Appendix 3: A Ten-Week Group Guide

This book was written to be read with others. Money is easier to talk about than most people think, once someone goes first. Here is a simple plan for a group meeting once a week for ten weeks.

Before you begin

Keep it safe. Agree together that what is shared in the group stays in the group. Nobody should ever be pressured to share figures, such as their income or how much they give. Talk about attitudes and decisions, not amounts, unless people choose otherwise.

Keep it honest. Leaders should be willing to go first and share their own struggles. If the leader pretends to have money all worked out, nobody else will be honest either.

Keep it gracious. Some people in the group may be in debt or under real financial strain. Others may be wealthy and quietly uncomfortable. Make room for both. The goal is not guilt, but grace and growth.

Each week

Ask everyone to read the two chapters before the meeting. When you meet:

• Open with prayer and a quick check-in: How did last week’s “Practice this week” go?
• Read the key verse from each chapter aloud.
• Discuss the “For groups” questions. You don’t have to cover them all. Choose the ones that spark the most conversation.
• Commit to one “Practice this week” for the coming week, and pray for one another by name.

The plan

• Week 1. Introduction and chapter 1: It All Belongs to God.
• Week 2. Chapters 2 and 3: Made to Work, Called to Keep; Two Masters.
• Week 3. Chapters 4 and 5: The Riches of Christ; Covetousness, the Respectable Sin.
• Week 4. Chapters 6 and 7: The Learned Secret of Contentment; Daily Bread, Not Daily Worry.
• Week 5. Chapters 8 and 9: The Danger of Riches; Gain All You Can, Honestly.
• Week 6. Chapters 10 and 11: Count the Cost; The Borrower’s Chains. (You may want to give out copies of the money plan in Appendix 2 this week.)
• Week 7. Chapters 12 and 13: Provide for Your Own; Firstfruits.
• Week 8. Chapters 14 and 15: Cheerful, Regular, Quiet Giving; Lending to the Lord. (Consider doing a practical act of service together for people in need.)
• Week 9. Chapters 16 and 17: Give All You Can; Faithful in Little.
• Week 10. Chapters 18, 19 and 20, and the Conclusion. Spend time this last week writing personal rules of life for money, and praying over them together.

For leaders

You don’t need to be a financial expert to lead this group. You only need to be honest, to love the people in your group, and to point them to Jesus. If someone shares a serious money problem, such as heavy debt, help them find good advice, and keep praying for them after the group ends.

Above all, keep coming back to grace. We don’t handle money well to earn God’s love. We handle it well because we already have His love, and because everything we have is His.