In the Heritage Oaks Ward, we aim to have a PPI interview with each member of the quorum on a quarterly basis. In practice, these interviews happen about 3x/year and cover about 65-70% of the quorum each time. These interviews are conducted by myself, my two counselors, and my secretary. Our quorum is structured so that each of us, in addition to serving in the EQ Presidency, also serves as a home teaching district leader. So each of us is responsible for holding PPI interviews with each member of our district every 3 months. We usually coordinate this via our weekly presidency meeting. I'll kick off a new cycle roughly every 3 months and then have my counselors and my secretary report back each week on their progress. They will also report back any relevant information they collected during their interviews (e.g. quorum member needs, home teaching family needs, etc).
Typical PPI Agenda (15-20 minutes)
- Discuss the companionship.
- How are they getting along?
- Are they able to coordinate schedules?
- If there is a youth involved, has he had the chance to teach a lesson? Set up appointments?
- Discuss the home teaching families.
- Are they able to get in to see all their families?
- What needs do their families have?
- What goals are they working on with their families (e.g. scripture study, temple attendance, food storage, prayer, etc)?
- Set goals with the home teachers.
- Get feedback from the quorum member.
- How are you enjoying the quorum?
- What can we do better?
- Bear testimony. Thank them for their efforts. Perhaps share a short message.
Logistics
Usually, I try to do these at the church either after church or on a weeknight. Depending on the situation, I'll ask a home teaching companionship to come together, or meet with them separately (i.e. in the case where there are companionship problems that need to be discussed). I aim to set these up in blocks. But usually, it ends up being 1 or 2 interviews here and there spread out across several weeks.
Lessons Learned
- At first, I was having my counselors and secretary ask pointed personal spirituality questions in these interviews (e.g. are you reading your scriptures, how often are you attending the temple, etc). They did not feel particularly comfortable doing this. So I called and got some guidance from a member of the Stake Presidency. He told me that I should perform an annual interview with each member of the quorum to discuss these questions and that the quarterly interviews should focus more on home teaching. So now we focus almost exclusively on home teaching.
- TAKE NOTES! - Accountability and follow-up are key. During your interview you'll want to set goals with quorum members. You'll get a lot of information about their home teaching families. Either take notes during the interview, or write everything down immediately after (i.e. when it's still fresh). If the quorum members say stuff like "I'll do better next month" etc, tell them that you'll follow up, and then do! If they know that you're checking in on them, they'll have a strong incentive to get it done. On the other hand, if they know you're totally disorganized and won't remember any of this conversation in 3 months, then they'll forget about it too.
- Formal meetings are better than informal meetings. It's a tone at the top thing. If you're doing these interviews in the hallway at church, they'll be more likely to do their home teaching in the hallway at church.
Final Thoughts
PPI interviews are a great way to keep a pulse on the home teaching program and provide strict accountability for quorum members assigned as home teachers. It lets them know that you care and that you're checking in on them.
Attached are a few documents I put together at the beginning. They are outdated and don't reflect our new format. However, some parts might be useful.
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