Kickoff
Getting started together

Before the meeting

• Make sure everyone has the book or the website address: firststeps.jeffbuckner.com.
• Read the Start here page and chapter 1 yourself.
• Pray for each person by name.

Open (10 minutes)

Go around the group. Ask each person to share their name and one sentence about how they came to trust Jesus, or where they are right now. Keep it short and welcome every answer. Some will have a dramatic story. Others will say, “I’m not sure yet what happened.” Both belong here.

Read together (10 minutes)

Read John 15:1-5 aloud. Jesus is the vine, and his disciples are the branches. This is the theme passage for the whole 30 days.

Discuss (30 minutes)

Questions marked ★ matter most if time runs short.

• ★ What is one thing you hope will be different in your life a month from now?
• Jesus says “apart from me you can do nothing.” What does that free you from, and what does it ask of you?
• ★ What questions do you have about following Jesus right now? (Write them down. You will come back to them.)
• What usually gets in the way when you try to build a new habit?

Walk through how it works (10 minutes)

• About 15 minutes a day: ask for help, read the passage, reflect and pray, take one action. The daily rhythm explains it.
• Read the ten short chapters first, or one alongside each of the first ten days.
• Missed days are fine. Pick up where you stopped. Nobody needs to catch up.
• The group meets again around day 7, 14, 21, and 30.

Live it

Choose a regular time and place for your daily reading. Tell one person in the group what you chose.

Pray (15 minutes)

Pray in pairs or threes. Ask each person to share one prayer need. If someone has never prayed aloud, let them know a single sentence is enough, or that they can pray silently.

Leader notes

• Some people may not be sure they have trusted Jesus yet. Welcome them. Offer to talk one on one, or connect them with a pastor.
• If anyone does not have a mentor, help them find one this week. The mentor guides show what that looks like.