Recently, one of our facilities completed the workbook, "Stronger," by Angela Thomas. Whenever we tell the story about residents doing a workbook study we get a lot of questions so I'm going to take sometime today to answer the questions we get asked the most:
How did you get the books?
First, we asked the chaplain for approval. Next, we posted a social media post on Instagram and Facebook asking for people to sponsor a book for each resident that had committed to the study. Within a week we had almost every book paid for in full! There are several benefits to asking for sponsorships. First, it's less of your ministry's budget that gets used for the books. Second, it gives more people on the outside a genuine interest in your ministry. Lastly, it lets the residents know people on the outside really care about them.
Did you show the videos?
Yes, we did. Again, we asked the facility for approval to use a TV/DVD cart to show the DVD each week. Our weekly time at this facility is about an hour by the time we account for headcounts and introductions. We asked several of our volunteers to come and assist to lead smaller groups within our large group time.
How did they do?
They did great! They were honored to know that women on the outside had paid for them to have their very own book. To keep the celebration going we provided certificates for the ladies that completed all seven weeks. If you are interested in doing, "Stronger," you can click here to use the certificate we created for this study.
Reminders: ALWAYS ask for approval before starting any workbook study inside a facility. To keep your ministry going you need to follow the rules. Be a good example for the residents.
Depending on why the residents are on the inside they might have some trouble completing the homework in their workbook. Be patient with them and allow some time to answer their questions each week. The night we started, "Stronger," we went through the workbook from the beginning talking about the Introduction, Author's Note, and Table of Contents. The night we passed out their books we asked who had completed a workbook study before and only 15% raised their hands!