Archives - Group Ministry

July 22, 2019

Free Groups Webinar on Coaching Leaders

How can you develop an effective coaching system for your group leaders? That is the topic that we are going to tackle in this free webinar on August 6, 2019, 11am – 12pm CST. Here are a few of the questions that myself and our expert panelists will take on:

Why should a church offer coaches for leaders?
What do you look for in an effective coach?
What kind of expectations should you have for a coach?
How do you recruit coaches?
How do you train a coach?

Spots are limited, so register soon at the link below!

Group Answers Podcast

July 17, 2019

Group Answers Episode 109: Darrin Patrick

By Group Ministry

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Darrin Patrick about community and accountability.

Darrin Patrick is a teaching pastor at Seacoast Church. He is the founding pastor of The Journey Church and is the author of multiple books including the Dude’s Guide to Marriage.

Darrin is the former chaplain to the St. Louis Cardinals and former vice-president of the Acts 29 church planting network. He has appeared in the New York Times, The Today Show and Fox and Friends for his innovative approach to reaching the un-reached.

Darrin is married to Amie and they have four children. He enjoys reading, writing and coaching his kid’s sports teams.

Questions:

From the outside, you were a very successful pastor, chaplain of the Cardinals, head of a church network. What was happening on the inside during all of this?
What did community and accountability look like for you when career and reputation were at the perceived peak?
What happened when those friendships were suddenly gone?
In the sense of accountability and community, is there a limit to the number of people you really want to be in contact with?
What role did having healthy community around you play in your eventual restoration?
What advice would you give to leaders who may be heading down the same path that you were on?

Quotes:

My ministry was growing, but my soul wasn’t growing.
What really brought me back was community, and I’ll never do ministry without that again.
Ultimately, I wasn’t willing to slow down the pace to develop those relationships.
Always err on the side of reaching out.
It was like God said, “I’m perfecting you through this imperfect process.”
You’re moving into that “sage” stage and having a hard time moving on from “warrior.”
A lot of leaders have failed to develop those soft-side leadership skills, and it’s mainly related to them not engaging their emotional life.
We’re really good at following Jesus as God, but we’re not good at following Jesus as man.

This Episode’s Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at LifeWay.com/Overcomer

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in LifeWay’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at LifeWay and author of Leading Small Groups.

Church Leadership

July 16, 2019

Open Group or Closed Group?

By Joey Jacob

There are a few decisions for your group that will have trade-offs depending on the decision you make. You will need to decide what direction will be best for the long-term health of your particular small group.

An important initial decision to make is whether to be an open group or a closed group. Open groups are simply open to new people joining through the life of the group, and closed groups may be open for the first week or two of the group but will then close to new people until the end of the life of the group.

Case for Open Groups

Groups that choose to stay open to new members have a missional mentality that welcomes people who need biblical community. Having your group stay open also helps multiply the effectiveness of the church reaching people quickly with the gospel. Church buildings only have so much room for groups to form community, but there is no limit when we take our community outside those walls.

We sometimes picture small groups as a way to get current church attenders into biblical community, but think about how much more effective an invitation to your church would be if it came through an invitation to be a part of your small group first.

They will have already been exposed to the pastor’s teachings if you are doing a sermon-based study.
There is a built-in follow-up through the group meetings.
There is no rush to get them there on a Sunday.
The invite starts and continues with a relationship.

If groups are to become the new front door of the church, they have to start with our neighborhoods. Our world has changed so that most people don’t know their neighbors anymore. When I was growing up, our neighbors were a natural extension of our family. We knew all of our immediate neighbors, and I spent almost as much time in their houses as I did in mine. The thought of inviting a neighbor to your church wasn’t that scary at all.

Now, you are lucky to get a cursory wave before the garage door goes down and your neighbors disappear into the house. Who has time for connecting with neighbors anymore? When we first moved to Nashville, most of the houses in our neighborhood had garage entrances on the back of the house. The only way to catch your neighbor was by chasing their car down the driveway and performing a drop-and-roll maneuver under their garage door before it could shut! I couldn’t understand why my neighbor wouldn’t talk to me again after I did this the first time . . .

