Getting Started

Getting Started With DOCC

What will happen at a DOCC Training Conference?
Persons being trained as presenters and facilitators will experience the DOCC program in a compressed time span. Presentations from the DOCC syllabus acquaint them with the material, with the Conference Presenter modeling how presentations might be given in the home congregation. After each presentation, participants meet in small groups with two lay facilitators to discuss the presentation and talk about its application to their lives, just as their fellow parishioners will do when the program is offered to the congregation in its full 21 week format. Participants are trained to use the program by experiencing it.

When do you want to begin the program in your church?
It is necessary and appropriate to plan NOW. DOCC is most effective when woven into the vision of the life of the congregation.

Who will present the lectures?
Among DOCC's major goals are the building of Christian community, the encouragement of individual spiritual growth and the offering of a challenge to the laity to exercise a ministry within the church and beyond. Ordinarily, the ordained leadership of the congregation, as they bear primary responsibility for enabling these goals, present the lectures, particularly in the first years of DOCC's life in a congregation. Where it is not possible or desirable for the clergy to do so, and/or when the program has been well established in a congregation, theologically familiar lay persons may present. Persons who have, for instance, completed four years of Sewanee's Education for Ministry program (EFM) may be encouraged to train as presenters.

Time commitment for Presenters:

attendance at a 3 day training conference;
time to prepare weekly lectures of about 30 minutes, working with a full outline syllabus provided upon completion of the training;
about one hour following each DOCC session to "wrap up" with group facilitators, which incorporates ongoing training and support for the presenter and for the group facilitators.

NOW IS THE TIME TO SCHEDULE THE TRAINING CONFERENCE ON THE PROPOSED PRESENTER'S CALENDAR!

Call the DOCC office for a schedule of training conferences.

Who and how many should be trained as group facilitators?
When you begin the DOCC program in your congregation, you will be able to have as many groups of eight to ten participants as you have PAIRS of trained group facilitators.

Time commitment for Group Facilitators:

attendance at a 3 day training conference;
ability to be present for every lecture and small group meeting during the course of the program (usually about 21 weeks);
about one hour following each meeting to "wrap-up", which is essential in the ongoing training of group facilitators.

You are encouraged to recruit persons who have the promise of enabling a good group experience for others, who demonstrate some facility for pastoral sensitivity and the ability to be open to the thoughts and feelings of others, and who are willing to grow in a leadership role in the congregation.

NOW IS THE TIME TO RECRUIT SMALL GROUP FACILITATORS!
Scheduling time for a 3 day training conference requires considerable advance planning.

How much does DOCC training cost?
Persons trained to present the course pay $160, and receive the DOCC Presenters Manual as well as a start-up kit with registration forms and sample letters to use for recruiting participants.

Persons trained as small group facilitators pay $120, and receive the DOCC Facilitator's Manual.

THESE FEES ARE ALREADY INCLUDED IN THE TOTAL CONFERENCE COST LISTED ON THE REGISTRATION FORM AND ARE NOT IN ADDITION TO IT.

When DOCC is offered to the congregation, participants pay $75 (NOTE: Effective January 1, 2004 the shipping is free.) and receive a DOCC Participant Resource Guide. Active presenters and group facilitators are exempt from this fee.

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