5 Suggestions When the Pastor Leads a Small Group

Since beginning Grace Community Church I have personally led a small group study, many times meeting in our home. Cheryl and I have loved each of our groups. Some of our best friends in life have come from these groups. I hear from pastors who don’t want to lead a group or feel that they shouldn’t, but from my experience, I think it is best when a pastor does.

• It models groups for the church
• It keeps a pastor close to people
• It helps a pastor know the real thoughts of people with the church

Of course, the pastor, as a small group leader, leads the group in Bible study, but there is so much more than helps a group be successful.

Here are 5 suggestions for pastors leading a small group:

Fellowship – We don’t just do group with our group. We do life with our group. Recently we went to a ballgame together, because one of the members of our group coaches the local university baseball team. We periodically suspend group just to fellowship together. The closer our group grows to each other, the more relevant our Bible studies seem to be and the better we are at sharing our hearts with each other.

Serve – With our most recent group, we started serving together once a month. We help feed families at a local ministry. It’s been a great commitment for our group and we’ve grown closer together and learned to better appreciate all God has given us as individuals and as a group.

Access – With a large church, I can’t always be available to everyone in the church, but those in my small group always have access to my time. They have my cell phone and permission to contact me at anytime. We’ve walked through multiple tragedies and struggles with people in our groups. They begin to see me as a fellow group member during those times, far more than they see me as their pastor.

Be authentic – I have flaws too. Hopefully my preaching reveals that also, but my group especially knows it to be true. Cheryl and I don’t hide the fact that we have personal struggles. The longer our group is together the more real they find us to be. In fact, they realize we aren’t that different in our struggles from the struggles life brings them.

Let others lead – I try not to have all the answers. The expectation at first may be that I do, but I don’t. This is not the time for me to show my Biblical knowledge. (Some in my groups have had as much or more than me.) This is the time to learn the Bible together, without the pressure on any of us to be smarter than the others. I like to hand off teaching responsibilities when possible. It raises new leaders, spreads the responsibility around the group, and emphasizes the fact that everyone is part of the discipleship process.

Pastors, jump in the middle of this ministry. It will help you and your church!

(This is a re-post from Ron Edmondson)

Instill the Vision in Your Small-Group Leaders

Note: This article is excerpted from our resource Improving Communication for Effective Small-Group Ministry.

When is the last time you heard a small-group director or pastor say, "I don't really care what our leaders do as long as they show up with a pulse and clothes on."? I imagine this isn't a common experience.

Instead, we all have aims for our ministries, and we have a longing desire for our people to "get it." We want our leaders, coaches, apprentices, small-group participants, and weekend attendees to really get what we are about. But how do we communicate our values in a way that is compelling and clear?

Know Your Values

At Community Christian Church, a multi-site church with 12 locations around Chicago, we have three values we want every small group to live out. We refer to these values as the Jesus Mission: Reach, Restore, Reproduce.

• Reach people far from God. Alan Hirsch, co-author of On the Vergewith Dave Ferguson, suggests that 60 percent of people will never enter the doors of our current forms of church. Because of that, we need to allow our imaginations to be profoundly shaped by the doctrine of Missio Dei—the incarnation of God in Jesus, God sending us as he sent himself in Jesus. Matthew 28 says to "Go!" and we are challenging ourselves at COMMUNITY to be a church who will reach people who are far from God.
• Restore God's dream for the world. A common perception among non-Christians is that Christ-followers talk about poverty and justice issues, but don't do much to address those issues. However, as we read Luke 4:17-18, it is clear Jesus expects us to change that perception: "The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 'The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free.'" It is our mission at COMMUNITY to be a people who restore God's dream for the world.
• Reproduce the mission in others. If we are going to live the Jesus Mission and go to "to the ends of the earth," we have to find a way that results in rapid reproduction and exponential growth. When we follow the biblical example from 2 Timothy 2:2, the result can be the beginning of a missional church movement. It is through apprenticeships that we will reproduce the mission in others.

Communicate Your Values

To have values like these is one thing, but communicating them to your leaders is another. Here are five tools we've found helpful.

Centralized Training

Every month we bring together our apprentices, leaders, coaches, and staff for Leadership Community. At Leadership Community, we facilitate an environment of learning, coaching, inspiration, and encouragement. Carl George talks about this in The Coming Church Revolution and suggests a format he calls VHS (vision, huddle, skill). This is the format we build upon. We want to make sure we provide a time of vision casting, a time of coaching or encouragement, and a time of training at each Leadership Community gathering.

Leadership Community helps take the values we have and inspires people to get it! We tell stories of groups who are living out the values of Reach, Restore, and Reproduce. When we have a group that is engaged in the community, a group that is helping people find their way back to God, or a group that has an apprentice that is being developed to start a new group, we tell the story through an interview format either in person or on video. These real-life stories reinforce our values.

