Grab a few girlfriends and start a LAUNCH GROUP! Pick one day a week you can meet to pray for your kids together. You can use the LAUNCH book as a guide, focusing on one chapter each week you meet. As a group you can add additional prayers on the topic, as well as share prayer requests related to the specific season your children are in. And it doesn't have to end after you get through the eight weeks of topics in the book...you can start back at the beginning and pray them all over again. It will be a great way to develop a habit of intentionally and consistently praying for your kids. We've provided a few tips on this page to help get you started.
Sample 10 week group topics:
Week 1. Introductions & make prayer cards (see notes below) Week 2: Chapter 1 - Knowing God and His Gift of Salvation Week 3: Chapter 2 - Identity in Christ Week 4: Chapter 3 - Faith, Fear, and Anxiety Week 5: Chapter 4 - Purpose, Path, and Comparison Week 6: Chapter 5 - Hurt, Forgiveness, and Waiting Week 7: Chapter 6 - Friendships, Community, and Relationships Week 8: Chapter 7 - Words, Attitude, and Gratitude Week 9: Chapter 8 - Temptation, Idols, and Healthy Self Care Week 10 - Wrap Up * You could also do it in as little as 4 weeks with no intro/wrap-up and two chapters a week. |
Sample group weekly session flow:
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Prayer Cards
During the introduction session, a great thing to do as a group is make prayer cards (or get them started). You can have your group come to the session with photographs of their kids and families. Using card stock over-sized postcard paper, adhere the photos to the card and write around it the names and ages of your children (include the adult names too for family photos). Using markers or colorful pens, write any specific (or general) prayers you have for each child/family member. If you have a laminator, you can laminate the finished cards to protect them from wear and tear as they are passed around. Each week the group can swap cards and members will pray for the families and requests on the card they receive that week. Each child and family will be prayed for each week by a different small group member. |
Ice-Breakers
Our Well Hello book (available free on the ...but God app) has hundreds of ice-breaker and conversation starter questions for small groups. You can take turns selecting a question or two to answer to get to know the members of your group a little better each week. (FYI, the app also includes a worship playlist you can play as the women in your group arrive each week). Click on the app image to download. Prayers for our Children
When you get together as a group each week, you can have one person read the prayer aloud, pausing at the blanks for each member to silently put their child(ren)'s name(s) in the blank. Another option is to go around the room and allow each person to read the prayer aloud one by one with their child(ren)'s name(s). |
Ideas for the Introduction Session (week 1)
If you don't decide to dive right into the first week of the LAUNCH book, you may choose to start off with an introduction session. You may want to have coffee/tea or water plus some small appetizers or desserts. Play some worship music as women are coming in and getting settled (we have a playlist on our app if you don't already have one). If you have a larger group who doesn't know each other, you may wan to have name tags and pens available. Below is an idea of what to talk through in your introduction session:
- Begin in prayer for the group and your time together
- Go around and introduce each other. Let each woman give their name, a little about themselves and their family, the names and ages of their children, and a brief overview of what they are going through in this life stage and the prayers they most often lift up for their children.
- Have everyone write down the names of the women in their group and their children so you can all pray for each other.
- Our app has some ice-breaker and conversation starter questions (the WELL HELLO tab...see above) if you wanted to do an activity to get to know one another a bit more in this first session.
- You can walk through the format of the LAUNCH book and what you will be doing each week (brief introduction of the topic, guided prayers, discuss specific group prayer requests...optional Bible journaling with the related Scripture and tips for parents projects). Walk through each of the chapters for a high level overview of the topics you all will be praying for your children each week. You may want to encourage women to bring a journal and Bible to each session (there is also a journal section in the back of the LAUNCH book).
- Another thing you may want to do is open it up for discussion about how the women currently pray for their children. Do they have a consistent time, place, method, content they pray, etc.? And it is OKAY if it is very sporadic and based on the current crisis of the moment. We are all getting together to pray these things, but also intentional prayers about all parts of our kids lives and seasons of life.
- You may decide to make prayer cards (see above) to swap each week.
Tips on what to prepare and bring to your LAUNCH SMALL GROUP each week:
Group Leader
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Group Members
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