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Three Ways to Keep Your Groups From Dying This Summer

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As the springtime pollen settles and the summer sun starts to scorch, it’s tempting to allow that summer heat to affect your small groups, too. With vacations and conferences, camps and family reunions, summertime is notorious for poor small group attendance. Yet with the proper attitude and the gusto to plan ahead, below are three ways to keep your groups from dying this summer: 

  1. Plan ahead.

I try to live by the Boy Scout motto, “Always Be Prepared.” And its effectiveness has proven true! For example, when you invite someone to an event such as a wedding, you send out invitations three months in advance so you will increase your odds of more people showing up. The same is true for your small groups: if you provide your group members with your summertime plans—whether that be a new book, an online Bible study, or a group camping trip—the better odds you’ll have that members will prioritize your group on their calendars.

  1. Emphasize the importance of year-round discipleship.

Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean we have to get spiritually stagnant. In the same vein of being prepared, try giving a three- to five-minute “blurb” to your group about why you plan on keeping up with meetings over the summer months. Get philosophical, if you must. Because unlike summer, discipleship doesn’t take any breaks. If group members see that you prioritize your ministry, they might prioritize their attendance. 

  1. Have fun.

Some of my fondest memories come from my college small group in the summer at my home church. I looked forward to attending every summer because my primary community came from this small group. Because we could have fun with one another, we could trust one another with our vulnerable moments. Terry hosted “kickball Mondays,” where we’d play (pretty competitively) and go out to dinner afterwards. And when it was time to have our Bible study, Pam would bake chocolate chip cookies. My leaders created a relaxed environment, which enabled us to open up more.

Caroline Case is a proud Nashville transplant from Naples, Florida, who serves as the Production Editor for LifeWay’s smallgroup.com and custom Bible study teams. Caroline has a Bachelor of Communication from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. She is pursuing her Master of Arts in English at Belmont University in Nashville, where she will go on to pursue her doctorate and teach.

Group Leadership

Links We Love

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2 Possible Outcomes of Being Overwhelmed – Eric Geiger

I have encouraged leaders to look for seasons of being overwhelmed, to disregard the cliché, “don’t bite off more than you can chew,” and to intentionally take on more than you thought you could handle so you will be forced to learn and grow.

3 Obstacles to Living God’s Will For Your Life – Michael Kelley 

“What is God’s will for my life?” we have asked. And we should ask. We should, as Christians, care deeply about God’s will for our lives. Yet this question shouldn’t be informational in nature; when we ask the question; it shouldn’t be like we are looking into a crystal ball. We should be asking with positive intentions. We have already made up our minds that our lives do not belong to us; instead they belong to Jesus, so we have already resolved to follow Him in whatever and wherever He might lead.

What Would Happen If You Found Your Purpose? – Kris Dolberry

What would happen if you found your purpose and lived it out? How would that change things for you? Imagine waking up every morning and saying, “Good God, it’s morning!” than, “good god, it’s morning!”

Leading Well: 5 Ways Psalms and Proverbs Can Build a Leader’s Relationship with God – LifeWay Women’s Ministry 

As a leader, the poetry and wisdom books of Scripture (from Job through Song of Solomon) should be a regular part of your devotional diet. Not only do they help us relate to others, but they also help us relate to our Creator.

5LQ: Episode 242: How to Ruin Your Life with Eric Geiger – LifeWay Leadership

In this episode of the 5 Leadership Questions podcast, Todd Adkins and Eric Geiger discuss Eric’s new book, How to Ruin Your Life and Starting Over When You Do.

Group Leadership, Start New Groups

How to Train Your Small Group Leaders to Deal With Just About Anything

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by Dave Enns

One of the great privileges of leading small groups is having the opportunity to help someone work through a tough issue. Yet, the fear of dealing with these issues can actually cause a leader to never step up to lead, or to quit or do all they can to remain on the surface to avoid an issue. It’s also what can cause a well-intentioned leader to become a “Bible answer assault person,” quoting Bible verses at someone hoping to fix the problem, unaware of how to come alongside the person and help.

We ask our leaders to not focus on advice or problem solving, but rather to come alongside others to help them walk through their issues and point them to the right resources. To help our leaders embrace the tough stuff and create an environment for growth, we recommend they ask these four simple questions.

  1. How long have you been dealing with this?  (Duration of the issue)

Determining when the event happened and if it’s reoccurring is important in understanding the complexity of the issue. This will help determine how quickly and to what level you need to respond. An issue that has just come up will most likely require a different response time than one that has been around for five years. 

