FAQs

A. Life Lessons Over Lunch is an environment in which a group of people gather together over lunch and watch a DVD message.  Life Lessons Over Lunch groups take practical Biblical teaching about everyday challenges and introduce those concepts to employees in a non-threatening environment.  They are employee driven, volunteer groups whose mission is to facilitate the spiritual growth of those employees who choose to participate.

A: The purpose of Life Lessons Over Lunch is to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ, by encouraging people to leverage their influence in the marketplace.  We do this by equipping them to create relevant and safe environments for participants to explore Biblical principles and consider issues of faith.

A: It is important that Life Lessons meetings do not occur on company time, but rather on personal time.  Lunch is the ideal time for these meetings to occur, as lunch is considered personal time.  While some groups have attempted to meet over breakfast before work, we have found that this often poses an obstacle that many prospective attendees cannot overcome.  Because it requires the attendee to arrive earlier than normal, it unintentionally creates a situation where only the "serious religious people" are likely to attend and undermines the goal of impacting a wider audience.

A: Groups typically meet in a common area at the office, such as a conference room, training room, or break room.

A: Most groups meet every other week or twice monthly (i.e., the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month).  Meeting weekly often begins to feel like a burden—for the leader, the participant, and the company—and over time creates a sense of "Life Lessons fatigue."  Groups that meet only once a month often find it hard to build a sense of continuity in doing a multi-part message series, and it's hard to gain momentum.  We've found that an every-other-week or twice-monthly rotation works best for most environments, and more than 85% of Life Lessons groups use this schedule.

A: Each meeting is designed to last an hour or less.

A: Based on the set-up of the room, either a laptop computer or a DVD player is needed to show the message.  If a laptop is used with a larger group, a projector will be necessary.  Some smaller groups have gathered around a laptop, but this would be impractical for groups larger than 4 or 5 people.  If using a DVD player, a television or a connection to a projector will be needed.

A: While providing lunch for free is not a requirement, we have seen that the provision of free lunches for participants is the most effective way to attract and retain participants.  If nothing else, it removes a significant obstacle for those who might otherwise be hesitant to participate.  We do not recommend asking for public donations for lunch.  However, some groups have had private benefactors who have volunteered to fund the lunches.

A: There are a variety of strategies for providing lunches, such as:

• Some restaurants may donate or discount the lunches, especially if you are ordering from them on a regular basis.
• Companies—typically private companies—contribute money towards the purchase of the lunches.
• The group's steering team funds the lunches.
• The group's "regulars" pay for lunches for the new attendees they have invited.

A: No.

A: No.  As a matter of fact, we would discourage anyone from turning this into a teaching time.  The leader might potentially make a brief introduction as to what the message is and what the next series will be, but this is strictly an informational time.  Some group leaders open the group in prayer or ask a "blessing" before the meal, but again, that is up to the leader and is optional.  In almost all of the messages, the communicator closes the message with a prayer, which feels natural and wraps things up well.

A: Typically, time is not allowed for discussion, and the environment is not designed for this.  We have found that making the group interactive unintentionally scares off those for whom attending Life Lessons is a big step in the first place.  When participants are interested in more interaction, we encourage that to happen outside of the normal Life Lessons meeting, so that Life Lessons remains a "safe place" for a wider audience.

A: It is not uncommon for group participants to desire more interaction and connection.  A number of groups have responded to this desire by creating a separate meeting that allows for more interaction.  In this separate meeting, participants may discuss the message they've seen and/or share prayer requests.  For most message series, we provide access to a discussion guide that lays out the big idea of the message and gives participants an opportunity to reflect on how the message personally applies to their situation.  If one of your group members wants to "own" this idea, it may present a great opportunity for them to exercise their leadership gifts.  Just be clear that this interactive meeting is separate from Life Lessons Over Lunch.

In groups that offer such an opportunity, they often mention it in closing announcements of their Life Lessons meeting.  For example, "Thanks for joining us for part 1 of 'Guardrails'; we'll be back here in two weeks for part 2.  If you are interested in taking a deeper look at this topic, there's a group of folks who get together on Tuesday mornings for discussion and to share prayer requests.  See Frank if you're interested.

A: We strongly encourage getting company approval before you launch.  Most companies require approval in order to secure meeting rooms and use company equipment.  You will also find that your group has more credibility and wider participation if you have received company approval.

There are some groups that exist without company approval, but they typically have to meet off-site, which makes it much more challenging to invite your co-workers.

A: It depends on the organization.  In many cases, getting company approval is merely a matter of red tape.  Approval for Life Lessons often falls under the umbrella of corporate diversity.  There are typically two different types of employee-initiated groups:

1. Employee Affinity Groups, which are not-for-profit, employee-initiated organizations that support dimensions of diversity.
2. Special Interest Organizations, which are not-for-profit, employee-initiated organizations that primarily provide social, educational, recreational, or hobby opportunities for employees.

