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3 Shorter Studies to Do Between Easter and Memorial Day

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Spring is here. Easter is quickly approaching as our excitement for greener grass and the days of summer come again. After Easter, we get to Memorial Day, and then sooner than we know, we’ve arrived at the fourth of July.

How does this Spring-turning-into-Summer timeframe impact your small group? You may have already finished your winter studies and are waiting to begin your summer study or summer break. In this sometimes long waiting season, what can you study?

Try these shorter studies to help carry your group from Easter to Memorial Day.

1. Simple Life Action Plan


Simple Life Action Plan, by Thom & Art Rainer, is designed to help individuals create a mission statement based on the principles of clarity, movement, alignment, and focus. Four areas of life are considered: time, relationships, money, and God. Simple Life follows the paradigm introduced in the best-selling book Simple Church. (5 sessions)

2. The Beginning


The Beginning is an intentional Bible study for new disciples of Christ that can be used in one-on-one discipleship or small groups. It introduces the basic practices and elements of the faith, including the centrality of Christ, the crucial practice of prayer and Scripture reading, community, and what it means to be on mission for God. Exercises put weekly topics into practice, and meeting times work as well in one-on-one discipleship relationships as they do with typical small groups. This resource is attached to the broader Disciples Path series, but can also serve as a stand-alone product. (5 sessions)

3. Life on Mission: A Simple Way to Share the Gospel


Approximately 259 million people in the United States and Canada do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Life on Mission is a North American Mission Board initiative that equips believers to live a missional lifestyle. A life lived on mission isn’t a supersized version of an extraordinary Spirit-filled life. It isn’t reserved only for top-level Christian risk takers who have mastered the art of obedience. Living a life on mission is the story of everyday, ordinary believers leveraging whatever levels of influence they have to bring unbelievers to faith in Christ. (5 sessions)

Church Leadership

8 Ways to Have Fun With Your Small Group

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Effective Bible study groups do four things well.  They reach, teach, minister, and fellowship. But, building community through fellowship is more than simply enjoying coffee and donuts prior to the Bible study time.

My experience is that the more members of my group get together outside of group time, the stronger our community becomes. The fellowship/community during group time becomes an overflow of what takes place outside of group.  Consider one or more of these ideas to build fellowship and strengthen community with your group.

1. Go to a movie together.  Following the movie, see who wants to go get ice cream!
2. Do a ministry project together. Clean up an elderly or homebound member’s yard, serve a meal at a homeless shelter, or any ministry that involves your group serving together.
3. Go on a video or photo scavenger hunt. Divide the group into teams.  Teams must secure video or photos of their group at certain iconic locations around town or with members of your church.
4. Family Picnic!  Bring the kids and dogs and head to a park for a group picnic.
5. Have a theme party, such as a Hawaiian Luau, an 80’s Fellowship, Mexican Fiesta, or Old West Day.  Everyone can dress appropriate to the theme. Food and game choices can match certain themes.
6. Dinner for Eight. Groups of eight meet at a member’s home or restaurant of their choice. The group consists of members and prospects. All of the groups end up together for games and desert is served to top off the evening.
7. Take Me Out to the Ballgame! Group attends a sporting event together such as a minor league baseball, or college baseball game.  Consider a tail-gate fellowship before the game!
8. Women’s Fellowships and Men’s Fellowships.  Sometimes it’s good for the ladies to get with the ladies and the men to get with the men.   Women could consider scrapbooking, paper crafting, spa, or shopping. Men could go hunting, fishing, to a gun range or skeet shoot, or golf driving range.  Some of these activities could be of interest to the entire group!

The important thing to remember is that it’s not WHAT you do, but WHO you do it with! The purpose of any fellowship is to build relationships and have fun!