Here are a few ideas to connect with your neighbors who are not already plugged into the church or a small group:

Throw a block party. Opportunities begin as relationships, and block parties set the stage for future friendships.
Host a movie on your lawn for the families in the neighborhood. Put out a few flyers around the neighborhood and fire up the latest Pixar hit.
Take part in neighborhood-sponsored events like Easter egg hunts or quarterly “spruce up the neighborhood” days.
Organize welcome baskets for new people in the neighborhood. You can also include an invitation flyer to your group in the basket.

Case for Closed Groups

Some groups will choose to stay closed for the life of the group, or until the group members decide to open for new people. We can see this type of group modeled for us with Jesus’ small group. Once He had chosen His twelve, the group was not open to new members until Judas was replaced after the betrayal in the garden.

There are several benefits to staying closed as a group:

Accountability can be stronger when the group is full of people who know each other well and are comfortable being vulnerable with one another. Inviting someone new into that group can disrupt the needed intimacy.
It takes at least three months of consistently meeting together before most of the relational walls come down. We call those “refrigerator rights” in our group. When a group member feels comfortable enough to walk into our house and open the refrigerator without asking permission first, that’s when you know you have bonded as a family. Inviting a new person or couple into the group will reset the time to get to the refrigerator rights.
A few groups, like recovery groups, will by necessity need to remain closed for the life of the group. A more discipleship-intensive group of three or four people meeting outside group time will need to be closed as well.

The choice of being an open or closed group should be determined before the first meeting and included in the group covenant. The group members need to know if they are encouraged to invite guests, or if the group will close for community and accountability reasons.

Chris Surratt (@ChrisSurratt) is a ministry consultant and coach with more than twenty years of experience. He served on church staffs prior to becoming the discipleship and small groups specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. He is the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group, from which this is excerpted and adapted with permission from B&H Publishing Group. You can follow his blog at ChrisSurratt.com.

Church Leadership

July 15, 2019

6 Ways to Discuss Politics in Your Small Group

By Ken Braddy

It has been said that the only two things in life that are guaranteed are death and taxes. In my experience, there’s a third: it’s guaranteed you’ll blow up your Bible study group if political conversations aren’t managed well. Perhaps you’ve been in a group when politics came to the forefront of the discussion. People literally have felt more passion about political topics, candidates, and policies than they have about evangelism, financial giving, or serving! It’s crazy. But it is also reality. And in the political season we now find ourselves, with the first Democratic debates having taken place already, and Republican debates soon to hit the airwaves and internet, you can bet that there will be conversations in your Bible study group that will have the potential to be a powder keg. How can you lead and teach your group, guide them well, and manage the political conversations you know are going to come up between now and the next presidential election? Here are some ways you can do that and lead your group well.

Set ground rules. It’s not too early to lay down some ground rules in your group since the presidential election process has begun. Tell your group how you’re going to lead them when the conversation turns political. Above all, remind the group that you will follow biblical mandates such as pursuing peace (I Peter 3:8), relating to one another with humility (I Peter 5:5), and showing patience towards one another (Ephesians 4:2).
Agree that both political parties are represented in your group. Anything said to malign one political party is going to offend a large percentage of your group members in most cases. That being said, your group members need to keep in mind that if they speak against one political party, they are risking offending their brothers and sisters in Christ, and perhaps losing friendships in the process.
Acknowledge that there are no perfect candidates. There is only one perfect ruler, and his name is Jesus. While we are thankful for the leaders he allows to rule us, our ultimate allegiance is to Jesus, not the president or the president’s political party. Or governor. Or mayor. You get the idea.
Pursue the biblical mandate of unity. Unity doesn’t mean uniformity, but it does mean that I place my thoughts and actions aside for the greater goal of maintaining unity in my group and in my church. You wouldn’t want discord in the Bible study group to spill over into the church and cause the church to develop a reputation for being a divided organization. That wouldn’t be a good witness to the community.
Agree to disagree. As much as you try, you’ll never completely agree as a group about a political candidate, a policy, or issues surrounding a political party. Disagreement is going to be a part of life, and a part of group life even in the church. Generations of people’s families have voted a certain way in some cases, and no amount of reasoning or Bible thumping is going to change their minds and cause them to vote against their family’s traditions. Deal with it and move on.
Agree that a political conversation is only allowed if it directly relates to the Bible study at hand. This one simple rule will greatly reduce the impromptu speeches that can take place when a passionate member of your group waxes eloquently about politics. Call a foul and ask the group member to not introduce political comments into the Bible study. Remind them that it is acceptable only if it relates to the study at hand.

