Week 5: There Is an Enemy

Expect Weight—and Expect Freedom

Week five is often one of the most significant weeks in Rooted.

The subject of spiritual warfare can feel unfamiliar or uncomfortable, and the Strongholds Experience asks people to speak honestly about patterns of sin, shame and bondage. Yet this is also a week when we regularly see people begin to walk in freedom.

Enter with hope, not fear.

The focus is not the power of the enemy. The focus is the victory, grace and authority of Jesus Christ.

Keep the Conversation Biblical and Balanced

Do not explain away the spiritual realm. Scripture teaches that we have an enemy, that lies and temptation are real and that our struggle is not merely against flesh and blood.

At the same time, do not blame every difficulty or sinful choice on Satan. People remain responsible for their actions, and we live in a fallen world where our own desires, the choices of others and spiritual opposition can all be involved.

Keep returning to Scripture.

The enemy condemns and says, “You will always be this.” The Holy Spirit convicts and leads us toward repentance, truth and life.

We are not looking for leaders to be experts in every aspect of spiritual warfare. We are looking for leaders who can keep the group anchored in God’s Word and the sufficiency of Christ.

Review the Covenant Again

By week five, leaders sometimes feel that everyone has heard the covenant enough.

Review it anyway.

Confidentiality, listening without fixing, allowing everyone room to speak and treating people with dignity are essential this week. The more vulnerable the conversation, the more clearly the boundaries need to be named.

If you are leading a married group, follow Faith’s plan for separating men and women during the individual sharing portion. Confirm the rooms and leadership arrangements beforehand so the transition is calm and clear.

Set Up the Experience Carefully

Do not assume participants know what will happen.

Explain that each person will have an opportunity to share a stronghold or persistent area of sin that God has brought to light. After someone shares, the group will not analyze them or offer a list of solutions. The group will pray and speak biblical truth.

Tell them that you or your co-leader will go first.

That sentence usually lowers the anxiety in the room. It also reminds you that your example will shape what follows.

Leaders Go First

Prepare what you will share. Do not choose something so safe that it avoids meaningful vulnerability, and do not share details that are inappropriate for the group.

Name the stronghold clearly. Be honest about how it has affected you. Then point to the truth of Christ and the freedom you are seeking.

Coordinate with your co-leader so that one of you shares and the other models how to respond in prayer. Participants need to see the pattern before they are asked to repeat it.

Fight the Urge to Fix

When someone shares a struggle, compassionate people often want to give advice immediately.

Resist that urge.

Most participants already know many of the steps they “should” take. The deeper need is confession, prayer, renewed truth and the transforming work of God.

If someone begins offering advice, intervene kindly:

“Thank you for wanting to help. For this part of the evening, the best thing we can do is pray and speak God’s truth over what was shared.”

Advice and practical support may have a place later. In the Strongholds Experience, protect the purpose of the moment.

Move From Confession to Truth

Confession should not leave a person staring only at their failure.

After someone shares, pray specifically. Then bring them back to a clear truth from Scripture: there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ; if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive; sin does not have the final word; Christ has overcome.

The goal is not merely to expose darkness. It is to bring darkness into the light of Jesus.

Be careful not to make promises Scripture does not make. Freedom may include an immediate breakthrough, and it may also begin a longer process of repentance, accountability and healing.

Use Pastoral Wisdom

A stronghold disclosure may reveal an issue that needs follow-up beyond the group: an addiction, a threat to someone’s safety, abuse, criminal activity or a serious pastoral concern.

Do not investigate in the room. Do not promise absolute secrecy. Thank the person for their honesty, pray with them and connect with the appropriate Faith pastor or ministry leader.

You are not expected to carry every situation alone.

Protect Enough Time

Do not squeeze the Strongholds Experience into the final few minutes.

Begin with a brief welcome, a story if scheduled and enough discussion to connect with the week’s material. Then transition with ample time for each person to share and receive prayer.

Some leaders dread this evening and unconsciously delay the main portion. Plan against that tendency.

Give God room to work.

Before You Lead

Review the covenant, confirm any men’s and women’s room arrangements, prepare your own stronghold, coordinate with your co-leader, identify several key Scriptures, protect enough time and know whom to contact if a serious issue is disclosed.

Also confirm your Serve Experience details for the coming weeks.

Week five is not about forcing vulnerability. It is about making a safe, biblical space where people can bring sin into the light and hear again that Jesus is greater.