Church Leadership Archives - Page 3 of 17

Church Leadership, Group Leadership, Uncategorized

May 21, 2019

Six Summer Strategies to Invigorate Your Group

by Reid Smith

By the end of spring, It’s not uncommon for groups to want to change things up for the summer instead of starting a new Bible study. This comes from a common felt-need to take a break and get refreshed before school, ministries, and so many other things restart in the fall.

However, if you only saw the summer as a chance to unplug, you’d be missing easy and effective opportunities to invigorate your group. Groups don’t have to break from being together in the summer and potentially breakdown their momentum of community-building. Rather, they can use this season to change gears with their regular meeting rhythms in order to find new ways to grow together in Christ.

Mix it up! Instead of your usual, say, Tuesday, 6:30-8pm time – decide to get together every other Friday for dinner and a movie together. If you meet weekly, try meeting every other week. Or everyone could plan to attend the same service and afterwards do an outdoor activity together.
Morph into a shared interest group. Discover who shares the same interests in your group and organize activities around them. Start out by asking:

“What do you enjoy doing the most with your free time?”
“If you could invite a few others to join you in an activity, what would it be?”
“What special interest, topic, creative hobby or sport do you enjoy doing?”

You don’t have to choose one! Create a “mixed shared interest group” out of the ideas that came up. You might do a specific topical study one week and then softball the next. Plan it all out, but don’t try to do too much; just enough to keep the relational connection and continue building upon the community that God has built so far.

Schedule it! Before the onset of summer, ask group members to bring their calendars to a meeting and plan around the dates people know they are going to be away. Before scheduling, appoint somebody to find out what is happening in your surrounding communities during the summer like farmers markets, festivals, outdoor concerts, etc. Besides community events, other examples of fun activities to put on the calendar include:

Going out to a restaurant together and/or the movies.
Grilling in a local park or the backyard of somebody other than your typical host.
Going to a sports event together or doing an activity everyone can get into like bowling, paddle-boating, volleyball, hiking, etc.
Taking a day-trip to the coast, mountains, or state/national park.
Watching July 4^th fireworks together (invite neighbors to join you and introduce them to others in your group).
Having group members pray for one person in their lives they can invite to your group by the end of the summer. (Take a meeting to pray for these people and for what group members hope to see happen in their personal lives by the end of the year.)

Plan a servant evangelism project together. Click HERE for ideas and select a project that would be low risk for people in your group and shows God’s love in practical ways.

Volunteer to help your church with an event or project.

Encourage group members to discover and develop their spiritual gifts. Here’s a simple three-step process: 1) Read and discuss 1 Corinthians 12; Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:7-16; 1 Peter 4:10-11. 2) Have each one complete a spiritual gift assessment. 3) Affirm the outcomes for everyone and brainstorm how they could use them to build up the group in the fall.

Group members who wouldn’t take on new responsibilities for the group in the midst of a study might be willing to do so during the different pace of the summer. Seize this season to “test drive” potential co-leaders by giving them bite-size responsibilities that will help you implement any of the strategies above. Also, seriously consider sub-grouping by gender when you change things up in any of these ways because it will help relationships grow deeper and develop new leaders for future groups so more people can be impacted with the love and message of Jesus Christ!

Reid Smith has been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. He currently serves as a Pastor of Groups at Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach County, FL and has been a contributing author for various publications, including LifeWay’s Ministry Grid. Learn more about how to start and multiply healthy groups throughout your church at www.reidsmith.org.

Church Leadership

May 17, 2019

4 Ways to Help Your Group Focus on God’s Promises

By Deborah Spooner

Our past. As we each live a new day, we leave a day behind. We can get caught up in what was or what might have been “if only things were different,” but this focus means we forget. When we hold onto our past, we neglect to cling to God’s promises.

In his new study No More Excuses (following the Kingdom Men Rising movie), Tony Evans helps believers focus on God’s promises. Learn personally and use your learning to help your group members through the wisdom from the No More Excuses study excerpt below:

(And, if you love the study, you’ll love studying it alongside others! Sign up for the No More Excuses online Bible study for a week to week experience alongside other believers).

Go Get It!

God has given us more than five thousand promises in Scripture, but He’s not going to force anyone to live in the victory of His fulfilled promises. You have to go get them. When the people of Israel entered the promised land, God promised their leader, Joshua, that He would be given any piece of land where his foot walked (see Josh. 1:3), but he had to go get it. He couldn’t stand where he was and simply claim victory over all of his enemies.