Alan Raughton serves as adult ministry specialist at LifeWay. For 19 years Alan has trained Christian Educators and Adult Ministry leaders around the country. He especially enjoys training and coaching Adult Bible study leaders and Adult Ministry professionals. A student of history, Alan enjoys reading biographies and books on historical events. He has been married to his college sweetheart, Ruth, since 1980. They are the parents two grown children.
Church Leadership, Ephesians
Church Leadership

4 Expectations to Establish In a New D-Group

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A year ago, a friend of mine asked me to be in a D-Group. He had never started a D-Group before. He didn’t even know it was called a D-Group. But, he did it. He wanted to study the Bible and walk in accountability with two other men and he set the right expectations toward that end. A year later, all three of us have been hugely impacted by our time together and we owe a lot to how the group was launched.

Here are four expectations that were established up front that helped discipleship actually happen in our group.

1. A D-Group should confess consistently.

My friend made it clear he didn’t want to gather and pretend to shepherd one another. He didn’t want to talk around sin in hopes of feeling better for having been together. He asked us to update each other on how we were falling short of holiness and joy in Jesus, respond with grace, and push toward repentance every week.

He was willing to go below the “line of shame” and work to apply scripture to his own struggles. Now, every week, we all know we have the attention of friends who love us and are ready to help us struggle closer to the abundant life Christ wants for us.

He set the expectation of confession up front and we have benefitted from it ever since.

2. A D-Group should study the Bible.

This might seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how easy it can be to get together for discipleship and never open the Bible. My friend who started our D-Group expressed, before our first meeting, that we would read scripture together. The Bible teaches us who we are in Christ and how we live in Him, so trying to “do life together” without it makes no sense. We’ve tried reading commentary together. Or we’ve selected passages each week. If you want something more consistent, you might consider the Foundations reading plan from Robby Gallaty. However you approach it, establish the expectation that the Bible will speak the loudest in your group.

3. A D-Group should end on time.

The tendency is for small groups of close friends to ignore the clock during meaningful conversations. That will be a temptation in a D-Group. That is especially true as relationships deepen and discipling each other gets easier. However, as a rule, the clock should decide when the meeting is over. That might sound unspiritual, but a meeting without a consistent end time can’t be a consistent part of your life. For the sake of next week’s needs, this week’s conversation has to end on time.

When launching a new D-Group, ensure your partners that you’ll start and end on time. Then prove it.

4. A D-Group shouldn’t cancel.

I imagine many D-Groups die the death of a few missed meetings. With only three of four people in a group, it can be easy to cancel for travel, sickness, oversleeping, and any number of reasons.

Our group committed to getting together every week if at all possible. Sometimes that means only two of us make it, but two is all it takes. We’ve also “met” over the phone when we’re out of town. The point is to fight for consistency together so you can keep fighting for joy together.

Brandon Hiltibidal is a former church planter and multi-site pastor, and he is now part of the Groups Ministry team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He also serves as an elder and a member of the preaching team at The Bridge Church in Middle Tennessee.
Church Leadership

Biggest Wins for Your Group

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by David Apple

Have you ever thought that groups are more successful only when they increase attendance?  These four categories will help us celebrate strategic wins for your group.

