Apprentice Group Facilitator Guide
Thank you so much for being an Apprentice Group Facilitator. Much of the Cornerstone mission, to cultivate a community shaped by the gospel for the renewal of all things, happens in and through Apprentice Groups. Apprentice Group Facilitators are integral to the building of friendships and discipleship at Cornerstone. As an Apprentice Group Facilitator, the most important thing you’ll do is remain connected to Jesus. John 15.5 says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” There are metrics we could use to measure the success of Apprentice Groups. The one that matters the most is this: are you remaining in Christ? Our hope is that Facilitators are leading from a posture of receiving. God loves you. God wants to meet with you. God wants to be integrated into every corner of your life. Below is the a prayer guide called the Daily Examen—use it daily as a way to remain in Christ and lead from a place of receiving love, mercy, forgiveness, and guidance from Christ each day.
Daily Examen:
1. Place yourself in God’s presence. Give thanks for God’s great love for you.
2. Pray for the grace to understand how God is acting in your life.
3. Review your day — recall specific moments and your feelings at the time.
4. Reflect on what you did, said, or thought in those instances. Were you drawing closer to God, or further away? Repent where it is necessary.
5. Look toward tomorrow — think of how you might collaborate more effectively with God’s plan. Be specific, and conclude with the “Our Father.”
What is an Apprentice Group?
What Is an Apprentice Group?
Cornerstone Church is a community shaped by the gospel for the renewal of all things. In the Cornerstone context, a community is a network of friendships under the Lordship of Christ. One of the ways we seek to embody this meaning of community is through Apprentice Groups, home and church-based groups of 10-12 people that meet regularly to cultivate friendship and spiritual formation. We cultivate friendship through the practice of meal-sharing and story-sharing. We cultivate spiritual formation through scripture reading and the shared practice of spiritual disciplines like sabbath, prayer, and more. In agreeing to facilitate an Apprentice Group, you are partnering with Cornerstone in an incredibly meaningful way. We cannot thank you enough! Your time, energy, and love is profoundly valuable. Thank you.
Summary:
10-12 folks (usually Cornerstoners)
Who meet weekly or every other week
In host-homes or at the church building
During trimesters (Fall, Spring, Summer)
To study formation guides written by and for Cornerstoners
Every week you can expect:
Friendship
Sharing of a meal
Sharing of a story (testimony or extended prayer request)
Formation
Reading of scripture
Practice of Spiritual disciplines
What is an Apprentice Group Facilitator?
What does it mean to “facilitate” an Apprentice Group? Apprentice Group Facilitators begin by filling three roles: admin, host, and discussion facilitator. When you launch an Apprentice Group, you are managing online enrollment and communicating with the group; you’re hosting the group in your home and leading discussion. This system requires a lot and is therefore not intended to last beyond your first trimester. During your first trimester, we ask groups to begin rotating the role of discussion facilitator and consider rotating hosting duties unless hosting in your home is easier for you. The only role you will always fill is admin because you will have access to the church database.
What is the Admin Role?
The Admin Role oversees membership, attendance, and logistics. Because you’ll have access to the church database, only the official Apprentice Group Facilitator(s) can fill this role.
Managing rosters and events through Church Center and communicating with the group
Take attendance
Send meeting reminders
Acts as a liaison between Cornerstone staff and group members
What is the Host Role?
Anyone in the group can host. The Facilitator(s) can host every week, you can delegate the role to another person/couple, or you can rotate who hosts every week.
Open your home for the group to use for meetings
Provide snacks (or delegate)
Make sure you have ample seating
Communicate clear instructions about how to get to your home and where to park
What is the Discussion Facilitator Role?
Anyone in the group can lead discussion.
Leading the group through discussion. Cornerstone provides scripture and discussion questions
Read the text and questions before-hand to familiarize yourself
Open and close with prayer
Facilitate discussion over the provided questions
Keep the group on track and help all engage
Everything you need to facilitate an Apprentice Group is included on this webpage including training videos and the semester curriculum. Please refer to this page as often as you need it!
Training
Church Center Training: Start here. We ask all Facilitators to keep their rosters up to date, create an event for each of their scheduled meetings, and take attendance after every meeting. This short training will equip you to do just that. In addition, if your group is “open,” or receiving new members, then you will be in charge of approving membership requests. We ask all Facilitators to follow-up with membership requests within 24 hours.
How to login to Church Center, Manage your roster, create events, and take attendance:
Curriculum: We encourage every group to go through the Cornerstone-written curriculum together. This curriculum is written with Cornerstoners in mind, has options for individual and corporate reflection. provides space for practicing prayer, and requires little preparation on the leader’s end (unless you want to). If you prayerfully discern that a different study would better suit your group, please reach out to the Groups Pastor.
Extra Resources: In past semesters groups have devoted time to sharing their testimonies (one person a group). This practice was strengthening and connecting for the groups who did it. In addition, if you ever want to reflect on a sermon together, you can find a template below. Finally, for those who would like to explore the Bible further, BibleProject provides robust, faithful, fun teaching on every book of the Bible. Check it out!