The Spirit-Filled Church

It is easy to meet each week and forget why were are meeting and what we are trying to accomplish.

Before you jump into discussion this week, what areas below might it be helpful to recast vision to your group?

• Reminder of the goal of group: Apply the Bible, Build Relationships, Care for Each other

• Remind the group we want to invite others: Ask who they are inviting? Ask who they know who could be helped by joining the group? Encourage them to invite others they meet on Sundays.

• Remind your group of the vision or plan to multiply in the future: When is this going to happen? What is your groups plan? Who might consider leading?

• Remind them group is not about meetings but relationships: Encourage or assign partners during the week to checkin with each other, pray for and with each other, get together.

• Remind of upcoming socials: What is your group doing outside of your weekly schedule to build relationships and care for each other?

God's Gift To His Church

Whether you are new to facilitating group discussions, or you have been doing this for a while, here are some good reminders of how to lead a great discussions.

7 Tips For Great Discussions

1. Get comfortable with silence.

   • Be ok with silence. Don’t be the first to answer your own questions. It usually takes time for people to process the question and think of an answer.

2. Ask followup questions.

   • After someone answers a question, use follow up questions to draw out more thoughts from them or someone else.

   • Use statements like “Tell me more”, “What do you mean?”, “Anything else?”, “Someone else?”.

3. Give affirmation whenever you can.

   • You may not always agree with someone's answer, but the more you are able to affirm their thoughts, the more likely everyone will be to keep sharing. Use phrases like “Great question!”, “Thanks for sharing!”, “I love that”, “Very helpful”.

4. Try to involve everyone.

   • The more people you can involve in the discussion the better. Use phrases like “Anyone who hasn’t shared yet?”, “How about someone on this side of the room?”, “Guys, any thoughts from you?”.

5. Begin and end on time.

   • Know ahead of time when to begin and end discussion. Plan how long you want to discuss each question. It is better to leave people wanting more with a short discussion than to drag on too long.

6. Don’t focus on getting through all of the material.

   • The goal of discussion is to help everyone apply their faith, not answer all of the questions. It is ok to only ask a few questions. Make sure to focus on application questions.

7. Get Feedback.

   • After your first time facilitating, ask your leaders for feedback. It’s the best way to keep improving.

Heaven Left On Earth

A Sign From Within

2019.09.22 - Drew Karschner - "A Sign Within You" One of the greatest gifts we have as Christ followers is the Spirit of God. He will never leave us nor forsake us because He lives inside of us. The Spirit of God, who led Jesus, can lead us. We must learn when facing both simple and hard decisions in life to be sensitive to His leading. John 16