Leader Guide

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Boot Camp Schedule
Session 1: 2:00-2:45
Large Group Session: Biblical Foundation

Break: 2:45-3:00
Transition to Group Rooms

Session 2: 3:00-4:30
Small Group Session: Intentional Leader & Relational Environment

Break: 4:30-4:45
Transition to KidRock Worship Center (2nd Floor of the Childrens Building)

Session 3: 4:45-5:15
Large Group Session: Reproducible Process

Dinner: 5:15-5:45
Dinner & Large Group Session: Church Alignment

Session 4: 5:45-6:00
Closing Challenge From Pastor Todd & Dismissal

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 Session 1 - Biblical Foundation
BIBLICAL FOUNDATION OF DISCIPLESHIP:

Midways Journey Becoming an Acts 2 Church

o Gods Blessings and Challenges to Grow (Where do we lack?)
o What does it take to become an Acts 2 Church?
o Journey of research and discovery (RLM, Discipleship, etc.)

What is a Disciple?
o Have participants write down their definition of Disciple in their blank HERE
o Likely, we would have many varied definitions but it is imperative that we are all
pursuing the same goal with the same definition in mind

Matthew 4:19 And he said to them, Follow me, and I

will make you fishers of men.

A Disciple is one who is

Committed to Following Jesus (FOLLOW ME)

Committed to Being Changed By Jesus (I WILL MAKE YOU)

Committed to Being On Mission With Jesus (FISHERS OF MEN)

GODS CALL TO DISCIPLESHIP:

God has not called us to make church members but to MAKE BIBLICAL DISCIPLES
God has not called us to go to church but to BE THE CHURCH
God has called us to not only talk about what Jesus said but to do what Jesus did.

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Session 1 - continued
5 KEY COMPONENTS OF A DISCIPLE-MAKING CHURCH:
1. Biblical Foundation
2. Intentional Leader
3. Relational Environment
4. Reproducible Process
5. Church Alignment
Midways Spiritual Formation Team is united in making sure that every
ministry area is aligned in these components of disciple making.

This takes a Reproducible Process that balances a Biblical and

Relational approach to small groups.

Jesus modeled that process Look at His Life and you will find
o Biblical Foundation for all He did
o Intentional Leadership
o Relational Environments that He created every day
o Reproducible Processes / Models for His Church to follow
o Alignment and Unity with His followers/disciples

2:45-3:00 Break / Transition to Group Rooms

(See Letter on Name Badge to Determine Group Room)
**BE BACK IN KIDROCK WORSHIP CENTER BY 4:40**

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 Session 2 - Small Groups

PREP MATERIAL
A Relational Environment is
A small group from 3 to 18 people with the following:
o Biblical Foundation: Gods Word is at the core
o Intentional Leader: Guiding and directing the course of the discussion,
helping build relationships
o Relational Environment: Real, authentic, transparent, deep relationships
o Reproducible Discipleship Process
o Alignment: Relationally, Philosophically, Theologically, Organizationally
A meeting with the purpose and intentionality to grow as a disciple
A group led by a more mature disciple
A place where safe relationships are built through trust
A place where accountability, pasturing, encouragement, and teaching exist
A regularly recurring meeting
o Meeting regularly keeps people in relationship with each other
o Not meeting regularly can invite the enemy into our lives

5 MINUTES
Setting the Ground Rules
An Intentional Leader ALWAYS leads with clarity and purpose
A solid Relational Environment ALWAYS has clear ground rules

DONT FIX: Try to hear what people are sharing without trying to fix them. If they want
your advice, theyll ask for it. If people think that as soon as they share a problem or issue
everyone is going to immediately try to fix them (offer advice/solutions), often they simply
wont share at all.

LISTEN: Lets value one another during the discussions by really listening to what is being
shared. Dont be thinking about what you are going to say next or how you are going to
respond. Really listen.

PAUSE: After someone shares, give a pause to allow the group to feel the weight of what
was just shared and to fully consider it before the next person shares. This also provides the
person sharing with the opportunity to continue with their thought without feeling rushed.
Often people will only share whats above the waterline, but if given the opportunity (and
encouragement), they might share the deeper things.

