leading

If you are a mom, you are a leader. If you have a community you invest in, you are a leader. Your integrity determines the direction and influence of your leadership; great leaders passionately align who they say they are with how they actually live and lead. This includes casting vision, keeping priorities focussed, serving those they lead and taking risks to bring that which is still unseen, alive. Strong leadership can be developed in anyone who is motivated to make a difference to those they influence, and who are willing to say “yes.” Watch and see where God leads you as you choose to be a catalyst for hope and join the Courageous Girls movement. Let’s go! Use these tips as you build your group, lead your group and support the group over the years ahead!

Communicate Well

As the group leader, communication is one of your most important jobs.  Timely communication with your group increases the likelihood that members will commit and follow through. It ensures that everyone will operate with the same expectations and will allow for trust and open dialogue to develop over time. While each group’s communication preferences will vary, email is a quick and efficient way to reach everyone with one message.  Email templates are attached to each monthly lesson; we recommend that you preface each meeting with a reminder email about the meeting date, time and location about 1-2 weeks before it is scheduled. These emails also offer an overview of each lesson, along with prompts to start conversations before the group meeting. Make sure your group members can access this webpage, full of helpful resources, along with the My Courageous Girls Facebook page that posts updates about speaking engagements and live videos to use as additional support.

Prepare

Preparing for your CG group is simple: Follow the steps listed on the ‘Getting Started‘ page to learn everything about getting your group off the ground well. Included with each lesson plan is a section entitled ‘Prepare.” Use these notes, along with the ‘Email Overview’ to give yourself a better understanding of the topics and issues being covered at each group meeting. The most important thing to prepare for is making sure each discussion leader is equipped with the necessary resources and support to be successful. If your group rotates discussion facilitators each month, it will be important that each leader prepare herself before the group meeting. This may include prepping craft supplies, delegating snack or hosting responsibilities, ensuring that printable handouts are copied beforehand as well as any other logistical details that need to be covered. This should NOT be overwhelming. Use the tools provided here on the website and reach out to your group members to help, too. If you feel you need additional information on a particular topic being discussed or simply want to have more knowledge before leading the group, there are several outstanding resources identified on the ‘Resource’ pages, located under the ‘Tools’ menu.

We highly recommend that all moms participating in your CG group read the book, Courageous: Being Daughters Rooted in Grace that was written with you in mind.

Empower Others to Help

You have the ability to set the tone of your group based on how you lead. Delegating overall responsibilities brings two benefits:

1) Your own sustainability as a leader,

and 

2) Capitalizing and valuing the diverse resources and giftings represented within your CG group.

Delegating is a skill set that most of us moms struggle with and as you model trusting others with different aspects of the group process, you will help everyone grow in their ability to risk, try new things and experience what God can do through them. Empowering others creates a dynamic that allows all moms involved to take invested interest in the long-term health and well-being of the group. Initially consider having each mom lead a lesson, host a gathering, contribute resources to crafts and activities, provide snacks, pray for the direction of the group and courageously share inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Empowering others models Christ’s example of leadership that our girls desperately need to see.

Establish Guidelines

Research tells us that children play best when the playground is bordered with a fence or other boundary, allowing the children a feeling of security and safety to play freely. Often, in these environments, you will find kids running about in a field playing a game of tag or imaginatively making up a game of Chopped Jr. with the dirt and leaves found around them. On the other hand, a playground in the open, with no visible border or safety feature typically finds kids cloistered together in one small area, too pensive to explore on their own.  Make your Courageous Girls group resemble the first kind of playground – one where safe boundaries and guidelines keep everyone confident to explore new territory and share openly. While the guidelines are not meant to be restrictive, you will find that individuals will share more often and more honestly if guidelines are established up front, protected and reviewed each year with your group. For help establishing guidelines that fit your group, check out our CG Guidelines: Points to Consider (also found in the CG curriculum, year1, month 1).

Pray

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Ephesians 6:18). If you are a natural leader, your tendency may be to “act first,” then pray.  If you do not feel like you are a natural leader, you might pray but never act. We encourage all CG leaders to take time to pray before considering any action steps, and ask the Lord in your prayers to embolden your forward movement so that moms will confidently follow where you’re going. Though everything you tangibly need to get this group launched is provided on this website, we trust that God will personally speak to you regarding the needs of the moms and daughters in your local community, and how to best meet them.

1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 says “Pray without ceasing. Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”