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Cultivate Leader Guide
Thank you so much for your willingness to help launch a Grace Community Group!
Here are just a few things to keep in mind as you get started:
- The best preparation for leading a group is following Jesus closely yourself. Healthy leadership is ultimately an overflow of your personal relationship with God.
- Pray regularly for God’s Spirit to unify and establish Jesus at the animating center of faith, hope and love in your group.
- Prepare ahead of time by reading through the Cultivate material you will be discussing and make a plan for your group time. Discuss this with your co-leader if you have one.
- Remember, you are a facilitator of discussion rather than a teacher. See yourself as a co-learner with your group.
- Check in with your Grace ministry leader regularly especially if you have any questions or concerns.
- Trust in the Holy Spirit’s work in your life and in the lives of your group members.
The Cultivate content is primarily a discussion guide. It is written in a sequence of:
- Short paragraphs
- Scripture passages
- Discussion questions
To get everyone participating, ask if anyone would like to read the paragraph, then ask if anyone would like to look up and read the verses. Then lead the group through the discussion questions.
Note: Some people may not like to read aloud in a group, so calling on someone to read is not advised unless you know the person well.
Goal 1 | Build relationships.
Go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Make sure everyone knows each other’s names! Take the lead on making introductions.
- Eat a meal together - it’s an easy and natural way to put people at ease and to get the conversation started!
- Share life basics by asking:
- How do you spend your days?
- Who do you live with?
- How long have you been in our community?
- Do you attend Grace? For how long?
Goal 2 | Discuss Cultivate content
Introduce the idea of building a biblical community together.
- Make sure every person or couple has a Cultivate booklet.
- Read and discuss Meeting 1 on pp. 6-9.
- Prayer - Beginning in this first meeting, establish the practice of praying together and depending on the Lord to build your group.
- Ask the Lord to reveal what your group can be like and to unite you in His love and grace.
- Pray for His wisdom to balance the components of connecting, growing and engaging. Acknowledge the challenges that you may face as a group.
- Acknowledge your dependence on the Spirit’s power to enable your group to flourish.
- Pray for God’s Spirit to knit your group together in unity in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 | Communication
Decide how your group will communicate with each other (email, group text, GroupMe, etc.).
- Make sure you have everyone’s contact information.
Before the next meeting
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
- Send an encouraging reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
Goal 1 | Build relationships
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Make sure everyone knows each other’s names! Take the lead on making introductions.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Icebreaker question: How old were you when you got your first smartphone? (To get the conversation started on distraction and busyness)
Goal 2 | Discuss Cultivate Content
Introduce the importance of commitment in your group.
- Read and discuss Meeting 2 on pp. 12-15.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to draw us into genuine commitment to each other in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 | Communication and Confidentiality
Discuss how your group will prioritize commitment to group expectations and confidentiality.
- Lead the group through making a list of 3-4 things that members are committing to, e.g., coming prepared, missing very few group meetings, praying for one another, getting together outside of group time, and incorporating men’s and women’s times. The last meeting of Cultivate also has time for planning next steps for your group.
- Lead the group to commit to keeping what is shared in your group confidential.
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Build relationships.
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Share some highs and lows of the week.
- Icebreaker question: What is your Enneagram number or other personality type? It can be helpful to make a note of everyone’s answers!
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate Content
Introduce the importance of unity and conflict resolution in your group.
- Read and discuss Meeting 3 - Connect on pp. 16-19.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to convict us when we respond negatively and prompt us to respond to people in love.
Goal 3 - Communication challenge
Challenge your group to pay attention to how often they default to a negative communication response: Withdrawal, Escalation, Negative interpretation, and Invalidation.
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Build relationships
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Catch up on how people are doing. Ask about the Communication Challenge from last time. Did anyone learn something about themselves?
- Icebreaker question: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate content
Introduce the importance of spiritual maturity in your group.
