Clay Center Christian

Bible Minute Daily Devotional
Sixty seconds in God’s Word daily

**Below is the Newcomers Information Sheet**

Welcome to Celebrate Recovery – Clay Center Christian Church
Newcomers 101 Information Sheet

The purpose of Celebrate Recovery here at the Clay Center Christian Church is to fellowship and celebrate God’s healing power in our lives through eight recovery principles and the Christ-centered 12 Steps. This experience allows us to be changed. We open the door by sharing our experiences, strengths, and hopes with one another.
In addition, we become willing to accept God’s grace in solving our life problems.

By working the steps and applying their Biblical principles, we begin to grow spiritually. We become free from our addictive, compulsive, and dysfunctional behaviors.
This freedom creates peace, serenity, joy, and most importantly,
a stronger personal relationship with God and others.

As we progress through the principles we discover our personal, loving,
and forgiving Higher Power—Jesus Christ.

Celebrate Recovery at CCCC is part of an international movement to bring Christ-centered Bible based recovery to the world. The Celebrate Recovery® name
is a registered trademark.

The characteristics of an authentic Celebrate Recovery® Ministry:

1. Jesus Christ is the one and only Higher Power. The program is a
Christ-centered program.
2. The Celebrate Recovery curriculum is used exclusively (the Leader’s Guide
and the four Participants Guides, and the Bible). The Large Group lessons
are taught from the Leader’s Guide, keeping at least the acrostic and the scriptures
as the key points in the lessons. This is to keep consistency within groups,
while allowing creativity for the teachers.
3. The ministry is “group based.” All groups are gender specific and
use the group guidelines and format.
4. The Celebrate Recovery “Five Small Group Guidelines”
are implemented and followed.
5. Accountability to Christ, the local church, and Celebrate Recovery
at Saddleback Church.

-Small Group Guidelines-

Guideline 1: Keep your sharing focused on your own thoughts, feelings, and actions. Please limit your sharing to 3-5 minutes.

Guideline 2: There is NO cross talk please. Cross talk is when two people engage
in a dialogue during the meeting. Each person is free to express
feelings without interruptions.

Guideline 3: We are here to support one another. We will not attempt to “fix” another.

Guideline 4: Anonymity and Confidentiality are basic requirements. What’s shared in the group stays in the group. Unless someone threatens to harm themselves or others.

Guideline 5: Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered
recovery group, including no graphic descriptions.

Reasons:

Guideline 1 and 3 — Avoiding focusing on others by concentrating on others needs
and problems, analyzing their motives and behavior, asking questions of others,
or telling stories about what he/she did. The negative results of focusing on others are
that it helps us avoid our own issues, makes us observers, not participants,
and puts a safe (and lonely) distance between ourselves and others.

Guideline 4 — Breaking confidentiality is telling outsiders what was said or done in group. It can be gossip disguised as a prayer request. The negative results are
that it violates trust and safety, makes members afraid to share risky material.

Guideline 2 and 5 — Cross talk is interrupting people, asking questions,
or having a dialogue with one other member of the group. The negative results
are that members fear that they won’t be able to finish sharing, that their ideas
are not valued, or that they won’t get a chance to speak.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY SMALL GROUPS CAN:

• Provide you a safe place to share your experiences, strengths and hopes with
others who are going through the “Principles” in a Christ-Centered recovery program.
• Provide you a leader who has gone through a similar hurt, hang-up or habit that will facilitate the group as it focuses on a particular Step each week. The leader will
also keep Celebrate Recovery’s “FIVE Guidelines.”
• Provide you with the opportunity to find an accountability partner or sponsor.
• Encourage you to attend other recovery meetings held throughout the week,
if available.

CELEBRATE RECOVERY SMALL GROUPS WILL NOT:

• Attempt to offer any professional clinical advice. Our leaders are not counselors.
• Allow its members to attempt to fix one another.

Program Facts and Information:

Finances: Celebrate Recovery is supported financially by the Clay Center Christian Church. In order that Celebrate Recovery would be as self-supporting as possible we charge ($5.00) per night for childcare. We also have a free will donation can on the resource table which helps pay for childcare and any other costs of the ministry.
We also have materials for sale such as the Life Recovery Bible and
participant guides. These items are sold at our cost. If you are unable to pay any
of these costs please talk to one of the Celebrate Recovery leaders and
we will work with you.

Childcare: Childcare is provided for ages 1 to 11 at minimal cost for the benefit
of all. Please see that your children are fed prior to bringing them. Advise us if you
have any special needs. The children are fed a snack so you must let us know if
your child has any special dietary needs and you are asked to send a snack
with your child in that case. Older children may not be brought and left
unattended in the building.

Service: If you become a regular at Celebrate Recovery, you’re encouraged
to find a place of service in this ministry. Opportunities for service will sometimes
be announced but are almost always available. If you would like to help,
speak to one of the Celebrate Recovery leaders.

Leaders: Celebrate Recovery leaders will be identified by Celebrate Recovery shirts and/or name badges.

At Clay Center Christian Church, we offer the following ministries: Shut-in ministry, Communion servers, Women to Women, Men’s ministry, Primary Education,
Worship ministry, Transportation, Jr. High Youth, Wee Worship, Prayer Emphasis, Library, Outreach ministry, Meals for Recovery, Communion preparation, Visitation, Nursery, Building & Grounds, Sound & Staging, Financial counseling,
Greeters & Guest reception, Food & Fellowship, Finance ministry, Finance,
Ushers, Children’s Church, Sr. High Youth, Benevolence ministry, Missions,
and Gifts & Encouragement.