c4 connect group guidebook - … · “meet & greet” time or in the lobby after service. •...
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You can’t grow spiritually unless you’re connected relationally.
– ANDY STANLEY
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GROUP GOAL
YOUR GOAL AS A C4
CONNECT GROUP IS SIMPLE:
1. Noticeeachother’sspiritualgrowthand
2. Carewhentoughthingshappen
Here’showthisshakesoutatC4...
C4CONNECTGROUPS
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NOTICE EACH OTHER’S SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
C4’S MISSION
ToglorifyGodbyenablingpeopleofallagestobecomefully
devotedfollowersofJesusChrist.
AtC4,webelievefullydevotedfollowersaregrowinginthesefive
areasofdiscipleship...we’reallinthistogether!
1. CelebrateBig
2. ConnectSmall
3. ShareTheWork
4. WalkWithJesus
5. EngageInMission
InyourConnectGroup,howwillyouencourageeachotherin
becomingfullydevotedfollowersofJesusChrist?
Makeitaprioritytonoticeeachother’sspiritualgrowtheach
weekasyouconnect,shareandpraytogether.
CARE WHEN TOUGH THINGS HAPPEN.AtC4,webelieveinthreepillarsofresponsibility:personal
responsibility(individual),ministryresponsibility(C4staff),and
sharedresponsibility(ConnectGroup).
Whilesomeneedsinyourlifeareyourownpersonal
responsibility,andsomearefarbeyondthepaygradeofyour
peers,theresponsibilityofmanyofyourConnectGroup’scare
needsisbestsharedamongyou.
Toshoweffectivecaretosomeone,youdon’thavetosolvetheir
problemsorfixthem.
Infact,caresimplyinvolvesthreethings:
1. Prayer
2. Presence
3. PracticalSupport
InyourConnectGroup,howwillyoushowthe3P’sofcareto
eachother?
Beboldincaringwhentoughthingshappen.
GROUPGOAL C4CONNECTGROUPS
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GROUP VALUES
C4CONNECTGROUPS
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We value Christian community.
COUNT ME INNothingismorediscouragingforaConnectGroupthanwhen
nobodyshowsuporjoinsin.
Goovertheseitemswithyourgroupsoeveryoneunderstands
themandisonthesamepage:
•WeagreetoconnectfortheFall/Winter/Springterm(on/off
rampsareattheendofeachterm).
•WewillrespecteachotherbyshowinguptoConnectGroup
consistentlyandstarting/endingontime.
•Wewillallshareresponsibilityandpullourownweight.
•WithJesus’help,wewilldoourbesttonoticeeachother’s
spiritualgrowthandcarewhentoughthingshappen–both
duringandoutsidegrouptime.
COUNT ME IN!
(Sign your names here)
We value shared responsibility.
GROUP ROLESAsaConnectGroupleader,youcan’tdoeverything.Evenifyou
could,pleasedon’t.ConnectGroupsareintendedtobeaplaceof
“we”,not“me”.
HaveeachpersonchooseadifferentGroupRoleeveryweek.
Overtime,peoplemayfindtheirfavouriterole(s).That’sok!Just
makesureeveryonegetsafairshottoparticipateintherole(s)
thatsuittheirpersonalityandgiftings...andthechancetogrowin
areaswheretheywanttoimprove.
SeetheGroupRoleresourceinyourkit.
GROUPVALUES C4CONNECTGROUPS
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We value authentic relationships.
RELATIONSHIPSIt’simportanttostartyourgrouptimeoffwithsnacksanda
social.Don’tunderestimatethevalueofthis!Thinkofhowmany
peopleyou’veconnectedwithovercoffeeandadonut.
Whenyourgroupfirstlaunches,haveallgroupmemberssignup
fordatesontheSWEETSALTYSTORYpage...atsomepointin
theterm,everypersonshouldbringasnackandsharetheirstory.
Seethe“What’syourstory”toolfortipsonhowtodothis.
SAMPLE AGENDA (2 HOURS)
FIRST 30 MINUTES:
Food&fun/icebreakers
ChooseGroupRoles
Openinprayer
What’syourstory?
NEXT 60 MINUTES:
Watchsessionvideoatwww.c4connectgroups.com
Discussion
LAST 30 MINUTES:
AssignGuiderolefornextweek
Share&prayer
We value God’s Word.
WHAT WE STUDYDuringyourfirstfewweekstogether,yourgroupwillkickoffwith
aspecialC4starterseries!
