Tuesday, December 10, 2013

David McDonald: Mentoring growth group leaders


Everyone needs encouragement. It’s pretty tough doing a job on your own without the support of others spurring you along. Growth group leaders are no different. They require training and resources, but they also depend on encouragement. In a church with many leaders, no one person can be relied upon to provide all the encouragement.

We trust it will come from a number of sources. God’s word is our primary source of inspiration. We look to the members of each group to not only support one another, but also their leaders. Co-leaders can meet and pray and share together about their group. Fellow leaders can catch up and support each other in their roles as leaders. A pastor can catch up with leaders here and there to enquire about how they’re travelling and suggest ways ahead. All this can happen quite naturally without any planning or specific structures being put into place. However, the truth is it usually doesn’t!

Our plan is for every growth group leader to be able to meet up with a mentor (or coach) to encourage them in their ministry. We will arrange a meeting once a term where all the leaders get together, but we are also depending on purposeful mentoring relationships being established. Mentors should aim to connect with the other leaders at least once a term, ideally face-to-face, to share together in different areas.

Sometimes we can get stuck when wondering what to talk about when we meet with others. How’re you doing? Good. How’s the group? Oh, it’s okay. What’ve you been studying? The same as everyone else! Need any help? Nah, I’ll be all right. Well, I’ll see you next time. Okay!

We can do a lot better! Let me suggest five areas that will help you focus your time when you meet together. Keep reading

No comments: