Follow-up conversations outside of your small group meetings allow you to make disciples by helping another person in a very focused way, based on what you observe that person needs. But as a leader, you don’t have to do all the follow-up yourself. Use follow-up appointments as an opportunity to help others grow in their disciplemaking and leadership capacity.
Think about who else can help
As you gain experience and confidence in mentoring conversations yourself, start to get others involved. When a need arises, evaluate the resources in your group. Is there someone on your leadership team who you can call on to help that person? Perhaps there is someone in the group at large who has faced a similar crisis or question.
Take along an apprentice
One way to involve others is to take them with you in these appointments as an apprentice or trainee. Get permission from the person you’re helping. Send your apprentice the conversation you intend to discuss. Let them observe how you handle the discussion. Watch how they participate and what they have to share. The apprentice might be ready to jump in and take over any future conversations the other person needs – especially if it’s an issue they have experienced themselves.
Make sure the one helping is prepared
Others on your team or in your group may be ready to step right in without apprentice visits. Before you ask someone to help, carefully assess the depth and complexity of the need so you can make an appropriate assignment. Then, make sure the assignment is specific. Help them prepare for it. Talk over what they should do and not do. Make sure they know how to use the simple tools at pursueGOD.org. Help them choose a topic. Pray for them, and debrief with them afterwards to find out how it went and what can be learned.
Use appointments to train mentors
As you take potential leaders through Mentor Training, use follow-up conversations as an opportunity to give your co-leaders some on-the-job training. It’s a great way to put what they’re learning into practice to help others pursue God. Those individual follow-up meetings might blossom into mentoring relationships. And people in our groups are being equipped to help others pursue God and to lead future groups.
Discussion:
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- What are some situations where a person in your small group might need a follow-up conversation outside the group?
- Of those situations, which ones could or could not be handed off to someone else? Explain.
- How do you know when a co-leader is ready to take on some of those follow-up conversations?
- If you delegate a follow-up appointment, what do you need to do to prepare the person doing the follow-up?
- What are some things you would want to talk about after the follow-up appointment?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- What are some situations where a person in your small group might need a follow-up conversation outside the group?
- Of those situations, which ones could or could not be handed off to someone else? Explain.
- How do you know when a co-leader is ready to take on some of those follow-up conversations?
- If you delegate a follow-up appointment, what do you need to do to prepare the person doing the follow-up?
- What are some things you would want to talk about after the follow-up appointment?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