Christians and churches should talk about politics and consider the positions of candidates and parties, but it can be a powder keg. Do your best to approach political conversations with great humility and a dependence upon God to know how to guide your group’s conversations. Above all, remind people that the earthly leaders we have are temporary leaders we are placed under while on earth. We have a heavenly King who is our ultimate authority – the One who is right, just, and will one day return to establish His kingdom where righteousness will reign. Until then, we pray for our leaders as Scripture commands us to do, and we eagerly await for Jesus’ return.

Ken Braddy manages LifeWay’s adult ongoing Bible studies and leads a group at his church. He has just released a book to help churches strengthen their Bible study ministries. Find Breathing Life Into Sunday School at lifeway.com.

Church Leadership

July 11, 2019

Help Your Group See Jesus in the Entire Bible

By Deborah Spooner

What’s more important than the Gospel? Nothing.

As Christians, we recognize the importance of finding God’s redemptive plan throughout the Word of God. We desire to live with this plan in mind, being ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:11-21). We seek to take up our crosses daily to follow Christ while remembering His finished work on the cross even as God is still working in believers’ lives today (Matthew 16:24).

But how do we maintain a focus on Christ even in difficult passages of the Bible? Can we see Christ connections throughout all of scripture? Can we see Old Testament connections even in the New Testament?

Thankfully, we can.

And we can help you lead your groups to dig into these discoveries as well.

Gospel Foundations is a seven volume, year-long journey through the storyline of scripture, seeing how Christ is hero from beginning to end. Each of the individual volumes has seven sessions and can be done individually.

But there’s more.

We’ve chosen many of the graphs that detail how we can see Jesus in various portions of the Bible and put them in a “Gospel Guide” for easy reference. Along with sample content from the studies, wallpaper, sermon outlines, video previews, and more, you can access this all for free here.

Because Jesus is that important.

Group Answers Podcast

July 10, 2019

Group Answers Episode 108: Reid Patton on Asking Good Questions

By Group Ministry

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Reid Patton about how to ask good questions when facilitating a Bible study.

Reid Patton is a Content Editor for the Short-Term Discipleship Team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He is the thankful husband of Kristen and proud father of Ceile and serves with the Life Group leadership team at the Church at Station Hill in Spring Hill, Tennessee. In his free time, Reid likes reading, watching NBA Basketball and Auburn Football, and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Questions:

If I’m using a pre-written curriculum, how can I make the most out of those questions?
What types of questions invite conversation?
How should I structure the questions in my group?
How would you sum up the big questions small groups should answer?

Quotes:

As someone who writes Bible studies, I don’t know your group better than you do.

I would rather give someone more than they need than less than they need.

The open question is far superior to the closed question.

There are going to be three types of questions in every Bible study: observational, interpretive, and application-based. A good Bible study will balance between those three types of questions.

The three big questions are what? so what? and now what? What does the Bible say? So what do we do with that, why does that matter? Now what do we do with it?

A holistic approach to the text will give you a holistic disciple.

