The SIAFU Guidebook

Part I I I : Forming a Company 97

gatherings is good advanced planning. Select any special participants to lead areas of the Chapter meeting (if desired). The general rule of thumb is clear: leave no detail of a SIAFU Chapter meeting to chance; fill out the SIAFU Meeting Worksheet to plan out each Chapter meeting. One principle is extremely important in hosting your Chapter meetings. As a rule, plan out your Chapter Meeting, from start to finish, to be no longer than one hour and fifteen minutes total time. Why? First, people will learn to trust the SIAFU Chapter meeting format, making it easier for attendees to understand and predict the gathering times. Next, filling an hour and fifteen minutes with great testimony, song, and prayer will make your Chapter meetings full, with little room for waste or drag. Finally, an hour-and-fifteen-minute-long period will demand that you plan out everything for your meeting; you will probably need to manage your time efficiently. Of course, while you may wind up going ten or fifteen minutes longer, you want to discipline your time in such a way that, normally, you are done after an hour and fifteen minutes. Those who wish to stay later can do so, once the meeting is finished. The following template is a proposed outline for an hour-and-fifteen- minute-long SIAFU Chapter meeting. Feel free to structure your agenda as the Lord leads (all the times are approximate and suggested, and shouldn’t be seen as hard and fast demands). The president is responsible for the overall flow of the meeting and should select others and delegate to them responsibility for specific pieces of the Chapter meeting. 1. Welcome everyone in attendance in the name of Jesus Christ (5 min). The presider of the meeting should welcome everyone in attendance. Open each Chapter meeting with a warm greeting and offer a brief explanation to everyone present what the SIAFU Network is and what you hope to accomplish together. The presider may elect to read the SIAFU mission statement, so everyone can hear again why you gather, and what your intent together is. An Hour-and-Fifteen-Minute Template to Guide Your Chapter Meeting