wEEK 1 - WHAT IS ROOTED?
Week one is always a mix of excitement and uncertainty.
As a leader, you may feel ready to get started. You may also be wondering whether you have prepared enough, whether the group will connect or whether you will know what to do when the conversation becomes quiet.
That is normal.
After walking through Rooted many times, I have learned that the first week is not about getting everything perfect. It is about helping people feel welcomed, lowering the anxiety in the room and beginning to build the kind of trust that will make the next nine weeks possible.
Remember, you are not trying to manufacture a powerful moment. You are creating space for God to work.
What Rooted Is Really About
Rooted is more than a course, and it is more than a weekly Bible study. There is teaching. There are questions. There is a book to work through. But the real value of Rooted is what happens as people begin to practise following Jesus together. Over ten weeks, participants will spend time in Scripture, prayer, repentance, serving, generosity, worship and sharing their stories. They will not simply talk about discipleship. They will begin putting it into practice through the 7 Rhythms of a Disciple.
That is why we should not approach Rooted as information that needs to be delivered. Our hope is transformation. We want to see people open God’s Word, become more honest about where they are and invite God to shape them into the likeness of Jesus. Rooted is not meant to become only educational or therapeutic. It is meant to help form a transformational community.
Some people will experience significant spiritual breakthroughs. Others will take quieter steps that may not seem dramatic at first. Both matter. Your job is not to determine what transformation should look like for each person. Your job is to faithfully lead them through the process and trust God with the results.
You Are Part of Something Bigger
One of the things I love about Rooted is the way it multiplies. Someone led you through this experience. They welcomed you, listened to you, challenged you and created space for God to work in your life. Now you have the opportunity to do that for someone else.
The goal is not simply to run another program at Faith. It is to see disciples helping other disciples follow Jesus.
You are passing on something you have personally experienced. That matters because Rooted is difficult to lead only from a manual. The strongest leaders are not necessarily the most polished teachers. They are people who have allowed God to work in them and are willing to help others walk the same road.
You are one part of a much longer story of discipleship and multiplication.
Use the Support Around You
You have several tools available as you lead.
The Rooted Leader Guide will help you with the weekly material, including questions, icebreakers and the basic flow of the group conversation. Faith’s leader material and weekly communication will help you understand the larger plan, important details and anything that may be specific to how we are leading Rooted here.
Use both.
Do not feel that you need to remember everything or solve every situation on your own. Stay connected with your Rooted coach or ministry leader. Ask questions when something is unclear. Reach out when a pastoral concern arises or when you are unsure how to handle a difficult group dynamic.
Experienced leaders still ask for help. That is not a sign that you are unprepared. It is part of leading wisely.
Come in With Expectation
One of the easiest mistakes to make as an experienced leader is to assume you know how the night will go. You know the material. You know the schedule. You have heard the questions before. But the people in the room are different every time. Their stories are different. Their fears are different. Their relationship with God may be very different from what you expect.
That is why preparation for Week One needs to be more than reviewing the guide and setting up the room.
Pray.
Pray for the people whose names you know. Pray for the people you have not met yet. Pray that God will help you notice the person standing alone or the person who looks as though they are already considering leaving. Pray for your own heart too. It is easy to focus so much on leading everyone else that we forget God intends to work in us throughout Rooted as well.
You are not leading from a place of having arrived. You are simply a few steps farther along the path, helping others continue toward Jesus.
Make the Leader Huddle a Priority
Before the first gathering, make every effort to be part of the leader huddle. It may be tempting to see this as one more logistical meeting, especially when there are already several things to prepare. But the huddle is an important final moment of alignment, prayer and encouragement before you meet your group.
It reminds us that none of us is leading alone.
Use that time to settle your heart, pray with the other leaders and make sure you understand the flow of the evening. Ask any last-minute questions there rather than trying to figure everything out once participants begin arriving. The practical details matter, but so does entering the night spiritually ready.
Your First Job Is to Help People Breathe
For many participants, walking into week one is intimidating.
Some will know several people. Others may not know anyone. Some will be comfortable in a church environment, while others will already feel out of place. Do not underestimate how much a simple welcome matters. Look people in the eye. Use their name. Tell them you are glad they came. Introduce them to someone else instead of leaving them to find their own way into the conversation.
I have seen people decide within the first few minutes whether they feel as though they belong in the group. Your group begins forming before you open the book or ask the first official question.
The Rooted Leader material describes this as radical hospitality. That can sound like a large idea, but most of the time it looks very ordinary. It is choosing to move past your own comfort so someone else can feel at ease.
That reflects the way Jesus has welcomed us. He moved toward us, and now we have the opportunity to move toward others.
Understand the Flow of the First Night
Week One may look a little different from the weeks that follow.
The evening begins with everyone gathering for the large-group portion. This is where participants are introduced to the purpose of Rooted and invited to approach the ten weeks with commitment, consistency and contribution. Do not treat the large-group gathering as time when you are off duty. Be ready early. Know where your group is sitting. Welcome participants as they arrive, help them find one another and pay attention to anyone who seems uncertain or alone.
Before the evening begins, make sure you know where your group meeting room is and how to get there from the large group time. Have any snacks, books or supplies ready ahead of time. That preparation allows you to focus on people instead of logistics.
When the large group portion finishes, gather your people and move to the room together. Do not simply announce the room number and assume everyone will find it. Walk with them. Keep an eye on the back of the group. Make sure no one gets left behind. Use the transition as another opportunity to learn names, make conversation and help people feel that they are already part of the group.