Church Leadership

July 8, 2019

4 Questions to Ask About Prayer Requests in Your Group

By Dwayne McCrary

In almost every Bible study group, prayer requests are shared. In fact, we may even feel cheated if prayer requests are eliminated from our group! Unfortunately, gathering prayer requests is as far as it usually goes. But what if we saw a prayer request as an opportunity?

Here’s what I mean: some prayer requests require ministry action. For example, if a couple uses the prayer time to announce that they are expecting a baby, passing that information along to the Preschool Sunday School leaders would be important. Deacons and other ministry leaders could be informed about hospital stays, family crises, and deaths of family members. In this way, the prayer request becomes an opportunity for ministry action, reaching all areas of the church.

Prayer requests also represent opportunities for church leaders. By knowing needs, leaders can make wise choices when they plan events, host fellowships, and train leaders. The pastor could better understand the needs of the church and prepare sermons that meet the needs expressed in the prayer requests. Being aware of specific needs makes him a better pastor.

To do this kind of intentional action, you need to ask four questions:

How can we efficiently gather accurate prayer requests?
How do we communicate the requests?
To whom should we communicate these requests?
How can we encourage those making a specific request?

Let’s take a deeper look at these questions.

How can we efficiently gather accurate prayer requests?

Notice the two words, efficiently and accurate. A Bible study group could spend the majority of their time gathering requests, but that would compromise their time of actually studying the Bible. For me, making a sheet of paper available during the study time for people to record their requests has been the most efficient. The second element is accurate. We want to make sure that the requests shared are up to date. There is nothing worse than telling someone that you are praying for their loved one, only to find out that the loved one passed away a month ago.

How do we communicate the requests?

This question involves both form and medium. How we word something is very important. If someone requests prayer for a nephew who hates his job and is looking for a new one, that request could be worded when shared with others as a request for a nephew who needs wisdom about his future. We don’t know who may read the requests in today’s world, so we need to be careful. Hospital stays and other events requiring time away from home become important information if it falls into the wrong hands, which brings us to the medium: should we post all our requests on social media? What are the risks of making a request public? Do we really want everyone on Facebook to know about Dave having surgery and being in rehab for 6 weeks? How we communicate is important.

To whom should we communicate these requests?

We have already mentioned sharing requests with the pastor and other church leaders. Who else needs to know about the prayer request? We mentioned a couple announcing an addition to their family earlier. Who all needs to know about that particular request, and why?

How can we encourage those making a specific request?

Gathering prayer requests is certainly about being aware and knowing how to pray intelligently, but it is also about encouraging those for whom we are praying. There is nothing like getting a note from someone who is praying specifically for you. Those notes lighten the load and help us face whatever challenge we are facing. Part of this is celebrating God’s answers as well. Both the one being prayed for and the one praying are encouraged by answered prayer, so finding a way to include answers to requests is also important.

Prayer is an important part of the life of a Bible study group. Requests serve as a means of communicating priorities, needs, and victories. They give us clues about each other, helping us build deeper relationships. They also provide opportunities for us to minister to people and involve others in the process. If they are that important, then some strategic thought is in order. The four questions identified above should serve as starting points to help you think strategically about the requests shared in your Bible study group.

G. Dwayne McCrary is a project team leader for ongoing adult Bible study resources at LifeWay, including the adult Explore the Bible resources. He also teaches an adult group and preschool group every Sunday in the church he attends.

Uncategorized

July 5, 2019

Friday Feature: Not Forsaken

By Group Ministry

You Are Known

Meet Brandon. He’s a well-liked art major at a state university, where he works hard, makes good grades, and is active in his campus ministry. If you saw him, you’d think he’s got it all together and possesses all the blessings a student could ever want. But there’s a hidden problem. Brandon comes from a broken home. He never knew his parents as a couple, and he was raised by his grandparents. His childhood years were spent splitting weekends between his mom and his dad. And although no major conflict ever occurred, the relationship between Brandon and his dad has always been distant. He doesn’t see his dad more than once a year, and phone calls are sparsely shared. Now a young man entering adulthood, Brandon calls his dad, longing for a deeper relationship. But the conversations never go beyond sports, politics, and the weather. Brandon can’t understand why a father wouldn’t want to know his son. Introspective and defeated, he muses, I’m doing so many great things in my life. If only he would get to know me.

