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Alpha Session Leader Manual (Alpha with Nicky Gumbel & Alpha Film Series)

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Alpha Session Leader Manual (Alpha with Nicky Gumbel & Alpha Film Series) Alpha Session Leader Manual (Alpha with Nicky Gumbel & Alpha Film Series) Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic Church Plymouth, Michigan Winter 2019 Prayer of St. Teresa of Avila Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours. Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good. Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people. Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 2 Dear Session Leaders, Welcome and thank you for accepting the call to be a session leader. We trust that if you have served in this role in the past, you found it to be fulfilling. For those of you serving for the first time, know that the Alpha team is praying for you. The role of the session leader is unique because it not only requires the individual to be in front of the entire Alpha group of hosts, helpers, and guests during each session as the focal point, but also be a leader for pre-session prayer and session preparation. You will be the primary contact each week for your session’s hosts and helpers. If you don’t already know them personally from parish activities, you will make new friends over the next eleven weeks. In a certain sense, the relationship between the session leader and hosts and helpers is very similar to the bonds that will form between hosts, helpers, and guests. To that end, everyone who attends one of your sessions is a guest. Please love and welcome them. What are your responsibilities? 1. Between each session: • Pray for your group. • Remind your hosts and helpers to pray for guests. • Email your group mid-week reminding them of the topic for the week. • Remind them of any important dates (Alpha Day Away dates, Celebration Dinner, seeking testimony from guests, etc.). • Encourage them to email or contact you if there are questions or concerns about members of their groups. • Be a source of encouragement for your hosts and helpers. 2. Thirty to forty-five minutes prior to each session, you will gather with your hosts and helpers to: • welcome them; • create an opportunity for hosts and helpers to introduce themselves to each other; • check in all of your hosts and helpers; • share any administrative details pertaining to that week’s session; • answer any questions they may have; • briefly introduce the session topic; Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 3 • lead the group in worship and prayer; and • dismiss them in time for them to greet their guests. 3. Prior to the start of each session: • Check all A/V equipment and be sure to select one or two worships songs. • Make sure hosts and helpers are ready to receive guests. • Food is a very important part of Alpha. Make sure your meal is prepared and ready to be served. 4. At the start of the session: • Begin on time. • Welcome everyone. • Introduce yourself. • Begin the meal. You may want to announce the menu. • Keep track of the time. The meal should last only thirty to thirty-five minutes. • Five minutes before the end of the meal, politely give a five-minute “warning” to the guests, announcing that the next segment of the session will begin. • Speak to: § the session topic § any announcements § the session introduction § the joke (this is an important component of Alpha and please use only the jokes made available in the manual.) • Alpha allows you to begin Worship whenever you feel comfortable using it. Typically, in Week 1, a Worship song is played with no participation. In the weeks that follow, you may choose one or two songs and encourage everyone to join in. Worship in the initial weeks will feel awkward, however this will change as Alpha progresses. • Begin the talk immediately after Worship. • Allow guests a five-minute break after the talk. • Begin small group discussion. • Watch your time. Group discussion should last for approximately thirty to thirty- five minutes. Some sessions or groups in later weeks may end earlier without your timekeeping. Give a five-minute warning before the end of the session. • End promptly. Some guests may linger, and you may find a host or helper who has questions, but close the session on time. Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 4 • Encourage the use of the online Weekly Feedback form at https://olgcparish.wufoo.com/forms/alpha-weekly-feedback-form- submission/. If Hosts do not have access to a computer, collect any Weekly Feedback Forms and any money from the sale of Alpha resources and/or Bibles. Please send forms/money to the Alpha Coordinator. Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 5 Appendix A: Key Dates and Events for Winter 2019 All sessions begin the week of January 13th and conclude the week of March 24th. Alpha Training (Alpha Essentials, Small Groups, and Prayer Ministry): Saturday, January 12, 2019 in OLGC JP II A & B Rooms. Session time is 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Alpha Day Away: Saturday, March 2, 2019, 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. in OLGC Church. Celebration Dinner: Saturday, March 30, 2019, 6:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. in OLGC Social Hall. Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 6 Session Leader Notes—Session 1: Is There More to Life than This? Session Schedule • Introduction by Alpha Coordinator • Meal • Introduction of Session • Worship • DVD • Small Group Dismissal • Dismissal Introductions on Initial Session Since this is the very first week of Alpha, the Alpha Coordinator will be on hand (with the exclusion of Home groups) to welcome everyone before the meal and to introduce the session leader. With about five minutes left in the meal, the session leader will give a five-minute warning for the end of that segment. At that point, you may start the session with: “Welcome. It's wonderful to see you! We are thrilled that you've arrived, and it's great to have you here. I hope everyone had enough to eat and have enjoyed the food. “The first thing you may be thinking is, ‘Is there going to be anyone else normal here?’ I heard of a couple who on the first night of Alpha sat in the parking lot to watch people arrive and see if anybody looked normal. Half an hour later, they had seen enough normal-looking people go inside, that they decided the join the group. “I am looking forward to spending the next ten weeks with you. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to let me know. “The final thing that might be going through your mind is ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ or more likely ‘What has my spouse or my friend gotten me into?’ This reminds me of a story. (go to joke for this session).” Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 7 Joke I heard about a wealthy Texan who had an impressive ranch in Texas. On his ranch, he had a HUGE floodlit swimming pool and in this swimming pool he kept a SHARK. The rich Texan loved to throw lavish dinner parties and would invite his guests up around the pool afterward. Then he would say to them, “If any of you will swim a length of this pool then I will give you one of three things: $10 million, half of my estate, or the hand of my daughter in marriage.” He always finished by telling everyone, “I must warn you before you jump in, there is a shark in the pool.” Well, one evening as he was saying this, there was a splash, and a man, very nicely dressed, swam the entire length of the pool chased by the shark. He got out of the pool just in time as the shark thudded into the wall. The Texan said, “Congratulations! You are the first person who has ever done that. Now what would you like? Would you like $10 million?” The man gasped, “No, thank you.” The Texan asked, “Would you like half of my estate?” The man said, “No, thank you.” The Texan asked, “Ahh, you want the hand of my daughter in marriage?” The exasperated man said, “No, thank you!” So the Texan asked him, “Well, what do you want?” The man answered, “I want the name of the man who pushed me in!” Alpha Session Leader Manual (AWNG & AFS) Our Lady of Good Counsel 12.04.2018 8 Session Leader Notes—Session 2: Who Is Jesus? Reminders Ø Starting this week, remind the hosts or helpers to bring a dessert for their table for next week’s session. Please remind them to continue to do this for the remainder of the course. They may bake or buy the dessert, whatever they prefer. More than likely, over the course of a few weeks, guests will offer to bring a dessert as well. This is an easy way to build community. Ø Prior to the session, please remind hosts to pray for their guests throughout the week. Ø Ask hosts and helpers if they have any questions. Ø For this session, you will continue to act as timekeeper as the previous week. Ø No group discussion should go over forty-five minutes; remember to give a five-minute warning.
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