Journey Well

This is the ideal way to walk through this study, and we tried our best to make it as easy for you as possible. Here are a few thoughts as you begin to journey well:

1. We recommend having a co-leader as you lead a group of about 5-7 people. This way you can share/split up roles like: email reminders, taking notes of what people “hear” from God during laments while the other leads, and splitting up any other roles. It’s simply just nice to have another person be praying with you, caring for the group with you, and offering additional insight alongside you.
2. ​I always had a team of people praying for us each week. This is an intense study, and the enemy doesn’t want people to journey well. Anonymously share prayer requests and praises with a small group of prayer warriors to be in prayer each week you are meeting. Sharing with them not only builds up the body of Christ, but it really transforms the tone of the group to know people are battling with you.
3. Ensure your posture throughout the group is one of “I am in this with you.” If you feel you are leading this group for them ​while you have it all together, I wouldn’t recommend leading at all. None of us can have 100% pure motives, but really ask the Spirit to help you embody a posture of the ground truly being level at the foot of the cross. 
4. Our recommended structure for each group:​
   • Interview people who want to be a part of it before you say “yes” to them being in the group. You aren’t vetting for perfection, but you do want to make sure they aren’t in a major crises. (I ask people gently how they are doing with: Processing through major trauma or wounding, wrestling with suicidal ideation, etc. I am okay if people disagree with me theologically, but ask if they are willing to not argue theology in this group but look past it to caring for their soul.)
   • We also recommend each week having one person share their testimony/story of faith. I ask, “How was the gospel first good news for you and how is it still?” This is a great way to get to know each other more deeply and feel you are in it together. Leaders could share the first week.
   • ​First week: Have the group sign a list of guidelines for your group. Some things we recommend having on your list:
   • • ​I will commit to not missing more than two weeks as it interrupts group safety
     • I will commit to reading the chapter and doing the questions to care for my soul and the souls of others here
     • ​I will commit to staying with myself. What I mean by that is I won’t try to fix others, but to only encourage, tell them I see them, and only offer “advice” if I am really sensing God’s prompting. I don’t want to hide behind fixing others, but I want to stay present to the work God wants to do in me.
     • I will commit to offering feedback when people share so there isn’t silence after someone shares something. “I see you. Thanks for sharing. That must have been hard. That makes me think of…”
     • I will commit to keeping what is said here safe (not talking one-on-one with other group members about what happens here and not sharing with those outside of this group)
     • I will commit to not having my phone on unless it is an emergency as that makes the room feel like there is another person in the group.
     • We as leaders commit to: 
       1. Caring for your heart
       2. Praying for you (we have a team–who doesn’t know your names but cares!)
       3. Not arguing theology with you
       4. Helping you to find resources and help if this group brings things up for you
       5. Only breaking confidentiality if you are at risk to hurting yourself or another
       6. Being prepared
   • ​First week: Share with the group your reasons for meeting. Here are some ideas:
     1. Foster friendship/community (or at least see people can be trustworthy)
     2. Infuse hope
     3. Learn how to better listen to God 
     4. Remove barriers from your need and Need Meeter
     5. Help you see you are not alone
     6. ​​Orientation change is never ever ever a goal. Our only desire is to help you/me/all of us remove barriers between our true needs and the Need Meeter of our souls. That infusion of love in those spaces of need empowers us to all equally die daily to our natural defaults 
   • First week: Do a casual get-to-know you game like the M&M Game along with names to get to know each other
   • Succeeding weeks: Unless it is a lament week (where all of your time will be taken up with lamenting), do a brief check in of perhaps highlight/lowlight from the week. Sometimes, my co-leader and I asked a different random question if it seemed appropriate. 
   • Succeeding weeks: Plan on meeting every week for at least 10 weeks (there are 11 chapters, but you could combine a couple if you choose to make it a clean 10) for 1.5 hours to 2 hours. 
   • Weekly Structure:
     1. Check in (10-20 minutes)
     2. Gospel Testimony (10 minutes)
     3. Video (5 minutes)
     4. Group discussion (1 hour)
   • Lamenting Resources
     1. We refer in the videos to episode 86.5 to practice Safe Place. You can find it here
     2. This also might be a helpful listen on lamenting (It is a “how to” talk I gave)
     3. And this interview with Michael Card (his book is one of the best on this subject)
5. Overall, ask the Holy Spirit to guide each week. That posture paired with what we believe is good teaching will make your group exactly what God wants it to be: a place to experience more of the love of the Father in our places of deepest need.
6. We are praying for you. Reach out if you have further questions.