TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 WELCOME TO YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP 4 HOW TO USE THE COMMUNITY GROUPS LAUNCH KIT

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2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 3 WELCOME TO YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP 4 HOW TO USE THE COMMUNITY GROUPS LAUNCH KIT 5 COMMUNITY GROUPS ESSENTIALS: WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU LEAD 6 CREATING ATMOSPHERE 7 LEADING A GREAT DISCUSSION 8 THE POWER OF PRAYER 9 BREAKING THE ICE 10 BUILDING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS 11 MULTIPLYING YOUR LEADERSHIP 12 YOUR FIRST COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING 15 WHAT S NEXT? LAUNCH KIT 2

3 WELCOME TO YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP. This is how you make a big church feel small. This is how you make a direct impact on the lives of the people around you. This is how you help people grow their faith. Every Community Group looks different, but each Group fulfills the same purpose. To say this another way, Group expectations are the same but Group experiences may vary! As we press into the values of Harvest Church, we also want our Groups to represent those same ideals: Authentic Community, Transformation, Leadership Development, and God s Renown. As our Groups pursue and are shaped by these values, so will our church as a whole. And as we pursue these values in the context of relationships, we create environments where God can step in and do some amazingly God-sized things! That s what Community Groups are all about - relationships. To be an excellent Group leader, you don t have to be perfect. You just have to be committed. Committed to doing what it takes to pave the way for Authentic Community to thrive, to offering a place for people to connect with strangers and meet new friends. Committed to Transformation and Leadership Development, to helping people understand who they are in The Lord and taking steps of obedience to embrace His call on their lives. Above all, committed to seeking God s Renown; ensuring that we make much of the name of God by seeking His glory and honor above our own. We believe in you! We believe you have what it takes to answer God s call on your life, to walk with others in their own journey of faith and discovery, to minister to and be Jesus representative in your marketplace, and to make disciple-makers. Let us say that again, you have what it takes! Along the way, we re here for you. We want to equip you, encourage you, and empower you to become the leader God created you to be. This is just the starting point. The best is yet to come! LAUNCH KIT 3

4 HOW TO USE THE COMMUNITY GROUPS LAUNCH KIT COMMUNITY GROUPS ESSENTIALS: This is a six-page section devoted to the essential aspects of every Community Group. Read through these, take notes, and apply any good ideas to your Community Group as you prepare for your first meeting. YOUR FIRST COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING: When the day finally comes for your first Community Group meeting, you don t want to forget anything. Use this checklist and suggested outline for the night to help you take a deep breath and know that everything is under control. DISCUSSION GUIDE: This will be the heart of your first Community Group meeting. Play Session 1 of Community Starting Well in Your Small Group and follow the cues and prompts in the Leader Guide and Discussion Guide to get people talking. You don t have to ask every question ask a handful of these as a starting point and allow the conversation to flow naturally from there. WHAT S NEXT? After you ve successfully led your first Community Group meeting, you ll be ready to keep going. It will be important to keep the conversation going with our Community Groups leadership team at Harvest. They are always a phone call or away and are available to answer question along the way: Roger Walls roger@goharvest.net x 222 Keep reading for some helpful tips as you continue your Community Group journey! LAUNCH KIT 4

5 COMMUNITY GROUPS ESSENTIALS WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU LEAD 1. CREATING ATMOSPHERE 2. LEADING A GREAT DISCUSSION 3. THE POWER OF PRAYER 4. BREAKING THE ICE 5. BUILDING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS 6. MULTIPLYING YOUR LEADERSHIP LAUNCH KIT 5