Written Content

Over the years I have underestimated the value of writing things out. I thought we could effectively meet our ministry aims through one-on-ones and centralized training. But after a while we just had too many coaching topics to cover, too many things we wanted all our leaders to know, and too little time to schedule that many meetings. We began experiencing a diminishing return on our vision and values. This led us to sit down and write out what we believe in most. We came up with three key products to get the word out about our values: Apprentice Field Guide, Small Group Leader Field Guide, and Coaching Handbook.

Even if your church isn't putting together books or manuals like these, don't underestimate the value of brochures, booklets, and flyers that explain key components of your ministry.

Digital Mediums

This one is probably least utilized, but is one of the most effective. How many times a day do you update you Twitter status, review your Facebook news feed, or catch the latest news on your USA app? These types of digital habits have created new places where we can meet our leaders—on the web, through a Smartphone, through a Mac or PC. We need to be aware of the daily digital habits of our leaders so we know how to effectively meet them. I would suggest taking a quick survey of your leaders and staff to determine what the most effective digital mediums are to communicate your values.

Common Language

At COMMUNITY our mission is helping people find their way back to God, and everyone who attends knows it. We've done this largely by creating a common language. When we explain Scripture at weekend services, we talk about people finding their way back to God. When individuals share their stories, they talk about finding their way back to God. When we speak about reaching people far from God, one of our three values, we put it into the terms of helping people find their way back to God. In small groups, in training sessions, in one-on-one relationships, this language has become embedded in us, and the more we use it, the more it reminds our small-group leaders, and everyone else, what our mission is.

Multiple Learning Styles

We recognize that there are four different types of learners.

1. Classroom Learners: individuals who like to sit in a classroom and take notes feverishly
2. Self-learners: individuals who like to learn on their own time at their own pace
3. Experiential Learners: individuals who would rather just learn by doing
4. Mentoring Learners: individuals who prefer to meet one-on-one with someone to "get it"

Knowing that these four types of learners exist, we try to take advantage of many mediums in order to educate our people about what we value most. So maybe a simple exercise for you and your ministry is to go through how you are doing in providing opportunities each of these areas.

See the Results

When you know your values and use these five tips to communicate them clearly, your leaders will not only fully understand your vision, they'll also begin reproducing it in others. While this kind of communication may feel like it takes a lot of time and effort, it's worth it when you see small-group leaders embrace your vision and lead groups that are living out your values.

—Eric Metcalf is the director of New Thing, a church-planting network, and attends Community Christian Church; copyright 2012 by Christianity Today.

What Holds Group Members Captive

Rick Howerton explains some things that may be holding your group members captive.

The Denominational Box

This is built each time a denomination creates its own rendition of what Scripture is stating but that rendition contradicts, adds to, or tweaks what the Bible really says. In many instances these denominational ideals are referred to as "denominational distinctives." That is, expectations, guidelines, or doctrinal ideas that are considered distinctive to that one group of believers. For instance, several major denominations have declared that drinking alcoholic beverages in any amount is wrong. However, I believe most pastors, even those that are part of those denominations, would agree that Scripture only says drinking to the point of drunkenness is sinful.

While past generations may have been striving to be good Methodists, Lutherans, or Baptists, younger generations are leery of these titles. Instead, they are longing to become mature followers in right relationship with God, allowing the Bible, not a particular denomination's thoughts, to affect the way they live. Today's believers are wary of accepting denominational distinctives, and they become suspicious of church leaders, churches, and denominations who try to push these on them.

Small-group leaders must be willing to encourage their group members to think critically through their beliefs, digging into the Bible for themselves. Leaders can also help group members to understand those beliefs that unite believers—even focusing on something like the Nicene Creed.

The Local Church Box

This confining and debilitating box is built each time a local church creates stated or unstated expectations that go beyond biblical expectations for those who are part of that body of believers. This box has a profound effect on those who attend that church.

These decisions can leave church members angry, confused, and embarrassed. I remember talking with a small-group leader after a conference I led. She was heart-broken that her young adult son had declared he would never go back to church. The small rural church had transitioned to a contemporary worship style with a worship band. Many in the church didn't like it, though. So when the lead pastor moved on, leaders in the church declared that drums would never be allowed in that church again. Some in the meeting even declared that drums were satanic. This small-group leader's son had been the drummer. She was hurt by this unnecessary action that had caused her son to fall away.

When local church boxes are built and people are forced into them, the levels of bondage are overwhelming. Individuals forced into this box carry heavy loads placed on them by those who mean well but miss the mark. We must recognize that sometimes what is determined to be an important addition to the constitution and bylaws is actually a passive form of spiritual abuse.

Small-group leaders can help group members name these unfortunate experiences. And by naming them, healing can begin. They can also empower group members to be involved in the decisions made in the church and connect them with appropriate church leaders when they have concerns.

