CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO ADRIENNE'S INTRODUCTION AUDIO.
(I recorded audio of me talking the first night so that I could easily share with anyone who wants to join in the future. If you prefer to listen to my voice, you can listen to it or if you prefer to read, scroll down and simply read the notes below, they both talk about the same things).

FIRST TUESDAY NIGHT...what we talked about: 

Welcome! I am so glad to see every one of you. I explained how this group started with Ashley and I and snowballed into a big group!

• A little housekeeping. Everyone have name tag?
• Restrooms are past the kitchen table first door on the right
• If you need to step away and answer a call or text, if you go all the way down the hallway, the playroom is there and you can respond or make a call in privacy if needed. I know a lot of us are moms and your husband may need to reach you regarding something urgent about the kids, so feel free to use that space if you need. 
• I will always start right at 7:30 and will aim for wrapping up by 8:30. I’m going to play this by ear tonight and see if we may need more time and could extend it to 9:00 to end. With a group this big, I want to make sure we all have time to talk. 

Overview of the night:

1. I’ll pray (2 mins)
2. I’ll share what my vision for this group is. (8-10 mins)
3. Talk about the basics of the Bible Reading plan. Make sure everyone knows what’s up with that and answer any questions you have about it. 
4. Get to know you game with this yarn (45 mins)
5. I’ll close us out in prayer (2 mins)
6. Group photo (2 mins)

1. PRAY
2. Vision:
1. I have been participating in small groups or Bible studies since starting college in 2007, which is now 15 years ago. This is the first group I have ever started and facilitated and it is the largest I have ever experienced, so this is new to me, but I have a definite vision for what I’d like to see it become. 3 types of groups: 
1. BSF, structured, in depth study of one book of the bible for a whole semester. Great for gaining knowledge. With homework each week to write down. More of acquaintance type friendships. 
2. More topical, on like “prayer” for example. Great for diving deep and gaining perspective on a topic. Homework each week to write in the book and come discuss. A little bit more time for us to get to know each other, but it sometimes can feel like if you start talking about life and what is going on in your heart, it can feel a bit off-topic and like you need to get back on track with the questions.
3. More discipleship, like reading the Bible on our own throughout the week and then discussing what is going on in our lives and memorizing scripture, confessing sins out loud, etc. Great for life-long friendships that have depth. Deep friendships form through a ton of discussion. This has been the type of group where I have grown the most and formed the longest lasting friendships.

1. So for this group, I want it to be like the 3rd option above. 

-What it is NOT: It is not going to be me teaching you. It is not going to be a structured question and answer type discussion.  Not a place for surface level small talk.

-What it IS: 

This is more of a Life Group where I can create a space for conversations between us, whether as a large group, or more likely splitting into smaller subgroups. I view small talk and ice breakers as a bridge to get to deeper soul level discussions…what I think we are all craving. Our discussions about life and our walk with God are glorifying God. I wanted to just open my home to be like a retreat from the weariness and hustle and bustle of the world. I want this time to be a refreshing time of conversation and connection. I want us to be able to talk about life, about what we are learning about God week by week, how it is shaping us. And if you are celebrating something, I want this to be a place of celebration, if you are grieving something, this is a place of comfort and love, if you have questions about God, this is a place to explore what is true and look for answers together. I envision us celebrating milestones together, whether that is celebrating a birthday, graduation, an engagement, a baby shower, etc. And on the flipside, if one of us is grieving or going through a crisis, I want this group to gather around to pray, door dash or bring a meal, and find creative ways to serve one another in times of need.  

1. So today is a meet and greet. If by the end of the night, you are thinking…hmmm this isn’t what I expected at all…no worries! No pressure to join in in the future and no hard feelings at all. But if you are wanting to be in this life group, and if you can protect this time every week and prioritize it, it WILL serve you and bless you. Come casual if you’re feeling casual, come fancy if you are feeling fancy that day, come in your jammies, come in your workout clothes, whatever! 

1. One thing I want to mention is that we all have different stories. Some of you have been walking with God for years and years, some of you may have just recently started walking with God, and some of you may realize through reading the Bible that you actually have been feeling disconnected from God. Maybe you’ve been striving and trying to be perfect and work your way to God in your own feeble strength and you may never have actually repented of your sins and trusted fully in Jesus for your salvation (this was my story, I’ll share sometime!). We all have different backgrounds, and comfort levels with talking about the Bible or praying or praying out loud, for me I never grew up praying out loud in front of other people and I felt very uncomfortable with it when I first started going to small groups or bible studies. There will never be any pressure to share anything you don’t want to, to pray out loud, if you want to, great, but that is not the expectation. Also, there may be different theologies or denominations represented in this room, we’ll aim to stay away from focusing on where we differ in our beliefs and instead, we’ll focus on what we have in common. The one thing that we all have in common is that we are learning more and more about who God truly is through His Word, the Bible. 

1. So during the week, we all will be tracking along with the Reading Plan and then listening to the Bible Recap podcast. Be sure to read the Bible chapters for that day BEFORE you listen to the Recap, because you want to hear the Bible first BEFORE you listen to the commentary. The Bible is infallible, the recap a wonderful resource, but it is not God’s word, so we want to use it as a dessert after we eat the main meal. 

1. I do anticipate there will be days that you are sick or travel or have an unforeseen circumstance come up and you aren’t able to read for the day. It happens! And it will happen. The way you approach getting back into the Bible can be different depending on you personally.

1. We’ll be doing the Bible study on our own throughout the week and the Bible Recap podcast

Explain Yarn Web Connection game

In 2 minutes or under, share:

• Name
• How you know Adrienne
• How long have you lived in Louisville? Where you live in Louisville? (Point on map)
• Your current season of life…(example: single? married? working? staying at home? etc)
• What do you spend most of your time doing?
• Family? Pets? Share their names and ages if you’d like.
• Share the story of how you got your name or if you have any nicknames

We can connect as a group on the app GroupMe. Let’s set it up now.

PRAY

GROUP PHOTO!!!!! :) 

Click here to join our GroupMe chat.