SILENCE: This is much like the pause but used in a broader and more deliberate way.
Silence is used to wait for someone to share next without trying to fill the void with talk.
Silence can create tension in a group, but tension isnt a bad thing if used wisely.

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Session 2 - continued

NO CROSS-TALK: Be considerate of others as they are sharing. No side conversations.

DONT RESCUE: When people are sharing something deeply personal and/or painful,
there can be a tendency to try to make them feel better about himself or herself or the situ-
ation. Often this will cause people to stop sharing and results in their not going as deep as
they might have gone. Resist the temptation to rescue people.

USE I STATEMENTS: Its easy to talk about the issues of others, but for our purposes,
we want you to put yourself on the table. Try to use I statements rather than them, the
church, us, we, etc.

BE SELF-AWARE: Be self-aware of how you are personally affecting the environment -

words, actions, and non-verbal communication. Consider how these areas you portray will
affect others in the group or the group as a whole.

PREP MATERIAL
Modeling a Small Group
Model as if you were actually leading the group in your home
Model as if you have two or three new people in your group
Model with the following components:
o Welcome
Makes new believers, visitors and members feel valued and welcomed
Starts the moment someone arrives and ends when everyone is gone
Establishes a foundation for relationships
Makes them aware of whats going on and brings focus
o Opening Prayer
Invites Gods Holy Spirit to take the lead
Prepares our hearts for what God has for us
Shifts our attention from individual fellowship to the group as a whole
o Purpose/Vision Casting
Relationship with God and relationship with others
Expresses purpose of meeting as a group (Make disciples, reach lost, etc.)
Helps prepare our hearts and minds for the group
The purpose must be in alignment with the church vision and mission
o Icebreaker
o Topic/Story
This is the business of the group (Curriculum or Bible Story)

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 Session 2 - continued

5 MINUTES
Preparing the groups hearts for the small group experience
As we move through the story, we want you to stay personally engaged
Please dont ask questions regarding how-tos as there will be time for this later
As you hear the parable of the Lost Son, please have your Bibles closed as the story
is told. Your Bibles can be opened during the rebuild
The group will be hearing a story from Gods Word. As you are listening to the story,
we want them to focus on who they relate to most in the story, and why.
We want to encourage everyone to share from their heart
You will get out of this what you put into it so share from your heart

75 MINUTES TOTAL
Small Group Time Luke 15:11-32 Parable of the Lost Son
WELCOME: 2 MINUTES
We are glad you are here today. [Recognize any guests].
Heres what to expect from our group

PURPOSE/VISION CASTING: 3 MINUTES

Every week, you know I always remind you why we are here, to be a safe envi-
ronment [remember the ground rules and cover them every week at some point]
where we can grow together, reaching the lost and making disciples.
This means we will one day BRANCH our group as God grows it so we can be
both relational and missional. You may be one of the leaders that God will raise
up to be a part of branching.

ICEBREAKER (Optional): 5 MINUTES

OPENING PRAYER: 1 MINUTE

Great opportunity to get others involved.
Always make sure to ask them ahead of time to make sure they feel comfortal

SET UP THE STORY: 4 MINUTES

Todays Story We are going to be telling the parable of the Lost Son, from Luke
15:11-32. If you have your Bibles open, please close them during the story so you
can focus on listening to the story. You will have an opportunity to open your
Bibles to make sure the story was told accurately.

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Session 2 - continued
Setting the Scene (Context):

Luke 15:1-2 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear
him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them.

In response, Jesus told three stories: The Lost Sheep, The Lost Coin, and The Lost
Son. That is the story that we are going to share today.
As you listen, be thinking on the question we are going to ask you after the story:
Who do you relate to most in the story, and why?