Afterthat,allC4ConnectGroupsfocusonaBiblicalstudythat
trackswithourchurchwidesermonseries.
ThesestudiesarewrittentohelpyourgroupdiveintoGod’s
Wordtogetherandapplyitinyourlives.
But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. James 1:22 NLT
Wewillprovideallthematerialsyouneedtoleadyourgroupwell
(videos,studyguides,resources,etc.).
Periodically,groupstakeabreakfromthesermonseriesto
temporarilypursuearelationalortopicalseriesthatisrelevant
toyourgroupmembers.Talktoyourgroup’sstaffcontactfor
suggestionsonapprovedseriesandfortipsonthehealthiest
timetotakeabreakfromthesermonseries.
BONUS!
CheckoutRightNowMedia,yourFREENetflixofChristianBible
Studyatwww.rightnow.org/account/invite/C4Church.
GROUPVALUES C4CONNECTGROUPS
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We value holistic ministry.
LEADER SUPPORTAsavaluedleaderinoneoftheprimaryareasofdiscipleshipat
C4,wewanttopersonallysupportandencourageyoueverystep
oftheway!
Herearetwowayswedothat:
1. KEEPING IN TOUCH
Aftereverygroupmeeting,youwillreceiveaconfidentialgroup
reportemail(seenonlybyyourcoachandministryleader).Letus
knowwhoattendedyourgroupthatweekandhowyourgroupis
doingusingthesefourcategories:
•NOTES–giveaquicksummaryofwhathappenedduring
grouptime.
•WHAT WENT WELL–letusknowwhatyouarepraising
Godfororhowwecancelebratewithyouthisweek!
•WHAT WAS DIFFICULT–tellusaboutanychallengesyou
experienced.Maybeyouhadanovertalker,orpeoplewere
late,ordiscussionwentdownarabbittrailthatwashardto
comebackfrom.Keepusintheloopsowecansupportand
resourceyouwellasaleader.
•PRAYER REQUESTS–sharehowwecanprayspecifically
foryouasaleader.Thisisnotaplaceforyourgroup’s
prayerrequests–yourgroupshouldshareinbringing
thosetoJesus.Herewewanttoknowhowwecanprayfor
youpersonallyasasignificantmemberofourteam.Also
indicateifyourgrouphas‘extracarerequired’itemsthat
needattentionfromaprayerorcareteam.
2. COACHING
AsaC4ConnectGroupleader,yougetthespecialprivilegeof
beingpairedwithapersonalcoach!
Yourcoach’sroleistobesomeonewhonoticesyourspiritual
growthandcareswhentoughthingshappen.
Heorshewillberespondingtoyourgroupreportsand
connectingwithyouregularlythroughouttheterm.
Yourcoachisheretosupportyouasaleader...pleasefeel
encouragedtoreachouttothematanytimeforsupport!
GROUPVALUES C4CONNECTGROUPS
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GROWING YOUR GROUP
Wonderhowtogrowyourgroup?Prayandinvite!
Jesusknowsexactlywhoneedstobeinyourgroup.Askhim
toshowyourgroupwhotheyareandtopreparethemforyour
invitation.Thengoandaskthem!
SOME TIPS:
•Planagroupsocialandinviteyourfriendsandneighbours.
• Introduceyourselftopeopleyou’venevermetduringthe
“Meet&Greet”timeorintheLobbyafterservice.
• Inviteunconnectedpeopleonyourservingteams.
•Provideagreatdescriptionofyourgrouponlinesopeople
whoareshoppingontheC4websiteareinspiredtocontact
youdirectly.Besuretorespondtoeveryinquiry!
C4CONNECTGROUPS
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ICE- BREAKERS
Thesearen’tjustgames.Theyareasignificantopportunityfor
yourgrouptogettoknoweachother.
Therearesixactivities,oneforeachofthefirstsixweeksof
group.Youcandotheminanyorderyou’dlikeandrepeatthem
asoftenasyou’dlikethroughouttheterm!
1. MIX & MEET
2. WHODUNIT?
3. STRING ‘ER FINGER
4. CONNECTING STORIES
5. SIMILARITIES
6. CONNECT CARDS
C4CONNECTGROUPS
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Icebreaker 1
MIX & MEETEachpersonistograb5M&M’s.Don’teatthemyet!