  1. Celebrate when discipleship becomes strategic. Every believer needs to be on the receiving end and the giving end of disciple making.  This must be an intentional part of our strategy.  Every believer, whether they are active in the group or not are to be on the receiving end of Christian disciplines (Bible reading, prayer, ministry, worship, giving).  These disciplines help a believer grow as a follower of Christ.  Likewise, every believer, whether they are active in the group or not are to be on the giving end of Christian disciplines.  These disciplines help the believer help other believers grow as followers of Christ.  Chances are increased that Christians are growing as followers of Christ when they are engaged through a group that focuses on growing as disciples.  Celebrate the win!
  2. Celebrate when God’s Word is vital.  Although every group should celebrate ministry, fellowship, and enlargement, don’t apologize for taking priority time to let God speak through His Word.  We cannot afford to merely share our own thoughts without being focused on the message and meaning of the Scripture.  We win when we stay focused on letting God direct our group through His Word.  Celebrate the win!
  3. Celebrate when every person is a possibility.  We win when we help every possible person encounter God through His Word and be receivers of and givers of Christian disciplines.
  • It’s wonderful when “members” attend the group, participate in Bible study, engage in ministry and fellowship through the group.  Some members are regular attenders while others are unable or unavailable to routinely attend the group.  The group wins when we actively invite and enroll people to be part of the group.  Chances increase that individuals will participate when they are invited or enrolled.
  • Every group needs to develop and nurture a group of people who are not participating in a Bible study group; let’s call them “prospects.”  Every group wins when they are nurturing at least as many prospects (including unsaved persons) as they have people enrolled in the group.  Chances increase that individuals will connect with Christ and with His people when we nurture individuals.
  • Also, every group is looking for workers – those who will help the group focus on teaching, reaching, ministry, and/or fellowship.   Some people will prefer a title (if they do the work or not) while some people will resist a title (but will help with the work).
  1. Celebrate when people come as well as go.  The group wins when we include new people or reclaim people who have not participated in Bible study, ministry or fellowship.  One of the greatest wins we can celebrate is when a person follows the direction of the Lord to leave our group and serve elsewhere.  Other ministries and age groups in the church need the adults in our group.  We can celebrate and nurture them as missionaries.  Celebrate the win!
David Apple is a Ministry Specialist at LifeWay since 1985 where he develops and leads training experiences for volunteers and staff who work with Adults.  David serves as a Pastor and Bible teacher; he also volunteers weekly with inmates on death row in a maximum security prison.  David is married to Karen, Dad to Ben and Christine, and Poppi to Madison, Wilson, and Miles.
Church Leadership
Church Leadership

3 Ways Instagram Can Help Your Small Group

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Social media.

What do those two small words make you think and feel? Maybe a lot.

Some of us are only reading this article because we found it on social media. Others just think of our kids and how deeply we wish they wouldn’t spend so much time behind a screen.

Added to our personal experience and opinions, we can get caught in conversations among Christians about the role social media plays in the lives of the church and small group members. Does it bring people closer together? Or encourage comparison and division?

No matter the ultimate resolution of the debate, the world we live in lives in a world of social media, and this tool can be used both for ill and for good. 

So how can your group maximize its social media use on Instagram, specifically, to build community? It might seem simple, but three easy actions can help add to Christ-centered unity and community (and even help you recruit new small group members).

  1. Use stories, creatively.

Instagram stories are almost becoming a social media platform in themselves. And some of their features can be used to strengthen community, get feedback, and invite others to join. Something as simple as snapping a picture of your latest Bible study book and asking people to reply if they’re interested in joining the study can help you build community. You can start a poll to survey your followers to see which topic they’d rather study as you prepare for what’s coming next in a group. You can take a boomerang of your group flipping through their Bible’s pages and post with the date and time of your group to spread the word to potential new members. You can use stories to post screen-shots of upcoming group events to invite others without your regular feed looking spamy. 

  1. Use hashtags, personally.

Hashtags are a # followed by text that, then, is searchable to others across the social media platform (e.g. #blessed). What if your small group created their own group hashtag? This could encourage your members to post about group which can spread the word to new members and keep members who’ve been missing from group in the loop about what’s happening. It can also be a way for the leaders to communicate encouragement to their members. If a leader is posting daily devotional content to the group hashtag, the content can be easily found, commented on, and liked, so that your group’s community continues to be strengthened.

  1. Share and tag, communally.

You can challenge your group members to post, even once a month, what God has been teaching them through group, what their favorite part is about group, things or people they’re thankful for within the group, and more. This will encourage the group members to stay invested in each other’s lives, but it can even be a wider encouragement to the church if they tag. By tagging the church in their individual posts, the shared image and description can be viewed by others. Other church members not in group can see and be encouraged or inspired, and people visiting the church and searching for the church’s social profiles can see what the life of actual members is like within the church community.

It might seem simple, but simple encouragement to your group members to use stories, remember hashtags, and intentionally share and tag can make an impact not only in your group’s existing community but also as you look to recruit new members.

What’s more? You can be intentional in who you follow, to be encouraged and inspired. Recently, the Groups Ministry team here at LifeWay has launched an Instagram page. Check out the profile to stay up to date on the latest small group studies and to find other tips, tricks, and helpful content for all your small group needs.

