For many of you, the months of August and September mark the beginning of a new small group year. And even if it doesn’t, this time of year always brings about a sense of renewal and rejuvenation with the beginning of fall. In all of the planning and transitioning that goes into this season of ministry, remember that one of the most important things you can do for your group (and for your church’s group ministry as a whole) is pray over it.
Whether your groups are launching in the coming weeks or you’re coming up on just another Sunday, consider these four Scripture passages to pray over your groups, and invite your group members to do the same. Then continue to grow your list of prayers as the fall semester progresses.
Matthew 22:37-39
He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Colossians 3:12-17
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.
2 Corinthians 13:13
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Laura Magness is a content specialist for Lifeway’s Discipleship in Context and smallgroup.com. A graduate of Samford University and Dallas Theological Seminary, she lives in Nashville, TN, with her husband Nathan and their two sons, Carter and Everett.
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