Brandon has grown from being a boy to a man, but he still has a deep longing to be known by his dad, not on the surface level but at the heart level.

Among your family and friends, who knows you best—the real you?

Just as human beings yearn for approval and worth, we also long to be known—and to be deeply known. And when we don’t feel that we’re known by our parents, we’re left feeling isolated or abandoned. Those feelings can then lead to a whole host of responses. We might erect relational walls, refusing to let others in. Or we can go to the other extreme by sharing to a fault without a filter. We were created to know and be known by others, especially our parents.

What’s one detail you wish your dad knew about you?

What stands out most about the way your dad pursued you?

Maybe you’re reading these questions, but you don’t have an earthly dad. Perhaps you never knew him, or maybe he’s no longer living. That’s not an easy station in life for anyone. I don’t want to be callous or to ignore real hurt or absence. But I want to help you process your thoughts too. So here’s a question for you:

What have you most longed for from a dad?

Some of these questions might be difficult, but don’t let the difficulty push you away. Instead, allow them to expose the need in your heart so that you’re prepared to receive the answer to that need. We’re going to learn today that your longing to be known can be satisfied by God. Whether you have a blessed or an estranged relationship with your dad, you’re perfectly known by your Heavenly Father. And it’s a deeper knowledge than even the best dad on earth could ever give.

God Knows Everything

Psalm 139 is one of the most personal passages of Scripture in all the Bible. In it we see the depth of God’s knowledge of, presence in, and design for our lives. Each way God is involved in our lives is illustrated through a display of who He is.

READ PSALM 139:1-6. Record the significant details God knows about you.

God is omniscient. Simply put, that means God knows everything—including everything about you! He knows your actions, your ways, your comings and goings, and even all of your words—before they’re audibly spoken. Your Heavenly Father knows your deepest thoughts, highest aspirations, and wildest dreams. He’s intimately acquainted with all of your victories, struggles, fears, and doubts. The psalmist David was overwhelmed in response to God’s deep, personal knowledge of his life.

Why is it good that God knows us personally, truly, and deeply?

God Is Present Everywhere

God isn’t defined by space and time. He’s literally present everywhere. That means God is omnipresent. He not only knows everything about you, but He’s also with you wherever you go.

READ PSALM 139:7-12.

Many of us know what it means for our dad to have missed an important event or to have been at work when we needed him most. Some people experience these absences as isolated events in the midst of an otherwise blessed existence. Others know these as the norm. The psalmist David proclaimed the good news that your Heavenly Father never misses an important date. He never fails to show up. And He will never leave you or forsake you (see Heb. 13:5).

According to Psalm 139:7-12, why should it comfort you to know that God is always with you?

God Is All-Powerful

In addition to being all-knowing and ever-present, God is all-powerful. He’s omnipotent. You can see His power on full display in the next section of Psalm 139, illustrated in the intricate ways He created you.

READ PSALM 139:13-16. Reflect on the way God intricately and personally designed your body and your life. Record any words or phrases from these verses that you find especially meaningful.

You may have inherited your grandfather’s nose or your mother’s laugh, but your Heavenly Father ultimately designed, created, and gave the gift of life to you. This means no one knows you like your Creator. No matter the joys or sorrows you’ve experienced with your earthly father, your Heavenly Father knows you, accompanies you, and fashions you as no other father can.

Precious Promise

Next David reflected on the continual, vast thoughts of God toward His children.

READ PSALM 139:17-18.

