In April 2019, six members of the URC Yorkshire Synod answered the call for a pilot group to road test as facilitators Faith-filled Life, the opening stream of Stepwise, the URC’s discipleship development programme. 

Initially, it took some time for the group to familiarise itself with accessing the information online, and it raised questions on behalf of those who have no equipment or poor broadband and this was fed into the Stepwise Task & Finish Group. 

Over the next few weeks, as the group began navigating its way around the Stepwise Hub, the members also got to know each other and felt they had created a safe space for the work as well as a sacred space where they could share their stories. 

The group worked well together and the sessions were thought-provoking and challenging. It maintained the discipline of keeping to the allocated times for its sessions, although the discussion could have gone for a lot longer. 

It started each session with the question: “Where have you seen God at work this week?”, a devotion and prayer. The offer of lunch was a huge incentive! Overall, the group found the learning experience fun, exciting and enjoyable. 

Its message to anyone who would wish to sign up is that the role of the Facilitator in the Stepwise programme is crucial in delivering what is an excellent learning framework for individual and group learning.

Other messages include the importance of being prepared for most eventualities, as sometimes the equipment, or people, may let you down.

The information for facilitators contained within the Stepwise Hub is helpful and informative, according to the group, with links to other websites and resources. Sufficient preparation time is a must as this can allow more time for discussion about the activities.

The group is really looking forward to completing the next session.

If you are interested in learning more about Stepwise, please visit urc.org.uk/stepwise

Contributed by the Revd Zaidie Orr, Minister in the URC Sheffield team pastorate and Stepwise pioneer.

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