Here are four key principles for claiming the promises God has made.

1. Leave the Past Behind

Learn from yesterday; don’t live in it. As Joshua set out to take the Israelites on a military conquest across enormous geographical areas, he had to let go of Moses as the leader and commander. As we see in Joshua 1:1-2, Moses had died. The miracles Moses had performed for the Israelite people were in the past. God would use a new man and a new plan to secure the nation’s victories moving forward. Embracing that truth was critical for their progress.

2. Seize Your Spiritual Inheritance

Joshua had to take steps of faith to secure the promises God had made. God placed a condition on receiving His victories. Joshua had to place the sole of his foot where he might normally have been afraid to do so. Doing so required faith. Passively waiting for God to dump your spiritual promises onto you isn’t the way God operates. You have to go after them.

3. Focus on God, Not People

God promised Joshua:

No man will be able to stand before you all the days

of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will

be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.

Joshua 1:5

No doubt Joshua faced oversized, overpowering enemies as he sought to gain military victories and conquer the promised land. But God assured him of victory. If Joshua had focused on the people in his way, he might have cowered in fear. Likewise, when you direct your focus on God and His assuring Word, you can reduce fear and doubt in your life. Keep your eyes on your Source and only on your Source.

4. Stay Tethered to God’s Word

A critical element in Joshua’s conquests was his consistency in staying tied to God’s Word. God instructed him:

Only be strong and very courageous; be careful to

do according to all the law which Moses My servant

commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to

the left, so that you may have success wherever you go.

Joshua 1:7

God’s Word gives wisdom on what to do, when to do it, and how to gain spiritual victories in the midst of physical limitations or obstacles. Men, as you move forward in life, meditate on and apply the truths of Scripture, and you’ll gain insight for accomplishing all God has in store for you.

This content has been excerpted from Tony Evans’ No More Excuses Bible Study, available now.

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

May 14, 2019

The Top Five Small Group Systems

By Chris Surratt

According to Dictionary.com, the definition of the word “system” is: “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method.” We are sometimes afraid of systems in the groups world because we feel community is supposed to happen organically, not through an organized scheme. But at its core, a system is simply a way to help people know what to do next and how to do it. If groups are our primary path to multiplying disciples, then our people need a good system to know what they are and how to do them.

There are a lot of small group systems to choose from, and there is not one system that fits all. Every church has to do the work of discovering who their people are, what their vision and mission is, and then choosing and tweaking a system that works best within that ethos. There is also no perfect system. Each one will have it’s pros and cons that need to be weighed before landed on. Here are five of the most popular groups systems and pros and cons for each one.

1. Open Groups System

An open groups system will primarily offer groups that are open to adding new people throughout the life of the groups.

Pros: Open groups give the opportunity for group members to be missional in their circles of influence. They are encouraged to invite friends and neighbors to join their groups at any time. Open groups also give new church attenders a place to connect immediately.

Cons: It can be more difficult for groups to achieve accountability and vulnerability if there are new members constantly being added. Also, it can be hard for new members to feel comfortable in an existing group if they don’t already have relationships there.

2. Closed Groups System

A closed groups system will primarily offer groups that are closed, after an initial sign-up period, throughout the life of the groups.

Pros: Closed groups can achieve community and accountability faster than open groups. Without the possibility of new people coming in, group members can be more open with their lives.

Cons: If closed groups stay together longer than two years without multiplying or adding new people, they can become stale and possibly toxic. They will start having the same conversations around the same subjects and spiritual growth may be stunted as a result.

3. Missional Groups System

A missional groups system will encourage church members to gather their group from the community in which they live.

Pros: Missional groups are naturally evangelistic in form. Instead of relying on the church to fill their groups with attenders, leaders are trained to see their community as a mission field. Some missional group leaders will move to a location specifically to form a group there.

Cons: It can be much harder to launch and maintain a missional group. The bar for leadership has to be higher because the group is truly a microcosm of the church. Also, it’s more difficult to help new attenders join a missional group, unless they already live in a community with an existing one.

4. Discipleship Intensive Groups System

A discipleship intensive groups system primarily offers smaller gatherings of 3 or 4 same-sex groups for deeper discipleship, conversations and accountability. These groups are sometimes referred to as “D Groups.”

