Large Group Training - Ministry Exchange (MX)

Large Group & Event Workshop
This session is divided into two parts over two hours. The first is
designed to be done collectively but within small groups (chapter specific)
while the second allows for each small group to self-guide through
questions and brainstorming.

OUR APOLOGY 5 min
Acts 2

1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent
wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided
tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of
them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in
other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to
the breaking of bread and the prayers.
43Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by
the apostles. 44All who believed were together and had all things in
common; 45they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the
proceeds to all, as any had need. 46Day by day, as they spent much time
together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with
glad and generous hearts, 47praising God and having the goodwill of all the
people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being
saved.

“In scripture we see a part of Biblical Community as gathering together.
This time together allows for things to be held in common like: needs
throughout the community, common vision, and collective teaching (coming
from Holy Spirit or Apostles). Not everything can be done in a Large
context (indicated by the gathering in homes) but we can not deny how God
uses large gatherings to shape a movement for his glory.
We in IV want our Large Groups to be places of gathering to enhance and
augment Biblical Community. It’s not about numbers, music or any other
superfluous frill, rather we want to see students welcomed into Biblical
Community for the Glory of God and his Mission on the campus. We want to
see the next wave of Christian leaders come together to worship God and
love others. We want to see a generation shaped together by the Holy
Spirit.
So this session is devoted to Large Group events where we gather students
to hear about Jesus.”

WHATS THE PROBLEM? 10 min
SG: “Share with each other about the worst event they’ve ever attended (in
or outside college)?” 5min

Debrief “why are those events so bad?”

LG: “What really makes an event “good” or “successful”?” 5min

Listen and clarify responses as to set up the Event Framework which essentially simplifies all potential responses to make our events “successful”.

EVENT FRAMEWORK 10-15 min (reference the handout “Events & Large Group
Paradigms”)
This frame work is intended to free us to understand in the most basic way
what is the minimum for a successful event/large group. There are
superfluous activities or sacred cows that infect our understanding of how
God wants to communicate his Good News to humanity and in a real way trap
us back into law.
Ex. A potential sacred cow is a guest speaker, regardless of the quality
of the messages.we must have our speaker! Or let’s focus on the snacks for
after large group but our student leaders have a difficult time
understanding why they should include outsiders as an intrinsic part of
Large Group.

Give group framework 5min
MESSAGE: – a missional purpose
What is our purpose?

Talk Worship Bible study Testimonies Invitation to Bible studies Invitation to salvation

Flesh out the need for purpose in our meetings.that’s why we exist: to see
students transformed, campus renewed, world changers developed. If we are
not working for that goal with purposeful meetings then let’s stop meeting.

Make sure to demonstrate that our commitment to purpose doesn’t mean it
always comes in the same package.

COMMUNITY: – the building of relationships
How will we build relationships?

Conversation starters Games: UNO, Jenga, connect four, Small group interaction: alternate between serious & fun

Flesh out the ideas of inclusivity and the importance in helping student
members who are scared to speak with new people. We want to assist our
students in building relationship, help them connect with each other
because relationships build God’s Kingdom, build our faith and accomplish
our purpose.

the DRAW: – gathering of crowds
How do we gather students?

Music- relevant themes (worship, funk, dance, chill themes reflect
overall purpose of the night) Food Lighting & Room set-up Student participation in tasks (allow many students, even nonbelievers, help with set up, supplying art, food, etc.) Advertising: postcards with pics, Fun or Crazy factor- give them something to remember (70ft slip-n- slide, 20ft screen to play Madden, etc.)

Flesh out different ideas of how to draw student into a meeting. We can’t
give a message or build relationships without people being drawn close
enough to see what’s happening. Many students will, like a pendulum, swing
either to where they totally fixate on these very external elements and
therefore forget our purpose or students negate the importance of gathering
crowds in a contextualized form to hear the words of Jesus. We need to
help them see if message and relationship are established then we are freed
to put our resources into Drawing students together.

SG: Take a few minutes, look over the Framework and discuss what element is
weakest in your large group. 5min

If time: Debrief as Large Group

EVENT LADDER 10min (reference the handout)
Observe this picture and let’s talk about what’s wrong and how
it may reflect our chapter’s large groups. (PowerPoint picture)

. Not utilizing strengths- are we allowing the chapter to influence the chapter large group or is it only a few? Is there talent or passion untapped in our chapter? . Lack vision- no one is looking up, do we know where our large group is going, why we have it? . No communication- are we going through the motions not even talking to each other.

