Small Group Leadership
Thank you for your willingness to consider being a small group leader for Abide! Small group leaders play a HUGE role in our current abide model as they are the facilitator AND content creators of abide materials.
You may submit more than one application for different topics.
Abide small groups can be in one of three areas. You'll choose which content area below in which you'd like to lead a 4 week series. Each session will be 1 hour. If you're unsure where the topic you'd like to fit, please ask.
These areas are:
Theological/Biblical/Spiritual Practice Discussions: Spend time exploring a theological or biblical topic across four weeks. Teach us a new spiritual practice! Consider inviting guest speakers and other view-points. These could be liberation theology, ecological theological frameworks, the book of Romans, a contemplative prayer group, the book of Genesis and so much more. Get creative!
Advocacy/Justice/Peacebuilding Trainings/Discussion: Equip participants with a new skill or spend time discussing important topics of justice. This could be anti-racism training, anti-ableist training, advocacy topics, climate justice conversations and more! Support us in putting our faith into action!
Fellowship and Fun groups: Share some joy here! You might teach us to cook, or knit, lead a campaign of D&D, play some online board games, or have a trivia tournament. This area needs all of your holy creativity and community building gifts
We're so excited to witness what you have to offer and to journey with you as you shape communities of young people.
What constitutes an Abide series?
Four sessions - one per week
Sessions are 1 hour each unless a longer period is requested
Topical and focused
Engaging to young adult audiences
Participatory, not lectures
What are some examples of past Abide series?
Click the link for a full list of our past groups. Some examples are:
Faith & Democracy
#NoPlasticsforLent
Peace Messengers Training
Dungeons & Dragons
Things to Know
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and you may be asked to lead a group several months in advance, depending on how many applications we receive and groups we already have planned
Group leaders receive an $80 stipend for their time ($20/session)
You may co-lead a group with someone, but we are only able to provide one stipend per group
The Application
For your application, please include a title & summary of your series. You can name it something fun, or just stick to a description of what it is!
A short bio of yourself to share with the participants.
A brief outline of the four sessions
A clear photo of your face to share with the participants. This will also be shared on the Abide website, and potentially on our social medias. If you do not wish your face to be shown on our social medias, please let us know in your application.
Selected applicants will receive a contract and must provide a W9 for payment. If this is a barrier to your participation, please email young.adults@elca.org.
For any other questions, please email us at young.adults@elca.org!