Lifelines: how we write them

Every week we publish the "lifeline." This is a helpful tool that is provided each week of the trimester for small group leaders.  Each week these include announcements, icebreakers, discussion questions, and direction for ministry time.  Lifelines are a helpful resource in planning your small group each week.  
  Lifelines are emailed to all current small group leaders each week.  They are also available on our website, www.thevineyardchurch.us.
  Now that you know what a lifeline is, we bet you're curious how we come up with these handy small group resources each week.  We are glad you asked :)
   Each Tuesday the community life team gets the preaching pastors message for the upcoming weekend.  YES, we get a rough draft of the sermon outline 5 days BEFORE they preach it.  We ask the preaching pastor for their main idea and main text.

  The community life team starts to brainstorm what the key takeaways will be for the upcoming week.  We then brainstorm creative icebreakers to go along with the weeks theme.

  Next, we begin writing the discussion portion.  Each lifeline is based around our key principles at the Vineyard, to be biblically thoughtful, culturally relevant, and spiritually powerful.  We try to develop questions for the week under each of these principals.

  Then Julie starts to get concerned, what if the lifeline is not awesome this week??

  The next step usually involves calling the preaching pastor, or Dianne Leman, with questions.

  After the lifeline is written it is sent off to the preaching pastor and brought to the community life team to review.
  On Thursdays, the lifelines are delivered to the small group leaders inbox.
  And that's how we make the lifeline. :)