| Leader’s Corner
We want to help you be the best 10 Keys leader possible. Below you’ll find detailed help for leading your 10 Keys group or implementing a 10 Keys outreach through your church. For 10 Keys small
group leaders Hosting a 10 Keys Small Group
Small Groups are a perfect context for leading a 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible study. It provides the ideal climate for meaningful relationships and significant discussion. Consider Teaming Up You may want to partner with another Christian or couple. There are a number of advantages to this. First of all, it gives you the moral support and accountability to actually get your group going. Sometimes, when we’re working alone we have trouble getting off the dime. Splitting the responsibilities can also keep the study from being burdensome. For example, if you are hosting your study in your home, one of you can be responsible for the refreshments and hosting while the other concentrates on preparing and leading the study. Another advantage of teaming up is that it helps to multiply the ministry. The next time around, you and your partner may want to split up and each recruit a new helper. That way, you effectively double the number of 10 Keys groups every year. The long-term effect of that would be beyond measure.
Who should you invite? The ideal group size is from six to twelve people. If your goal is to reach seekers or beginners, it is best if most of the members of the group fit that category. Otherwise the seekers may hesitate to share the real questions and concerns they have. What should you say? I don’t want to look foolish. The seekers who attend your study are very competent in their areas of expertise and experience. More than likely, however, they have little or no experience with the Bible. Adults are quite hesitant to participate in areas where they feel incompetent or might look foolish. When you invite someone you should stress that this study is particularly for beginners. You might say something like: “This study is designed for people who are new to studying the Bible and it requires no previous knowledge or experience.” Then you must truly keep it at beginner level. I don’t want to make an open-ended commitment. Some seekers fear that once they come to the study, they’ll be expected to continue indefinitely. Gary Poole, who has written an excellent book called Seeker Small Groups, encourages leaders to invite participants to just come one time to check out the group. You might say something like this: “The group last 10 weeks but you don’t need to feel committed to coming to the whole thing. Why don’t you just check it out one time. If you don’t like it, there’s no pressure to return.” The truth is that most people are so engaged by this kind of study, they’ll want to come back. I don’t want to be pressured to go to your church. Stress that this is an interdenominational study and that you will intentionally stay away from anything that is tied to a particular denomination. You might say something like: “We’re just going to be discovering the big picture of the Bible. We’ll concentrate on what the Bible says and who Jesus is not what any one church believes”. I’m afraid I won’t fit in. Your seeking friends likely know you as a “religious” person. If they don’t consider themselves particularly “religious” they’ll fear they won’t fit into the group. Once someone they would likely identify with agrees to come to the study, it will alleviate the fears of others if you mention their name. You might say something like: “I know that you know the Jones, they are planning to come. So there will be someone else you know there besides me.” It may be helpful for you to sit down and write out what fears those you will invite are likely to feel. Then you can find other creative ways to alleviate those fears when you make your invitation. Of course, people not only have fears. They also have interests that can draw them to your study. We’ve found that many people have a general respect for the Bible and want to know what it says. But they don’t know where to start. When you tell them that they can get a handle on the message of the Bible from cover to cover in 10 weeks, that strikes a responsive chord. Another helpful tool for inviting people is the 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible book. If you give them a copy of the book, it introduces them to the content of the course. They can see that the material is interesting and non-threatening. It also introduces them to Pastor Colin Smith who does the teaching on the video. One more word about inviting people. You may want to send out the 10 Keys invitations that are available. But you will always want to follow-up with a personal invitation or phone call. The more personal your invitation the more likely others will be to accept it. Consider an Introductory Meeting Some people who have reservations about attending a Bible study might be open to attending a one time “Taste of 10 Keys” introductory meeting. At this gathering you would show the 10 Keys in 15 Minutes segment that introduces the 10 Keys material and Pastor Colin Smith. You might invite people by saying something like: “