  1. Who else knows? (Involvement of others)

Finding out if you’re the only person they have ever told reveals their level of vulnerability, if they are operating in isolation on the issue, and it helps determine the kind of support and influence they have.  Finding out who gathers around them for support can make all the difference.  

  1. Have you received any advice or counsel on how to deal with this? (Level and quality of input)

Just because someone has told others about their issue doesn’t mean they have sought counsel on how to overcome it or are motivated to start dealing with it. They may only want others to sympathize with their difficulty. Who they have received advice from can make the difference. Finding out if there is input they received that they disagree with tells a lot about how they are processing the issue.

  1. What have you done so far, and do you have any plans for your next steps? (Game plan)

The response to this question tells you whether or not they know what to do next, and how involved you need to be to lend support and resources. It also helps communicate that action on their part will be necessary to deal with their struggle.

We have found that these four questions make it easy for any leader to gather context as they help their group members. These questions usually make finding the next steps and needed resources relatively straightforward. We also let our leaders know they never have to deal with an issue they don’t think they can handle. As pastors, we’re available if they need additional assistance, direction, or resources. And finally, we don’t ask our leaders to be experts in dealing with issues; we only ask that they care for those whom God has brought to them to help navigate their challenges. 

Dave Enns has been on staff at North Coast Church (the Sticky Church) since 1990 and is the lead pastor of their Small Groups Ministry.  He oversees a team of 25 staff, 1,400 lay leaders and over 6,000 who attend their home groups. 

Group Leadership, Start New Groups

A Quick Start Guide to Leading Groups

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by Reid Smith

Have you ever been in a high-pressure situation where you needed to know the facts on how to do something…and fast? Imagine a friend needed YOU to jump in and lead their group last minute. What would you need to know? These principles can serve as your quick-start guide: 

  1. Be a people engager – Use the social time with your group to find out how people are really doing and what you can pray for later in the group. If somebody is new, build connections. Also, don’t underestimate the power of “breaking bread together” and how much food helps people take their guard down and build relationships with others.
  1. Be an Immanuel acknowledger – Open your group in prayer and recognize how our God is Immanuel, “God with us.” Remind them that Jesus is in your midst; where God’s presence is, there is power to transform lives so every group meeting should be life-changing (Mt 18:20). Call out the things you believe God is going to do in people’s lives. Believe for each group member and pray for them by name!
  1. Be a temperature-setter – Group leaders create environments where the Acts 2:42-47 kind of community can grow. One of the keys to helping a group go deeper in relationships with one another is authenticity. The more real you are, the more vulnerable others will be—so set the pace and be courageous by being completely yourself! This will help people feel more “at home,” open up with others, and participate more in the group.
  1. Be a Scripture sower – The #1 catalyst for spiritual growth is reading and reflecting on God’s Word. Scripture transforms us from the inside-out because it is God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16-17). So use every opportunity to refer people back to the Bible, pray Scripture aloud, and weave biblical references into your conversations.
  1. Be Jesus-focused – Use the conversation around your study to point people back to who Jesus is and what He has done. Think of Paul when he said, “For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Cor 2:2). Turning people’s attention to Jesus creates an atmosphere of praise and thanksgiving. Make your group Christ-centered—not curriculum-centered—and invite the Holy Spirit to have His way.
  1. Be generous in love – To follow Jesus’ example is to love others. Leaders who are rich in love earn the privilege of influencing people spiritually. Take time to learn people’s unique stories, listen to their needs, and pray for their dreams. Generous love does not limit its reach only to those within the group’s circle, but it goes to those who have yet to be transformed by God’s love (Mt 25:40). A group will never grow to its full potential if it does not reach beyond the needs of its own members.

Biblical community will grow when you exercise these principles. Along the way, you’ll experience the thrill of being used by God to inspire real growth in His people and helping those who have yet to know Him find their way home. 

Reid Smith has been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. He lives in Wellington, Florida where he serves as a Groups Pastor at Christ Fellowship. You can find more of his helpful resources at www.reidsmith.org.

Group Leadership

Five Keys to Leading a Great Video-Enhanced Bible Study

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Leading a Bible study for a small group is an achievable task for most leaders. With the right preparation and curriculum, a group leader’s main goal is simply facilitating a conversation aimed at creating a discipleship experience.

