Frequently asked Questions about leading an Encounter for
a group
How long should you allow for the encounter?
It is completely flexible and can be as long or as short as time allows, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. We have discovered that Jesus is eager to meet his people whenever he has the opportunity, whether it be in five or fifty-five minutes!
As the leader, are you meant to receive?
The honest answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’! It is helpful to try to receive as you lead since it gives you a sense of how much time to allow at each stage. However, it is likely that your attention will also be on the people in the group that you are leading, so do not be over concerned if you find it less rewarding than when you are completely free to receive yourself.
How do I know how long to leave the silence?
This is always difficult to gauge and is a mistake many make when leading a group in an encounter with Jesus. The same issue is also true in ‘one to one’ ministry, where there is often too much talking and not enough ‘space’ for the person to receive for themselves. The tendency is to worry that people are having too much silence, whereas the chances are that they are not being given enough.
Our own practice is to ensure that we leave a short period of quiet after every spoken sentence, so that we can try to enter into the encounter personally as much as we can. In doing this, we are probably moving at about the same rate as those we are leading.
Why is it helpful to encourage people to share what happened?
This is not something that we always do. Some people may not want to share, especially if they are unfamiliar with sharing out loud or if the group is quite large, but in a smaller setting we often invite feedback for a number of reasons:
What if someone says they felt nothing?
This is no reflection on your leading. Every encounter with Jesus is an activity of the Holy Spirit and whilst you can facilitate the process, it is what the Holy Spirit does that makes the difference.
Some people may initially say that they were unaware of the presence of Jesus, but when encouraged to explore a little more they may well admit to feeling a deep peace, a sense of light etc. On such occasions we always remind them that this is likely to be Jesus present with them, since he was described as the ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9.6) and referred to himself as ‘the light of the world’ (John 8.12).
It is also worth noting that some people may be reticent to share their experience in public – perhaps because it is personal or they might still be ‘processing’ their encounter with Jesus – and it is tempting to wrongly assume that since they remain quiet nothing happened.
How do you finish the ‘Encounter’ time
It is good to end with thanksgiving and an encouragement to take seriously all that has been experienced and to ponder what difference it will make.
People often judge their encounter with Jesus by what they have received, but it's worth considering whether God is more concerned about what they do with what he has given them.
It is completely flexible and can be as long or as short as time allows, ranging from 10 minutes to an hour. We have discovered that Jesus is eager to meet his people whenever he has the opportunity, whether it be in five or fifty-five minutes!
As the leader, are you meant to receive?
The honest answer is ‘yes’ and ‘no’! It is helpful to try to receive as you lead since it gives you a sense of how much time to allow at each stage. However, it is likely that your attention will also be on the people in the group that you are leading, so do not be over concerned if you find it less rewarding than when you are completely free to receive yourself.
How do I know how long to leave the silence?
This is always difficult to gauge and is a mistake many make when leading a group in an encounter with Jesus. The same issue is also true in ‘one to one’ ministry, where there is often too much talking and not enough ‘space’ for the person to receive for themselves. The tendency is to worry that people are having too much silence, whereas the chances are that they are not being given enough.
Our own practice is to ensure that we leave a short period of quiet after every spoken sentence, so that we can try to enter into the encounter personally as much as we can. In doing this, we are probably moving at about the same rate as those we are leading.
Why is it helpful to encourage people to share what happened?
This is not something that we always do. Some people may not want to share, especially if they are unfamiliar with sharing out loud or if the group is quite large, but in a smaller setting we often invite feedback for a number of reasons:
- It can be encouraging for you, as the leader, to hear what was happening in the time of ministry.
- It might be the case that someone is still pondering whether or not their encounter was really from God and it can encourage them to hear some of the other things that God was doing. They may discover some similarities with their own experience and feel encouraged to ‘own’ it for themselves.
- When a person speaks about their encounter with God they are taking responsibility for what they are sharing and it seems to cement it for them.
What if someone says they felt nothing?
This is no reflection on your leading. Every encounter with Jesus is an activity of the Holy Spirit and whilst you can facilitate the process, it is what the Holy Spirit does that makes the difference.
Some people may initially say that they were unaware of the presence of Jesus, but when encouraged to explore a little more they may well admit to feeling a deep peace, a sense of light etc. On such occasions we always remind them that this is likely to be Jesus present with them, since he was described as the ‘Prince of Peace’ (Isaiah 9.6) and referred to himself as ‘the light of the world’ (John 8.12).
It is also worth noting that some people may be reticent to share their experience in public – perhaps because it is personal or they might still be ‘processing’ their encounter with Jesus – and it is tempting to wrongly assume that since they remain quiet nothing happened.
How do you finish the ‘Encounter’ time
It is good to end with thanksgiving and an encouragement to take seriously all that has been experienced and to ponder what difference it will make.
People often judge their encounter with Jesus by what they have received, but it's worth considering whether God is more concerned about what they do with what he has given them.
