Small Group Leader Training
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When you are ready to equip young adults in your pews for mission, we want to help you begin the process!
We can provide in depth small group leader training in two ways:
On-site small group leader training at your parish/campus, led by a staff member from YACCM.
Small group leader training retreat, led in collaboration with the Office of Evangelization. (Offered twice a year.)
If you are interested in either of these opportunities, please use the “Contact us” form at the top of this page to start the process.
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“With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us.” 1 Thes 2:8
We were all made for community. Small groups allow us to know people and to be known. Relationships are key to opening the life of faith and they are a critical foundation in effectively reaching the lost. If a stranger invites someone who is an unbeliever into their small group, you can expect a typical negative response. However, when someone they know and trust invites them into to a small group, there is a real opportunity to reach that person.
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“Now this is eternal life, that they should know you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent, Jesus Christ.” John 17:3
Knowing about someone and knowing someone personally are two entirely different things. We are called not only to know things about Jesus, but truly to know Him, deeply and personally, and to become like Him. Small groups are centered around coming to know the person of Jesus, and when we experience an authentic encounter with Him, the living Word of God, we are transformed.
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“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8
Jesus invested in a few, not only for the sake of the few, but for the sake of the world. By Jesus simply entrusting the Gospel to a few and teaching the apostles to go forth and do likewise, the number of disciples increased more and more and the Gospel continued to spread. Small groups are oriented towards evangelization, sharing the Good News of Jesus with others. Small groups also provide a setting to guide others to become missionary disciples themselves. As good as it is to form friendships and grow closer to God, don’t let your small group stop there; be on the lookout for others whom God may be calling you to form as missionary disciples who will go out into the world to evangelize and perhaps even lead a small group of their own.
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How We Launch and Multiply Small Groups
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Invite Training Group.
Prayerfully discern and invite a few faithful, available, and teachable disciples from the parish/campus into an initial training group to be formed/trained as small group leaders.
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Launch Small Groups.
Discerned, formed, and trained laity from the initial training group are sent to form their own small groups, in their homes, made up of friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers. While accompanying their first small group, leaders begin forming intimate friendships and investing in the members in their group.
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Guide and Care for Leaders.
As the leaders are sent out on mission and are accompanying the people in their groups, they need mission community and ongoing formation in missionary discipleship to stay faithful and fruitful. This should include opportunities for these leaders to remain in community among fellow disciple makers for periods of reflection and discussion in an environment of friendship and trust.
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