Looking for Information for Small Groups?

If you’ve come to this site as a Director of Christian Education or you are a Leader of a Small Group, this is the place to find all of the information you need to use Direction to its fullest. Let me first explain the book and companion workbook. The companion workbook is to be used both by individuals during the week in tandem with their reading in the book. Then once a week for eight weeks, these individuals will gather as a group for a 45-minute to 1-hour time of sharing. All that you need to host these meeting is either in the companion workbook or is on this website. To access the aids for small group gatherings, click on the link at the bottom of this page.

A note about the structure of the lessons: Each group lesson, although slightly different each week, follows the same basic format.

• Gather Exercise- this is an activity that will need preparation (see the resources needed list)
• Opening Prayer- you may read or invite others to share in this reading
• Weekly Review- this is where you will discuss the weekday lessons they did. You will use the questions to guide the discussion. Remember, not all questions need to have answers.
• Next is the main part of the lesson, and it changes from week to week.
• Most lessons end with a time of prayer (Yield:), although some end with other prayerful activities.

Resources Needed for Each Group Lesson

For each lesson, you will want to have extra Bibles for those who do not have or have forgotten to bring their own. You will also want to provide nametags and pencils/pens. For the first lesson, be sure to have enough workbooks and books for each person who has not already picked theirs up prior to the Introductory Class.

*The items highlighted are available as a downloadable pdf.

Introductory Class

• Basket of apples and oranges
• Sign that reads Jeremiah 17:7-8
• Slips of paper with the fruit names- apples, oranges, grapes, peaches
• If using the alternative game: a hula-hoop, and a beanbag for each person
• Index cards

Group Lesson One

• Special nametags with the words, I See God As… (uses Avery 5390 labels)

Group Lesson Two

• Solid color bathrobe or a sheet with a rope belt
• Another sheet
• A hat or sunglasses
• A scroll- tape together several sheets of paper and roll like a scroll, secure with ribbon
• A feather pen- can be a pen with a feather taped to it

Group Lesson Three

• Mountain climbing objects- the real things or pictures of the objects or simply write the names of the objects on index cards.

Anchoring devices

Chalk/marking tags

Harness/backpack

Rope

Weather/safety report

Trail/climb map

Water/trail mix

Emergency flares

Hiking/climbing shoes

Rain/snow gear

Group Lesson Four

• Pad or sticky notes or a memo pad with “too good to be true” notes written To each person in the group
• A message center- created from a posterboard or use a small corkboard

Group Lesson Five

• God’s Waiting Room sign
• Slips of paper with waiting room options

Read a magazine

Text message or call a friend

Catch up on work

Clean out purse/wallet

• 8-10 sheets of blank paper or a legal pad

Group Lesson Six

• A hymnal for every person, or lyric sheets downloaded from websites listed in the Lesson
• Recordings of hymns
• A Christ candle- a white pillar candle, matches

Group Lesson Seven

• Copies of Appendix B
• Copies of Appendix A part a on one color of paper, and copies of part b on another color of paper, then cut them apart

Group Lesson Eight

• A stone or rock for each person

Votive candles, matches