AssignadifferentM&Mcolourtoeachcategory:
•FAMILY/FRIENDS______________________
•SCHOOL/WORK_______________________
•HOBBIES_____________________________
•MUSIC/MOVIES _______________________
•FAVOURITE MEMORY __________________
•WILDCARD___________________________
ShareapersonalfactforeachM&Myouhaveinyourhand.For
example,ifyouhavethreeblue,oneyellowandonered,you
mighthavetosharethreefactsaboutyourfamily,oneaboutyour
hobbies,andonefavouritememory.
YourprizeisgettingtoeattheM&Msafteryou’vesharedyour
facts!
Icebreaker 2
WHODUNIT?Thisgamerevealsinteresting(andsometimesincredible!)things
peoplehavedone.
Giveeachpersononecardandaskthemtowritedown
somethinginterestingtheyhavedoneandkeepitasecret.
EXAMPLES:
• Iwentskydivingonce.
• Igotarrestedbefore.
• Ioncedrankagallonofmilk.
• Iatebugsbefore.
Writeafactthatmostpeopledon’talreadyknow–thesillier(or
moreunbelievable)thebetter.
Shufflethecardsandthenpassthembackout.Eachperson
takesturnsreadingaloudtheircardandthenthereadermust
takeoneguessastowhosefactheorsheread.Afterheorshe
guesses,theguessedpersonsimplysays“yes”or“no”.
Ifthepersonguessescorrectly,theguessedpersoncanbriefly
explainwhattheywrote(ifdesired).
Theguessingcontinuesuntilallcardsareexhausted.
Everyonerevealswhowrotewhichcardattheend.
ICEBREAKERS C4CONNECTGROUPS
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Icebreaker 3
STRING ‘ER FINGERAskthefirstvolunteertochooseanypieceofstringwiththeir
eyesclosed.
Askthemtointroducethemselvesastheyslowlywindthepiece
ofstringaroundtheirindexfinger.
Thefunnypartofthisicebreakergameisthatsomeofthestrings
areextremelylong,sosometimesapersonmustkeeptalkingfor
averylongtime!
Thisisagoodwaytogeteveryonetostarttalking.Peoplemight
findoutsomethinginterestingornewabouteachother!
Havefun.
Icebreaker 4
CONNECTING STORIESThegoalofthegameistoconnectmini-storiesinaninteresting
way.Eachpersonmustshareatleastoneitemthatconnectsthe
previousperson’sstory.
Thefirstplayerbeginsbysharinganinterestingmemoryor
experiencethattheyhave.Forexample,oneplayercansay:“One
time,Iaccidentallylockedmyselfoutofthehouse.SothenI
spenttheentiredayatacoffeeshop.”
Anyotherpersoncancontinuethestory,usinganysimilar
themesorelementsfromthepreviousstory.Forexample,the
nextpersoncansay,“Iamatotalcoffeeaddict.EverydayIdrink
threecupsofcoffeeanditsometimespreventsmefrombeing
abletosleepatnight.”
Thenextplayer,baseduponthepreviousstoryshared,cansay
somethingrelated,suchas:“Idon’tsleepmuchatnightbecauseI
playlotsofcomputergamesuntilearlymorning.”
Themoreinterestingorfunnythestory,thebetter!Goaroundthe
circletwoorthreetimestokeepthestorygoing.
Takeavoteandgiveaprizetothepersonwhoaddedthemost
interestingorfunnyparttothestory.
ICEBREAKERS C4CONNECTGROUPS
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Icebreaker 5
SIMILARITIESSplitintotwoteams.Eachteammustwritedownasmanythings
astheyallhaveincommon(similarities)infiveminutes.
Whenthetimergoesoff,readtheitemsonyourlisttothe
opposingteam.Whicheverteamhasthemostitemsincommon
wins!
Thelosingteammustcleanupafterthewinningteamattheend
ofgroup.
TIP:
•Considernotallowingteamstousesimplethingslike
physicalheight,haircolour,currentclothingitemsworn,
etc.Limitingthesimilaritiestonon-physicalthings(like
experiences,familymakeup,jobs,etc.)helpspeopletolearn
moreabouteachotherandbuildconnectionsbetween
groupmembers.
Icebreaker 6
CONNECT CARDSGettoknowthepeopleinyourgroupbychoosingsome
questionstostartupconversation.Thequestionscomeinthree
categories:
1. RealWithOurselves
2. RealWithGod
3. RealWithOthers
Chooseacategory,pickacardandaskaway!
©SandalsChurch
ICEBREAKERS C4CONNECTGROUPS
real with ourselves real with God real with others
