Training Small Group Hosts and Artists

Month after month, our members show their commitment to meeting our Daring Faith “T” goal—to train 25% of our members to be global leaders in the church and ministry, in business and the community, and in the arts and media. May was no exception, especially when it came to our Small Groups Hosts and our Visual Arts Ministry that trained our members to on the frontline of leadership.

During May, Saddleback Irvine North trained 16 people at the New Host Gathering, a pilot program being tested at several campuses. Held in a comfortable, living-room style setting, the meeting trained members with the latest coaching materials developed by Saddleback’s Central Team.

Feedback was extremely positive says Chris Yi, Irvine North’s Small Groups Pastor. “People loved the way it helped prepare new small groups to become healthy. Many of our veteran Hosts felt the material was more practical and user-friendly than existing higher-level training tools. 

Irvine North wasn’t our only campus to test the new course. On April 29 and 30, Saddleback Lake Forest trained 33 members at our New Host Gathering. The intimate meeting offered a time to connect and equip new Small Group Hosts with information to lead a healthy small group.

“This was the first time we’ve offered a new host gathering of this kind,” says Ben Reed, Small Groups Pastor. “This will be a training that we hope to build on in the coming months.”

From equipping Small Group Hosts to training creative artists, nearly 30 volunteers were trained at our quarterly Saddleback Visual Arts informational gathering led by Pastor Jason Leith. The class shared a basic understanding of the ministry and its focus on art and the Bible. It also introduced practical ways members can be part of the community of artists.

Taught in three parts, the topics covered, “The Artist of Faith Today,” “Why we Exist,” and “Becoming Part of the Community.” The three-hour courses are offered quarterly in SVA Studio.

Following suit were 30 volunteers who attended our 8-week training program for the Kingdom Artist Initiative. Led by Author Marlita Hill, the program offered eight private sessions on how to build harmony between career, faith, and art. Also discussed were the six topics: Calling, Trust, Will, Identity, Relationship, Representation.

Meetings were held in the Refinery Diner on Sundays in May from 1:30–4:00 PM and taught volunteers how to live out their calling as artists of faith in today's culture.

On May 21, we also kicked-off a new round of the Master Teacher Training Program for teachers in training from all of our campuses.

As these ministries equip and train our members to be global leaders, they also help move us one step closer to meeting our Daring Faith "T" initiative. Between our 18 campuses, we now have over 800 ministry opportunities where you can train to be a leader! To learn more about future training opportunities, email Maturity@Saddleback.com.