Facilitator Guidelines
If you originate a class, you have the option of actively encouraging and guiding your classmates as they move through this course. You do not need to be an expert on relationships in order to facilitate a class, nor do you need to complete the course in advance. You will simply work through the course with your classmates, offering as much or as little guidance, feedback and suggestions as you deem appropriate.
In other words, simply view yourself as being on a journey with some friends and enjoying ongoing conversation with your fellow travelers as you share insights, questions, and discoveries with one another.
Here are a few suggestions on how you can best serve your classmates:
- Make a commitment to pray daily for your class, asking God to send his Spirit to guide each person to a deeper and more joyful understanding of God’s design for relationships, as well as a greater appreciation for the gospel of Christ.
- Stay a few lessons ahead. This will allow you to write initial answers to the discussion questions, to which other students can respond.
- Set a definite schedule and pace for the class. We recommend that classes complete at least one lesson per week to maintain momentum. If your class wants to move through the material more quickly, you can agree to do two or even three lessons per week. Just make sure you’re not putting unrealistic expectations on anyone.
- Set an example. The most effective way to lead any group is through your personal example. Here are some simple ways to inspire and motivate a group:
Keep pointing people to Jesus and his gospel as the inspiration and model for relationships.
Be humble and relaxed. If you don’t have an immediate answer to a question, simply write, “I don’t know, but I’ll try to find out.”
Be an encourager. Look for ways to thank or commend people for their insights. The more you encourage them, the more they will participate.
Be open in sharing your own relational struggles and God’s redeeming grace. People relate more easily to our failures and mistakes than they do to our achievements. Moreover, our failures always provide an opportunity to highlight the grace, forgiveness and redeeming power of God.
Stay on schedule. Set an example of having the assigned lessons completed each week. However, be prepared to slow the pace down if special needs or issues arise. Just be sure you communicate any changes to the entire class.
- Encourage every student to engage in discussions. If you notice that some students are not participating, try to draw them in. You could do this with a personal phone call or email (using the “Who’s Here” tab at the top of the page), or by asking them a non-threatening question using the “Ask a question” button at the end of a step.
- Maintain a safe and confidential environment for your class. Some of the questions in this study may touch upon sensitive issues in people’s lives. Therefore, it’s essential that you regularly remind students to be gracious and respectful as they engage in discussions, and also to keep all that is communicated in the class confidential.
- Consider scheduling occasional meetings, in person, if you all leave nearby, or through video conferencing, such as Skype. To schedule a meeting simply use the email feature built into the “Who’s Here” tab at the top of the course page.
- Keep building passport throughout the course. Before you begin the class, please read Building Passport. Then ask God to enable you to engage your class in such a way that they know for certain that they can trust you, that you really care about them, and that you can actually help them get the most out of this course.
Our prayer is that you will find your role of facilitating this class to be so enjoyable and rewarding that you will lead one class after another through this material. If you do so, you can start new classes by paying a setup fee of just $6 per class rather than a full registration fee.
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