Community Group Behaviors

 

Thank you for your interest as a volunteer Community Group Leader or Community Group Host at The Chapel. We appreciate your willingness to take the time to review training documents and attend the Community Group Leader and Host training events. There are a few things we want to make sure we say up front as you begin the training process. By choosing to enter into a leadership role, you are entering into a position of influence; members of your group will watch you closely and take what you say seriously. We think that is a good thing. Leaders should be role models. The challenge is that being a role model is all-encompassing.

 

As a role model, your lifestyle is part of the equation. What you present in your group should be consistent with who you are in your various roles the remainder of the week. In the past, that was all that had to be said. There was consensus around what constituted consistency between ministry behavior and life in general. As culture has changed, however, there is a need to be more specific. The three issues that surface the most have to do with sexual relationships, substance abuse, and social media. The last thing we want to do is put you in a position to lead, represent, or appear to give assent to a view on one of these subjects that you do not personally embrace. More importantly, we long to be a source of encouragement and support for you if any of these areas are a personal struggle. For the sake of our ministry and your own personal testimony, here is what we expect Group Leaders and Hosts to communicate and model:

 

Regarding Sexual Behavior

We believe that sex was created by God as an expression of intimacy between a man and a woman within the context of marriage. Volunteers who embrace lifestyles and behaviors that conflict with this belief will eventually find themselves having to pretend to be something they are not or believe something they don’t. In an effort to protect you from a potentially awkward situation, we ask that you not volunteer as a Community Group Leader or Host at this time if:

  • You are involved in a sexual relationship and are not married.
  • You are pursuing a same sex relationship.
  • You are married and are currently involved in a sexual relationship outside of your marriage.

In the spirit of being a good role model, if you are single and living alone with a non­family member of the opposite sex, we ask that you not volunteer as a Group Leader or Host at this time.

 

Regarding Substance Behavior

If you have a history of alcohol or drug abuse, this might be something God uses in a positive way to steer others in a different direction. If you feel this is part of your message, and perhaps part of your motivation for wanting to get involved as a Community Group Leader or Host, we would love to talk with you further. While we might disagree with the timing of your involvement, we don’t want to miss an opportunity to partner with what God is up to in your life. We ask that you not volunteer as a Community Group Leader or Host at this time if one of the following things is true:

  • You have been arrested or convicted of an alcohol­ or drug­-related offense in the past twelve months.
  • You are currently being treated for alcohol or drug abuse (been in a program for less than twelve months).
  • You have used any illegal substance during the past twelve months.
  • If consuming alcohol or any other legal drug to the point of being unable to drive or to the point of it being illegal for you to drive yourself home is a part of your life.

 

Regarding Social Media Behavior

The people in your group will visit and follow you on social media. While social media can be a great connection tool, it also serves as a window into your life. In light of that, we ask that you leverage social media with your group members in mind. We realize this is a judgment call.