You can’t take others somewhere you haven’t been yourself.
Have you ever tried giving directions to a place you’ve only been to once before? What was it like? It probably ended in you sending an address for them to look up on Google Maps. For most small group leaders it can be the same way when teaching students. It’s difficult to lead when we haven’t invested time in our own spiritual lives. We can have the best analogies, great one-liners or even a radical story, but if we haven’t experienced it ourselves the students will see right through us.
Disciple Next (DNext) is a one day event for SWAT to take our leadership experience and translate it into practical tools for small group leaders who are passionate about discipling students to be wholehearted followers of Christ. DNext helps strengthen the local church by giving servant hearted believers the confidence to be vulnerable with students. We take some time to encourage small group leaders to continue leading, teach how to facilitate better discussion and make DISCIPLES.
Small group leaders have a big passion for ministering to students. Often times, they can be ill-equipped or misguided when leading and teaching. As a small group leader, you model naturally what you have learned and are learning in your personal life. Students recognize when you are faking it or being disingenuous. To have the most impact on the lives of students, a small group leader has to be intentional by growing in the Word, being challenged by community and sharing what they are learning.
TRUE DISCIPLES MAKE DISCIPLES.
One of the things that makes our SWAT leaders so effective is their excitement of sharing the goodness of God in their lives with others. They are practicing what they are learning with others around them. We know that college allows a lot more flexibility to spend a majority of your time surrounded by people. You might have less ‘free’ time now, but your influence in the lives of those around you isn’t diminished.
Disciple Next is great for churches with new small group leaders or those experiencing burnout. SWAT also has some small tools to help youth ministers manage their ministry to create more effective disciples.
Need more info?
Contact us today to see how we can best partner with you.