Keep the meeting short. Start with dessert or other refreshments. Then have some kind of an ice-breaker question so that everyone can get to know one another. A great resource is the Complete Book of Questions by Garry Poole. Next, show the 10 Keys in 15 Minutes segment. In your remaining time, explain what the 10 Keys study is like. Ask if there is any interest in doing it. It is very important, however, not to put anyone on the spot. Don’t ask anyone directly if they’d like to attend during the introductory meeting. You can ask them one-on-one at a later time. Once people see that they felt comfortable in your home and they enjoyed the interaction with others, they are much more likely to choose to attend the study. Plan Your Evening It’s your responsibility to guide the evening together. Your group time will essentially fall into three blocks: Time for getting to know one another Time for the video Time for discussion If you begin your discussion immediately after the video, the opening question may seem too light. In that case, you may want to begin the discussion by simply saying, “So what are your thoughts? What hit you?” Then you can guide the discussion by using the questions from the participant’s guide. The leader’s guide highlights particular points you may want to emphasize in each lesson. You don’t need to finish all of the questions. It is more important to end on time and to leave people wanting more. If you are in the middle of a meaningful discussion and your time runs out, you could take a short break to allow those who must leave to go and then reconvene for further discussion with those who are able to stay. The leader’s guide also provides helpful advice on being an effective discussion leader. The key, and this can’t be overstated, is to be a good listener. You will be tempted to dominate the discussion, to correct every erroneous belief and to give people the whole story in one dose, but you must hold back. The goal is for participants to discover for themselves what the Bible says. You should talk less than 25% of the time. Try to answer questions with questions. Call for the group members to respond to one another. Give the Holy Spirit room to work in the lives of each of the participants. If you will follow this advice you will see in the end that it works. The Holy Spirit will teach those in your group and open their eyes to see spiritual truths. In planning for your group, another issue you’ll need to wrestle with is childcare. The easiest option is for couples to be responsible for finding sitters on their own. Another option is to simply hire a sitter to watch the kids in another part of the house. You could also recruit a few people who will run a 10 Keys program for the children at the same time. Ideas and lesson plans can be found under Children's Program. Special Note: If you begin your study on February 13, the suggested date for Unlocking the Bible Across America in 2005, Easter will fall between week #6, The Cross, and week #7, The Tomb. This presents an ideal opportunity to invite participants to services or events surrounding the Easter holiday such as Good Friday services. These services will compliment the material participants are serve as a bridge to your church. Bring the Study to a Close Make sure to end your evening on time. Allowing the group to go on beyond the announced times, destroys trust and will frustrate people. Close your time together in prayer. Don't put anyone on the spot by expecting them to pray. As group members become more comfortable with one another, consider asking for prayer requests. Then include the requests in your closing prayer. And, of course, pray regularly for all of your group members. You might want to use a Scripture such as Colossians 1:10-11 as a guide. You may find that participants want to hang out together after the study. This may give you an opportunity to touch base with group members to see what is on their minds. Some of your most significant conversations may come during this time or other informal conversations outside the group. Coordinating a 10 Keys Large Group Experience
The Large Group 10 Keys Study is an exciting way to mobilize your church or organization to reach out to seekers. In the Large Group format your goal is to coordinate a number of small groups meeting at one time in one location. For example, your church might have hundred participants. These would be divided up among ten different round tables. Each table would have a facilitator and essentially become a small group. The advantage of this type of setting is that it involves many different types of volunteers. You will need people to serve food, set up and take down the room, greet people when they arrive as well as facilitate the tables. It has been wonderful to see how people involved behind the scenes are greatly encouraged to be part of something that reaches seekers with the gospel. It gives them an opportunity to use the gifts God has given them to do something very significant. Of course, the challenge is that this setting is more complicated and takes greater planning and coordination. Develop Your Team Start by developing your team. They will need to cover the following suggested areas.
You may want to recruit one person for each of these tasks. They will need to find others to serve with them. Recruit Your Table Leaders Having good table leaders is essential. They will set the tone for the table. Ideally, you want to hand pick your table leaders. You can ask for volunteers but you want to have the final selection. You’re looking for someone (or a couple) who can make seekers feel at ease and is comfortable in social settings. This person also needs to be capable of leading a lively discussion. You want to avoid someone who might dominate the conversation or lecture the participants. This is a time for self-discovery and discussion. Ironically, someone who you think of as an evangelist might not make the best table leaders.