We have found that it helps to "do your homework" before seeking approval.  Consult your Employee Handbook or Company Policy Manual and find out what policies are on the books that may cover your prospective group.  Employees who are prepared to have a thoughtful discussion before meeting with company Management or Human Resources often have better results.  It may also help to provide your company some context by letting them know businesses or sites where other Life Lessons Over Lunch groups are in place.  It can be especially helpful if there are similar companies that have Life Lessons groups.

A: There is no numerical determinant.  We have had Life Lessons groups as small as 3 people, as well as groups that have as many as 200 people.

A: No.  There is an application process that all potential leaders must complete in order to become an "official" Life Lessons Over Lunch group.  Only official groups receive support and resources.  Click here to view our Leader Qualifications page.

A: Yes.  We provide an initial orientation prior to launching a group.  Once the group is launched, Life Lessons staff are available to coach Life Lessons leaders on an as-needed basis.  We are happy to offer suggestions on curriculum or help you navigate challenging situations.  We also create opportunities for groups of leaders in close proximity to one another to meet for mutual encouragement and to share best practices.  Finally, North Point Ministries offers opportunities for continuing education and leadership development, and many of those opportunities are open to Life Lessons leaders.

A: Approved groups can order free DVDs through the Life Lessons staff.  We have 60+/- different DVD offerings that have been selected for Life Lessons groups.

A: The leader and steering team of each group ultimately determines which series to watch, but the Life Lessons staff can provide some suggestions.  We have some specific recommendations for launching a group. These initial series are discussed in our "Launching and Leading a Life Lessons Group Over the First Six Months" document, which will be provided to you once you begin the process of starting a group.

A: The most effective method of promotion is by word of mouth and personal invitation.  Once your group is established, you may provide an email to participants on an "opt-in" basis.  The Leaders section of this website has tools for sending branded emails and/or attachments to help you communicate with your group and promote message series.

Depending on the nature of your company approval, you may be able to post flyers/advertisements in common areas or send broadcast emails.  While these methods may raise general awareness of your group, they are not nearly as effective in building participation as personal invitations.

A: We strongly recommend building a steering team prior to launching a Life Lessons group.  This group would consist of three to five individuals who share the same vision for the company.  Ideally, this team would have a senior officer on board.  If you anticipate having a larger group, we suggest building a team of volunteers.

A: While Life Lessons Over Lunch has a simple model, it provides ample opportunities for others to get involved, particularly as a group grows.  Having a team of volunteers will also create a shared sense of ownership.  Some potential volunteer roles and responsibilities include:

• Facilities - This person or group handles booking the room, arranging the room as needed, and setting up the equipment.
• Food - This person or group identifies a source for lunch, secures food for the meeting, and then sets up the food as well.
• Promotion - This person or group coordinates the email invitation list, sending out email invites, hanging signs for the meeting, and handling announcements.
• Resources - This person or group orders the DVDs and may manage the library of completed DVDs.  If your group provides audio CDs of the messages, this group would handle the creation and distribution of those CDs as well.
• Greeters - While not a necessity, greeters are a nice way of welcoming new attendees.  Again, the focus is to make the environment non-threatening.
• Clean-up - This person or group is in charge of returning the meeting room to the condition in which it was found.
• Volunteer Coordinator - Lastly, someone will need to be in charge of coordinating the volunteers.

A: It helps to consider, what is your sphere of influence?  It may be that your primary connection is with a collection of clients, customers, or vendors.  Or you may be most connected to other independent agents in a particular industry.  Or it may be that your sphere of influence is those who work in your vicinity.  Whichever is the case, you may be able to start a Life Lessons group that serves your sphere of influence even if that's not within a particular company.  Here are a couple of examples:

• A leader with 20+ years of experience—and networking—in the commercial finance industry in Atlanta started a group that serves the Atlanta finance community.  They meet in a restaurant that has a room with audio-video equipment.
• Another leader has a small accounting firm in Gainesville, GA.  While his firm has only a handful of employees, they have extensive contacts in the Gainesville business community.  They meet weekly in the back room of a delicatessen on the town square and regularly have more than 30 participants from a wide variety of local businesses.

A: There is no direct cost for participating in Life Lessons.  Life Lessons Over Lunch provides DVDs to all approved groups free of charge.  While we encourage groups to provide lunches for those that attend, this is not a requirement.  For those groups that do provide lunches, they may be funded by the group leaders, interested group participants, outside benefactors, or donated by restaurants.  Some organizations have seen Life Lessons Over Lunch as a worthwhile way to invest in their employees and have opted to fund the lunches themselves, but that has been at the discretion of the organization’s leaders.

A: Absolutely.  The following link will take you to a page where you can watch a Flash video of “When Less is More,” part 4 of a series called Time of Your Life, which deals with how we spend our time.  Time of Your Life was one of the top five most popular series in 2010 (out of more than 60 different message series).

Click here to watch this video.