This is the landing page for a new blog series on leading a small group. Each Thursday a new installment will be posted and you can find all the updates here.
From kids to adults churches are full of small groups. We have small groups, Sunday School classes, teams, Bible studies, committees, cell groups, house churches, service groups or whatever other groups we come up with.
Some of these groups have been together for decades and others don’t even get off the ground before they get started. Group dynamics can be weird and in the worst case fairly destructive. That pray request that is really gossip and the seemingly off-handed comment that is actually fishing for other critics.
As pastors and leaders we lead most of the groups we are in and as Rookie Pastors we can underestimate how hard it is to lead them. Just getting through a group is hard, actually moving someone towards discipleship can sometimes feel impossible.
I’ve been in my fair share of groups with teenagers, adults, and seniors that went nothing like I had planned. In my mind the conversation would be vibrant and full of depth, while in reality all I got was crickets and a hijacked conversation.
Over the last three years I have taken on the role of Groups pastor and made small groups the focus of the Student Ministry that I also lead. So I have plenty of mistakes to learn from, and consequently to share with you.
- Work Backwards
- Know the Motives
- Go Easy on the Newbies
- Pre-Game
- Curriculum
- Clear Commitment
- Don’t be Awkward
- Ground Rules
- Have a Partner
- Prime the Pump
- Get Out of the Living Room
- New Leaders
- Splits and Break-ups
So what makes a good small group?
Comment with your answers!
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1 A clear vision for what the group is doing and where it is growing
2 A manageable size no larger than 10 to 12
3 Groups that train up leaders and those that self replicate
My top three
Here is a great resource I just finished at seminary
The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry by
Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson
Thanks Greg those are great aspects of quality groups and I will be covering some of the connected issues with them.
I also read Donahue and Robinson’s book, highly recommend.