On the other hand, teaching an effective Bible study is not easy, and only a few people are gifted enough teachers to exegete Scripture in an applicable, understandable way.

That is why I love having video-enhanced studies as a curriculum tool for small-group leaders. They free the leader up to focus on the discipleship conversations, while making sure the group is getting doctrinally sound teaching from teachers you can trust.

Widespread use of broadband Internet has made the video delivery easier as well. Instead of each group having to purchase a DVD, they can stream it straight from a site like smallgroup.com to their TV or computer.

But like any tool, there are a few things a leader should still do to make it a good experience for the group. Here are five tips for leading an effective video-enhanced study:

1. Watch the video ahead of time

A good leader is always one step ahead in the process so she knows how to steer the discussion in the right direction. Watching the video and going over the questions before the meeting helps you know where the finish line should be for the meeting.

2. Pre-test the tech

We can easily distract from the group experience by just assuming the video will work. Technical issues will occasionally happen no matter what, but testing it every time before the meeting will make those awkward moments rare.

3. Allow the group to process the teaching

If a leader has done his homework and pre-watched the video, then he has already processed the material and is ready to dive right into the discussion. The rest of the group, however, will need a few moments to digest what they just watched. It’s okay to let the first couple of questions hang in the air while everyone is still processing.

4. Study the Bible, not the teacher

A good video-enhanced study will lead the group to examine the Bible for answers, but it will be tempting to just discuss the best quotes from the teaching. The leader will need to always press the group to dig further into Scripture and not just rely on the video. That’s why it’s so important to have a study guide to go along with the video teaching.

5. Leave time after the video for discussion

One of the most important pieces of a successful Bible study is time management. A good leader should always keep one eye on the clock and know when to move the group to the next segment of the study. If the group spends too much time on the icebreakers, and the video is 30 minutes or longer, there will not be enough time to study the Scripture behind the teaching and discuss how to apply it to their lives.

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with more than 23 years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Teams at Cross Point Church in Nashville, Tenn., 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.

Group Leadership

The Bible as Small Group Experience

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 by Jared Musgrove

Bible reading, meditation, journaling, meaty theology books—they are crucial and quite individualistic. And while there is a place for your personal, passionate pursuit of God, the Bible was never meant to remain a solely singular endeavor. The reading of the Word of God has always been a communal experience.

These books, letters, stories, poems, and prophecies are meant to be read aloud. It is the call upon the people of God to worship Him through His Word recounted and recited in the midst of biblical community.

Dr. Jeff Arthurs presents five reasons why the public reading of Scripture is integral to Christian communal worship, not as mere perfunctory recitation but as impassioned and Spirit-empowered speaking of the very words of God:

  1. We are commanded to read the Bible publicly. Referring to 1 Timothy 4:13, “Devote yourself to the public reading.” We are a forgetful people, all too often foggy in our thinking and heart’s desires. We need to be reminded who we are, so God commands us to read Scripture devotedly and publicly.
  2. When we read the Bible publicly, we do what the people of God have always done. Based on the prominence public reading of Scripture has had through the millennia, Timothy Ralston concludes, “Public reading and preaching within the worship exposes [God’s] demands, our inadequacy, and his grace. It calls for covenant renewal and lies at the heart of spiritual revival. Therefore, how can we offer acceptable worship, if his Word does not have a prominent place in our liturgy?”
  3. God transforms us through the Word. Dallas Willard explains with an analogy: “In the same way that your hand moves in response to your thought and emotion,” just so does God perform his will (creating, ruling, and redeeming) through the unmediated extension of his will expressed in words….What we call natural laws, then, must be regarded as God’s thoughts and intentions [that is, his words] as to how the world should run.”
  4. The Bible was meant to be read aloud. Before it was inscribed on vellum and papyrus, the stories, proverbs, and poetry of the Bible circulated orally, and after the oral literature was written down, it continued to be transmitted orally. Literature in the ancient world was spoken, not read silently—even when reading privately. This is still the case today in much of the worldwide Church, and that is appropriate because the Bible was meant to be received aurally.
  5. Hearing the Word is different than reading it silently. Hearing and seeing a reader embody the text is a different experience than silently pondering a script in the privacy of the study. Have you heard the Word read well? Vistas of new understanding and worship open as the people of God receive His words together.

These reasons form a basis for seeing the Scriptures as a community treasure. Reading the Word in community need not be long-faced and doleful. It should come alive with the very personalities behind the words themselves.

