I need ideas for meetings

[V4Victory]

Our church has had First Place meetings since Jan. 2005. The lady who started it is no longer attending our church. When she left last spring, my sister and I stepped up and took on the leadership position so that we could continue the efforts that we had begun. I was very gung ho for several sessions, but now i am struggling to stay on track. Also, I want to make our meetings enjoyable for the ladies; since i am struggling, i find it difficult to even plan and prepare. Does anyone have any ideas for making meetings fun/enjoyable? Any suggestions for someone who needs to get back on track? (i originally lost 30 lbs, but have gained 10 back; and am now maintaining with an overall loss of 20 lbs.) I guess my sister and I had hoped that eventually someone else would take over the leadership, but no one has. I look forward to hearing some suggestions!

[terri]

Hi, I have been leading the First Place Group at mychurch for almost a year now. We are about to start our 3rd session. I have a great group of ladies, about 16 registered with attendance being about 12 for each meeting. Are there any particular commitments you are having trouble with keeping? One thing my group does each week is we have a prayer request slip( you can use the one found in your leader's guide). I ask each member to fill it out and to list a personal prayer request for themselves. We pass the basket each week so that we will have a little operating money and I sometimes have everyone share something when the basket comes to them. It could be what they had for breakfast and how to count the exchanges, or it could be there favorite commitment, etc. When the basket is passed they drop in their money and their prayer request slip. When the basket has been passed to everyone we pass it around again and draw a slip out. This is your person to encourage for the week. This is one of the best ways I have found to help my members get in their commitment of encouragement. It also lets you know that you have someone praying for your specific need.
Next week is our orientation meeting for this session, however, I have learned not to call it that or most of the alumni won't attend, even though they need help to count exchanges. I am calling it mystery night. I plan to divide the group into 4 teams . We are going to play some games to help them all with the live-it. Each team will have to come up with a day of FP friendly eating. I am also going to glue pictures of food on paper plates and have them figure the exchanges. My group is easily motivated by prizes. They don't have to be much, a sticker will do! This session I am taking up CR's each week and drawing from those for a prize. I went to the Dollar Tree and bought some prizes like measuring spoons, cooking gadgets, etc. Even if they have not completed their CR or have not written anything on it, they can turn it in to me for the drawing provided they write a note on it explaining why they had not filled it out.
I could go on forever. I hope this has heloed you. Terri

[barb/Australia]

Has your group done Food Taste It Meals? Members bring in a first place recipe with the food made for 1 serving for everyone to try the dish. Its a good way to get them to use the First Place recipes in the studies or cook books

Your wellness worksheets are also a tool that brings it into the practicle. You can get class to bring in menus from their local restaurants and have a section on eating out and choose the healthy alternatives.

Exercise class adds fun to the group with the new First Place DVDs aerobic or strength and flexibility. They can be bought separately or are avail now in the Choosing Thankfulness study, and will be in the Celebrating Victory Study released in June. It takes 30 min to do the dvd and it caters for all levels of fitness. I found that those who struggled with exercise actually got in and did it with the group and it has helped many members start a exercise program. We ran it each week and got the group to do it together as part of the class time.

There are different things you can do with memory verses. Get them to choose a favourite and act it out like charades, or create a puzzle or jigsaw or cross word or find a word. the list is endless

Create a group Memory Book, If someone is handy with camera get them to be the photographer weekly taking photos of different things your group has done during class then make it into a book and present it as a keepsake at victory celebration. If someone does creative memory books they may like the job of being creative with the photos, Be sure to get before and after shots of each member.

These are just some ideas. But also its good to stick to the program as its written in the leaders guide. THe more members use the resources from the kits the better the group works.

Pair them up into prayer partners or prayer triplets for the session and allocate some time during class for them to go pray together .

barb/Australia

[bean]

HI!
My group meets every 2 weeks! What I do is give a prize for the person who loses the most weight that week. We have a small group that is still together since January 2006. We had a little break last month. The members are glad to get back on track. I have Carol's book- BACK ON TRACK- that she wrote I think a year ago. I use that, we have celbratory suppers with the First Place receipes, and I have a nice basket for the top loser at the end of our 12 weeks in July.
I also bring in info that I find in health magazines and newspaper. There was a recent article in my local paper on First Place and other religious based diets.
My members really enjoyed the extra info that I read after our lesson, etc. I hope this helps. Also, I don't include myself in the running for the prizes but I am an example- I know how hard it is to stay on track. We can do anything with our Lord's strength and guidance. Good luck and God bless!

[RebaR]

my local group is not meeting right now, but we will be starting back soon. We've had a group for 3 or 4 years now...some sessions we are all returners, but they always want to have a lesson focusing on the exchanges. I will take in samples of each food group and we'll discuss them... I also challenge them to estimate a serving and then actually measure it to see how close they are. Sometimes we do a meal- all bring things in that are on the live it, how to count it and the recipe to share. We try to coordinate so that we aren't overloaded on meats, breads etc and that we have veggies and fruits. Another thing I've done is to pair up members and give each pair a menu from local restaurants- make it a variety. Then each pair is to come up with something to order that has specific exchanges... like 3 meats, 3 breads, 2 veggies, 1 fruit, and 1 fat... or whatever you want it to be. Then each pair shares with the entire group. One time, I took in different cookbooks and passed them out. They were again in pairs and they chose a recipe and figured out the exchanges per serving. We've had times that we focus on exercise and even do a video or something in class. Sometimes, when several members had been missing for a while, we would take some time in class to write notes of encouragment. Sometimes I'll focus on one commitment a week.... Since we've been meeting for a while, I'm known to repeat some of these too... especially ones they like. I'll post more if I think of them...

Reba

[Pat/TX]

There is also a little book called Health 4 Life that now comes in the newer member kits. It has a wealth of wellness ideas and activities that would add variety to your lessons. If you are like me and have the older kit, I think it can be ordered from the Resources pages here on this website. Or if it's not there, I'm sure you can get it at most bookstores that carry First Place materials.

Pat/TX