What kind of help will I need to organize the study?

This depends on (1) your group size and (2) the sort of “environment” you’d like to create for your study. For example, if you are leading a small group of friends in your own living room, you could easily handle everything yourself! But if you’re running an event for a large group of parishioners in the church hall, you may want help with some details.

If you are organizing a large study for an in-person setting, we suggest that you break down the leadership roles in the following way and recruit others to help you. If you have a smaller team, leadership team members can take on more than one role.

• Study Leader: (This is probably you!) Organizes the study and trains and leads the Core Team. See the study leader checklist.
• Core Team Members:
  • Small-Group Facilitators: Oversee small-group discussions of 8–12 people, keeping them on time and on track. See the facilitator coordinator checklist.
  • Prayer Leader: Prays for the success of the study and leads the group in prayer at the beginning and end of each session. See the prayer coordinator checklist.
  • Promotional Coordinator: Gets the word out about the study at your parish and, if possible, at neighboring parishes. This person should consider requesting space for bulletin ads, requesting pulpit announcements, hanging flyers, setting up an info table in the parish lobby, sending a parish-wide email, and promoting the event on social media. Ascension’s free promotional resources will help with this!
  • Hospitality Coordinator: Makes participants feel at home by personally welcoming them, perhaps providing refreshments, and ensuring that the meeting space is a pleasant place to be. See the hospitality coordinator checklist.
  • Registration and Communications Coordinator: Handles registration and communications with participants, ensuring that they know when and where the study meets and that they have the materials they need for the study. See the registration and communications coordinator checklist.
  • Logistics Coordinator: Handles room setup, including the operation of audio/visual equipment. See the logistics coordinator checklist.
  • Child Care Coordinator: Organizes child care for participants. This ensures young parents are able to make the time to join your study. See the child care coordinator checklist.