Dr. Jared Steven Musgrove serves as Groups Pastor and an elder at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Oklahoma, a Master of Divinity in preaching from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the husband of Jenny and the father of Jordan and Joshua. You can follow him on Twitter at @jsmusgrove.

 

Group Leadership

Don’t Glorify Your Busyness: An Appeal to Community

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In an age where Google provides us with all the answers, texting becomes easier than talking, and the number of followers we have on Instagram dictates our level of popularity, the adjective we could most easily use to describe our lifestyle is: “busy.”


“I won’t make it to worship service, I’m busy with errands.” 

“I don’t have enough time to read my Bible this evening, I’m busy with the family.”

“I can’t go to small group this evening, I’m too busy with work.”

Busy, busy, busy.

We Millenials have elevated our busyness to be a status symbol. The busier you are, the more important you are. The more texts you can’t respond to, the more popular you must be. The harder you are to reach, the more you’re wanted. Supply and demand, I guess.

Ironically, one of the reasons we need small groups is because they serve as the antidote to our busyness. Despite your busy schedule, below are three reasons you need to keep “penciling in” your local body of believers.

  1. Small groups force us to know each other at a deeper level. One of the temptations of busyness is the descent into superficiality. Yet when we go to small group, we are given the opportunity to confess our sins and open our hearts to discipleship. Small groups encourage us to be vulnerable. When we’re surrounded by some of the closest people in our lives, the ability to hide is nearly impossible.
  1. Small groups help us reorient our priorities. They remind us of Who comes first. When we make it a point to attend a weekly group, we are consistently reminded of why we gather every week. By putting us in direct contact with God’s Word and fellowship with other believers, the small group gatherings themselves emphasize the importance of discipleship.
  1. Small groups put us in a position to hear from God, and to live out what really matters. Small groups directly counter self-centered living by having us open Scripture, study God’s words, and take on Jesus’ lifestyle. Small groups put us in the position to not only absorb truth, but also to go and live out what we believe. We are able to spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24)—this includes serving our community.

The temptation to hide behind our schedules—to distract ourselves so we don’t deal with our sin and our sainthood—is a real one. But it’s a temptation that gets a little less strong the more we spend time in community with other believers.

Caroline Case is a proud Nashville transplant from Naples, Florida, who serves as the Production Editor for LifeWay’s SmallGroup.com and Discipleship in Context teams. Caroline has a Bachelor of Communication from Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. She is pursuing her Master of Arts in English at Belmont University in Nashville, where she will go on to pursue her doctorate and teach.

Group Leadership

Three Christian Perspectives on Time

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What is your most precious resource?

Is it money? Property? Bitcoin? Perhaps. But I suspect that in a world of increasing busyness, when the lines between work and rest are blurred by technology—when there is always another email, another podcast, another post, another opportunity—that the one resource you wish you had more of is time.

But you don’t. And I don’t. Furthermore, we can’t. We can’t gain more than what God has allotted to us in our lives; we can’t make the sun slow down; we can’t stop the calendar pages from flipping. Time is marching on, and every single second we have less of it in our lives than we did the second before. The best we can do is make the most of what we have.

But for Christians, doing this means having a unique perspective on time, one informed by God’s Word. The Christian should, then, view time through the lens of Scripture and have that perspective shaped by a few key truths:

1. Time is futile.

The clock is ticking on both a macro and micro level. Time is ticking through the day and, on a broader scale, through our lives. Every moment that goes by is a moment that we’ll never have back. It’s this issue of time that the Teacher in Ecclesiastes address in Ecclesiastes 3. In that chapter, he acknowledges that there is a season for everything under the sun. And if we rephrased Ecclesiastes 3 into our modern culture, we might find something like this:

There is a season, turn, turn, turn, for everything, turn, turn, turn…There is a time for the healthy pregnancy and a time for the miscarriage. There is a time for the good days of fun with kids and a time for when they are too cool to hang out with you anymore. There is a time for the diapers and a time when you wonder how you can afford the groceries for the teenager. There is a time to earn a good living and a time to wonder if you’ve saved enough for retirement. There is a time for chemotherapy and a time for remission. There is a time for diplomacy in the tenuous regions across the world and a time for bombs to be dropped. Turn, turn, turn…

When you put it like that, it’s not so easygoing. It does, however, expose at least part of the reason why the Teacher looks at time and—along with so many other things—cries, “Vanity!”