Deborah Spooner is a Minnesota-born analytical creative serving as a Marketing Strategist for LifeWay’s Groups Ministry. As a pastor’s daughter with a background in Digital Communications and Media and Biblical & Theological Studies, you can find her at her local church, in deep conversation, or with a book or pen in hand as she seeks to know Christ more and make Him known.
Church Leadership

Launching Groups After Easter

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by Jared Musgrove

It can be commonly accepted in our groups world that there are times of year that are just not good time to launch a group. Spring Break is one. After a late Easter going into Summer is another one all together. I understand the tension point. And while it’s true that these may not be optimal times, they’re not impossible times. It might even be part of the plan.

For years we’ve been trying to whiteboard our way out of the alleged conundrum of starting a group during one of these periods. We will probably keep trying. Because if you have one group, you have one group. They are all unique.

So as we head into the months when our people’s vacation, sports, and fireworks schedules reign over weekday evenings, don’t abandon the basics. I propose to you that we stick to what it time-tested in group life season after season, even if that season is after Easter.

Why Does This Group Exist and Meet?

A group that meets after Easter should have the same rhyme and reason (even if the rhythm of meeting is different) as a group that starts any other time of the year. Can this new group answer why the group exists and meets? What is the compelling biblical reason you are giving them all year round? That will be what carries a group through the dog days of Summer.

Who Is the Leader(s)?

An identified leader or leaders is essential to the success of a group, in season or out. Are these leaders committed, calendared, and have conviction about the group’s purpose and time together?

When and Where Do We Meet?

“Even if three people come, we are still having group.” Let this be the resonating resolve regardless of the season. Have that place and time set. Don’t decide to have group or not by consensus. Even if three people come, have group. This builds expectation and solidifies group time as a calendared constant.

What Do We Follow and Submit To?

In season and out, God is still at work in your group. Even if three people come, the Scriptures can be opened, read, considered, prayed through, members prayed over, and spiritual fellowship can be had. Because the group submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ unity may be had, Christian practice and partnership deepened, and the biblical purpose of your groups furthered.

How Do I Participate?

Is the connection to group life in your church as clear after Easter as it is the rest of the year? This also shouldn’t change. If there are system considerations, get creative and still capitalize on the fact that people are coming and want(!) to be in a group. Make sure their pathway is straight as it would be any other time of the year.

Sometimes a smaller group can be a blessing of warmth and intimacy for a season. And even if numbers are down in your group for a month or so, who knows what the LORD has in store to grow you in gospel partnership together. He put these people in your group for this time in this Summer season. He has work to do. This group that begins after Easter was His plan all along for the spiritual growth of those in it. Including you.

 

Church Leadership

Five Roles of a Small Group Leader

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A small group leader has many roles to fill. The key to a healthy and multiplying group is to give as many of those roles away as soon as possible. You can identify which roles to give away first by knowing which ones are naturally weak for you. We all have areas of leadership where we are stronger and weaker. Someone in your group is going to excel in a role where you might struggle.

Here are what I believe are the top five roles (not in order) for every group leader. As you read the list, think about which ones you should start giving away now.

1. Fun Planner

A key to your group staying healthy is being intentional about planning fun activities during every semester or quarter. That can be a game night instead of a doing the study, going to a ballgame together, or organizing a picnic during the spring or summer.

2. Food Planner

The beginning of every group meeting should be a time of just hanging out, and food can be an important part of that first 20 minutes. It gives people in your group something to do while having important bonding conversations before the study portion of the meeting.

3. Host

Every group needs someone to officially host the meeting. That may include providing the space for the meeting, but it always includes being a smiling face at the door to set the tone for night. A good host will help lead to an effective meeting.

4. Shepherd

Your group members are needing more than a social time and a Bible study. The goal should be to have your small group feel like family. Families care for one another and are there for each other when circumstances are great and not so great. We should celebrate and weep with our group members equally.

5. Prayer Time

Prayer is an important element during the group time, but it’s also essential between meetings. A praying leader is a leader worth following. You should pray consistently and specifically for your group members each week.