Once you reach the room, the focus shifts from hearing about Rooted to beginning to experience it. You will help people connect, introduce the group covenant, explain what the coming weeks will involve and share your own story. The large gathering and the small group are not two separate parts of the evening.
The first introduces the invitation. The second begins putting it into practice.
Do Not Rush Past the Icebreaker
Leaders often want to get to the meaningful conversation as quickly as possible. I understand that. Icebreakers can feel awkward, and sometimes the questions seem unimportant compared with the deeper material ahead.
But I have learned not to rush this part.
The person who laughs with the group in week one may be the person who shares something deeply personal in week five. The connection that begins over food, travel or a shared hobby may become the foundation for a much more important conversation later. Use a question that nearly anyone can answer. Avoid anything too narrow or anything that could create tension before people know one another. The goal is not to impress the group with a creative icebreaker. The goal is to get people talking and help the room feel less unfamiliar.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do in week one is help people relax enough to stay.
Set the Tone Early
Week One is also when you establish how the group will function. Take the Rooted Covenant seriously. Do not simply read through it as quickly as possible so you can move on. Talk about confidentiality. Explain that people should be given room to speak without being interrupted or immediately corrected. Remind the group that no one person should dominate the discussion. You are helping people understand that this will be a place where they can speak honestly and still be treated with dignity.
It is worth being clear in the beginning because these expectations will help you later. When difficult conversations happen, you will already have a shared understanding of how the group wants to treat one another. A healthy Rooted group is not one where everyone agrees on everything. It is one where people can be honest, listen well and keep pointing one another toward Jesus.
Prepare Your Story
One of the most important things you will do in week one is share your own story.
Do not wing it.
Even if you have told your story many times, think it through again. Decide what parts will be most helpful for this group and how you can share them clearly without taking too much time. If you eventually want participants to share for three to five minutes, keep your story within that same range. Model what you will later ask them to do.
Be honest, but be wise.
You do not need to share every detail of your life. You should also be careful not to share someone else’s story without their permission. But do not make your story so polished that people cannot see where you have needed God’s grace. Talk about a struggle. Talk about a disappointment. Talk about a place where God corrected you, carried you or met you when you did not know what to do. Your group will take its cue from you.
When a leader shares only safe, surface-level information, the group usually stays at the surface. When a leader is appropriately honest, it gives others permission to be honest too. You do not need to make your story dramatic. You need to make it real and keep Jesus at the centre of it.
Let the group know that everyone will have an opportunity to share their story during Rooted, but reassure them that they will not be surprised or asked to do it without preparation.
That helps reduce anxiety while still setting the expectation that stories are an important part of the experience.
Leave Room for People to Contribute
Rooted works best when people understand that they are participants, not spectators. From the beginning, we want to encourage commitment, consistency and contribution.
Commitment means choosing to lean into the experience.
Consistency means prioritizing the group and the daily work, even when life becomes busy.
Contribution means recognizing that every person has something to bring.
Some people will contribute immediately. Others will need time. Do not panic when there is silence. Every leader eventually asks a question that is met with blank faces. The temptation is to answer your own question, ask three more questions or make a joke about how quiet the group is. Try not to do that. Give people a moment. They may be thinking. They may be unsure whether it is safe to speak. They may simply need someone else to go first. Wait a little longer than feels comfortable. You will often find that someone eventually steps into the silence. And when they do, listen well.
Your goal is not to get through every question. Your goal is to help people engage with God and one another.
End the Night Clearly
Before people leave, make sure they know what happens next. Remind them when and where the group will meet for Week Two. Make any expectations for the coming week clear, including the daily readings or preparation they should complete.
Then invite them back.
That may sound obvious, but a clear and warm invitation matters. Tell them you are glad they came and that you are looking forward to seeing them again. People should leave knowing that their presence was noticed and that there is a place for them in the group next week.
Follow Up After Week One
Do not assume that because someone attended the first week, they have already decided to stay. Some participants will leave encouraged. Others will leave wondering whether they really fit. A short personal message can make a significant difference. Let them know you were glad they came. Tell them you are looking forward to seeing them again. If someone registered but missed the first week, reach out and make sure they know they are still welcome.
You do not need to send a long message.
Something as simple as this is enough: “It was great having you at Rooted last night. I’m really glad you’re part of our group, and I’m looking forward to next week.”
For someone who was absent: “We missed you at Rooted this week. You are still very welcome to join us next time, and I would be glad to help you get connected.”
The early weeks matter. Experience has shown that once people make it through the first few weeks and begin forming relationships, they are much more likely to stay engaged through the rest of Rooted.
Do not chase people aggressively, but do make sure they know they were noticed.
A Few Things to Check Before You Begin
Before your group meets, make sure you have:
prayed specifically for the participants;
attended the leader huddle;
reviewed the Facilitator Guide and Faith’s leader material;
confirmed where the large group and small group will meet;
walked the route between the two spaces;
prepared the room, snacks and materials;
prepared and practised your story;
thought about how you will welcome and connect people;
planned to clearly invite everyone back for week two;
decided how you will follow up after the meeting.
Then take a breath.
You do not need to control the room or make something extraordinary happen. Welcome people well. Lead with honesty. Listen carefully. Keep pointing the group toward Jesus. Some of the moments that seem small in Week One will become much more important as the weeks continue.
You are helping someone experience what another leader once helped you experience.
Trust the process, and more importantly, trust that God is already at work.
~ Pastor Andrew