Leadership Tips & Training Spicing up your Spring/Summer Session

Recently, I realized that I needed to spice things up in my First Place class; do things a little different to energize my class members, and to get myself out of a leader rut.  Sometimes we get so comfortable in doing the same things session after session that we lose our enthusiasm.  This spring I decided to do a few things differently.  Here are some of my plans:

Class Syllabus : I handed out a syllabus of the entire session on the first day of class. I used the session overview as my model and provided them with the class dates, topics of discussion, and assignments for the entire session. I printed it on bright pink paper to help them locate it easily and asked them to display it in a prominent spot, so that they would be aware of what was happening in First Place.

Themes for Each Month :  May is exercise month or it could be called May Muscle Month.  We will take a tour of our recreation facility, have a personal trainer instruct on how stretching and strength training exercises, and have a time for fitness assessments.  June will be June Jewel Month. The members will have an opportunity to share their gifts, talents, or interests with the class during our wellness spotlights all during the month of June.  I have a sign up sheet and they list their name and what they will be sharing. They may share their interest in gourmet cooking, meal planning, exercise, computers or any area that would relate in some way to finding balance in life. I want my members to realize that they are precious and have jewels or gifts to share with others.  

Picnic Celebration : Our victory celebration will be a picnic theme. If we didn't live in Houston, the most humid place ever, we would have a picnic outdoors for our celebration.  However, since we meet at noon each Tuesday, we will probably have an indoor picnic. Each person will bring a picnic type food, such as sandwich items, salads, and summer time desserts (First Place recipes, of course!).  I thought of planning some activities that you would do at a picnic, such as tossing a Frisbee, wiffle ball (baseball with a plastic ball and bat), and hopscotch.

I hope these ideas have spurred your thinking on to even more creative ideas. If you have some ideas to share with other leaders please send them to me and I will share them in this newsletter or in the leader newsletter.  Send them to ntaylor@firstplace.org or mail them to First Place, Attn.  Nancy Taylor, 7401 Katy Freeway, Houston, Texas 77024. I look forward to hearing from you!  

Nancy Taylor
Leadership Training Director


Nancy Taylor is the First Place Leadership Training Director and joined the First Place staff in 1997. Nancy teaches leadership principles to First Place Leaders throughout the country and at Houston's First Baptist Church where she coordinates all the First Place groups. . Nancy also speaks at First Place workshops, rallies, retreats, and conferences, where she delights her audiences with humor and encourages them with boldness. She writes a monthly article, which includes helpful tips for leaders, for the First Place E-newsletter, and was a contributing writer to the Today is the First Day devotional book. Nancy is the resident First Place Bible Concordance because of her love for Scripture memory.