50 Days of Freedom
Week 1 Intro Email
It's time to break free!
Thank you for signing up to host a Freedom group! This email has a lot of info so I'd encourage you to flag it or bookmark it so you can find it easily.
TRAINING AND RESOURCES
To get ready to host your group, I encourage you to read the host instructions in your Freedom book and watch the video above. Additionally, you can watch more training videos here. These are videos that will help you learn how to facilitate group discussion, how to lead prayer, and so on.
Here is a link to all of our small group resources, including the Vineyard Small Group Leader Resource Manual.
The Freedom book can be accessed online here and the small group videos can be watched here.
You can watch the sermons each week here. (They are posted on Sundays.)
ONLINE GROUPS
If you are hosting an ONLINE small group, instructions for getting set up are here. The software we used last year, Oovoo, is no longer available so we are now using Google Hangouts. If you need any assistance, please email John Mann at jmann@vineyardkcnorth.com. John is my new pastoral intern and is overseeing all the online small groups.
TRAINING DINNER
If you are hosting a Freedom group, we want to invite you to a training dinner on Tue, Feb 27th (6:00-8:30pm). The topic will be "Learning How to Fill Our Cup and Care for Our Soul". I and several others will be teaching. Dinner and childcare are both provided for free if you register by Feb 13th. Click here to register. Again, make sure to register by Feb 13th.
PRAYING FOR YOU
We have also assigned you a Prayer Warrior who has committed to pray for you and your group each day during the 50 Days of Freedom. Click here after 6pm tonight (1/22/18) to see who your assigned Prayer Warrior is. Please feel free to email them prayer requests for yourself or your group.
WHEN TO START YOUR DAILY DEVOTIONALS AND SPIRITUAL EXERCISES:
Groups should have their first meeting during the week of Jan 21-27 (after you've heard the first sermon in the series on Jan 20/21.) Some hosts ask me about how to align their daily devotionals/spiritual exercises with the weekend sermons. You have two options. You can either hand out your materials to your group members as soon as you get them, or you can hand them out at your first group meeting and then they can start doing the devotionals/exercises the day after you meet. If you do the latter, they end up being a little off from the sermons time-wise, but that's ok.
OPTIONS FOR WATCHING THE SMALL GROUP VIDEOS:
If your group is meeting at your workplace or at a restaurant/coffee shop or online, rather than trying to watch the DVD together during your meeting, you will find it easier to have your group members watch the small group videos each week BEFORE your group meets in order to give you more time for discussion and prayer. You might forward this email to your group members so they have the links to watch the videos.
Thank you for serving as a Freedom group host! May God pour out His grace, blessing, and presence on your group!
Blessings,
Roger Sodsod
Executive Pastor of Adult Ministries
Vineyard Church