This is an invitation to consider the G4 (Counseling Groups; summitchurch.com/g4) and GCM (Premarital Mentoring; summitchurch.com/gcm) cohort experience hosted by The Summit Church in the Fall of 2022. The cohort will consist of three, two-day learning and immersion experiences designed to equip you to launch a peer-based groups and mentoring ministry at your church.
* * * Note: A pre-requisite for participation in the cohort is completion of the free Mobilizing Church-Based Counseling webinar series. The Spring 2022 Mobilizing series starts next week, so if you want to qualify for a spot in the initial Fall 2022 cohort experience, sign up today. This is the only step you can take at this time, but is a step you must take now if you want to participate in the Fall cohort.
Beginning with the End in Mind
At the end of this cohort, you will have an executable launch plan to implement G4 and GCM at your church. You will be guided through the process of having important conversations with church leadership, conducting interest meetings, training your first-generation leaders, and networking with community resources.
You will learn alongside other church leaders preparing for the same launch process so you benefit from their shared experiences. Leaders who have launched multiple G4 sites and trained dozens of GCM mentors will vet your launch plan to help you make sure it is:
- Church Compatible
- Liability Wise, and
- Relationally Sustainable.
What Will We Do?
Specific dates will be announced soon, but here is an overview of the primary content for each visit.
Visit One: You will walk through the launch plan used by The Summit Church when we start a new G4 location, get to see two current G4 locations, experience an evening of G4 ministry, interview G4 group leaders, and begin the process of responding to questions from your church’s pastoral leadership and potential first-generation leaders.
Visit Two: You will learn to respond well to the variety of crisis situations that can emerge within a counseling ministry, start the process of identifying your local counselor consultant, learn to vet potential new G4 curriculum, and learn to implement the GCM mentoring model. For this session, you will be invited to stay for an additional evening/morning GCM conference at The Summit Church and meet more lay leaders within this ministry.
Visit Three: By this session, you will have drafted your own launch plan and we will walk through it together. As a part of this process, we will consider in-church promotion, caring for your volunteers, cooperation with other churches in your community, and networking with area professionals to increase your ministry’s impact and effectiveness. You will also hear from some of the church leaders and area professionals who partner with our G4 ministry.
What Does it Cost?
Participation in this cohort costs $750. This cost does include meals, literature, and other resources. It is does not include travel, lodging, or meals outside our meeting times. If you do not live in the RDU area, we will provide recommended hotels near the church and a discount code (when available).
Who Is Leading this Cohort?
The cohort will be led by Brad Hambrick, Pastor of Counseling at The Summit Church; John Chapman, Director of Recovery-Support Group Ministries at The Summit Church; Marilyn Marrero, Director of Gospel-Centered Marriage Mentoring at The Summit Church; and an assortment of guest speakers.
You can learn more about the existing G4 and GCM ministries at The Summit Church here: summitchurch.com/g4 and summitchurch.com/gcm.
Who Should Come?
For this cohort, we recommend one or both of the following:
- Pastor/staff who will oversee your church’s G4 and/or GCM ministry
- Lay leader who will spearhead these ministries within your church.
A key indicator that your church is serious about a G4 and/or GCM ministry is their willingness to invest in equipping you to launch and lead these ministries.
We recognize the registration and travel expenses can be a substantial investment for some churches, so if two participants (staff or lay leaders) from the same church sign up for the cohort, we are offering a reduced rate of $1,300 for the pair.
What Is My Next Step?
In order to effectively accomplish these objectives, we can only accept a limited number of participants in the cohort (no more than 20 churches). The application link will be made available soon. Stay tuned.
However, a pre-requisite for participation in the cohort is completion of the free Mobilizing Church-Based Counseling webinar series. The Spring 2022 Mobilizing series starts next week, so if you want to qualify for a spot in the initial Fall 2022 cohort experience, sign up today.