Pros: Larger small groups of 8-12 people are perfect for community, but not always the best for accountability and discipleship conversations. Especially if they are mixed gender. We all need this level of community with a few others to help us go deeper in our walk with God.

Cons: Not everyone in the church is ready for this type of group. If you are reaching outsiders on the weekend, they need somewhere less intrusive to test the community waters before they dive into an intensive discipleship group.

5. Free Market Groups System

A free market groups system offers attenders the opportunity to form groups around something they are passionate about, or are already doing with a group of people. For example, a group of men, who already get together to ride bikes on the weekends, can be a free market group.

Pros: Groups are much easier to form. People who are already doing life together can add some “God time” to help members grow spiritually through relationships. Also, invites to join a group are more natural than asking someone to go to a home for a Bible study.

Cons: While community is easily achieved in a free market group, discipleship may not be. A consistent Bible study will not in and of itself disciple someone, but will help group members look to the Bible for answers to life’s questions instead of just each other.

Those are five of the most popular groups systems available, but your system may eventually offer groups from different categories. It’s most important to know why you offer the types of groups that you do, so you can cast a consistent vision for why people should lead and join them.

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 Christian Resources. He is the author of Small Groups for the Rest of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes, and the recently released, Leading Small Groups. You can follow his blog at www.chrissurratt.com.

Church Leadership

May 13, 2019

4 Best Bible Studies for Summer

By Deborah Spooner

Sunshine and spare time. Welcome, summer! Sometimes, summers can be the favorite time of year as the kids’ change of pace and the brighter and longer days can mean more vacations and maybe a little more freedom. Yet, for others, summers can bring increased stress and heightened deadlines.

For our group leaders, summers can mean a bit of both. Groups might take a few months off, or they might need a study to fit in in the “in between” of the peak fall season.

Here’s five studies that can be the right fit for your group’s summer, no matter what the season holds for you.

Imago Dei by Mike Cosper + TGC

This Bible study from LifeWay and The Gospel Coalition seeks to establish how to view the imago Dei, or the image of God, in three ways: biblically within the grand narrative of Scripture, relationally as it applies to ourselves and others, and missionally in our service to others and in our obedience to the Great Commission. (6 sessions)

Praying at the Crossroads by Ken Coley

Prayer is essential to our spiritual growth, yet few of us pray as often or as fervently as we would like. We turn to God only in moments of desperation and crisis. The Bible shows us multiple examples of people praying to God for peace, comfort, guidance, strength, and much more. By studying these ancient prayers, participants can grow in their ability to call on God not only at a crossroads but also in their daily lives. (12 sessions)

No More Excuses by Tony Evans

Sometimes circumstances in life make it difficult for men to be all God wants them to be. But Tony Evans urges men to stop looking at their circumstances as excuses and instead to see them as challenges and opportunities for success. Exploring the examples of men of God throughout the Bible, this study will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Despite your setbacks, failures, and pressures, you can still find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be. (8 sessions)

James by Matt Chandler

The Book of James is filled with practical wisdom for Christians, calling us to live out genuine faith through good works. In our own ability, we cannot stand in the face of adversity. Without faith we could never find the strength to trust God. We would never be able to see above the trials we meet and to keep our eyes focused on the King while counting our trials as joy. This is the essence of James. We don’t work to be saved; we work because we are saved. (13 sessions)

Church Leadership

May 9, 2019

When “What Can I Do?” Isn’t Enough

By Reid Patton

Group life allows us to enter into relationships that extend beyond a weekly meeting. As those relationships grow, we are near people during the best and worst times of life.

Paul advised the church in Rome to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). This short exhortation invites us into an entire spectrum of life experiences. Through the good and bad we share in the type of mutual encouragement Paul mentioned earlier in Romans (see 1:11-12). Over the past several years, my wife and I have been the beneficiaries of our small group seeking to obey Paul’s command.

Four and a half years ago, our small group rejoiced with us as we welcomed a baby girl into our family. Our hospital room became a revolving door of visitors. The window sill filled with flowers. Our family came home to a clean house and a fully stocked refrigerator. Meals came by the dozens. We didn’t buy groceries for weeks. Our people rejoiced with us.

Fast-forward a couple more years, we received the same kind of love and generosity from our group for an entirely different reason.

I still remember sitting in down with the guys in my group and taking about how excited we all were to have our second kids. It was January and all the husbands were hoping to get that second kid and all the attending medical bills into one deductible year. While all our friends went on to have their second child, my wife and I experienced three consecutive miscarriages.