If you hope to make this an outreach to those outside your church, you will have to be very intentional about it. You may even have to limit the involvement of more mature Christians. Otherwise, you’ll simply end up filling the event with your own people. Your goal is to instill in your church the vision for using the 10 Keys as an outreach. There are a number of ways to motivate your people to invite seekers to the study. One simple idea is to run an evangelism program such as Becoming a Contagious Christian. During this course, participants begin praying for seekers and building relationships with them. This gives them the foundation to ask their seeking friend and neighbors to attend a 10 Keys study at the church. Preaching on the importance of reaching out followed by a challenge to invite people to the 10 Keys study could also spur your people on. Of course, you may also have seekers attending your congregation. You’ll want to encourage them to be part of the study as well. Another way to gather participants is to use your 10 Keys study as a follow-up to a major event. For example, you could invite guests who attend your Christmas Concert to sign up for the 10 Keys study. Or you could encourage guests who come to an Easter or Christmas service to attend your 10 Keys study. For tips that will help your people make appealing and non-threatening invitations, see the Inviting Seeking Friends and Neighbors section under Hosting a 10 Keys Small Group. Place the Participants Depending on how large your group is, you may want to ask people to register for the study in advance. This will give you the ability to plan more effectively and to recruit enough table leaders. If you do register people, consider asking for some basic information such as:
This will allow you to seat people with others who share something in common. Pray over the process. Many times, you’ll be placing people blindly but the Lord helps to orchestrate the seating assignments. Ideally, you want to group people at tables by their level of Bible knowledge. However, if someone invites another person to attend they should be able to sit together even though they have different levels of Bible knowledge. When people arrive for the first evening, you will want to have greeters on hand to direct them to the appropriate table. Plan for the Children It will be important to offer a safe, friendly and fun option for the children if you hope to have families come to the study. See the Children's Program for practical ideas on running a 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible program for children while the adults are meeting. Plan the Evening Essentially there are three elements to your evening. The meal or dessert The 10 Keys presentation The discussion around the table The leader’s guide highlights particular points
you may want to emphasize in each lesson. You don’t need to finish
all of the questions. It is more important to end on time and to leave
people wanting more. Pray for the Study Commit your study to the Lord in prayer and pray for individual members. See the Prayer Support section for practical ideas on developing prayer support for your study. Consider scheduling a time with all of the table leaders before each session for prayer. Mobilizing Your Church
through
The 10 Keys course can help take your church to the next level of evangelism. But to get there, someone must champion the cause and lead the church through the entire process. Below, you’ll find an outline of the steps you might consider in mobilizing your church to more effectively reach out to seekers through the 10 Keys materials. 1. Communicate the vision with leadership Ideally, you want the entire leadership team on board. Who represents that leadership will vary from church to church. If you are making a more extended presentation, you may want to show the “10 Keys in 15 minutes segment”. As the name implies, this gives a brief overview of the 10 Keys material. You may also find it helpful to show clips from the actual 10 Keys teaching videos. Two clips that give a good representation are the first 5 minutes or so of Key #1 the Garden and the last five minutes of Key #4 the Invitation. This last clip gives an example of one of the points in the material where a challenge to respond to the gospel is made. Depending on the size of the leadership team, you may want to give each member a copy of the 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible book. This contains essentially the same information as the video course and will give the leaders a chance to look over the material on their own at a later time. 2. Decide on the format – large group or small You’ll find a brief description of both formats under the Running a Study section. More specific material about running each type of study can be found at the top of this section. There are advantages to both formats: Advantage of the small group format:
Advantages of the large group format:
The church which developed this program has used both formats and each has worked well. They have discovered, however, that groups hosted in homes are more likely to continue on. If that is your hope, you will want to give the small group format a serious look. 3. Communicate the vision to the congregation Once your leadership has given the green light and you’ve decided on the format, you’ll want to present the vision for 10 Keys to your congregation. This can take many forms. Ideally, you want a broad based introduction to the 10 Keys concept and then a follow-up meeting with those who are particularly interested. The same resources that were introduced in the last section will also be useful for presenting the vision to the entire congregation. For the broad-based introduction, consider presenting the church introductory DVD available in the Resources section. This could be shown in a Sunday service or presented to each Sunday School group. Again, showing the two clips from the actual teaching or the “10 Keys in 15 minutes” piece will introduce your people to the teaching of Colin Smith if you have time. You’ll want to explain the various ways your people can become involved. For example: Small group format *Note: Most people who want to lead a study also prefer to host it. But occasionally, you’ll find someone who is able to fill their home with seekers but is not comfortable leading the discussion. Be cautious with someone who wants to lead a study but does not have any seekers they can invite. You want to be sure that person will relate well to seekers. You can then team up leaders with hosts. Large group format