Sometimes our large groups reflect this picture
These questions will help avoid our weaknesses and bolster our strengths.
During the later session each chapter is encouraged to walk thru this
Ladder of Questions.

1. VISION- What is the goal for our Large Group, does it match our overall vision? 2. MISSION- Why are we doing this at Large Group? 3. STRENGTHS- What strengths do we have to invest in our Large Group? 4. PIECES to the PUZZLE- What resources are available for us to use in our Large Group? 5. COMMUNICATION- How do we inform our leaders what’s happening and invite others to our Large Group?

IDEAS 5-10 min
3 Week Cycle (reference the handout)

This is a suggested Paradigm shift from using the same schedule repeatedly.

This allows for fresh messages and increases the importance of prayer &
worship in our ministry. Rotate these messages each week. talk (Get the best preachers around talking about the deepest topics) small group Bible studies (Get in small groups within the large group context, usually dealing with a facet of the previous talk. Have one leader up front stimulating discussion about main points through questions and comments. This week is like a seminar because it must be very directive and the leader has freedom to preach on some points.) pray and worship (Have extended worship and small group prayer. Pray the scriptures, for missionaries, world issues…end a little early and plan community building activities.)

Panel Discussion
Gather 3-5 people who can answer questions on relevant topics like:
relationships, questions of faith, questions about Jesus, etc. Pass out
anonymous cards to collect with questions on the topic of the night. This
night can be fun while giving the audience what turns out to be 5 sermons
in a relevant way.

Outreach
Plan outreaches on the same night as your large group. Like a
substitution, you know everyone who is committed to Large Group will attend
and possibly invite others. You also receive the added benefit of inviting
new people back next week, same time, for your Large Group.

EXTRAS 5-10min (if at all)
Worship
More important than sound, songs or instruments. Worship must be real.
We want to escort students to worship the Father, the one who has rescued
them from themselves.
That said, sound systems and musical worship helps students open up their
hearts to God and his Spirit.worship music that is quality needs real ways
to interact with the crowd in Prayer, the reading of the Word and in Song.

Emcee
If at all possible, you need a consistent up front person.a face for the
meeting, someone who feels comfortable welcoming people while articulating
IV’s vision and announcements from up front. They may need help to know
exactly what to say, don’t let them totally wing it.

Inclusivity
We must be RELENTLESSLY INCLUSIVE! Leaders must be inclusive to
outsiders.always sitting with a new person, getting their numbers and
inviting them back. Luke 15 is our model in always looking for the lost
one.

Example Schedule (put on PowerPoint as example)

Date	Message	Relationships	Worship	Community	Announcements
post-LG
September	Vision for IV	5 min dance	Lots of songs	Game Room	BS sign up
1	- BS format	party (Indian
song)	Reading of
Scripture
September	”Will you	SG- what are	Song of God’s	Open Mic	BS
8	survive	your dreams	love Prayer	Sonburst-
College or	while you are	for common	brochures
Live for God?”	here in	burdens
Preach	college?	I surrender-
song
September	GIG Training	SG- if you	Small group	Food and Game	BS
15	would	prayer for	night	Fall
eliminate one	nonbeliever	Conference-
smell from the	friends	testimony,
earth what	You Said song	register to
would it be?	night on
computers

Example Script (put on PowerPoint as example)

Décor: Lights, Banners on wall, music playing, projector running PP Welcome tables- set up in the room near door Emcee- Dawyen Common Ground One Place One Reason.to have Common Ground with God and each other USF & HCC & UT Intervarsity Christian Fellowship Interdenominational Multi-ethnic world-wide movement of students SG: How do you grow in your relationship with God? UT Testimony- Michelle Worship: Word: Brad Prayer: Eve Lord’s Prayer Song: Andrew pick two 1. Holy Moment 2. Perfect and True 3. Wonderful Maker 4. I Adore Message: BS- split USF, HCC, UT Phil testimony- Trina testimony- Announcements: Spring Conference registration Next week discussion of relationships! Panel, bring your questions, doubts and fears. Post Common Ground Community: Women/men night

Q&A 5-10min
Take time to listen and help students brainstorm.

ALTERNATIVE EXERCISES
These alternative exercises can be rotated through to give the session over
the years a different look yet same core material. Many of these take more
time so adjustments will need to be made in cutting of material and the
instructor will need to watch the clock closely.