The Christian perspective on time is formed by the reality of the seasons. Coming and going. We don’t need to struggle to hold onto the past, nor do we need to be in a hurry to get into the future. We don’t need to be the people who constantly seek plastic surgery to keep our youth, nor do we need to be the people who are always looking to some future opportunity or financial state. There is a season for all things in God’s sovereign design.

2. For such a time as this…

In Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo once remarked to Gandalf, “I wish it need not have happened in my time,” as he lamented the fact that he had lived to see the evil advancing from Mordor. Gandalf responded, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

We live in the days in which God decided we should live, just as Esther and Mordecai did. Esther, who had been given a position of power and stature in a royal kingdom that was a threat to the very survival of the Jewish people, was not put in that position at that time by accident. This is what Mordecai tells her in Esther 4:14:

“If you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will be destroyed. Who knows, perhaps you have come to your royal position for such a time as this.”

The Christian perspective on time is built on the knowledge that when we are, and where we are, is not by accident. God has planned good works for us to walk in. He has placed us in specific places, times, communities, and positions in order to make the most of them. We must not be the people who are constantly wishing for another time, or another place, or another position, but recognize by faith that this is when and where God has placed us.

3. The present is framed by eternity.

Our knowledge of eternity defines our perspective on the present—not the other way around.

As believers in Jesus, we are the people who know the future. We are those who have a sure and certain hope. We are the ones who have had all the guesswork removed for eternity. Because we are, we should live now in light of what will certainly be true tomorrow:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable,undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you. You are being guarded by God’s power through faith for a salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time (1 Peter 1:3-5).

This knowledge of eternity changes the way we see time. In some ways, it makes us more urgent with the time we have. It makes us share the gospel freely because we know that every human will spend eternity either in heaven or hell. It makes us want to invest everything we have in the Kingdom because of the future dividends it will pay.

But a knowledge of eternity also helps us not just make the most of the present, but endure in the present. We can endure suffering because of what we know is waiting for us in eternity. We are free from the need to seek revenge because we know that God will bring justice in His own time and in His own way.

Because of eternity, we know that today won’t last forever. So the Christian can live, in a way, outside of the bondage of time because we know that we will be with Jesus forever. We don’t panic, but we don’t live lazily. We don’t worry about tomorrow, but we also invest in the future. The Christian lives with a sense of balance because of our knowledge of eternity.

Time is indeed a precious resource, maybe the most precious one we have. But this resource, like all the others, must be framed in light of what we know to be true from God’s Word. Our perspective must be irrevocably altered because of our faith.

Michael Kelley lives in Nashville, TN, with his wife, Jana, and three children: Joshua (10), Andi (7), and Christian (5). He serves as Director of Groups Ministry for Lifeway Christian Resources. As a communicator, Michael speaks across the country at churches, conferences, and retreats and is the author of Wednesdays Were Pretty Normal: A Boy, Cancer, and God; Transformational Discipleship; and Boring: Finding an Extraordinary God in an Ordinary Life. Find him on Twitter:@_MichaelKelley. Check out his latest book, Growing Down: Unlearning the Patterns of Adulthood that Keep Us from Jesus here.

Group Leadership

Four Things to Do With Your Group Before Summer Hits

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Easter has come and gone, and now the countdown is on for summer vacations and activities to kick in. The temptation for a lot of leaders at this point would be to mail in these last few weeks and let the group slide into June. You can avoid that natural slump by doing these four things before Memorial Day.

1. Choose a 6-week study that follows up on Easter.

Easter is always a wonderful time to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now is the perfect time to follow that celebration with a study that takes a deeper look at the impact Jesus has in our world and lives today. My small group is starting the study, Jesus Among Secular Gods, by Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale. The Forgotten Jesus by Robby Gallaty would be another great study to check out.

2. Start planning fun group activities for the summer.

Just because your group may not meet every week during the summer months does not mean that you should stop meeting as a group. Take a portion of an upcoming group meeting to discuss fun things for the group to do each month during the summer. Go to a baseball game. Meet for a picnic. Go whitewater rafting. Take in the 4th of July fireworks together. The summer is a perfect time for your group to laugh and play together!

3. Start researching a summer missions opportunity for the group.

Ask one of the group members to start looking for an organization to partner with on a weekend during the summer. Your church may already have opportunities or a list of organizations you can start with. For example, volunteering to help build a house with Habitat for Humanity is a great way for your group to bond and serve your community at the same time.

