App Convo Guide for All Topics

Get Ready

To grow spiritually, it helps to remember and share where we’re coming from.

Before you meet, think of a person, place, object, or memory that you can use to share something about your history with the conversation topic. In this case, a “Backstory” isn’t your whole life story, but just a “snapshot” from one angle of your life, to help people get to know a little of your experience or associations with the convo topic.

Prepare to share one aspect of your experience or, if you don’t have experience with the topic, what comes to mind when you think of the topic? (For example, what is your experience of forgiveness? If you have no experience of it, what comes to mind when you hear the word “forgiveness”?)

If you’re using the app, add a Backstory entry into your Photo Journal.

Pod Connect

Building relationships of care and belonging is critical for people to grow spiritually.

Start your meeting with greetings and catching up. In addition, you can ask each person to share a high and a low from the week, which helps everyone know it’s ok to come as you are to the pod. After catching up, each person share a Backstory related to today’s convo topic. If you have a photo or object, show it to the group as you share your Backstory.

God Connect

Spiritual growth is about developing a relationship with God in real time. In this section, you practice noticing and responding to God’s presence together.

The coach will have options of brief meditations the group can do together to help you focus on the presence of God for a few minutes. After you’re finished, share as you feel comfortable anything that happened in you as you focused on God.

Word Connect

The Bible was written to show us the way to a restored relationship with God, other people, our true selves, and the creation.

In this section you’ll choose passage and do a relational Bible reading, focusing on what the reading says about these relationships. After the relational questions, everyone can pick a conversation starter for the group.

If you’re using the app, you can automatically open the passage in YouVersion Holy Bible app directly from this app.

Action Prayer

Spiritual growth includes learning to follow God’s lead in our lives.

How is God prompting you to respond after your conversation today? Action steps are not meant to be burdensome, but part of your regular life with God. For this reason listen for how God is prompting you, as God is often kinder to us than we are to ourselves.

Start by listening in silence for anything God may prompt you to do in the coming week. If the Holy Spirit puts an idea in your mind, that action is your action step for the week. If nothing comes to mind, the app has many ideas. Pay attention for what you feel prompted to do that makes you feel a humble hope in God and love for other people.

Share with everyone what action step you’re going to try. (As a bonus, consider any actions you could to together as a pod!)

Close the meeting by praying for each other.

If you’re using the app, you can filter the action ideas by style so you can find an action that makes sense for how God made you. You can choose something that feels like your style, or you can challenge yourself in new ways. When you save an action, the app creates a sticky note, both in the conversation and in the Actions tab.

Make New Memories

As we put our faith into practice, our spiritual growth goes beyond head knowledge and shapes our character.

Between meetings, try the action step you decided to try. Notice what happened after you tried your step.

If you’re using the app, open the sticky note for your action. If it’s an action you found in the app, tap Instructions to see step by step guidance.

Completing an action in the app includes 1. trying it, 2. writing a “God story” about what happened after you tried your action, and 3. sharing about your experience with your pod. Do the first two before you meet again. You can share about it in your followup conversation with the pod.

Followup

We grow best when we have the opportunity to recall, review, and discuss what God is doing in our lives. Every topic therefore includes a followup conversation. The pod can help each other reflect on what God is doing in your lives, troubleshoot obstacles, and learn from each others’ experiences.

After reconnecting as a pod, share about your action step experiences.

Take a pause for another Spirit Moment to remember God’s presence with you.

As your group has time, choose from the Troubleshoot, Spiritual Growth, and Speak Into My Life questions.

Consider if there is an insight you want to remember from the convo and action experience.

Close by praying for each other. After the Followup conversation, decide what convo topic you’ll do next. You can repeat the same topic (each time using a different Backstory, Spirit Moment, Bible reading, and Action) as many times as your group wants, or you can move on to another topic.

If you’re using the app, your action step and God story will automatically show up in your Followup section of the conversation, so you can refer to them. After your pod conversation, in the app you can add an Insight entry to your Photo Journal.