In This Video

Every WordGo Guide can be ready to facilitate their Group Gathering by reading the passage, picking some questions and praying for their group. In this training, Dana explains three simple steps Guides can take to prepare for their WordGo Gathering each week.

1. How will you prioritise your time for personal study and preparation?

2. Who can you ask to support you in prayer throughout your time of guiding a WordGo Group?

3. What group discussion format will you use during the Gatherings?

Every WordGo Guide can effectively prepare to facilitate their group

Have you ever had one of those moments where you just felt underprepared? Someone calls unexpectedly to your house and, as you welcome them, your mind goes to the pile of dishes stacked up in the kitchen. Or you are at work and out of nowhere someone asks you to talk about what you are currently working on - and for some reason, in that moment, you can’t think of one single thing you have done that day?

We’ve all been there! We know how uncomfortable that can be for ourselves and for others. We want you to feel good and excited about guiding your group each week, and that is possible. There are a few small steps you can take that will make a big difference for everyone involved.

The aim of WordGo is to help everyone develop a regular rhythm of studying the Bible. When we frequently spend time in God’s Word, our minds are renewed and our hearts are encouraged. This is our hope for you as a Guide, that even as you prepare for the gathered part of your study, you yourself will experience growth and transformation.

Reading the Bible passage each week is your first step in preparing well. As you read, note down any parts of the passage that you find particularly challenging or encouraging. This may also be a good time to note down any parts of the Scripture that people may have questions about; you are not expected to have all the answers but it is good to validate any questions your Group Members might raise. You can always encourage them to take a look in the study notes for additional explanation as well.

Once you’ve read the passage, your next step is to consider the questions. We’ve broken these up daily for you in the app. There will be a maximum of five on any given day. The questions are designed to help deepen your understanding of the text. There are factual questions about the text, lesson questions about the character of God and application questions about your response to what you’ve learned.

Before you gather, you can choose some questions to ask to get the conversation started. You have options; you can select a few from the app or you can use the following three questions as a framework for discussion:

• What’s the passage about?

• What do you learn from it?

• How will you apply it?

As the weeks go by, you will begin to discover the style of discussion that best fits your group. The Gathering is an opportunity for everyone to share what they’ve been learning through their own personal study. Hopefully, this will mean that the discussion will flow more freely than if they’d just read the passage or heard the questions for the first time.

Once you have read the passages and considered the questions, the final step we would encourage you to take is to pray.

Pray for the people

Think about the people coming and consider how you can best pray for them. Life is busy, and we all have limited time and energy. So praying that the Gathering would be a great place to come and relax, to connect with friends and to learn more about God, is a good place to begin.

Pray for the group discussion time

The Word of God is active and living and it can change lives. Pray that as you discuss the Scriptures, your Group Members would be challenged, encouraged and transformed.

Finally, pray for yourself!

Each week before you meet your group, take some time to reflect and give thanks for what God is doing in and through your life. Offer any emotional, physical or spiritual needs up to God and choose to depend on him.