Journey 101: Knowing God Leader Guide. Carol Cartmill
all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Luke 10:27).
• Understand and experience key spiritual practices including Bible study, prayer, worship, fasting, guidance, and journaling.
• Learn to recognize the “fruit” of God’s transforming activity in our lives—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.
SERVING GOD
• Focus on the Bible’s concern for the poor and for justice, while learning how to be instruments of God’s love in a broken, hurting world.
• Learn how to share the good news of Jesus in loving, winsome, and non-judgmental ways.
• Understand spiritual gifts and talents and how to use those gifts to bless others and build up the body of Christ.
• Learn how our money and material possessions are not a measure of success or a means of self-gratification, but a resource to responsibly use to glorify God.
• View time as a gift from God, to be used in keeping with God’s purposes, avoiding compulsive busyness and submitting our calendars to God’s guiding and control.
These separate, six-week studies combine to create a complete discipleship course. Although it is recommended that participants take each study, there is no set order in which they must be completed.
About the Participant Guide
Because Journey 101 is designed as an in-class experience (everything takes place in the group setting; there is no homework to be done outside of class), the participant guide is every participant’s “map” for the weekly group experience. Communicate to participants the importance of bringing their participant guides to each class, along with a pen or pencil and a Bible. Be sure to have extra writing utensils and Bibles on hand for those who forget or who may not own a Bible.
Invite participants to follow along in their participant guides as you lead them through each session. Questions and activities that are to be answered or completed in the book are highlighted in bold type. Encourage group members to write in their participant guides as directed so that they will have their own personal record of their journeys and the insights they gained along the way.
Though no homework is involved, participants may wish to use the devotional companion, Journey 101 Daily Readings, in their private devotions while completing the three-part Journey 101 series. These devotions will help to enrich their understanding and application of what they are learning in class.
About This Leader Guide
This leader guide provides outlines for six group sessions, each structured for 90 minutes. If desired, you may adapt the format for either a 60-minute session or 120-minute session by making the adjustments outlined below:
Original 90-minute Format
Welcome—5 minutes
Connect—5 minutes
Reflect—3-5 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion—10 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion—10 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion—10 minutes
Review—3-5 minutes
Closing—5 minutes
Pray Together—5 minutes
Adapted 60-Minute Format
Welcome and Connect (combined and abbreviated)—5 minutes
Reflect—3 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion (abbreviated)—5 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion (abbreviated)—5 minutes
Video Highlights—10 minutes
Group Discussion (abbreviated)—5 minutes
Review—2 minutes
Closing and Prayer (combined and abbreviated)—5 minutes
Adapted 120-Minute Format
Welcome—5 minutes
Connect—10 minutes
Reflect—3-5 minutes
Video Highlights - 10 minutes
Group Discussion - 15 minutes
Video Highlights - 10 minutes
Group Discussion - 15 minutes
Video Highlights - 10 minutes
Group Discussion - 15 minutes
Review—10 minutes
Closing—5 minutes
Pray Together—10 minutes
Whichever format you choose, each session plan follows the same order. After welcoming participants and offering a prayer, you will lead participants through a get-to-know-you activity followed by a brief personal reflection exercise. Next, you will play three video segments (8–10 minutes each), pausing after each for group discussion. This is the primary “teaching time” of the session. The videos present the content while the group discussion helps participants to process it and make application. Note that more questions are provided than you may have time to cover. Select the questions you wish to cover and put a checkmark beside them. Encourage participants to reflect on the questions you do not cover in class on their own.
After the final group discussion, you will briefly review the main points of the session and ask a couple of key comprehension questions. As the session draws to a close, you will invite participants to respond to the lesson in a closing activity. Finally, end the session with a time of prayer.
We believe that nothing in the world will bring you greater joy, greater challenge, and greater meaning than the journey into life as God intended us to live it. As you begin the journey, open yourself to what God has to teach you through the Scriptures, prayer, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Fifteen Core Traits of a Deeply Committed Christian
KNOWING GOD
Christian Essentials—Deeply committed Christians understand the essential gospel on which most Christians agree, across denominational lines and centuries, expressed in historic creeds such as the Apostles’ and Nicene creeds, and can share the gospel intelligently with non-Christian friends.
Bible Understanding—Deeply committed Christians know the grand sweep of the Bible’s story of salvation, including a basic timeline of biblical events. They understand the divine/human nature of the Bible and know how to read it, not merely as an ancient document or a reference book of spiritual answers, but for personal spiritual growth.
Church/Denomination—Deeply committed Christians value the church as the body of Christ, God’s people journeying in community, and know the teachings characteristic of their particular denomination.
Basic Christian Ethics—Deeply committed Christians understand how to apply their Christian faith to important ethical issues and are committed to living out Christian ethical principles such as justice, integrity, peace, and responsibility for the well-being of others.
Knowing God’s Will—Deeply committed Christians know the broad scope of God’s purpose for human beings, and have a growing sense of how to discern God’s will for their lives through prayer, Bible study, and the wisdom of other Christians.
LOVING GOD
Surrender—Deeply committed Christians surrender the control of every aspect of their lives to Jesus, repent of sin, set aside their own desires and sense of importance, and offer their lives in obedient service to God.
Transformation—Deeply committed Christians are being continually transformed by the power