TELL THE STORY: 7 MINUTES

(Slow pace, voice inflections, dont add to or take away)

REBUILD THE STORY:

Ask: Was there anything that was added or omitted from the story?
Have participants rebuild the story chronologically with everyone involved
No adding commentaries or teaching during the rebuild

READ THE STORY: 6 MINUTES

Read Luke 15:11-32 straight from Gods Word

DEBRIEF THE STORY: 45 MINUTES

Ask: Who do you relate to most in the story and why?
Encourage every participant to share and to do so when comfortable
As a facilitator, you may want to share first to set the bar of transparency
Stick to the ground rules, reminding people as necessary
Use silence Dont prompt people to share next Just sit quietly and wait for the
next person to share.

CLOSE IN PRAYER: 2 MINUTES

PREP MATERIAL
Other Typical Home Group Questions:
What did we learn about God from this story?
What did we learn about Man from this story?
How could you use this story to disciple someone?
How do you apply this story in your own life?
What is God asking you to do as a result of this story?

4:30-4:45 Break / Transition to KidRock Worship Center

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 Session 3 - Reproducible Process
5 Physical Stages of Growth:
Dead
Infant (0-2 years old)
Child (3-12 years old)
Young Adult (13-25 years old)
Parent (26+ years old)

The 5 Spiritual Stages of Growth:

DEAD: People in this stage have not yet accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. They may com-
pletely reject God, they may be seeking God, they may be spiritual, they may event claim to
know God or be a Christian, when in reality, they are their own god.

INFANT: People in this stage have accepted Christ, but havent moved much past that point.
They can be new believers or they might be stagnant, long-time Christians. Life is generally
all about them and their needs.

CHILD: People in this stage are growing in their relationship with God and are also begin-
ning to grow their relationship with other Christians. They are applying Gods Word in their
life and allowing others to walk beside them in their journey following Christ. However, its
still mostly about them their needs, comfort, etc.

YOUNG ADULT: People in this stage are making a big shift from being self-centered to more
others-centered. They are beginning to understand their role as a giver, rather than a taker
ministering to others, putting others first being doers of the Word, not just hearers.

PARENT: People in this stage have a solid understanding of Gods Word and a deep, abiding
relationship with the Father. They are living out Gods Word in their life on a daily basis. They
are others-centered and God-dependent. They are able to reproduce mature disciples of
Jesus by inviting others to follow them as they follow Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:11-13 NIV

When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I
became a man, I put childish things behind me.

Roles of Discipleship:
My Part
Their Part
Gods Part

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Session 3 - continued
Jesus as a Spiritual Parent Model:
How did Jesus parent the spiritually dead?
How did Jesus parent spiritual infants?
How did Jesus parent spiritual children?
How did Jesus parent spiritual young adults?
How did Jesus raise up spiritual parents?

3 Key Questions:
Which of the stages do you fit into?
Who are you intentionally discipling and what stage are they in?
How are you being intentionally discipled so that you can grow
as a disciple-maker?

5:15 Transition to Gym

Bless the Meal
Give Instructions

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 PARENT

YOUNG
ADULT

CHILD

INFANT

DEAD

The 5 Stages of Spiritual Growth

DEFINITIONS, TRAITS & PHRASES

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 Session 4 - Church Alignment
Take Away & Debrief
Testimonies
Here are some key ways you can help. Some next steps from here:
CARD ON YOUR TABLE: We know you have questions after a day like
this. The questions you have are important and are most likely being
asked by others as well. We want to be able to answer those questions.
There is a card on your table. Our goal is to gather all of your questions
and answer them on an FAQ sheet that will be emailed out to all of you.
This will also be published for you to utilize and for us to share with all
future group leaders.
DISPLAY UNITY AND SUPPORT FOR GODS VISION FOR MIDWAY
INTENTIONALLY INCREASE RELATIONAL DISCIPLESHIP
ATTEND FUTURE TRAININGS WITHIN YOUR AREA OF MINISTRY
PERSONALLY WORK THROUGH THE 12-WEEK REAL LIFE DISCIPLESHIP
TRAINING MANUAL OVER THE SUMMER
BRING OTHERS WITH YOU ON THE JOURNEY.
EMPLOY STRATEGY IN YOUR CURRENT GROUPS
START NEW HOME GROUPS
Closing Prayer @ 6:00pm

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Notes

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