Video (to replace “what’s the problem”)
Create a video with students from Chapter Camp expressing what their ideal
large group would look like.
Show to the Leadership Track and debrief (What do you hear from student’s
you lead? What are the themes?) This time should lead you into the Event
Framework.

Visual Large Group (to replace “what’s the problem”)
Give leadership groups markers, paper, playdough and various other crafty
things. Ask them to visually display their large group. “what’s really
going on, be honest.the good, bad and ugly need to be represented.”
Have a few (not everyone) explain their displays. Debrief focusing on the
good being reasons why we should focus on large groups while allowing the
weaknesses to lead you into the Event Framework.

Collect Ideas (add to or replace “ideas”)
Give each Leadership group index cards one for each category: relationship,
worship, message, and community. Then ask each leadership group to write
clearly and legibly their best idea for each category.
Allow for the groups to place their ideas in a “display area” according to
category. (in essence creating a collage of ideas separated by category.
Invite during the campus specific planning time for Leadership teams to
“pilfer” ideas from the “display area”.

Christian Charm School (training for helping students to speak to
strangers.I don’t know if it fits but inclusivity is critical to a
successful large group.)
Christians should develop their ability to interact with new students and
strangers in order to be an inclusive witnessing community, especially in a
large group context. This simulation should be complemented with a short
explanation of group dynamics and nonverbal communication.

I suggest a short time of unpacking what makes us uncomfortable and what
helps ease that feeling when we are strangers thus connecting us to the
plight of new comers.

Charm school is about finding common ground

1 Cor.9- 20To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though I myself am not under the law) so that I might win those under the law. 21To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law) so that I might win those outside the law. 22To the weak I became weak, so that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that I might by all means save some. 23I do it all for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings.
Visual suggestion: Draw two circles each to represent you/them respectively. Illustrate
that each person (circle) is made up of different experiences, hobbies,
thoughts, and relationships. Illustrate that when common ground is found
that the two circles become linked or overlap building trust between the
two individuals.

Social skills lesson 101

Observe-
Notice things about an individual: What they wear, insignias on bags, who
they hang with, how they sit/stand things they say/or don’t say in class.

Be friendly-
Non-Verbal communication is essential: Smile, look at their eyes, face them
while talking, shake hands, and introduce them to others

Ask questions-
Students should be able to transform information gathered from observation
into genuine questions. People love to talk about themselves. Use any
excuse to gain conversation thus common ground.

Finding common ground:
This simulation is to ease students into feeling confident when interacting
with new students by way of creating common ground with them. (This feels
weird but many of the introverts are thankful afterwards.)

-Students list off three areas of conversation they are comfortable
with. (Movies, music, sports.encourage students to identify what experiences are in their circle which common ground can be build upon. If list is wanting encourage students to begin following entertainment, politics, sports in order to become incarnate witnesses.) -Each student develops 5 go-to questions that will engage genuine dialogue about topics new students are comfortable with. People feel welcomed when they are able to talk about themselves so encourage students to develop questions that allow for genuine dialogue. -In groups of 2 students practice these questions and conversations with least known leaders in room.

CHAPTER PLANNING
Strengths and Weaknesses 10-20 min
Choose either one or both depending on the need of your chapter and time
constraints.
1. As a leadership team walk through the Framework identifying your
strengths and weaknesses.
In this time it’s important for students to know we don’t expect them to be
like another group on campus.we expect them to follow Jesus. To ensure
this I would always emphasize our strengths, but never ignore the
weaknesses. Working on our weaknesses can help but only when we combat
them through our strengths. (ex. Problem: we don’t have fun at our LG; bad
solution: let’s have a dance party even though none of us dance.it doesn’t
utilize our strengths. Rather you have many artists in your group so to
increase fun you include playdough in many of the icebreakers)

2. Answer the questions of the Event Ladder while thinking of your large
group.

3 Large Groups 15-30 min
Plan the first 3 Large Group meetings for the Fall.
Use the Event Ladder and Frame Work to guide your planning.

Suggestion: you can begin by spending 15-25 minutes brainstorming for each part of your Large Group (ex. Worship, Community, Message, Relationships) developing a reservoir of ideas that range from fun to spiritual to serious. Then spend time piecing those ideas together in planning each Large Group night.

Use this matrix to assist your large group planning.

Date	Message	Relationships	Worship	Community	Announcements
post-LG

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