4. Choose an online study to do during the summer.

Choose a study on smallgroup.com. But instead of meeting together every week for the discussion, set up a Facebook group page to go through it online. Your group members can watch the video on their own, and then post comments on the page. This will allow the group members to do the study at their own pace, but still participate in the discussion. A great study to check out is Onward, by Russell Moore. All of the videos and study guides are available at smallgroup.com.

Let’s take these last few weeks of spring and prepare our groups for a strong summer!

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with over 23 years of experience serving the local church. Chris served on the Executive Team at Cross Point Church in Nashville, TN, and was on staff at Seacoast Church in Charleston, SC, for 15 years. He is also the Small Group Specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources. Chris’s first book, Small Groups For The Rest Of Us: How to Design Your Small Groups System to Reach the Fringes, was recently released by Thomas Nelson. You can follow his blog at chrissurratt.com or follow him on Twitter @chrissurratt.

Group Leadership

The Greatest Game: The Call to Make Disciples

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Baseball is my favorite sport, hands down. If you think about it, it involves the highest level of strategy of any sport. Most often, each pitch is different than the prior pitch. Once a batter gets on base, the strategy shifts—not only from the pitcher’s perspective, but also from the batter’s perspective. Pitchers have to face left- and right-handed batters. Batters have to face pitchers from both sides of the mound as well. The goal of the batter is to place the ball in an area of the field that will further the lead runner’s position. And sometimes, if a runner is on third with less than two outs, batters will intentionally hit a fly ball to score the runner, while sacrificing getting on base themselves.

Rookies, even though they have likely played the sport for most of their life, still have a lot to learn during their first year. That’s where veterans come in. Vets usually take rookies who play their same position under their wing, teach them the ropes, train them, and prepare for those rookies to take their place. In essence, they are helping to produce a new crop of seasoned players who will reproduce other seasoned players several years down the road. They not only lead the rookies, but they also serve the rookies.

Discipleship and servant leadership are much like baseball. There are two elements of discipleship and servant leadership that we must understand if we are going to be a people who make disciples and act as servant leaders. Both are relational and both are replicable. But make no mistake about it. If you are not intentional, replication will not happen.

There were many people who were intentional in shaping my faith and molding me as a disciple. These included my parents and my pastor at the time, George Barnett. They pointed 7-year-old me to Jesus’ grace. But my journey didn’t end there. Over the course of the next several years, I’d enter high school where Wes Cantrell, my student pastor, continued to point me to Jesus. I chose to attend a Southern Baptist university, one where professors and university leaders pointed me to Jesus. Ultimately, those events and people shaped my faith to the point where I was called to ministry in 2006. Just as Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, I was transformed into the image of the Lord from glory to glory.

Just like baseball, disciples and servant leaders need guidance from other disciples. As believers, and especially as group leaders, we have the privilege of playing powerful roles in the journey of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We see this need that we have for each other all over the Bible. And one place we see that is in Acts 8, when Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip was one of the apostles scattered out after the early church in Acts fell under persecution. He traveled along a deserted road from Jerusalem to Gaza, and he saw a chariot on the side of the road. In the chariot was an Ethiopian eunuch, the queen’s money man, reading the prophet Isaiah. Scripture tells us Philip was prompted by the Holy Spirit to go up to the man. So Philip ran up to him and asked if he understood what he was reading, and the Ethiopian eunuch asked, “How can I unless someone guides me?”

If we learn anything from the Ethiopian eunuch, it’s that disciples need guidance from other disciples. And that’s exactly what Philip did. He guided the Ethiopian eunuch to grow into the image of Christ. Later in Acts 8, Philip baptized the Ethiopian. Philip not only led the Ethiopian eunuch, but he also served him.

Much like a veteran baseball player who takes a rookie under his wing—teaching him, guiding him, helping him mature as a ball player—disciples are meant to do the same thing. We are meant to guide new disciples. We are meant to serve them. We are meant to help them mature and grow into the image of Christ.

Who are you actively leading to Jesus? Who are you actively discipling? Are you living out servant leadership in a way that edifies Jesus and His gospel? The goal is to help the lead runner, the person you are discipling, advance their position so that they may replicate what they have learned from you and do the exact same thing to serve the next generation of disciples.

Matt Morris is a Brand Manager at LifeWay Christian Resources in Nashville, Tennessee. He has served in ministry for over 11 years. Matt is married to Carmen and they have twins, Hudson and Harper. Matt and his family are members of First Baptist Church Mount Juliet, where he serves as a deacon.

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