Give an opportunity for those who are particularly interested to meet at a later time to talk in more detail. The goal of the follow up informational meeting is to communicate your enthusiasm for this initiative and to help people understand how they can specifically play a role. It is also an opportunity for your people to check out the quality and content of the teaching. They will need to feel comfortable with the material before they will have the confidence to invite their friends. Do not be discouraged if only a handful of people come to this meeting. That is all you need! Launching even just a few, or even one, 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible study is a start. Others will catch the vision when they see God bringing people to Christ through these studies. The outline for the informational meeting could look something like this:
4. Recruit Leaders Once your congregation has begun to embrace the vision for reaching out to seekers with the 10 Keys material, you need to find your group leaders. If you’re using the Large Group format, you will want a leader over every area of responsibility such as “food service” or “child care”. You likely know people in your congregation who would be able to coordinate each of these areas. Here we want to deal more with finding the group leaders who will lead a study either in their home or at a table. Most of your leaders will simply volunteer. As you publicize the 10 Keys outreach to your congregation some will step forward to lead a study. Others will volunteer at the informational meeting. That’s a great start but you want to have the final word on choosing the leaders. As mentioned earlier, an outspoken evangelist may not be the best person for this role. You want people who will make seekers feel comfortable and can communicate warmth and acceptance. The goal is to create an environment where seekers can honestly explore the truth. With the small group format the leader selection process largely takes care of itself. Typically, the leader will be the one inviting others to their group. If someone has enough meaningful relationships with seekers to assemble a group, they will likely relate well to them. Of course, you want to do your best to help these people succeed. That’s why training and ongoing support throughout the process will be important. In the large group format, you will want to be more selective. Again, you want to choose people who will relate well to seekers. If someone volunteers to be a table leader who would not fit the role, you must have the courage to redirect them to a different place of service. Another source for potential leaders is an evangelism training course. Becoming a Contagious Christian is an excellent course. It encourages participants to begin praying for seekers and trains them to share their faith. After going through a course like this, participants would be primed to lead a 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible course in their home. Of course, there is nothing like the personal touch. If you know someone in your congregation who is especially suited to do this, ask them personally. It’s amazing how often you find that the person has already been seriously considering being involved but just needed a little nudge to get off the dime. In order to develop leaders for the future, you might want to encourage those who have agreed to lead to find an apprentice to assist them. This is the ideal training situation and a great way to spread the vision for reaching seekers through investigative Bible studies. 5. Train Your Leaders Now that you’ve got your leaders, what do you do with them? One of the wonderful things about the 10 Keys course is that it doesn’t take a great deal of training to lead one. In fact, most people run the course with no training at all. Most people are comfortable leading the discussion after the video and the 10 Keys for Unlocking the Bible kit gives leaders coaching tips. With that said, however, your training can help people to lead more effectively. There are really two elements to this training. General Evangelism Training There is value in running a general evangelism training course such as Becoming a Contagious Christian. This will give you a source for potential leaders. It also will challenge your people to begin connecting to seekers and praying for them. That is critical to a successful group. If someone does not have significant relationships with non-Christians they will have difficulty assembling a group. So a basic evangelism course will set the stage for someone to pull together a successful 10 Keys group. Of course, they will also learn how to communicate their faith more effectively. Hopefully, in the course of their 10 Keys study they will have an opportunity to share the gospel with those who participate. 10 Keys Specific Training There are two essential skills for being a successful 10 Keys group leader. The first is the ability to make seekers feel accepted and respected. The second skill is facilitating a dynamic discussion. Training materials are currently being developed that will help you build these skills in your leaders. When they are complete you will be able to access them through the links on the left. As you can see, a general evangelism course and the 10 Keys specific training can enhance one another. The general evangelism course will stimulate your people to begin developing significant relationships with seekers. The 10 Keys training will give them a very specific tool to begin reaching out to these seekers. You may want to consider running these two training programs back to back over a twelve week period. A great resource for you and your leaders is Garry Poole’s book Seeker Small Groups. Gary is the evangelism director for Willow Creek Community Church and is a pioneer in using small groups to reach out to seekers.
This cannot be overemphasized. Prayer will be key to your groups having any lasting impact but, as we all know, it’s so easily overlooked. For your 10 Keys studies to truly reach seekers, the Holy Spirit must be intimately involved. The Bible tells us those who do not know Christ are spiritually blinded.
