Verse, Reference]
Importance:
The role of the Scripture Memory Teacher is pivotal for the group as it ensures that the most difficult part of memorization, the initial "burn," is accomplished effectively. By doing so, it sets the stage for easier "re-learning" and "review" in the days to follow, ensuring the verse is firmly implanted in the minds of the members.
Challenges:
Making the "First Burn" process engaging and effective while tying it to the Growth Group material's overall development framework.
Preparing adequately.
Essential Traits:
Engaging, Patient, Creative, Organized
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The Session Leader
Makes Each Lesson Significant
The session leader is the facilitator guide for the curriculum. They must become energized and excited about the material so the group cannot help but sense the significance of the topics.
Responsible for involving group members in the discussion of the material, the Leader navigates the fine line between guidance and inquiry. Members are adults and are expected to have completed the lesson and understood its teachings. While the Leader will occasionally ask for responses or comments on the workbook, the primary intention is to foster a collaborative discussion around the material rather than a question-answer session.
Importance:
The Leader's role is crucial as it ensures that the discussions are productive, the BIG IDEA is clear, and the overall flow of the year's curriculum remains cohesive.
Leader Responsibilities:
1. Prepare in advance knowing that you will lead the week's lesson discussion. All other leaders should also be prepared to lead if needed, providing support to the person in the "Leader role" if they require assistance at any time.
2. Select the "Footprint" for the meeting. Choose based on the planned number of Life Stories, teaching and prayer time desired. Click here for Footprints.
3. Send the "Footprint" to the Starter and the Time Keeper.
4. Study to determine ONE BIG IDEA that you want the group to glean from the lesson. This BIG IDEA strengthens continuity with previous lessons and provides a foundation for future teachings within the scope of the entire year. Should be based on the flow of the curriculum as evidenced in the Memory Verse Frameworks.
5. Study to discover why the lesson is so important that you can't wait to lead a discussion about it.
6. Schedule a 30-minute chat with CJ (especially in the early weeks) to ensure the Big Ideas are clearly understood, and the overall flow of the year's curriculum is never broken. CJ will also help you get excited about the importance of the lesson so that you can't wait to lead it. Click here for link to schedule your session.
7. Remember the promise made to group members at the beginning of the year: "This will be your best year ever, so far. You will meet people who will become the best friends of your life, and if you commit your best, you can become free of the anxiety and stress so common to American Christians."
Guidance:
Remember, no lesson is a standalone. They build on each other. What your group members have learned in previous lessons must be incorporated into current and future lessons. This will reduce the conflicts and confusion Satan wants to bring regarding God's sovereignty and human will.
Challenges:
Balancing the discussion to ensure that it is collaborative and involves all members while also making sure the BIG IDEA is clearly communicated and understood.
Essential Traits:
Empathetic, Supportive, Organized, Insightful
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The Prayer Coordinator
Guides the Focus of Life Towards Jesus.
The Prayer Coordinator is a special role because can be filled by someone other than one of the assigned group leaders. This role is crucial to ensuring the prayer time during the Growth Group Meeting is as effective and meaningful as possible. When the groups will be divided between men and women, there will need to be a Prayer Coordinator for both groups.
This is an important responsibility, and an awesome place to gain experience managing group dynamics. It is also a great role for practicing active listening and empathy.
Role Importance:
Prayer is a crucial part of the Growth Group Meeting. It is also the easiest area to skip, or to mishandle. It is a time for the intimate sharing of personal issues between members of our church family, and bringing them to YHWH, where strength and solutions are found. However, it is very easy for the prayer time to be dominated by discussions about things rather than actual communication with YHWH or to drift into discussions about impersonal and universal issues, or someone else's issues. The Prayer Coordinator is responsible for guiding the group to ensure the prayer time remains focused, personal, and effective.
Responsibilities:
1. Prepare an Approach:
The Prayer Coordinator must come prepared with an idea for the night that will make the time for group prayer as effective as possible. This could involve different approaches or structures for the prayer time that help keep the focus on communication with YHWH and sharing personal issues.
2. Assign a Note-Taker:
It is wise for the Prayer Coordinator to arrange for someone to take notes during the prayer time. These notes can be shared with the group later, serving as a reminder of the prayer requests and praises shared, and also as a way to track answered prayers over time. The notes should be comprehensive but also respect the privacy and sensitivity of the issues shared.
3. Guide the Group Communication:
The Prayer Coordinator must guide the group during the prayer time to ensure it does not drift into discussions about impersonal or universal issues, or someone else's problems. They must look for creative ways to encourage a focus toward "praying," rather than simply talking.
4. Manage the Schedule and Activities:
While it is important to share personal issues, the Prayer Coordinator must ensure that the majority of the time is not spent going from person to person talking about their problems but rather actively engaging in prayer.
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