Is there a role or two on that list that you can give away soon?

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with more than twenty years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Teams at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN., and Seacoast Church in Charleston, S.C., prior to becoming the Discipleship and Small Groups Specialist for LifeWay 
Church Leadership

Why Your Small Group Needs to Study Biblical Women

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Heroes of the Bible.

When you hear this phrase, who comes to mind? 

  • David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).
  • Joshua, a leader who brought God’s people to the promised land (Joshua 1-5).
  • Peter, the one on whom Jesus built his first church (Matthew 16:18).
  • Paul, an Apostle to the Gentiles (Ephesians 3:1-12).

All of these are incredible people who, by God’s grace, knew God and made Him known in powerful ways. We learn from them. We are inspired by them. We, in many ways, want to be more like them.

But, who might we be missing?

Some other heroes of faith often take longer to come to mind.

  • Ruth, a widow self-sacrificing, kind, and devoted (Ruth 1).
  • Deborah, a catalyst courageously speaking truth (Judges 4-5).
  • Anna, a prophet dedicated to fasting and praying (Luke 2:36-38).
  • Lydia, a hard-worker worshipfully showing hospitality (Acts 16:11-15).

These are just the beginning of women of faith who, by God’s grace, also knew Him and made Him known through their lives. 

Why study biblical women?

In our small groups and Sunday schools, we have strong reason to not overlook the sometimes shorter or less emphasized stories of the Bible, including the stories that highlight women.

In fact, we miss out when we do not study these.

  1. We all need the example

Amid a culture of women’s rights and feminism, and within the church’s subculture of egalitarianism and complementarianism, what it means to be men or women and the ways we handle biblical manhood and womanhood are intensely debated. We can look to what’s happening around us and our experiences within us to try to make sense of it all. But, why not the Bible?.

Just as we look to people in the Bible to learn how to deal with suffering, to learn what fruit of the Spirit we should have, or to explore what it means to trust God, we can look to the Bible to see what it means to be women who follow God. Whether we need this advice or whether we need to encourage women in our life toward seeking God, we can learn from what women (just as we can learn from men) did, what they said, how they prayed and praised.

  1. They show unique expressions of faith

As we dig into their stories, we will learn from their lives. First, we can see their relationships with the Lord. We can see the ways they talked about Him. We can look for the way the knowledge of God shaped how they spent their days. We can see the expressions their faith took: worship, prayer, fasting.

We can also see how this relationship and fear of the Lord impacted their relationships with people. We can see the ways they were loyal, courageous, truth speakers, justice seekers. We can learn from their actions about how to lead lives that model God’s truth and grace.

What and how can everyone learn from biblical women?

Women in the Bible can show us far more than we might imagine.

They can show us about relationship with the Lord. They can show us about relationship with others. They can encourage our faith. They can shed light into the sometimes difficult and often deeply personal discussions of manhood and womanhood.

Yet, just as any story in the Bible, they can bring us further into the heart of God and spur us forward into a life compelled by God’s love (2 Corinthians 5:14). 

What can we learn from biblical women? Much more than we might imagine.

How can you get started? Try studying, walking through the very texts of Scripture where these women are chronicled.  It starts with scripture. Seeking out the stories of women and diving in. 

But we don’t want to leave you alone in your search. We can help you and help you lead others on this study. LifeWay’s Women’s Ministry Specialist, Kelly D. King, walks us through six stories of biblical women in Bible Studies for Life: Living by Faith – Women who Trusted God. She’ll lead you into the stories of Rahab, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, the poor widow, and the Samaritan Woman. 

What you’ll find? Hope, strength, perspective, wisdom, and so much more. Find out more here.

Deborah Spooner is a Minnesota-born analytical creative serving as a Marketing Strategist for LifeWay’s Groups Ministry. As a pastor’s daughter with a background in Digital Communications and Media and Biblical & Theological Studies, you can find her at her local church, in deep conversation, or with a book or pen in hand as she seeks to know Christ more and make Him known.

 

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