Your Study World
How to Run A Facilitator Training Meeting
If you can, we highly encourage you to attend a Great Adventure Training Day and to invite those whom you know will be facilitators to join you. If you are unable to attend a training day, please take advantage of the videos on our website as well as our Leader’s Guide in our Leader's Portal.
The step by step actions below will walk you through how to train your facilitators for their role.
1. Pray: Ask God to bless your efforts in leading others to His word
2. Five weeks before your study is slated to begin, invite your facilitators[1] and sub-facilitators[2] to a meeting held two to three weeks before your start date.
3. For the meeting print out copies for each facilitator of the following:
-
Discussion Group Facilitator Role & Expectations
-
Facilitator’s Small Group Call List
- Attendance sheet specific to each group
-
10 Commandments of a Small Group
- Schedule of the upcoming study dates
4. The day of the meeting, begin with prayer and review for your facilitators and sub facilitators:
- Your thankfulness for their participation
- The basics of The Great Adventure study you will be conducting
- The outline of what your overall Bible study schedule as well as what each individual sessions will look like giving times of the intervals for the small group dynamic as well as the dvd presentation.
- The role of the facilitator and sub-facilitator
- Review how “Responses” are used (see Sarah Christmyer’s article from Journey Newsletter 3)
- The 10 Commandments of the Small Group
- The importance of calling and welcoming each member in the small group
- The resources available for the facilitators at www.greatadventureonline.com
- Describe the perks Your Study World holds for facilitators. To share a description of how to use this website with your leaders click here.
- Review with them your method of communication. If you use group folders, explain to them where they can pick up their folders at the beginning of each session and where they can drop them off.
- Allow time for some Q & A and be sure to let them know that they can come to you with any questions or concerns throughout your study.
- Close in prayer: Ask God to bless your efforts in leading others to His word
[1] Facilitator: A facilitator is not a teacher. In the small group dynamic, the facilitator has the key role of directing the discussion and keeping it on point. The facilitator does not need to have all the answers. (Nobody does!)
The following characteristics should be found in those you ask to serve as facilitators:
- Dependable
- Faithful to the Church
- Good listeners
- Good people skills; able to draw out those participants who are reluctant to share
- Recommended by your pastor or parish DRE
[2] Sub-Facilitator: We highly encourage each group to have a sub-facilitator. This person can fill in when the facilitator is unable to attend. Being a sub-facilitator is a welcome introduction and training for some who will go on and facilitate future studies.