6 CREATING ATMOSPHERE As leaders, the last ten percent of our preparation often becomes the first ten percent that people notice. Sometimes, that last ten percent can make the difference between someone committing to a Community Group over the long haul and someone dropping out of a Community Group after one meeting. Though adjusting your Group s meeting room s lighting, smell, or arrangement may not seem to have a direct effect on what your Community Group will be doing, it can be the tipping point that allows people to feel welcome, invited, and cared for. HERE ARE A FEW EASY WAYS TO USE ATMOSPHERE TO CREATE A GOOD COMMUNITY GROUP EXPERIENCE: Brew coffee or bake cookies. Filling your house with a pleasant smell can make people feel at home. Remember, this is an unfamiliar setting for most of your Community Group members, so anything you can do to welcome them is a bonus. Clean up a little bit. Spending a few minutes picking up any loose items laying around will go a long way. If you re short on time, remember: God gave us closets for a reason! Provide enough seating for your Community Group. Having enough seats shows that you prepared for the people in your Community Group, and it makes them feel valued. Eliminate distractions. Eliminating small distractions like cell phones or noisy pets helps keep group members engaged. Your Community Group hinges on discussion and prayer time, so do as much as you can to control the environment. LAUNCH KIT 6

7 LEADING A GREAT DISCUSSION EVERY COMMUNITY GROUP LOOKS DIFFERENT. There s a common thread in every Community Group that sets it apart from any other gathering of people: a Christ-centered, meaningful, and encouraging discussion. You don t need to have all the answers. As a matter of fact, you ll help people grow their faith the most when you re able to stop talking and facilitate a discussion among your group. Later in this training manual we will present an actual breakdown of how to lead out in a Community Group meeting. To prime the pump, let s look at a few things from a 30,000 foot perspective. HERE ARE A FEW THINGS TO TRY: Start with something easy. Break the ice with a game, a few laughs, or some simple, small talk. This opens the door for your Community Group members to participate at a deeper level later on in the conversation. Ask follow-up questions. Pay attention to what your Community Group members are saying and don t be afraid to ask for more details. Though most people rarely share the full depth of their feelings at first, your follow-up questions give them permission to fully express their thoughts. Try to avoid asking questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no. Allow room for silence. Give your questions some time to breathe. Silence can give your Community Group members time to gather their thoughts and find a way to honestly approach a challenging subject. Bring it back. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide your discussion by following your Groups answers, even if they seem slightly off-topic. Use your instincts and allow the Holy Spirit to speak through you about anything your Community Group is wrestling with. End with encouragement. Think of your leadership role as one of a CEO: Chief Encouragement Officer. Wherever your discussion leads, offer an uplifting insight, thought, or action step that will give your Community Group members the hope they need to continue through the rest of the week. LAUNCH KIT 7

8 THE POWER OF PRAYER Prayer is the lifeblood of our relationship with God. It s what turns our cries for help into a supernatural transaction, where God hears us and responds to our every need. One of the unique qualities that sets a group of believers in Jesus apart is their ability to unite in prayer and leverage it to make a difference in their lives. HERE ARE A FEW DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN PRAY WITH AND FOR YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP: Pray Out Loud. Help people establish good prayer habits by praying out loud with your Community Group. It can be uncomfortable for some, but challenging people to pray out loud in your Community Group will give them confidence in their prayer life outside of your Community Group. As with all things you re inviting people to be a part of, model it first. If you d like to ask another Group member to pray, ask them before the meeting to allow them time to prepare and to avoid putting them on the spot. Prayer Partners. Encourage your Community Group to pray for each other throughout the week by randomly assigning prayer partners at the end of your Community Group meeting. Have these Community Group members connect throughout the week to share any prayer needs. If your Group is a mixture of men and women, be sure to pair men with men and women with women. Surround. Every once in a while, have your entire Community Group surround one individual and pray over them at the end of your Community Group meeting. This will be an especially meaningful and encouraging moment for a Community Group member who may be going through a difficult time. Group Prayer Messages. Use Facebook, , Planning Center, or a text message thread for your Community Group members to share prayer requests with each other at any point in the week. This also gives people a channel to celebrate answered prayers with each other in real time. LAUNCH KIT 8

