What to Expect at Cadre Night

Sunday Nights at 6:00 PM in the Gym


Welcome to Cadre Night! We’re excited you decided to join us! These nights are designed for those who want to go beyond just attending church and start being the church. Each night has two basic goals: 1) to connect you with other like-minded believers, and 2) to create an environment where spiritual growth happens.


Here’s what to expect. We will come together in the gym to do a welcoming and a very brief overview of the night, then distribute this week’s Cadre Questions. Finally, we will divide up into Cadres and let the Spirit work amongst us. 


You probably want to know what a Cadre is, right? A Cadre is “a group of people having some unifying relationship”. Do you want to grow spiritually? Do you want to be the church? Then congrats, you’ll fit in great with everyone who shows up. Because that’s the reason we’re all here. Jesus did ministry in groups of 3-12, and we think we should follow His example. That’s why at Cadre Nights we divide up into Cadres. 


How do Cadres Work?

Cadres all require three things to be successful.


Trust

What happens in a cadre stays in the cadre. If the members don’t trust each other, it is impossible to get to a point where growth can happen. Honesty about struggles, spiritual matters, etc., are where growth takes place.

Chemistry

The group has to get along and like each other, for lack of a better term. There has to be a cohesiveness in the group that allows them to become, in essence, a family. If the group argues constantly, spiritual growth won’t happen. As cadres form, consider the relational chemistry of the members. 

No Venting About People

Cadres cannot become venting sessions about people. Bad mouthing people is a surefire way to kill the spiritual growth of a cadre. It is never to be tolerated. 


Cadre Time has THREE Elements

  1. Fellowship Time

This time is the social element of a cadre. It isn’t to be the focus nor a major portion of the group’s time. 10% of the cadre’s time together maximum should be allotted to fellowship.


  1. Prayer Time

This time is to allow for the prayers and praises of the group to be shared with one another. This should not be allowed to take up a major portion of the group’s time. Listing any and all prayer requests can quickly eat up the group’s time and reduce the amount of time given to the last two elements, which are the emphasis of the the cadre. 


Here's a helpful practice for managing prayer time. Give each member an index card and instruct them to write one prayer request and one praise on it. Go around the room and have each member share both. Then pray for all the things mentioned. Finally, have the members trade their card with someone with the intention of having each member pray for the card they received.


  1. Cadre Questions

This is the time where the cadre will go through this week’s questions, based on Sunday morning’s message. Members should be encouraged to have watched it before meeting in their cadre. However, failure to do so should never preclude someone from joining in and answering the questions.


What Happens Next Week?

Each week cadres will reform. This can mean if your group got along wonderfully and you want to include the same people, great! If you want to try meeting with different people, great! The goal is for cadres to stay flexible and small in their members. Remember, these groups are explicitly not permanent. The goal is for anyone who shows up to reasonably feel like they can join a cadre easily and jump right in.