Here’s the liberating truth to grasp and hold on to as you go through life: your Heavenly Father knows you. He’s with you always. And He will never abandon you or let you down. Just as you’re known by God, He also wants to be known. Jesus said knowing God is the ultimate meaning of life:

This is eternal life: that they know

you, the only true God, and Jesus

Christ, whom you have sent.

JOHN 17:3

Simply going to heaven when we die isn’t the goal of the Christian life. Jesus tells us that the ultimate end to which all of existence points is for us to know God. All of your life—from the time you give your life to Jesus and continuing throughout eternity—should be characterized by a deepening knowledge of and love for your Heavenly Father.

Prayer

Father, You’re all-knowing, all-powerful,

and present everywhere. I marvel at Your

works, and I’m humbled by the vast sum

of Your precious thoughts toward me.

Give me grace to be satisfied by Your

presence in my life now and forever.

This content is excerpted from Louie Giglio’s Not Forsaken Bible study. To find out more about this resource, please visit lifeway.com/notforsaken.

Group Answers Podcast

July 3, 2019

Group Answers Episode 107: Ken Braddy on Group Leader Training

By Group Ministry

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Ken Braddy about developing consistent and effective training for group leaders. Other than serving as the manager for LifeWay’s ongoing adult Bible studies, Ken is an 18-year church education staff leader and blogs regularly about Sunday School and groups ministry at kenbraddy.com. His new book is Breathing Life into Sunday School.

Outline for Leader Training

Right Timing

Frequency
- Georgia Bapt. Convention’s Research Findings
  - No training: -2%
  - Weekly: +6%
  - Monthly: +13.4%
  - Quarterly: +13.8%
  - Annually: +4%
Day of week
- Friday night
- Saturday AM
- Sunday afternoon
  - Noon-2:00PM
  - 3-5PM
- Midweek (Wed.)
- Sunday AM (“time shift”)
Overall length
- 1 hour
- 90 minutes
- 2 hours
- Ongoing training: shorter
- Infrequent training: longer

Right Topic

4 general categories
- Teaching/Leading
- Reaching/evangelism
- Relationships/fellowship
- Service/inside and outside the church
Sunday School Matters topics (good, easy to use resource)
- Teaching matters
- New groups matter
- Evangelism matters
- Souls matter
- Ministry matters
- Growth matters
- Etc…

Right Touch

Arrive early
- Set up room
- Check a/v equipment, temperature, supplies
- Set up the room for collaborative learning
  - Sit in a circle or in a “U” so people can see faces (increases conversation)
Start/end on time!
Quality counts
- Excellence is an attention to the detail
  - Handouts, candies, extra pens, nametags, etc.
Don’t ask people to come and then make announcements that you could have emailed them!
Teach/train with variety (engage your group leaders)
- Demonstrate a variety of effective teaching techniques
- Make the training active! No “sit and soak”
  - Attendees should talk and participate at least as much as you do
Tie the training to your church’s mission/values

Win five copies of Leading Small Groups by Chris Surratt by Tweeting or Facebooking a suggested show topic and tagging @LifeWayGroups!

Church Leadership

July 2, 2019

Looking Beyond Our Group’s Comfort

By Group Ministry

by Tyler Quillet

As a former pastor, I led a number of different small groups. Couples groups in our home, Sunday morning groups, men’s groups, young adult groups, you name it. I’ve led enough groups to ashamedly be able to say that I oftentimes preferred comfort and consistency over change. See, when my wife and I were in a group with the same couples, we got comfortable around each other. It was easy to get together, hang out, and talk about Jesus together. There was nothing difficult about getting together with good friends. The idea of bringing new people into the group oftentimes felt like a daunting task. What if they mess up the camaraderie we have? What if people don’t feel comfortable sharing in front of them? The new people won’t get our inside jokes. What if they just aren’t a good fit?

I admit it. I’ve been that leader. I’ve been the leader who got comfy and didn’t want to rock the boat. I’ve been the leader who liked the group I was with and didn’t want to chance shaking things up. I’ve been the leader who was more concerned about my own comfortability than new people in our church getting connected and being discipled. I’m ashamed to say I was that leader, which is no leader at all.