9 BREAKING THE ICE Q: How much does a polar bear weigh? A: Enough to break the ice! If you ve ever used that as a pick-up line, you probably owe someone an apology. But when it comes to your Community Group, icebreakers go a long way towards making people feel comfortable enough to open up in a meaningful conversation. HERE ARE A FEW ICEBREAKER IDEAS YOU CAN USE TO START YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP: Two Truths & A Lie: Have everyone in the room take turns sharing three interesting facts about themselves two that are true and one that is false. Let the group decide which one is a lie. M&Ms: Pass a bowl of M&Ms around your Community Group. Tell everyone to take at least one, but they can take as many as they want. Once everyone has their M&Ms, everyone must share one interesting fact about themselves for each M&M they grabbed. Human Knot: Have everyone in your Community Group stand in a tight circle, each facing inward. With each hand, reach across the circle and grab someone else s hand. Each hand should be connected to someone different, but you cannot grab the person s hand directly next to you. Then, try to untangle the knot by stepping over, around, and beneath each other until you are back to a perfect circle. Letting go is not an option! Biggest Fan: This is a Rock, Paper, Scissors tournament. Split into pairs and challenge each other to a quick game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. This is a tournament but if you lose to someone, you immediately become that person s biggest fan. The fan bases will build until the room is divided in two for the finals. There should be plenty of yelling, cheering, and celebrating until there is a winner! LAUNCH KIT 9

10 BUILDING HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS One of the main reasons people decide to lead a Community Group is to help people build relationships with other believers in Jesus. Meeting with your Community Group during your regularly scheduled meetings will provide stability as people begin to connect and grow their faith, but as a leader, your greatest ministry moments will likely happen outside of your regular Community Group meeting. If you commit to developing healthy relationships with the people in your Community Group, you will become a trusted friend and counsel in the moments in life that matter the most. HERE ARE A FEW SIMPLE WAYS TO BUILD HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR EGROUP MEMBERS: Meet outside of your Community Group. A simple meeting over coffee or dinner shows that you re not just committed to being a leader, but to being a friend. Text and call people regularly. Investing in people s lives by consistently including them in yours is one of the easiest things you can do to build relationships with the people in your group. Celebrate life events. Wishing people a happy birthday or happy anniversary, celebrating promotions, baby announcements, and new marriages are ways to show your Community Group members that you genuinely enjoy sharing life with them. Have fun together. Breaking the norm is a good way to refresh and re-energize your Community Group. Not every Community Group meeting has to be serious. Every once in a while plan to do something fun plan a group dinner, go bowling, or serve together. LAUNCH KIT 10

11 MULTIPLYING YOUR LEADERSHIP As your Community Group grows and progresses, you ll notice one or two people you couldn t imagine your Community Group without. When the time comes, ask yourself: What if they started a Community Group of their own? How many more people could they reach? How many more leaders could they empower? As long as we have new leaders, we can continue to reach more people and help them grow in their faith. When you identify a co-leader in your Community Group, you help us multiply our ability to connect with new people. In fact, all healthy and mature organisms and organizations multiply! HERE ARE A FEW WAYS YOU CAN EMPOWER A CO-LEADER AND MULTIPLY THE IMPACT OF YOUR COMMUNITY GROUP: Get help where you need it. Empower different people to handle different tasks so that they can take ownership of seeing the group thrive and grow. You may be great at leading a discussion, but struggle with organizing events. Meanwhile, one of your Community Group members may love organization. Establish a Co-leader by allowing someone else to lead. Take a step back and allow someone in your Community Group to lead the discussion from time to time. Their confidence in themselves will grow when they know that you trust them to handle the most important part of your Community Group. Set a goal to multiply your Community Group. Identify a co-leader, give them opportunities to grow under your leadership, then set a goal for them to start a Community Group of their own. Empowering new leaders is the only way we can give everyone at our church the opportunity they need to connect with others and grow their faith. LAUNCH KIT 11