The people who rejoiced with us now wept with us. Three more times, the meals, the tears, the flowers, and the prayers came.

Reading Paul’s words, no one wants to be the person weeping. Yet, part of what my wife and I prayed when we found out we were pregnant after a second miscarriage is that God would allow whatever happened to us to be used by Him. So, in that vein, here are a few lessons we’ve learned about how to weep with those who weep.

Be Available

Our natural (and well-intended) response to tragedy is often to ask “what can I do?” People walking through hurt find it difficult to answer this question in the moment. A friend of mine whose wife was battling breast cancer put it this way, “I don’t know what I need, but when I need it, I’ll need it right then.” Instead of finding a concrete way to help, be present and willing to do whatever is needed when called upon.

Simply being present goes a long way.
Send a text or leave a voicemail without expecting a reply.
Drop a card in the mailbox.
Leave a care package by the front door.

Because our friends made their presence known, we knew we could call upon them when we needed a meal or someone to hang out with our daughter for a few hours. We knew our friends would drop everything at a moments notice to be there for us, to allow us to vent, to cry with us, or simply listen to us and say nothing at all.

Listen More than You Speak

When tragedy befell Job, Scripture tells us “when Job’s three friends […} heard about all this adversity that had happened to him, each of them came from his home. They met together to go and sympathize with him and comfort him. … Then they sat on the ground with him seven days and nights, but no one spoke a word to him because they saw that his suffering was very intense.” (2:11,13) In coming and sitting with Job, they did the right thing. The trouble didn’t begin until they started speaking.

When our doctor told us that we miscarried, he prayed for us and specifically asked that God protect us from the unhelpful things people were going to say. Well-meaning friends will say unhelpful things. Job’s friends did not intend to hurt or frustrate him. They just misunderstood what Job needed. Instead of giving unsolicited advice or encouragement to your grieving friends, offer support and a listening ear. Don’t be afraid of their pain and be willing to hear it when they want to speak it. A listening ear is a great encouragement to a suffering friend.

Know that Your Faith Sustains their Faith

Walking through three consecutive pregnancy losses tested our faith in ways that we couldn’t have imagined. To be honest, it is still testing our faith. Yet, even in our worst days, the goodness of God’s people sustained our faith. We saw Jesus so clearly through the care and attention of His church.

Our friends sacrificed for us, prayed for us, and gave to us. Our loss, particularly the third miscarriage, knocked us completely off balance. As we tried to regain equilibrium, God’s people became a ballast of assurance to us. We knew Jesus cared about us because they cared about us.

Walking with people through pain and suffering requires much from you. Weeping with those who weep will cost you tears. Getting close to pain and ugliness is difficult, but that is what Jesus did for us. He entered into our brokenness, was present with us, listened to us, and told us to cast our burdens on Him when we’re weary and heavy laden.

Group life means embracing the good and the bad shoulder to shoulder with other people. Weeping with those who weep is not easy, but it is worth it. When the people in your community hurt, go to them and show them the same kind of love and acceptance that you’ve received from Jesus. He laid down His life for His friends. We must do the same in celebration and in mourning.

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. He is currently pursuing a Master’s from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. In his free time, Reid likes reading, watching NBA Basketball, Braves Baseball, and Auburn Football, and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Church Leadership

May 7, 2019

Leading Your Small Group Through Church Scandal

By Group Ministry

by Jared Musgrove

I think what I’m concerned for most is our imagination. In the wake of one scandal of a fallen Christian leader after another (with the fallen-condition promise of likely more), I’m quite worried about our Christian imagination. It’s the imagination that is key to church scandal. The minute we read, hear, or scroll the news, our imaginations run wild. Rarely to holy or informed places.

But there is a way to help one another’s imaginations when the scandal strikes. It takes a community to care for souls in shock. Small group leaders are essential in such times of devastation, questions of trust, and attack on our Christian imaginations.

There are practical ways a leader may lead in batting down the gossip, speculation, and the lack of self-control so widespread in the wake of leader scandal. The first is to recognize that your church leaders and staff are likely stunned as well. They are church members first. This is also their spiritual family. As well as their vocation. A small group can take this into account in order to pray for and tangibly minister to a hurting staff of ministers and pastors, regardless of the size.

