As we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, there are several things you can do to help your group survive the holidays.   Why?  It’s just too easy to finish your current study right before or right after Thanksgiving and say to each other, “See you in January!” It has been my experience that from Thanksgiving through New Year’s are 4 or 5 key weeks in a group life.  Navigating these weeks well can really propel your group to start strong in the new year. 
 
4 Keys to Surviving the Holidays
The answer is not just keep meeting for the sake of meeting.  After all, people are busy with travelling, family commitments and office parties.  There is just a lot going on.  Here are four things you can do to help your group end this year well. 

1. Choose the study you will do next before you break.
   Try to do at least 1 or 2 sessions by December 8th or so.  For example, this year Thanksgiving is on November 24th.  Assuming you don’t meet this week of Thanksgiving, you could meet the following week and that would make a big difference.
    
2. Plan a Christmas party for your group!
   Rather than breaking before Thanksgiving, why not have a potluck dinner or a Christmas dessert night?  Do an ornament exchange, go look at Christmas lights together, or a White Elephant Gift Exchange.  Whatever you do, find a fun reason to meet.
    
3. Figure out a way to serve together in December!
   Whether your group serves at a local homeless shelter, sings Christmas carols at a nearby retirement home, or serves as greeters or ushers for a Christmas Eve service, there is something about stepping up to do something for someone else…that brings a group together.
    
4. Pull out your calendars and schedule your first January meeting.  
   ​This might seem like overkill, but if you’ll all agree on the date of your first meeting in January, your group is much more likely to survive!

On Monday mornings at 9am join us for a 10 minute telephone conference which will be record for future reference. This telephone conference will be to discuss hot topics, key issues, and practical tools to helps us all lead a little better.  After the 10 minutes Pastor Zach will be available till 9:30am to talk and discuss with those who call (this part will not be recorded.) The 10 minute recording will be posted to www.nlthrive.org/Leader-Tools.

Dial-in Number: (712) 775-7035
Participant Access Code: 764716

Read Previous Asking Good Questions Part 1 Part 2

Preparing Dynamic Questions 
Let's look at an example from Mark 4:35-41
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.  But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great fear and said to one another,“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” 

• Launch Questions :: To cultivate interest in the group time by allowing to share in the conversation
  Have you ever experienced a natural disaster?
  
  
• Dig Questions :: Help the group dig into God’s Word to discover what it says.
  What did the disciples learn about Jesus from this experience?
  
  
• Engage Questions :: Help the group wrestle with the meaning of this passage to us today.
  How does this affect our faith?
  
  
• Become Questions :: Helps us personalize God’s Word in their hearts.
  Why is God often the last person we turn to in hard times?
  
  
• Do Questions :: Challenges the group not to be content with just internalizing the passage but rather living it out.
  How do we help each other trust Jesus in hard times?

Try It Out
1. Write out 5 – 10 questions before your group meeting and run them past another facilitator you respect.



2. Look for ways to ask fewer questions to create dialogue in your group.

What are story cards...

The Importance of A Group Agreement

Connection Group Guidelines
We Agree To The Following Values...
Clear Purpose                     To grow healthy, spiritual lives by building a healthy small group community
Group Attendance           To give priority to the group meeting (call if I am absent or late)
Safe Environment             To create a safe place where people can be heard and feel loved (no quick answers, snap judgments, or simple fixes)
Be Confidential                   To keep anything that is shared strictly confidential and within the group.
Conflict Resolution          To avoid gossip and to immediately resolve any concerns by following the principles of Matthew 18:15-17 which begins with going directly to the person with whom you have an issue.
Spiritual Health                   To give group members permission to live a healthy, balanced spiritual life that is pleasing to God.
Welcome Newcomers     To invite our friends who might benefit from this study and warmly welcome newcomers
Building Relationships    To get to know the other members of the group and pray for them regularly.
Other                                          __________________________________________________

We agree to the following items:
Childcare
When we will meet (day of week) _________________.
Where we will meet (place)_________________ .
We will begin at (time) _________________ and end at ________________________.
We will do our best (some or all) to attend the following service together:
              o Sat  5pm o Sun 9am  o Sun  11am
Review date of this agreement                                                                                _.