1. Meeting Up-Connection-CA - Power to Change Ministries
EXPERIENCE CONNECT
Walk Together
What Do I Need to Know About this Study?
What the Big Idea?
Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 1:28
We need encouragement from the Word & other believers to continue to walk closely with God in University. Discipleship Groups can help students become Christ Centred Labourers.
Background The first group meeting is a crucial one. People will often decide whether or not they will return based on this meeting. It is also a unique meeting, since group members are unfamiliar with each other, you, where to meet etc. Don’t be surprised if your first meeting takes a lot of energy and time to get going. It’s worth the effort to make it a success.
Objectives • Get to know each other • Understand the importance of gathering together as Christians on campus • Explain what P2C is about and the purpose of discipleship groups (DG). Leader’s Preparation • Meet with every group member you are expecting to come prior to the meet-
• • • • •
ing. If you can’t meet someone, make sure you phone them. Take time to be personal on the phone, they need more than just a, “Show up tomorrow at..” Ask about how classes have been going, getting to university, etc. Give them the details of the group – make sure they know when and where you will be meeting. Finally, give them your phone number, so they can text/contact you if they need to. Pick a common and easy to get to area to meet and then decide as a group where they'd like to meet after the initial meeting (ie. a person's rez room, a classroom, a chaplain's lounge, etc...). Be enthusiastic, regardless of the turnout. Be familiar with the vision, mission and purpose of Power to Change. Get materials ready (for icebreaker, announcements, DG materials, Bibles, etc). Pray!! Pray for each member on your list of people to come, for smooth running of the group, for God’s Word to impact their life, that the group will enjoy being together and getting to know one another.
Continued on page 2
EXPERIENCE
Time Guide Comments for leading the group 1. Don’t put people on the spot. You can make people feel awkward by asking for their testimony or asking them to pray when they aren’t prepared to do either. Depending on your group, you can also have some strange conversations which aren’t appropriate for the group if you ask too much. Ask safer questions. 2. Don’t blow people away with your big words, big dreams or spirituality. If you start your group with a lecture on how it is going to reach the world, you might not have a group left. At the same time, be enthusiastic and share with them about the vision for the group. 3. Be real. Share with the group some of your own journey with the Lord – your ups and downs along the way. Put yourself in their shoes. Remember, they probably don’t know what to expect, so help them feel at ease. 4. Ask people to come each week. You might say something like, “You know, one of the things I’m looking forward to about this group is getting to know each other. If seven of us are here one week and four different people the next, we’ll never develop a sense of unity, and we’ll never get to know each other. I’ll be here every week and hopefully everyone will be able to make this time a priority so we can get to know each other.” 5. Follow up with each person later and ask if they think they can attend the group regularly. Give them room to say “no”, but encourage them to get involved. It can also be helpful to ask people to consider coming weekly for 4-6 weeks and then deciding if they'd like to stay involved with the group. This helps people to put the group in their regular schedule, but also gives them an out if they decide it's not the right place for them.
Getting Connected-Introductions (Introduce yourself – share about you. eg name, what year you are in, what you study, maybe how you got involved with P2C, etc. Have everyone else share about themselves. eg name, year, degree…
Meet everyone at designated location—7 minutes Getting Connected—20 minutes DG study and communicate vision, mission and purpose—20 minutes Prayer—1 minute Announcements—2 minutes
Ice Breaker Games Personal Scavenger Hunt Take a few minutes and find the following items in your wallet. Something that… • you’ve had a long time • you’re proud of • reveals a lot about you • reminds you of a fun time Have each person share the first item. Go around again on a second item, Don’t feel like you have to use the whole list because it may take too
Ice Breaker Game Option
Best/Worst
Some people like to “warm up” the group with an ice-breaker game. While these can come across as cheesy, they can also really open up conversation. If you want to do an organized ice breaker ‘game’ you could do one of the following two or come up with something on your own!
Have each person share their best and worst moments from the previous week. This icebreaker is an easy one to use at first and gives you good feedback concerning their life at the moment.
EXPERIENCE
Scripture Study Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 1:28
WHY DO YOU THINK CHRISTIANS SHOULD MEET TOGETHER? Brainstorm for answers. Nothing is right or wrong at this stage.
