diverse group of men praying
Covenant Groups are not designed as recovery groups for men with life-controlling issues. There are other groups for various issues of this sort. If a man needs a support and/or recovery group, we can help by making a referral and encouraging the appropriate level of self-care. Hopefully joining a Covenant Group can occur at a later season of life. Take a moment to re-acquaint yourself with the “what a Covenant Group is not” section here: Review.

One of the best ways to keep a Covenant Group on track is to have every man share from his appointment with God (AWG) journal. This accomplishes two things; first, it ensures every man shares. Second, sets a standard to complete the daily AWG journal in preparation for the time of sharing in the weekly Covenant Group meeting.

Some Covenant Group leaders find it helpful to have men read from their journals, rather than merely paraphrase, or share extemporaneously. The quiet men will then be on equal footing.

One of the biggest challenges keeping a Covenant Group on track is letting the time of “connection” at the meeting time absorb too large a percentage of the time, leaving too little time for sharing from the Word and praying for one another.

Then there’s the pitfall of allowing the discussion to ‘rabbit trail’ on contemporary commentary, or event theological issues rather than sharing what each is learning. The focus should be on what each man is learning from the Word. Some questions that come up need to be ‘held for later’ since a discussion on a question may take the focus off what other men need to be sharing. If men have questions from their AWG reading, either address such questions quickly or deferred them to the end, after everyone has shared.

The Covenant Group leader should use the 4 questions of the Covenant Group model, taken from the HighQuest Discipleship Series, explaining why it is important to touch all 4 bases during meeting times. A Covenant Group does not need to spend equal time on each base, but does need to touch all four, spending the most time on sharing the Word (2nd Base).