- Read and discuss Meeting 4 on pp. 22-25.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to illuminate the Word as we engage with it and to empower us to practice the way of Jesus in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 - Choosing curriculum for your group
Our Grace ministry staff and leaders are eager to help you and your group grow biblically. It’s not too early to think about what your group will focus on next. Consult with your ministry leader to explore options for future studies, books, and topics that could be the best fit for your group.
Based on the group's needs and maturity, we highly recommend following this Cultivate study with either Rooted or Essentials, which can be found here: www.grace-bible.org/resources. Both of these studies discuss the basic beliefs and practices of faith in Jesus. Doing one of these studies next allows your group to align around and build upon a common foundation of doctrine and practice. It is also a great way for you as a leader to gain insight into your group members’ faith journey and ways you might be able to encourage and shepherd them.
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Build relationships
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Catch up on how people are doing. Is anyone celebrating something or shouldering something?
- Icebreaker question: Generally speaking, are you an introvert or an extrovert?
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate content
Introduce the importance of creating a culture of loving support and challenge in your group.
- Read and discuss Meeting 5 on pp. 26-29.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to show us how to sharpen one another and bear witness to each other’s stories in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 - prayer
Decide how your group will prioritize prayer with and for each other.
- Will you use text or GroupMe to share life updates and prayer requests?
- Who will take the lead on prayer in our group?
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Build relationships
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Catch up on how people are doing.
- Icebreaker question: What’s the first question you usually ask someone when you meet them? Why?
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate content
Introduce the importance of intentionally sharing the love of God with others.
- Read and discuss Meeting 6 on pp. 32-35.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to open our eyes and hearts to people in need around us. And that He would spur us to courageously love people in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 - serve together
Discuss how your group will prioritize serving together.
Check in with your ministry leader to find out more about your campus's non-profit Community Partners. There are some incredible opportunities available for your group to make a difference in the lives of people locally.
- Who will take the lead on service in our group?
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Build relationships
Continue to go out of your way to make people feel welcome and to help people get to know each other.
- Eat a meal or some yummy snacks together.
- Catch up on how people are doing. What have been some highs and lows since we last met?
- Icebreaker question: Who first introduced you to Jesus?
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate content
Introduce the importance of creating a culture of intentionally pointing people to Jesus.
- Read and discuss Meeting 7 on pp. 36-39.
- Prayer - Pray together for God’s Spirit to prompt us to pray for and point people to Jesus in the coming weeks.
Goal 3 - prayer
Discuss the importance of praying for people who are close to us but may be far from God.
- Provide copies of the Every Neighbor Map. Take time in your group to fill them out.
- In groups of 2-3, pray for at least one name per person.
Goal 4- plan meeting 8: Celebration meal
The next meeting will finish the Cultivate material. We suggest you have a fun celebratory meal to mark the occasion! Take some time at the end of this meeting to make a plan.
Before the next meeting
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.
Goal 1 - Celebrate
Plan a fun celebration meal as you finish the first 8 meetings of your group! Try to involve everyone in the planning and execution.
- Eat and catch up on how people are doing.
- Icebreaker question: What’s the best party you ever attended? Or What’s the best meal you ever ate?
Goal 2- Discuss Cultivate content
Review the big ideas of Connect, Grow, Engage and plan together for the next season of your group.
- Read and discuss Meeting 8 on pp. 40-43.
- Prayer - Spend some time thanking God for the last few weeks together. Pray for wisdom and discernment as you move forward as a group.
Goal 3 - serve together
Before your group meets for Meeting 8, be sure to check in with your ministry leader to talk through ideas for what’s next for your group. Remember, we highly recommend following this Cultivate study with either Rooted or Essentials which can be found here: www.grace-bible.org/resources. Both of these studies discuss the basic beliefs and practices of faith in Jesus. They provide a great foundation on which to build future content.
- Build group ownership by planning for the next season of your group together.
- Send an encouragement and reminder message prior to your next group meeting.
- Check in with anyone who missed the meeting.