Before You Get Started
Make sure you’ve filled out the following form to let your Community Pastor know you’re interested in becoming a Connections Leader:
Your Role as a Connections Leader
As a Connections Leader, you help guide people in the Get Connected Space to take their best next step as they follow Jesus and serve in our church.
Before and after services, you’ll have an opportunity to help people identify their best next step. For some, this could look like coming back to church the following week. For others, it might look like getting baptized, joining a LifeGroup, starting a Bible Plan, or serving. You can also encourage individuals to attend Known or read through You Said Yes.
Connections Leader Serving Expectations
Serve Consistently: Leaders will serve weekly or bi-weekly in the Get Connected Space. Serving time begins 15-minutes before the service and ends 15-minutes after the service. If you’re unavailable to serve at your scheduled time, connect with your Community Team.
Be Timely: Arrive on time to check in at the Host Team kiosks and to join the Host Team huddle before you begin serving. Being on time allows you an opportunity to connect with other volunteers and be fully prepared when it’s time to serve.
Show Up Ready: Wear your Connections Leader shirt and name tag, and show up ready to welcome, guide, and give our attenders the best experience possible! The Community Team will share important information on their location’s focus, key next steps, and upcoming events. Be ready to share this information as you guide our guests toward their next steps.
Best Practices
Remember the mission of our church and our ministry. Our mission at Life.Church is to lead people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Within the Community Team, we get to lead our church to follow Jesus and love our neighbors through the power of community! Staying connected to our mission will fuel every interaction you’ll have as you serve in this space and guide people to take their best next step.
Connect with Host Team & Operations volunteers. We’re better together and all pointing people toward Jesus. Take some time to get to know the Host Team and Operations volunteers who are serving with you during the weekend. Join in on the Host Team huddle during check-in so you can come alongside and rally with the incredible leaders serving and living out the same mission.
Stay on the lookout for first-time guests. Keep your eyes open and be watchful for our new guests. They may look lost or confused, unfamiliar with our more casual dress code, or they might even be holding a new check-in bag from LifeKids. Meeting a new guest right where they are might just be what they need, so keep your phone in your pocket and your eyes on the crowd. You never know who God will bring into your line of vision when you’re standing watchful and ready.
Initiate the conversation. Conversations break down barriers and open doors for our attenders. They’re also an opportunity to show how much you genuinely care about each individual and their journey following Jesus. So be an initiator of conversation as you serve and interact with the people in our lobby. Ask about their family, their occupation, or what they do for fun.
Know and promote the Life.Church app. The Life.Church app is an incredible resource to help guests connect with their location and take their best next step. Get familiar with this app on your phone and on the iPads in the area. That way, you can encourage our guests to download and use it—and show them how. You can demonstrate how to follow along during the service with the Message Notes button, find tools to grow their faith, set up recurring giving, find a LifeGroup, and more!
Resource appropriately: Next steps look different depending on where each person is on their journey. We have several resources, tips, and ideas to help people continue to grow.
5 Steps for Getting Started as a Connections Leader
Whether you’re a natural conversationalist or more on the introverted side, there’s always room to grow as a Connections Leader. Keep reading to learn how you can guide attenders through conversations with excellence.
Step 1: Connect With Your Community Team
Make sure you’ve filled out a Volunteer Application to let us know that you’re interested in becoming a Connections Leader.
As you’re getting started, you’ll be connected with your Community Team. This will be someone who has experience as a Connections Leader and supports Connections Leaders like you.
This person will walk with you every step of the way as you begin serving within the Get Connected Space. Their role is to provide support and encouragement for you, while also helping you identify areas in your life—spiritual, relational, emotional, etc.—where you’d like to grow. So don’t hesitate to share your experiences with them and ask questions as they arise. Your Community Team will share valuable insights and help you grow as a leader.
Step 2: Know Your Relational On-Ramps
When you go through Connections Leader Orientation, your Community Pastor will share the various ways attenders can get plugged into relationships at your campus. Commit these different relational on-ramps to memory, and be ready to share them with attenders as they visit the Get Connected Space each weekend. These on-ramps are some of the best ways attenders can find community and grow closer to Jesus.
Also, remember that relational on-ramps can change over time! As different events, LifeGroups, and Local Partners are introduced at your campus, there will be new opportunities for attenders to get involved. Keep an eye out for new on-ramps, and ask for more information from your Community Team if you need it.
Step 3: Offer Excellent Support
You’ll also learn what excellent support looks like at your campus during Connections Leader Orientation. Practice intentional care during your conversations with both attenders and fellow volunteers early and often while serving in the Get Connected Space. The relationships you form, and the clarity and connection you provide, will all contribute to the strong system of support at your campus.
Learn more about specific resources you can leverage at the Get Connected Space:
- Sharing About You Said Yes
- Sharing About the Known Magazine
Step 4: Check Out Different Development Tools
We believe personal growth is born out of self-awareness, so we use tools and assessments that help us understand our natural strengths and preferences. As your self-awareness increases, you’ll identify ways you can maximize the gifts God has placed within you.
Connect with your Community Team if you’re interested in learning more about these research-backed tools.
Step 5: Start the Conversations Bible Plan
So much of serving as a Connections Leader comes down to having great conversations with the people who come to your campus every weekend. With that in mind, whether you’re a natural conversationalist or you’re more on the introverted side, there’s room to grow in your ability to lead conversations that will guide people to next steps in their relationship with Jesus.