12 YOUR FIRST COMMUNITY GROUP MEETING YOU VE SIGNED UP TO LEAD A GROUP. YOU VE STUDIED ALL THE COMMUNITY GROUPS ESSENTIALS TEACHINGS. YOU VE INVITED PEOPLE OVER. IT S TIME TO LEAD YOUR FIRST COMMUNITY GROUP. LET S DO THIS! LAUNCH KIT 12

13 LAST MINUTE CHECKLIST: BEFORE PEOPLE ARRIVE: Send everyone the address where your Community Group is meeting. Put a balloon on the mailbox, a sign in the yard, or something else to help people find your meeting place. Prepare a few snacks. Clean up a little bit, or at least throw everything in a closet. Arrange seating where people will be able to see and hear each other. Play some soft music in the background. For men s groups, try turning to sports on television and keeping the volume low enough for people to talk over it. Put out name tags for your Community Group. Pray that God would work through you to help the people in your Community Group. FLOW OF THE NIGHT: HANG OUT (15-25 MINUTES). Welcome people as they arrive to your Community Group. Spend a few minutes making small talk. Get to know your Community Group members. Where are they from? What brought them to Harvest Church? LAUNCH KIT 13

14 ICEBREAKER (5-10 MINUTES). Pick one of the icebreakers on page 11 and use it to get your Community Group members engaged in conversation. DISCUSSION (35-50 MINUTES). Read excerpts from the Introduction and Weekly Reading sections from the Community: Starting Well in Your Small Group Conversation Guide. It s not always necessary to read each section in its entirety, just do what feels natural and comfortable. Play the video segment on the DVD. Work through the Discussion Questions from each Session. As always, it s not necessary to cover every question in this session. Pick the questions that you feel would facilitate the best conversation among Group members. CLOSING ACTIVITY AND PRAYER (5-10 MINUTES). Allow your conversation to reach a good landing point. Read the Moving Forward from each session aloud to your Group. Finish by taking prayer requests from your Community Group members at the end. If your Group has men and women, it may be beneficial to allow the men and women to go into separate rooms for prayer. It may take a few meetings for this to feel more comfortable, so be in tune with the Group and see what feels right in the moment. For your first Group meeting, consider this activity: Give everyone in your Community Group an index card or Post-It note. Ask everyone to complete these two sentences: I joined this Community Group because. And, Right now, I m praying that. Give your Community Group about five minutes to complete their cards. You can even play a worship song while they do this. After everyone is finished, ask everyone to share from their card. Close your Community Group by praying for each person s prayer request. Ask if you can collect their cards, assuring each member that you ll pray for what they wrote on their cards. After your Community Group leaves, use the completed cards to pray specifically for each individual in your group. LAUNCH KIT 14

15 DECIDING TO LEAD A COMMUNITY GROUP IS A BIG DEAL! NOW WHAT S NEXT? LAUNCH KIT 15

16 AFTER YOUR FIRST MEETING After your first meeting, you can shake off the nerves of leading for the first time and begin to get into a rhythm of meeting and growing your leadership each time your Community Group meets. We have many resources to help you lead a great Community Group, such as weekly discussion material, icebreakers, activities, and leadership training videos. Here s a summary of the resources we offer: WEEKLY SERMON DISCUSSION: Every week, we provide our Community Group Essentials discussion material to all Community Group leaders. It contains the highlights from the current week s sermon, Scripture references, discussion questions, an icebreaker, a call to action, and even a midweek devotional. These are made available by or on our website. RIGHTNOW MEDIA: If you would like to select a video or book study for your Community Group, you have free access to our RightNow Media page. There are over 10,000 resources available to you and your Community Group. If you don t yet have your free account, contact the church office for an invite. LEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS: For more helpful insights on leadership, small-group teachings, and tutorials on how to manage your Community Group online, visit the Leadership Essentials section of - Thank you for investing in and being a part of our Groups! The church could not thrive without leaders like you! LAUNCH KIT 16