READ as a group: Hebrews 3:12-13. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today', so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DISCOVER ABOUT MEETING TOGETHER FROM THESE PASSAGES? Answers they may say or you can share: Meet often and encourage each other to continue to stand up for and walk with Jesus; not be hardened by sin and tempted to go back to going along with the flow; encourage them in their walk with God. To spur one another on in “love and good deeds”. Even in hardship, God was with these believers and was seeking to work in and through them. THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS IS WRITING TO CHRISTIANS UNDER PERSECUTION, HENCE THEY NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER. WHAT SORT OF PRESSURES ARE WE LIKELY TO FACE AT UNI THAT WILL IMPACT OUR FAITH? Answers they may say or you can share: Worldly teaching; peer pressure; lack of external discipline; disrespect for Christian beliefs. Say that as a small group we want to come together around God’s Word, recognising its relevance for us in our lives here on campus. GOD HAS RAISED UP CHRISTIAN GROUPS ON CAMPUS TO HELP US GROW IN HANDLING THESE PRESSURES. HOW DOES COLOSSIANS 1:28 GIVE US A PATTERN FOR HOW WE CAN GROW? Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” “admonishing and teaching”. We want to build people up through these small groups, meeting 1-1 and weekly main meetings We want to “proclaim Him”, ie talk about Jesus, so that people can start a relationship with God. Power to Change is all about helping people discover & experience God through the person of Jesus Christ and to Inspire others to do the same. We’re going to look at who P2C is and how P2C can help you to make the most of your time at university and beyond.
EXPERIENCE The Vision and Mission of Power to Change, and the Purpose of DG’s Power to Change: Power to Change Students is part of a larger organization in Canada which has several different ministries to various segments of society. Some other ministries include: Athletes in Action, the Jesus Film, Global Aid Network and several more! Power to Change’s Vision: We long for a day when no student graduates without engaging with the life changing message of Jesus. Power to Change’s Mission: We are here to change the world by helping students discover Jesus. Purpose of Discipleship Groups: The purpose of our discipleship groups is to help equip you to walk in your faith, communicate your faith and multiply your faith. We want to help you journey with God to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and to gain God's heart in helping people discover Jesus. What do I want to see happen in a group time? [Answer this question in your own words, with authenticity, but here’s an example] “It is my hope that this group would be an opportunity for us to grow in our relationship with the Lord, learning Biblical truths and applying them to our lives. I’m also excited about having an opportunity to build friendships in our group as we get to know one another more and learn from each other.” "One other thing that I'm excited about for this group is putting our faith into action. As you learn more about P2C, and from what we just talked about, you can probably see that we are passionate about learning how to relevantly share our faith with others. I'd love to see our group grow together in understanding how to do that."
Pray Close in prayer. You do it and keep it short.
Try to encourage the group to connect together, some ideas for this would be:
Start a Facebook group—or at least suggest your members become friends.
Encourage people to exchange cell numbers or Skype contact names.
Send a text inviting all the members to join you and your friends as you do something fun.
And lastly, trust God for great things to come from this DG! Remember to pray for God to move in your members hearts regularly.
Created by P2C-Students Adapted from Student Life, Australia—with permission 2012
Walk Together
What Do I Need to Know About this Study?
What the Big Idea?
Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 1:28
We need encouragement from the Word & other believers to continue to walk closely with God in University. Discipleship Groups can help students become Christ Centred Labourers.
Background The first group meeting is a crucial one. People will often decide whether or not they will return based on this meeting. It is also a unique meeting, since group members are unfamiliar with each other, you, where to meet etc. Don’t be surprised if your first meeting takes a lot of energy and time to get going. It’s worth the effort to make it a success.
Objectives • Get to know each other • Understand the importance of gathering together as Christians on campus • Explain what P2C is about and the purpose of discipleship groups (DG). Leader’s Preparation • Meet with every group member you are expecting to come prior to the meet-
• • • • •
ing. If you can’t meet someone, make sure you phone them. Take time to be personal on the phone, they need more than just a, “Show up tomorrow at..” Ask about how classes have been going, getting to university, etc. Give them the details of the group – make sure they know when and where you will be meeting. Finally, give them your phone number, so they can text/contact you if they need to. Pick a common and easy to get to area to meet and then decide as a group where they'd like to meet after the initial meeting (ie. a person's rez room, a classroom, a chaplain's lounge, etc...). Be enthusiastic, regardless of the turnout. Be familiar with the vision, mission and purpose of Power to Change. Get materials ready (for icebreaker, announcements, DG materials, Bibles, etc). Pray!! Pray for each member on your list of people to come, for smooth running of the group, for God’s Word to impact their life, that the group will enjoy being together and getting to know one another.
Continued on page 2
EXPERIENCE
Time Guide Comments for leading the group 1. Don’t put people on the spot. You can make people feel awkward by asking for their testimony or asking them to pray when they aren’t prepared to do either. Depending on your group, you can also have some strange conversations which aren’t appropriate for the group if you ask too much. Ask safer questions. 2. Don’t blow people away with your big words, big dreams or spirituality. If you start your group with a lecture on how it is going to reach the world, you might not have a group left. At the same time, be enthusiastic and share with them about the vision for the group. 3. Be real. Share with the group some of your own journey with the Lord – your ups and downs along the way. Put yourself in their shoes. Remember, they probably don’t know what to expect, so help them feel at ease. 4. Ask people to come each week. You might say something like, “You know, one of the things I’m looking forward to about this group is getting to know each other. If seven of us are here one week and four different people the next, we’ll never develop a sense of unity, and we’ll never get to know each other. I’ll be here every week and hopefully everyone will be able to make this time a priority so we can get to know each other.” 5. Follow up with each person later and ask if they think they can attend the group regularly. Give them room to say “no”, but encourage them to get involved. It can also be helpful to ask people to consider coming weekly for 4-6 weeks and then deciding if they'd like to stay involved with the group. This helps people to put the group in their regular schedule, but also gives them an out if they decide it's not the right place for them.
