Session Five | Sharing the Message

(Length: 90 minutes)

We have heard and received a lot so far, but how do we process it and articulate it well? People will hear about your trip and ask you “what are you going to be doing?”, and when you return you’ll get that vague and extremely challenging question, “how was your trip?”. We’ll take time this session to process and articulate this message together through a simple three-part framework: 

• What is the crisis in Africa that deserves attention?

• How is Hands at Work responding?

• What is our role as part of this picture (as a team, or as a church)?
  

We encourage you to break off into pairs and pull out notes you have taken from the last few sessions, or look back through content from previous sessions. We’ve created a worksheet to help guide you. Discuss the questions with your partner and jot down your responses (or draw if that’s a better way for you). Each message will be personal to what each team member heard and what impacted them. That’s good! We all have a unique way of sharing. We’ll come together again to hear how each person would communicate their message.

• What is the crisis in Africa that deserves attention? What is the pain you’re seeing or hearing? What are the struggles?

  • This can be a big-picture view of extreme poverty in Africa, or it can be within the story of a particular family or community (see Session 2)

• How is Hands at Work responding? How do you see Hands at Work responding to the challenges and the pain? 

  • This is in reference to the Hands at Work model of Care Worker relationships, Life Centres, holistic care, etc. (see Session 3)

• What is our role?

  • This can be about how your team will go to support the model, or even how your church or community is partnering (see Session 4)

Take time to review the team programme, discuss a typical day for the team, what team rhythms and Hands at Work rhythms and practices you’ll participate in, and whether you want to incorporate your own rhythms of prayer and study as a team. As you review your programme and activities, it’s important to note that key disciplines of a team are serving and flexibility. Hands at Work is responding to the need in front of them on the ground, and this often demands a measure of responsiveness which can sometimes alter plans. Teams understanding this and being willing to submit to local leaders is vitally important and ultimately leads to a fruitful team experience.