Fast forward from my time in church ministry to a new adventure for our family. We moved five hundred miles from anything we’d ever known. New state, new community, new everything. Before we even found a church home, we met a couple who would eventually turn out to be great friends. They invited us to their small group before we even visited their church! They were willing to invite two complete strangers into an existing group that had been together for a long time. They had no problem with us hopping in and potentially rocking the boat. And, for that, we are forever grateful!

You see, we went from leading groups for years in our own home to needing our navigation app to find the home of our new small group full of strangers. We walked into that house having never met anyone but our new “friends”, who we had just met weeks prior. They all welcomed us with open arms. We ate together, laughed together, got to know one-another, and spent incredible time in God’s word together. They weren’t concerned about someone messing up the good thing they had going. They were only concerned with a new family in town getting connected and feeling loved.

Almost two years later, and this is our church family, who we love dearly. A group stepped outside of their comfort zone, focused on the mission of Jesus Christ and not of their own hearts. This group could have stayed comfy, doing week after week together as friends. Instead, they stepped outside their comfort zone with a missional mindset. For this, we are thankful.

I look back on how blessed we were to be so welcomed into an existing group. At the same time, I feel guilty for not having that same missional mindset with our groups years ago. I made it more about me than I did the mission of Jesus. I wonder now how many families fell through the cracks or never got connected because we were comfortable within our circle. I wonder how many people still don’t know Christ because we never invited them into a discipling opportunity.

If you are a group that has gotten comfortable together, let me encourage / challenge you in five specific ways moving forward:

Begin to pray as a group for opportunities to invite new people in.
Have eyes open for potential group members or ask your pastor for suggestions.
Invite new people into your group and prepare your group to welcome new members.
Welcome your guests with open arms, make them feel at home, and love on them well.
Don’t stop inviting new guests and creating new groups!

Throughout scripture, we see those on mission constantly stepping out of their comfort zones. There aren’t many (or any) times that we see those on mission being comfortable amongst their circle, unwilling to step into new and unfamiliar relationships. May we the church, may we as leaders, may we as groups continue to step outside of what is comfortable, trusting Jesus to give us what we need to move toward others with the hope that we may have opportunities to point them to Jesus. What would it look like for your group to look beyond its own comfort today? Go do it, and ask the Lord to be glorified in it!

Tyler Quillet is the Discipleship Strategist for the Custom Bible Study team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He lives in the Nashville, TN, area with his incredible wife, Cathie, and two boys, Cylas and Bowen. Tyler also speaks, writes, and coaches alongside Cathie as they pour into and love on the infertile community through Cathie’s “The Missing Peace Project”. Tyler previously spent 15 years as a pastor and is passionate about serving churches and pouring into church leaders in a variety of ways.

Free Groups Webinar on Coaching Leaders

Group Answers Episode 109: Darrin Patrick

Open Group or Closed Group?

6 Ways to Discuss Politics in Your Small Group

Ken Braddy manages LifeWay’s adult ongoing Bible studies and leads a group at his church. He has just released a book to help churches strengthen their Bible study ministries. Find Breathing Life Into Sunday School at lifeway.com.

Help Your Group See Jesus in the Entire Bible

Group Answers Episode 108: Reid Patton on Asking Good Questions

4 Questions to Ask About Prayer Requests in Your Group

G. Dwayne McCrary is a project team leader for ongoing adult Bible study resources at LifeWay, including the adult Explore the Bible resources. He also teaches an adult group and preschool group every Sunday in the church he attends.

Friday Feature: Not Forsaken

You Are Known

God Knows Everything

God Is Present Everywhere

Precious Promise

This content is excerpted from Louie Giglio’s Not Forsaken Bible study. To find out more about this resource, please visit lifeway.com/notforsaken.

Group Answers Episode 107: Ken Braddy on Group Leader Training

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