Are you afraid to read a book in your Mom Heart group that doesn't come with discussion questions? It's not as difficult as you might think.
"I'm feeling called by God to lead a group but I'm not a teacher.""I've never been trained to lead women's ministry.""I'm an introvert."
Have you ever said anything like these to yourself? Did you know that you can start a Mom Heart group without being a teacher? Mom Heart groups gather for the purpose of restoring moms’ hearts to God’s heart for motherhood. When you gather a small number of women together for this purpose, you just need to be willing to initiate and then facilitate a conversation. The goal is to get the women talking to each other and to explore ideas and scripture together.
Here are some tips in writing questions to generate discussion.First of all, you need to become thoroughly familiar with the material. Read the chapter once, twice, even three times to internalize and understand what it says. (This is for both scripture and other books.)As you are reading, mark the passages that jump out at you or that the Lord impresses on you as being for your group. Make notes in the margin if something occurs to you.
Once you are familiar with the chapter and you've marked a few sentences or passages that stood out to you, begin to form them into questions. Take the passage and turn it into a question that causes women to think or apply it to themselves.For example, in this recent post, you can read a passage that struck me and then read the question that I wrote merely by rephrasing the sentence into a question that can be discussed by the group.Here's another example from page 26 of Different. This passage jumped out as meaningful so I marked it on my first read-through. After a second read-through, it still seemed like something that would apply to the women in my group.Here's the passage: "But none of these qualities were practical or effective in responding to this one who needed my slowness and my attention in the midst of my busyness."Here's the question I wrote down and asked during my group: "Who needs your slowness and attention? Are you willing to give it?"Can you see how I took the passage and just rephrased it into a question?
Here's another example from page 67.The passage: "Will I choose to be a victim of my circumstances, using my differences and difficulties as excuses for why I failed to do great things? Or will I decide to view my differences as superpowers that can enable me to live better and live out a story worth telling?"The question: "When have you chosen to be a victim of your circumstances? How did you make a choice to rise above the problems and move forward regardless?" <----- notice that none of these questions are yes/no questions. I could have asked, "Have you ever chosen to be a victim of your circumstances?" That only generates yes/no answers, it doesn't elicit discussion. Always double check your questions after they are written and make sure they can't be answered with a simple yes or no.Here are some general questions that you can use to apply to many different topics or thoughts within a chapter.-How will you implement this in your home?-What feelings does this stir up in you?-How has God used circumstances such as these to bring growth in your life?-What is one thing you can try to apply this week?Leading a Mom Heart group might feel intimidating, but it doesn't have to be complicated or scary. God will reveal which passages from a book or scripture are those that apply to your group. Trust Him to bring thoughts to mind as you prepare before hand.What is keeping you from jumping in to lead a group? Are you feeling called but not qualified? So were the disciples and just look how God used them! You can do it. We are here to support you and answer your questions. If God calls you, He will provide what you need.