What is a Running Partner?
We need a small handful of trusted friends to help each other run after Jesus as we learn to become more like Him and become the person He created us to be. We see this idea mentioned throughout scripture:
If someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken. For if either falls, his companion can lift him up; but pity the one who falls without another to lift him up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
A man with many friends may be harmed, but there is a friend who stays closer than a brother. Proverbs 18:24
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15
This small handful of trusted friends is what we call Running Partners. A Running Partner (RP) group is made up of (suggested) 3-5 men or 3-5 women (no more than 5) who agree to intentionally help each other grow in their relationship with God in a “no perfect people allowed” style.
How do I find a Running Partner?
As you run after Jesus, simply look around your church community and see who are others that seem to be running after Jesus at a similar pace, not too far ahead or behind you. Pray about and ask a few others that you identify running at your pace to consider meeting for a few months to give a Runner Partner group a try.
If you are having trouble finding people, a great way to meet them would be to join one of our Serve teams or participate in a Network. Once you’ve established 3-5 members, use the “meeting one” outline below to help get to know each other better and create the rhythms and norms for your RP group.
Meeting Together
The First Meeting
First, read through all the Guidelines and then discuss the value of holding to these principles.
Second, consider any other values or agreements that would support your time together and help create openness and trust.
Lastly, without answering the questions, simply read through the RP questions and agree to use these questions or discuss any adjustments that you would want to make to the questions. You can make other adjustments later but establishing some consistency early on will help everyone know what to expect, create trust, and make this time meaningful.
Moving Forward
Once you’ve established the Guidelines and Questions, pick a time and location that will make this commitment doable. Set a start time and end time and honor that for each other (agree to changes as needed). Acknowledge that this might be stretching at first and out of your comfort zone. Don’t overthink this or try to force stuff to happen, trust that God is with this group and loves that y’all are having these conversations and inviting Him in – HE will be the one to cause growth. RP groups are creating the soil and environment for Him to work. For the first few weeks, in addition to using the Guidelines and Questions, give each person 15-20 minutes to share some of their stories (here is our “How to Share Your Story” resource for help). Consider committing to at least four months and meeting at least twice a month – agree to check-in at the end of four months. At the end of the initial agreed time, either thank each other for honoring the commitments shared and being a support during that time and end that RP season or agree to continue the RP group time. Once you have your group of 3-5, please fill out the form below.