The Family Lineage Box

Realizing this box exists and that it may have huge positive or negative effects on us is vital to the transformation of small-group members. The family lineage box includes those attitudes, actions, and expectations that were taught and reinforced by family members—whether they were intentional or not. Because these influence us from birth, they have a huge impact on us, even if we don't know it.

Dan B. Allendar, Ph.D. put it like this, "The cast is sometimes obvious—our parents, siblings, spouse, mentors, abusers, and friends. But sometimes an important role is played by a grandparent we barely knew or a person, a family secret, who stands in the shadows offstage. We are defined by the people in our lives."

The family lineage box is filled with statements like, "Men never cry or talk about their feelings," "We don't discuss what goes on in this house to anyone," and "There are two things people never talk about: religion and politics." The family lineage box may also include things like how to dress when one goes to church, where to go for vacation, or what roles family members should play.

Family lineage boxes are what hold many small-group members captive forever. No box has a grip on us like this one because no other box is as apt to demand we remain silent more than this one. To speak badly about our family experiences is to speak badly about those who have loved us first and most. We may even believe that they will never love us again if we step outside of the box or reveal the family secrets.

Small-group leaders can challenge family beliefs that don't line up with Scripture and help group members critically reflect on their own backgrounds to see what expectations or beliefs may be holding them back from transformation. It is especially helpful for small-group leaders of couples' groups to explore this box with group members because these deeply engrained beliefs often cause marital tension.

Breaking Free

If we're going to work in tandem with the Holy Spirit to set group members free, it's essential that we recognize the boxes that hold group members captive. Only then can we work with the Spirit to lift them out of those boxes, breaking the bondage of the ongoing emotional and spiritual tension they cause.

—Rick Howerton is the Global Groups Environmentalist for NavPress Publishers and a regular blogger. This article is adapted from his blog; used with permission from the author.

6 Essential Components of a Small Group Launch

I want to share a blog post by Mark Howell:

There are six essential components of a successful small group launch. This is a transferable concept whether you’re using a church-wide campaign, a small group connection or thesemester approach. Every launching strategy depends on these same components.

Detailed planning plays an important role in a small group launch. So much rides on what you’re about to do…it’s just irresponsible to wing it. The planning component includes decisions about promotion, timing, leader selection, the curriculum to be used, as well as a plan for sustaining what you launch.

Timing is an incredibly important component. While there are a couple great opportunities every year to launch groups (and another pretty good one), there are also a couple times that are almost always wasted energy. Because launching groups is a high-energy project and so much rides on every attempt, wise leaders steward these opportunities and do everything they can to maximize the outcome.

Promotion is another very important component. No matter what launching strategy you’re using, you have to take into consideration several key details about almost every congregation. For example, it’s almost always the case that the people who need to connect are the least consistent attendees. Think about that. If they are the least consistent, it means you must promote the launch at least two or three weeks in a row. It probably also means that your senior pastor, who is almost always the most influential person, needs to be preaching in the weeks leading up to the launch (by the way, this is a huge detail that is often overlooked in planning).

Decisions about who will lead the new groups you launch is also a very important component. Whether you’re using the small group connection strategy (where the leader is selected in the process of the event), the church-wide campaign strategy along with the HOST concept (where hosts volunteer to open up their home for the small group study that accompanies the sermon series), or the semester approach where leaders would commonly be recruited and trained (or at least vetted) in advance, you will need to make decisions ahead of time about who can lead and what you might require of them.

Deciding what curriculum to be used is a critical decision. So many times every other component has been expertly dealt with only to choose the wrong curriculum and end up with a bust instead of a boom. Paying attention to who you’d like to connect as well as who will be leading is so important. Determining what you hope to accomplish, clarifying the win, is an essential step.

When you invest this much energy into anything, you’ve got to think ahead about sustaining what you launch. So many churches have had the experience of seeing 20 or 50 or even 100 new groups form…only to find themselves right back where they started 8 weeks later. There are some key strategic moves that definitely help sustain the maximum number of groups. Choosing a next curriculum that is similar in kind to the launching study, providing a coach or at least a helpful contact that will actually touch base during the first few weeks and talking up what’s next from the pulpit are all important keys.

Leading Small Groups with Purpose

I recommend this book for anyone who is leading a small group. It is a wonderful resource.

Steve Gladen, pastor of small groups at Saddleback Church for more than a decade, takes you step-by-step toward healthy, dynamic group with focus and purpose. For the new small group leader, the seasoned leader who feels their small group lacks purpose, or the leader who is itching to move their small group to the next level.

One of my favorite quotes is as folllows: "We don't have to be qualified; we just have to have God on our side. If he has called you to lead a small group, then he will give you the ability to do so." (p. 28)