Getting Connected-Introductions (Introduce yourself – share about you. eg name, what year you are in, what you study, maybe how you got involved with P2C, etc. Have everyone else share about themselves. eg name, year, degree…
Meet everyone at designated location—7 minutes Getting Connected—20 minutes DG study and communicate vision, mission and purpose—20 minutes Prayer—1 minute Announcements—2 minutes
Ice Breaker Games Personal Scavenger Hunt Take a few minutes and find the following items in your wallet. Something that… • you’ve had a long time • you’re proud of • reveals a lot about you • reminds you of a fun time Have each person share the first item. Go around again on a second item, Don’t feel like you have to use the whole list because it may take too
Ice Breaker Game Option
Best/Worst
Some people like to “warm up” the group with an ice-breaker game. While these can come across as cheesy, they can also really open up conversation. If you want to do an organized ice breaker ‘game’ you could do one of the following two or come up with something on your own!
Have each person share their best and worst moments from the previous week. This icebreaker is an easy one to use at first and gives you good feedback concerning their life at the moment.
EXPERIENCE
Scripture Study Hebrews 3:12-13, Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 1:28
WHY DO YOU THINK CHRISTIANS SHOULD MEET TOGETHER? Brainstorm for answers. Nothing is right or wrong at this stage.
READ as a group: Hebrews 3:12-13. “See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today', so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DISCOVER ABOUT MEETING TOGETHER FROM THESE PASSAGES? Answers they may say or you can share: Meet often and encourage each other to continue to stand up for and walk with Jesus; not be hardened by sin and tempted to go back to going along with the flow; encourage them in their walk with God. To spur one another on in “love and good deeds”. Even in hardship, God was with these believers and was seeking to work in and through them. THE AUTHOR OF HEBREWS IS WRITING TO CHRISTIANS UNDER PERSECUTION, HENCE THEY NEEDED TO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER. WHAT SORT OF PRESSURES ARE WE LIKELY TO FACE AT UNI THAT WILL IMPACT OUR FAITH? Answers they may say or you can share: Worldly teaching; peer pressure; lack of external discipline; disrespect for Christian beliefs. Say that as a small group we want to come together around God’s Word, recognising its relevance for us in our lives here on campus. GOD HAS RAISED UP CHRISTIAN GROUPS ON CAMPUS TO HELP US GROW IN HANDLING THESE PRESSURES. HOW DOES COLOSSIANS 1:28 GIVE US A PATTERN FOR HOW WE CAN GROW? Colossians 1:28 “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ.” “admonishing and teaching”. We want to build people up through these small groups, meeting 1-1 and weekly main meetings We want to “proclaim Him”, ie talk about Jesus, so that people can start a relationship with God. Power to Change is all about helping people discover & experience God through the person of Jesus Christ and to Inspire others to do the same. We’re going to look at who P2C is and how P2C can help you to make the most of your time at university and beyond.
EXPERIENCE The Vision and Mission of Power to Change, and the Purpose of DG’s Power to Change: Power to Change Students is part of a larger organization in Canada which has several different ministries to various segments of society. Some other ministries include: Athletes in Action, the Jesus Film, Global Aid Network and several more! Power to Change’s Vision: We long for a day when no student graduates without engaging with the life changing message of Jesus. Power to Change’s Mission: We are here to change the world by helping students discover Jesus. Purpose of Discipleship Groups: The purpose of our discipleship groups is to help equip you to walk in your faith, communicate your faith and multiply your faith. We want to help you journey with God to live by the power of the Holy Spirit and to gain God's heart in helping people discover Jesus. What do I want to see happen in a group time? [Answer this question in your own words, with authenticity, but here’s an example] “It is my hope that this group would be an opportunity for us to grow in our relationship with the Lord, learning Biblical truths and applying them to our lives. I’m also excited about having an opportunity to build friendships in our group as we get to know one another more and learn from each other.” "One other thing that I'm excited about for this group is putting our faith into action. As you learn more about P2C, and from what we just talked about, you can probably see that we are passionate about learning how to relevantly share our faith with others. I'd love to see our group grow together in understanding how to do that."
Pray Close in prayer. You do it and keep it short.
Try to encourage the group to connect together, some ideas for this would be:
Start a Facebook group—or at least suggest your members become friends.
Encourage people to exchange cell numbers or Skype contact names.
Send a text inviting all the members to join you and your friends as you do something fun.
And lastly, trust God for great things to come from this DG! Remember to pray for God to move in your members hearts regularly.
Created by P2C-Students Adapted from Student Life, Australia—with permission 2012
