How to Facilitate a Life’s Healing Choices Small Group

Hello and blessings to you. Thank you for choosing to be a Facilitator and we are excited because we know this choice will not only transform the lives of your participants but yours as well. This series emphasizes the fact that Life is tough, and we live in an imperfect world. We are not perfect. Others hurt us, and we hurt ourselves and others. Therefore, we must learn how to be free and heal from our Hurts, Hang ups, and Habits. Your role as a Facilitator is to ensure the Guidelines for how the process is done is followed and that you provide a Safe and Confidential environment for your participants and yourself to be able to support each other in this healing. Now, the first thing I want to assure you is you do not have to be a bible expert to be a facilitator. But here is what you do have to be. Humble, transparent, and coachable.

Sharing Guidelines

This is probably the most important responsibility in your role as a Facilitator. You must ensure everyone feels respected in this process. Be careful not to make comments that could be interpreted as judgment on your part. Your example will let everyone know what acceptable and not acceptable behavior is. Beguine by saying that a person can share if they want to share. If they do not want to share, they do not have to, period. Once they are done sharing, they can say pass. Once they finish sharing you will say Thank you for Sharing. If while someone is sharing, someone else interrupts them or tries to advise them, gently say that as per the guidelines everyone deserves to be heard and that we leave the counseling to the Pastors.

Remember, the participants have the right to their own feelings or thoughts. It is God’s job to help them with their thoughts or feelings.

The Welcome Statement, List of Strongholds Sheet, Inventory Worksheet, and the How to Find the right Accountability Partner

These subjects will be covered by the teacher.

Please know that Sharing the Moral Inventory is not something that will be done as a group. It is something that will be done with whoever the participant chooses as their accountability partner. If someone says they do not want to do the Inventory Worksheet or that they don’t see the need for an Accountability Partner, let them know they are not forced to do anything they don’t want to do. You can be an accountability partner for anyone who asks you but remember that you are committing to total confidentiality. The only exception to the Confidentiality guideline is if someone threatens to hurt themselves or someone else. In that case, you have to report it to authorities because it is a life-threatening situation. We want to encourage you to pray for your role in this Experience and Journey as a Facilitator. You are doing something special and I promise you will be amazed at how God will move in the next Eight weeks. God Bless you.

Life’s Healing Choices Small Group Sharing Schedule

8:00pm to 8:15pm - Opening Prayer and Worship (The Overseer)

8:15pm to 8:45pm -Welcome Statement, Read together the 8 principals, and Lesson (The Teacher)

8.45pm to 9:15pm -Sharing Time (The Facilitator)

• Read Sharing Guidelines- Thank the group in advance for honoring the guidelines.

• Invite participants to share their answers to the Discovery Questions. They can start by sharing why they joined

9:15pm to 9:30pm - Petitions, Serenity Prayer, and Dismissal (The Overseer)

Life’s Healing Choices Welcome Statement

Welcome to Life’s Healing Choices at Casa de Alabanza. We believe you are here for a reason, and whatever that reason is, we want to help you and guide you to find true freedom in Jesus Christ. We are a Christ- Centered support group and provide a confidential and safe environment for you to heal from any kind of life’s hurts, habits, or hang-ups. Healing takes time, so we ask that you commit to the Eight-week sessions. Whether in Victory or Failure in a struggle, everyone in our meeting starts from ground zero, as we take time to learn and examine ourselves from where we are and learn to apply the steps and principles, One Day At A Time.

Life’s Healing Choices Safe Place Sharing Guidelines

1. We are here to support one another, not fix one another.

2. Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts and feelings. Limit your sharing to three to five minutes. I will raise my finger to signal if you are past five minutes. When finished please say pass or thank you.

3. Please do not interrupt someone when they are sharing. This is critical to the healing process. Do not cross talk when someone is sharing.

4. Anonymity and confidentiality are basic requirements to be part of this group. What is shared in the group stays in the group. The only exception is when someone threatens to injure themselves or others.

5. Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered healing group.

Life's Healing Choices – 8 Principles

1. Admitting Need—The Reality Choice

   I Realize I’m not God. I admit that I am powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and that my life is unmanageable.

   Key verse: Happy are those who know they are spiritually poor (Matthew 5.3).

2. Getting Help—The Hope Choice

   I earnestly believe that God Exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover.

   Key verse: Happy are those who mourn, for God will comfort them (Matthew 5.4)

3. Letting Go—The Commitment Choice

   I consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ’s care and control.

   Key verse: Happy are those who are humble (Matthew 5.5).

4. Coming Clean—The Housecleaning Choice

   I openly examine and confess my faults to myself, to God, and to someone I trust.

   Key verse: Happy are the pure in heart (Matthew 5.8)

5. Making Changes—The Transformation Choice

   I voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

   Key verse: Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires (Matthew 5.6).

6. Repairing Relationships—The Relationship Choice

   I evaluate all my relationships, offer forgiveness to those who have hurt me, and make amends for harm I’ve done to others, except when to do so would harm them or others.

   Key verse: Happy are the meek (Matthew 5.5) and Happy are those who are merciful to others (Matthew 5.7)

7. Maintaining Momentum—The Growth Choice

   I reserve a daily quiet time with God for self-examination, bible reading, and prayer in order to know God and His will for my life and to gain the power to follow His will.

   Key verse: Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith ( 2 Corinthians 13.5)

8. Recycling Pain—The Sharing Choice

   I yield myself to God to be used to bring this Good News to others, both by my example and by my words.

   Key verse: Happy are those who are persecuted because they do what God requires (Matthew 5.10)

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.

Taking as Jesus did this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that You will make things right

if I surrender to Your will;

that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen

Written by: Reinhold Niebuhr

List of Strongholds

Substance Abuse Strongholds

Food

Cigarettes

Alcohol

Drugs

Medicine Cabinet

Diet Pills

Emotional Strongholds

Self-focused Fears

Phobias

Hate

Jealousy

Unworthiness

Self-focus

Self-Pity

Sexual Strongholds

Pornography

Lewdness

Lust

Promiscuity

Adultery

Moral Inventory Worksheet

The Person- Who is the object of my resentment or fear?

The Cause- What Specific action did that person take that hurt me?

The Effect- What effect did that action have on my life? How did it make you feel?

The Damage- What damage did that action do to my basic social, security, and/ or sexual instincts?

My part- What part of the resentment am I responsible for? Who did I hurt?

How To Find The Right Accountability Partner

The person needs to be:

1. Somebody you trust and who has your best interest at heart.

2. Somebody who is not a gossip and who has a reputation for keeping a confidence.

3. Somebody who understands the value of what you’re doing.

4. Somebody who is mature enough to not be shocked by what you tell them.

5. Somebody who knows the Lord well enough to reflect his forgiveness to you.

6. Somebody who is your same sex or gender.

7. Somebody who is committed to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