When the scandal comes, direct your small group to ask questions openly and honestly, and preferably personally, of an elder or pastor within the church. Speculation among members is the wrong use of imagination. But being proactive and productive with your questions, even if you do not get every detail you want, will help you shepherd each other’s imaginations with right information.

Consider together that though it is desirable that everyone hear the same news at the same time and in the same way, that is rarely the case. The nature of news travel in this century aids neither clarity nor with ending speculation. It is most likely that your church’s leadership team tries their best to be the ones to share and shepherd minds and imaginations through terrible news, but they aren’t always allowed to be the ones leading with the information. Method and best practices are all too often overrun by the way news now travels. Your leadership is doing their best with an awful situation. Is there ever a perfect way to share terrible news?

Model for your group members the approach of asking questions rather than engaging imaginations in gossip. Or leading one another into a type of destruction and disunity fueled by unchecked imaginations. And tongues. Lead your members to scrutinize their information and imaginations.

And remind them that there is sadly no playbook to exposed or exposing sin. It’s awful every single time. Every instance is unique because there are singularly unique souls, families, and local churches affected. If you’ve seen one church leader scandal, you’ve seen one church leader scandal. Sin doesn’t conform to our predictions or expectations. Every situation is sadly unique and hurtful. Lord have mercy on us, for we are sinners.

And that’s why we really need our imaginations re-arrested in times of scandal. Small group leaders, lead imaginations to the one Leader Whose only scandal was dying unjustly in our place so that He might be a propitiation for our sins. Jesus is the Leader of His church. Though His under shepherds disappoint and even wound at times, His leadership is without compromise or an iota of sin. He will never leave you nor forsake you. Imagine that together in your small group. The gospel is the only balm to harmed church bodies and minds. Help your group members confront the existential crisis of leader scandal by reminding them of the gospel, together.

Dr. Jared Steven Musgrove is Groups Pastor and an elder serving The Village Church in Flower Mound TX where he directs Home Groups and Recovery Groups. He is a contributor to For The Church, PreachingSource.com,and LifeWay Groups. He serves on boards for Southwestern Seminary and Beta Upsilon Chi, is the co-founder of the Community Leadership Cohort, and is author of the group guide to B&H Academic’s Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies. He is the proud husband of Jenny and father of Jordan and Joshua. You can follow him on Twitter at @jsmusgrove.

Church Leadership

May 6, 2019

Best Bible Studies for Graduates

By Deborah Spooner

Their four years of hard work are complete, and now all that stands between graduates and their new beginnings is a stage and ceremony.

We love our graduates. We’re proud of them. But how do we, as small group leaders, come alongside to equip them for whatever comes next?

Giving the gift of guidance can be a form of discipleship. Consider stepping in and gifting wisdom from these authors as your graduates step into their future.

Life + Love: Navigating Singleness, Dating, Engagement, and Marriage by Ben Stuart

Your graduates will likely graduate into new relationship statues in the coming years. Equip them with insight from Passion City D.C.’s pastor Ben Stuart:

In a society where everyone is supposedly more connected, why do people feel so lonely? Even as marriage rates decline, recent studies find the overwhelming majority of single adults still hope to get married. But how can you navigate life and love in this disconnected culture? Life + Love Bible Study will help you chart a course through four relational stages: singleness, dating, engagement, and marriage. Learn to embrace God’s design and live out His purpose for each stage of your life. (6 sessions)

Foundations: New Testament by Robby and Kandi Gallaty

Your graduates might be more pressed for time than ever before. Equip them with a practical devotional-styled study to take them through the entire New Testament in reflective ways:

Study all 27 books of the New Testament in one year by reading Scripture passages and related devotions five days each week. The H.E.A.R. journaling method will allow you to read and respond to God’s Word as you highlight, explain, apply, and respond to passages throughout the yearlong plan.

Pathways by Tony Evans

Your graduates might be wondering about their purpose. Equip them with assurance of God’s plan amid the chaos and sometimes painful and confusing moments:

The story of Esther appears to be a series of coincidences that delivers the Jews from certain death. However, God selected Esther for a particular purpose at a particular time in the history of His chosen people. This Bible study will help you discover the power of God’s providence in the midst of your personal pain, fear, gain, loss, and love. You’ll see that God has a purpose for your life, and He uses every action and event that occurs in it to make that purpose a reality. (6 sessions)

Gospel Above All by J.D. Greear

Your graduates may face new challenges to their faith. Equip them with an insightful look at the gospel and its place amid the noise seeking our attention:

The gospel isn’t just an entry into the Christian faith, it is the entirety of the Christian life. This Bible study leads groups to a greater awareness and practice of gospel culture, gospel mission, gospel renewal, and gospel unity. The most pressing need for Christianity today isn’t a new strategy or an updated message; it is a return to elevating the gospel above all. (8 sessions)

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

May 2, 2019

Four Discipleship Groups We All Need

By Chris Surratt

Joining or leading a discipleship group can be an intimidating and seemingly complicated process for people in our churches. While there are certainly a lot of details to think through, the basic mission for any group or relationship should come from the singular command Jesus left us in Matthew 28:19: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations”.

