Connect Leader Training

Connect Groups are a vital part of how we build healthy church communities. They are essential to our collective journey as we follow Jesus together and outwork His mission in the world around us. In our Connect Groups we value belonging, growth, and contribution.

Belonging

Connect Groups are a place where everyone can find a friend. In Connect Groups we build relationships that last as a crowd becomes a family. Through the highs and lows of life no one needs to do the journey alone.

Growth

Connect Groups are a place where we grow together to become more like Jesus. We study the Bible, pray, and spur one another on to become all that God has created us to be.

Contribution

Connect Groups are a place for everyone to tell their story, ask questions, share wisdom, and to play their special part in our collective mission.

THANK YOU for loving and serving others!
You play a significant part in the discipleship journey of those who call our church their home.

Let’s follow Jesus together!

Care and Support

Hosting and Hospitality

Facilitating Conversations

Reporting and Resources

PCO Adding Members

PCO Taking Attendance

1. Care and Support

Join Katie & Allen as they share about caring for those in your Connect Group, and the support that is available.

Throughout Hillsong Church we are creating a culture of care, and Connect Groups are crucial in this endeavour.

Connect Groups are places where we can engage relationally beyond the surface. They are where we can get to know one another in a meaningful, genuine, and authentic way.

*Training Tip* Share personal examples of this. Share times when you’ve seen or experienced people in a connect group showing care for each other. (eg – asking about challenges at work, a family member in hospital, etc…)

We show care through practical help and through prayer. Both are important!

Examples of practical ways to support include setting up a meal train or visiting someone in the hospital. If you need help with this, ask your campus pastor or pastoral care.

Examples of prayer and spiritual support can include prayer and fasting together, sharing encouraging Bible verses, and looking to the Bible for wisdom for a particular situation.

Use a tool like a Whatsapp group for sharing prayer requests and praise reports amongst your group.

What do you do when someone in your Connect Group is facing a significant issue that may feel bigger than you can handle? You don’t have to do it alone!

Contact your Connect Group oversight, campus pastoral care team, or campus pastor. They are there to support you and the people of our church that are in your Connect Group!

2. Hosting and Hospitality

Join Katie & Jess as they talk about the value of good hospitality and hosting and Connect Group well.

Connect Group is a place where people get a true “welcome home.”

While you don’t have to meet in a home, we need to ensure that people feel welcome.

As the leader, take responsibility for the environment in which you meet. If you’re meeting in a home, do your best to ensure that it’s prepared. If you’re meeting in a café, be the first one there to welcome everyone else as they arrive.

Some people can be anxious about walking into a new space or meeting new people. Clear communication can help alleviate this.

When it comes to communication, consider:

1. What platform will you use: a lot of groups create a group Whatsapp chat.

2. Meeting place, date and time: Include start and finish time as it is important for people getting kids to bed or up early for work the next day.

3. Plans for food or ideas of what everyone can contribute.

Communicating expectations can alleviate anxiety.

Consistency matters!

Pick a rhythm. Some groups meet fortnightly, some weekly or monthly.

Stick to your plans as best you can. Even if people have to cancel, it’s normally still worth meeting with whoever can come so that you build a consistent rhythm.

Consider safety

Establish “ground rules” such as confidentiality and respect so that people feel safe to share honestly.

You don’t need to shoulder everyone’s burdens on your own. When appropriate, let people know that you want to ask a pastor or leader for their input or help.

Maintaining confidentiality and confidence is important!

Always consider safety of children within the parameters of our church safe church training which is available for you.

3. Facilitating Conversations

Join Katie & Jesse as they give some great tips on how to facilitate good conversation in your Connect Group.

In Connect Groups we are endeavouring to create an environment that fosters good conversation.

They aren’t the place to preach your favourite message :)

This means that:

You don’t have to be a theologian to lead a connect group!

You don’t have to be articulate to lead a connect group!

Be yourself and don’t feel like you have to answer every question. “I don’t know but let’s find out together” is a great answer!

We are creating an environment in which people can grow.

When it comes to good conversation, how can we ask powerful questions?

Take the pressure off! You don’t have to get everything “right”.

Ask open ended questions, not questions that can be answered yes or no. (eg – “What did you do over the long weekend?” is a better question than “Did you have a good long weekend?”

Know that there is gold in your group

You may be the leader, but there is probably a lot of collective wisdom in your group.

You don’t have to answer everything. Let others answer.

Sometimes an individual can hijack or derail the conversation.

If this happens, consider:

Ask, “Does anyone else have anything to add to that?” If Jack is doing all the talking, use people’s names to invite others to contribute, such as “Jesse, what do you think about that verse?”

Ask your Connect Group oversite, pastoral care, or campus pastor for their help or wisdom.

Chat with the individual separately. Let them know what you’re trying to achieve in creating an environment where everyone can share and feel like they belong.

As 2 Tim 2:23 says, protect against foolish arguments.

When you have a new person coming, let your group know so that they can all look out for them and welcome them. Consider following up with that person in the week after you meet to see if they enjoyed it.

4. Reporting and Resources

Join Katie & Bryan as they share about the resources available for your Connect Group, and the importance of reporting.

Planning Centre Online (PCO) is our chosen platform for managing Connect Groups across our church.

It’s a simple tool and easy to use.

It enables you to manage your Connect Group.

It equips our pastors and Connect Group oversites with the information necessary to pastor Connect Groups across the breadth of our church.

We ask that all our Connect Group leaders use PCO.

Your Connect Group oversight will help you set this up!

We also have training videos that will help you learn how to add members, create events, and record attendance.

This is a key part of how we make a big church small and extend pastoral care to our entire church.

We provide Connect Group studies for you to use.

Use https://hil.so/cg-resources to access these resources.

We provide studies that relate specifically to our weekend preaching and teaching themes. We also provide studies for you to choose from that explore topics chosen because they fit within our discipleship ecosystem (and specifically our discipleship essentials.)

Our Connect Group studies are written by great people from across our campuses and the content is edited and approved through a centralised process.

When it comes to leading Connect Group studies, consider:

You don’t have to be the expert! You don’t have to answer everyone’s questions. Learn and grow together.

The goal isn’t to complete a study. The goal is to facilitate conversation and growth. The study is simply a tool.

Some Connect Groups like to keep things pretty simple while some like to go deeper. Our studies are written so that you can use them to do either. Use just the key points and questions to keep it "entry level" or use "digging deeper" and recommended resources for further study!