Only God can open the eyes of the blind, so we must call upon Him to move in the lives of those who attend our groups. You will find some very practical ideas for building prayer into your 10 Keys study under the Prayer Support link to the left.
Your job is to encourage and equip your congregation to invite seekers to your 10 Keys studies. The 10 Keys training course will coach your people on making irresistible invitations. You’ll also find some helpful tips under the Invite Your Seeking Friends and Neighbors heading of the Hosting a 10 Keys Small Group section above. If you’re using the small group format, give your leaders the option of hosting a “Taste of 10 Keys” introductory meeting. This is a short meeting over dessert where you introduce the idea of being part of the 10 Keys study to neighbors and friends. You’ll show the “10 Keys in 15 minutes” segment with gives a brief overview of the material you’ll cover. Some people will be hesitant to commit to a 10 week study up front. But if they come to this introductory session and see that the material is interesting and the and the atmosphere is inviting, they may be more open to attending your study.
For a greater sense of unity, you may want to launch your studies at the same time. Typically, the studies are nestled in some time after the Christmas holiday and before Easter. This seems to be a time when people’s schedules are lighter. Detailed directions on running 10 Keys studies
in both the large group and small
group format can be found above. 9. Support Your Leaders Your leaders will appreciate on-going coaching and opportunities to hear from one another. Here are a few suggestions for doing that. If you encourage your 10 Keys group leaders to register through this website, they will receive tips and encouraging updates throughout the Unlocking the Bible Across America campaign. This will give them a sense of being part of something of greater proportions. You may also want to send out something regularly to your group leaders as well with information and updates more related to your own church. If you are using the large group format, it is natural to have your leaders come ½ hour early for prayer and updates. This can be a very encouraging time and will help leaders to regain their focus on Christ before leading their table. If you are implementing the small group format, find a regular time that leaders can gather for troubleshooting, sharing and updates. You may want to make this a Sunday morning elective. Although some will have conflicts, this keeps from adding another evening meeting for your busy leaders. A personal call to each leader during your campaign is another way to keep your finger on the pulse of what’s happening. The bottom line, of course, is to help leaders to know they are not out there on their own. The key is for you to be available to them. You will have to find the format that will work best in your setting.
You’ll want to provide some type of celebration and closure at the end of your 10 Keys campaign. There are a number of ways to do this. Decide which elements you want to make part of your wrap-up. Give Participants an Opportunity to Share Consider a 10 Keys Finale Dinner Encourage participants to bring friends who may be interested in a future 10 Keys study to the dinner so they can get a taste of what it’s like and how it has impacted others. Report Back to the Congregation
Many participants will be interested in continuing on to another study. You want to begin offering this option around week eight. The link to the left will list a number of great options for your next study. Of course, you don’t want to make anyone feel pressured to continue. If members of your group committed their lives to Christ during your study this will be a wonderful opportunity to help them move forward in their faith.
This is just the beginning! Regardless of whether you’ve begun with just one or two groups or with dozens, you want to build on this foundation for the future. Here are some tips for doing that. Consider a cyclical approach After the 10 Keys study many participants will want to continue. This is a chance to disciple new believers and help seekers to continue exploring the Bible. So consider offering a series of studies to follow-up your 10 Keys study. You will find that people are more receptive to committing to one study at a time. So give them bite-sized next options. During the fall following your 10 Keys study, ask the members of your group to consider hosting a 10 Keys study for their friends after the holidays. You can do this by dividing your group in half with each group hosting a 10 Keys study and inviting seekers. Or you can stay together and just double the size of your group. Think of the joy your church will experience by helping seekers who’ve recently come to know Christ, reach out to their seeking friend and family. Encourage Apprentices Give Leaders a Platform to Share
Here’s a rough timeline for implementing a 10 Keys study in your church
|
||
September |
Vision communicated to the congregation |
|
| October | Follow-up Informational meeting(s) held |
|
| November | Training of leaders |
|
| December | Church members invite seeking friends Guests to Christmas events are invited to 10 Keys studies |
|
| January | Church members invite seeking friends |
|
| February 13 | 10 Keys studies launch this week |
|
| Easter | Inviting participants to Easter-related events
between #6 Cross and #7 Tomb |
|
| April | 10 Keys Finale Dinner |
|