We can see from this passage that Jesus made it simple—we are to make disciples. If our groups are built on this command, when shifting in relationships occur, the foundation is still strong. Relationships on their own are fragile, but when partnered with intentional discipleship, they can be the catalyst to sustained life-change.

If we are following Jesus’ great commission, then it makes sense to also follow the pattern He left us in forming discipleship communities. We can see through scripture that Jesus created disciples through four different types of groups.

1. Group of Many

So, where did Jesus start? He didn’t look to gather a huge crowd or even a small group of people, but he began in the community he found himself. We can see this pattern starting with Jesus as a boy in the temple.

After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. – Luke 2:41-46

Jesus intentionally spent time with people and asked questions. He wanted to understand before moving on to what was next. Our first “group” should be the community we find ourselves in. Our neighborhoods, our coffee shops, our office, or anywhere we interact with people to ask questions and understand their stories and experiences. This is our first mission field. Look for those natural interactions that can lead to relationships.

2. Group of Twelve

The next community Jesus engaged with was his group of twelve disciples. He intentionally and prayerfully chose twelve men to walk with him and carry on the mission when he was gone. After Jesus had returned to heaven, we can see this practice of meeting together in smaller groups continued by the early church in Acts 2:42-47.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

It is clear in this passage that the early church devoted themselves to God and each other through both corporate gatherings (the temple) and in the home (house to house). We are now carrying on this 2000-year-old tradition by launching groups to meet in homes, apartment clubhouses, office break rooms, church classrooms, or anywhere that a group of 8-12 people can meet together to have community (fellowship), discipleship (prayer, wonders and signs), and mission (sold their possessions and added to their number).

3. Group of Four

Even as Jesus did ministry with the twelve, there were three disciples he spent the most time with: Peter, John, and James. We can see this special relationship play out in Mark 14:32-24.

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

He formed this smaller group of four, and allowed them more access throughout his ministry, because he understood the importance of time spent with just a few to carry on the work. As disciple-making deacons, our next step after forming a small group is looking for those 3-4 same-sex people within the group to form more intentional discipleship relationships with outside of the group meeting times.

4. Group of Two

If we look closer at Jesus’ smaller group of four, we see that there was one who was even closer than the others: John. This close relationship is testified to by John in, among other places, John 20:1-2 (emphasis added).

Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!”

This intimate bond did not mean that Jesus loved the other disciples any less, but it’s obvious that John sought Jesus’ affections more than the rest. We all need that person in our lives who knows us better than anyone else. That person with whom we can share the highest of highs and lowest of lows. He or she may be a mentor, a spouse, or a close friend.

To learn more on how to launch and lead one of these groups, check out my new book, Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

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 Christian Resources. He is the author of Small Groups for the Rest of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes. You can follow his blog at www.chrissurratt.com.

Church Leadership

April 29, 2019

Links We Love

By Group Ministry

Read below for some links that we loved this past week!

Three Prayers to Pray as You Open God’s Word – Michael Kelley
Most people have a morning routine. Alarm goes off, coffee pot goes on, maybe you head to the gym – it’s different for every person. But for most of us, the routine follows the same general pattern on a given day. Hopefully, by God’s grace, part of that routine is opening the Word of God. This action, like the routine as a whole, looks different for different people. Maybe you’re in the habit of reading one chapter of Scripture a day. Or perhaps you read a psalm and a proverb. Or maybe you only read a few verses and then journal your way through them.

3 Keys to Leading When You’re Not in Charge – LifeWay Men
“Lateral leadership” is one of the hottest terms in the business world these days, it seems. The idea behind lateral leadership is that you lead your peers in the workplace without having any hierarchical authority over them. You lead a team of peers on a project. Perhaps you even have to lead a group of people who have more hierarchical authority than you do.

