We believe you are able to lead from a place of authority only when you are exampling the same things you ask your attendees to engage in. From your attendance, to checking in with your group, to prayer and more, as you do this, it models the right way to lead to those you are entrusted with. Many of the expectations and requirements below begin with a heart to lead well, and lead from a place of authority.

Prerequisites for Sisterhood Table Leadership:

• Have a personal relationship with Jesus, consistently model Godly character and spend daily time in God’s Word.

• Regular River Valley Attendee

  • Sisterhood leaders at any level must consider River Valley their church home and be regular/faithful attendees of weekend services.

• Approved River Valley Small Group Leader

  • If you don’t know if you are an approved Small Group Leader, please check with your campus lead.

  • If you need to begin the process of becoming a small group leader, please click here to begin the approval process online.

• Completion of Welcome Home

  • Part of the process of becoming an approved small group leader includes completing our “Welcome Home” class. 

  • If you are a new table leader and have not yet completed Welcome Home (previously NEXT), you can find an upcoming Welcome Home Group here. **While there is a grace period in completing this requirement, Welcome Home must be completed by the end of the first semester you are serving in Sisterhood or you will be unable to continue next semester as a Table Leader. 

• Committed member of a Campus Serve Team.

• If you aren’t already serving, you can find a serve team here.

As a Sisterhood Table Leader you are responsible for welcoming, encouraging, and empowering the women at your table.

Welcome:  So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory. -Romans 15:7 CEB

As a Sisterhood Table Lead, you will be welcoming the women at your table by… 

• Being early! If you’re at your table first, you can ensure there is always someone to welcome each table member. 

• Being prepared!

  • Prepare your heart: Take time for individual prayer on the day of each Sisterhood meeting. There is so much going on in each of our lives, but for the 90 minutes you are at your table with the ladies, you will be taking an intentional step to put those things aside to minister to and care for the women at your table. 

  • Prepare your table: Make sure the table is ready with everything it needs for the morning.

• Smiling, making eye contact and asking questions. 

  • Connection begins with feeling comfortable, included and seen. These small actions go a long way and help set a welcoming culture at your table.

Encourage:  So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you’ll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you’re already doing this; just keep on doing it. -1 Thes 5:11 MSG

As a Sisterhood Table Lead, you will encourage the women at your table most by building a culture that allows everyone to grow in their faith and in the gifts God has placed inside of them.

You lead the way in setting the culture at your table! Be diligent in following these expectations, remembering that you can only lead from a place of authority if you hold yourself to the same standards:

• • Attendance: Ensure that you are able to attend Sisterhood each week this semester. Encourage your table to attend and send a group message ahead of each week letting everyone know you’re looking forward to seeing them at Sisterhood!

  • Participation: Get everyone involved in discussion and participation. Find the ways that those that are quieter at your table can engage easily, such as reading Scripture passages. Some women will want to talk a lot, some not at all. As you learn each personality, you’ll naturally find ways to bring each woman into the conversation - just remember to be intentional about this all semester.

  • Respect: Being respectful of others encourages participation and leads to trust within the group. Show respect and expect it. People will express opinions or ask questions that do not reflect the same opinion or level of understanding that you have of the lesson, Bible, or experience someone is sharing. 

  • Accountability: When people share what they feel led to do in response to what they have learned, agree upon ways they would like to be held accountable. Questions and personal stories should be encouraged. Out of respect, unsolicited advice should be avoided. Our best advice is to turn women to the Bible and to Prayer over and over.

You can also ask the women at your table to identify one action point each week that they’d like to implement from the lesson and discussion. If you do so, accountability comes in when you ask how it went for them the following week.

Empower:  Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. -Eph 4:11-13 NLT

As a Sisterhood Table Lead, you will be empowering the women at your table by… 

Be in relationship and conversation with your table members. The better you get to know one another, the more you will see each woman’s giftings. As you see those things, encourage her in how she can use her gifts in specific ways, then follow up later to see if she’s taken action.

Delegating Responsibilities: As the table leader it is not just you who should have responsibility in the group. Create opportunities for everyone at the table to serve.

• • Pay attention and identify the gifts and passions within the people around you.

  • Connect the gifts and the passions of group members to the needs, responsibilities, and gaps within the group. Potential Group roles might include:

  • Serve Project organizer: Organizes one Serve Project each semester

  • Table Prayer Lead: Sends out the table’s weekly prayer requests

  • Hospitality Coordinator: Organizes one social gathering each semester

Listen to what each woman is saying underneath her words. For those looking for community, you can suggest involvement in serve teams to get better connected or point them to campus happenings.