Building Community as a Leader – LifeWay Women’s Ministry
If you’re a leader, you know the importance of investing in those you lead. You understand relationships are pivotal to your success and that they require patience, mentorship, and intentional time with others. But, how are you at building community with others yourself? What are some ways leaders develop a sense of belonging? If you’re in search of a way to build community as a leader, we can all learn from early believers in the second chapter of Acts.

What is Family Ministry? – LifeWay Leadership
Family ministry is one of the greatest opportunities the local church has to teach kids, develop leaders, and equip parents in order to train up and disciple the next generation. When a local church embraces the unique possibility of an intentionally designed effort to invest in the next generation, it embraces the possibility of a ministry that won’t just change a kid or a home but that can actually change a community and reach the world.

Don’t Compliment by Comparing – Eric Geiger
Compliments via comparisons are too common. If you are a leader you have likely received them and given them. “My son is learning so much more in your class this year than he did last year.” “It is great to finally have someone who executes well in this role.” “For the first time in a long time, we have someone who…” “I am thankful for (name of last person), but I really love how you …” “You are my favorite preacher ever …” Sound familiar? For some reason we are prone to compliment by comparing instead of simply complimenting.

Church Leadership

April 25, 2019

3 Ways to Give Your Group the Leadership It Needs

By Group Ministry

by Tyler Quillet

“I’ll host a group, but I just want to ask questions. I don’t think I’m capable of giving much more than that.”

That was the response a volunteer small group leader once gave me. Most small groups are relying on the leader to not only ask questions, but to supply the insight and Biblical understanding they are hungry for. Although it would certainly be easier to just ask questions, your group often needs more from their leader.

As a small group leader, you may be desiring to give more to your group. You may also not be sure how to go about doing that. There are different kinds of leaders, and that’s a good thing! However, if you are looking to give more as a leader, keep these three simple things in mind.

1. Know God’s Word

If you have a desire to share more with your group about the context or background of the text your studying, you have to know God’s word. Be a daily reader of His word and study it in depth. When it comes to preparing for your group time, do your work and know what additional content you’d like your group to know. Know the questions you’ll be asking and be prepared with answers if your group is unsure. Try www.smallgroup.com, where thousands of Bible studies are available to you with questions and additional content already created for you, and is all customizable by you! This will help you immensely in leading your group, as you’ll have the additional insight you want your group to have, right at your fingertips! And the price is remarkably low!

2. Know Your Group

Depending on a variety of factors, you have to know what your group can comprehend or how much to give them within your time together. For example, I had a small group of men that I met with for many years. One man had a brain injury from a past heat stroke. Another had a brain injury from trauma while in the military. Another dropped out of school at an early age and never learned to read or write. Yet another was an alcoholic at such a level that he’d often show up to group having had a few too many. These men all loved Jesus, but I had to be careful with my choice of words and how much insight I shared with them. We took God’s word in simple and small chunks. I’ve also led groups that have included other pastors, a PhD college professor, the head of IT for a school system, business owners, etc. I’m not saying any one is better than the other (far from it), but we have to know what our group members are capable of and share with them accordingly. Know your people, know their stage of life, know their history, know their testimony, know their sin issues, know where they are in their trust in Jesus, and then teach and ask questions accordingly.

3. Know Yourself

Don’t try to be something you aren’t, but certainly don’t stop growing as a leader! Maybe you aren’t the theologian you wish you were and maybe you don’t have many answers to the questions your people have about scripture. But, maybe someone else in your group does have that knowledge. Lean on them, if they are willing. Maybe you are someone who naturally dominates conversation. Learn to pull back and allow others to speak. Or, maybe you naturally don’t say much at all and always let others speak. As the leader of your group, there are times you’ll need to take the reins and lead. Simply know who you are and don’t try to be someone you’re not.

No matter what type of small group leader you are, simply continue to 1) point your people to Jesus, 2) give them opportunities to share their hearts and how the day’s text applies to their lives, and 3) give them biblical insight / challenge / encouragement that will help them in their daily trust in Jesus. Most importantly, your group needs a leader who loves them and loves Jesus even more. You got this!

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 spent 15 years as a pastor in Ohio before moving to the Nashville area and is passionate about serving churches and pouring into church leaders in a variety of ways.

4 Best Bible Studies for Summer

Best Bible Studies for Graduates

Links We Love

All Ministry Sites

Digital Resources

LifeWay Network