Fall

July 28, 2020

5 Bible Studies for Fall

Groups are adapting. Each week might look different than the previous as we learn to be comfortable planning one day at a time.

However, fall is still coming. And fall? Is one of our favorite times for groups. New groups launch. Existing groups get a reset. New leaders begin their journey. Experienced leaders grow from the previous year’s learning.

What studies might be right for this fall in particular? We’ve rounded up five of our favorite studies for you and your group. The traditional leader kits are still available, but digital video sessions and eBooks are also offered for each of the titles below. Whether you are handing out Bible study books during an in person gathering or sending around a link to purchase an eBook version, we have a solution for you.

The Good Life by Derwin L. Gray

Everyone wants to be happy. We spend our money, time, and energy chasing our version of the good life. And on the way, we run ourselves into physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion. But what if the happiness we’re all striving for isn’t the happiness we were created for?

Pastor and author Dr. Derwin L. Gray believes there is a better road to happiness, and it is found in the Beatitudes of Jesus. In this section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed the shocking, countercultural path to true flourishing. It comes not through wealth, fame, or laughter but through poverty, obscurity, and mourning. True happiness comes from a heart directed toward the kingdom of God and satisfied in Jesus the King (8 sessions).

Help My Unbelief by Barnabas Piper

All of us have questions about faith, but we often feel awkward or uncomfortable asking them. We assume doubt is always a bad thing. But instead of making Himself smaller and easily understood, God invites us into a larger faith—one that has room for questions, victories, failures, and mystery. This Bible study will help you see that belief in an infinite God by finite humans is an act of exploration. It’s a process of learning all we can understand and trusting God in all we can’t. (6 sessions)

The Church and The Racial Divide by Trevor Atwood (eds. Trillia Newbell and Dan Darling)

Featuring contributors: Walter Strickland, Juan Sánchez, and Russell Moore

In light of racial tension in America, many Christian leaders are talking earnestly about racial reconciliation. Many pastors and lay leaders look at the growing tensions in our churches and wonder how they can be a healing force in our culture. The problem is they don’t know where to begin. The average evangelical Christian may not understand why racial reconciliation is a gospel imperative. The average pastor may not know how to pursue it. This resource features video teaching from key leaders discussing race, culture, and the gospel. Using these evangelical voices and Bible study, participants will learn about racial reconciliation and be equipped to be part of the solution (6 sessions).

Defined by Alex Kendrick & Stephen Kendrick

When you introduce yourself to someone for the first time, you have an opportunity to define yourself. You disclose your name, professions, and interests. These factors help our culture define us, but are those answers enough? There are bigger questions our culture can’t answer: Who am I? Why do I matter? And before asking, who am I? You must first answer, who is God?

The Scripture teaches that we are all made in the image of God. We do not define ourselves–the Creator does. We were all created to be known and loved by God. Once the answers are clear, we can move forward and discover all God has called us to be (8 sessions).

My New Life

The new Christian can become easily overwhelmed trying to figure out how to be a Christ-follower. For the believer to grow, it’s necessary to have an understanding of God’s Word, God’s character, prayer, the gospel, and so much more. This study explains these deep truths in short and simple to understand chapters. Whether completed individually or with a mentor, this study, it will help a new believer grow in knowledge of God’s Word and provide a foundation on which daily trust in Jesus will grow for the rest of their lives.

Church Leadership

July 7, 2020

Relaunching Groups in the Fall – A Facebook Live Discussion

By Group Ministry

Even in a pandemic, fall is still the best time to hit the reset button and relaunch your groups. This free interactive Facebook Live event can help. LifeWay’s Chris Surratt and Ken Braddy will share their ideas, discuss best practices, and answer your questions. Whether your groups meet on-campus, off-campus, or online, you’re sure to pick up some tips to help you relaunch your groups in a big and healthy way. There’s no sign-up required. Just go to www.facebook.com/lifewaygroups/live/ Tuesday, July 14 at 1 p.m. CDT to join the event.

Chris Surratt is the discipleship and small groups specialist for LifeWay Christian Resources, a ministry consultant and coach with more than 20 years of experience, and the author of Leading Small Groups: How to Gather, Launch, Lead, and Multiply Your Small Group.

Other than serving as the manager for LifeWay’s ongoing adult Bible studies and as the director of Sunday School, Ken is an 18-year church education staff leader, and he blogs regularly about Sunday School and groups ministry at kenbraddy.com. https://kenbraddy.com

Church Leadership

July 29, 2019

Top 5 Articles to Send Your Leaders before Fall

By Deborah Spooner

Fall is right around the corner. Kids are going back to school, the weather is falling back into cooler days, and you may be stepping back into your small group routine. As you get ready for the fall kickoff, how can you prepare your leaders?

Small group leaders can gain key wisdom from this roundup of practical small group leadership articles.

The Top Five Questions Every Small Group Leader Has

Every small group leader has questions. Most have lots of questions. It can be intimidating to take on the leadership of a group, but you can be assured that (almost) every small group leader has the same doubts, concerns, and questions that you do. The second that we as leaders think we have it all figured out is when we should stop being leaders. I have discovered that the best leaders always have questions—and they’re not afraid to ask them.

How to Train Your Small Group Leaders to Deal with Just about Anything

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.

Three Ways to Improve Your Skill as a Small Group Leader

When I enlist leaders for new groups, I look for one key trait: a teachable spirit. The value of any teacher—whether he or she has never led a group or has been leading groups for fifty years—is his or her desire to learn—and keep learning. Unfortunately, too many leaders assume they know exactly how to lead a group, and that assumption is based on how someone once led them. Too often, bad teaching skills are simply passed down through the years.

The Importance of Rest for the Small Group Leader

Some of you don’t need this post. If you feel like your day and your week have a good rhythm; if you aren’t burnt out, exhausted, or stressed; if you seem to have enough time to get everything done that you need to do, then feel free to skip this one. This post is for the people who aren’t sure how they’re going to get everything done, whose task list outpaces their availability, who feel like they’re juggling not just one too many things but three too many things.

3 Things a Small Group Leader is Not

The number one barrier to someone stepping up to lead a small group is the word leader. Take five seconds right now and think about what you imagine when you hear that word. Go ahead, I’ll wait. What came to mind? A CEO of a large company? A head of state? The senior pastor of your church? We all have preconceived ideas of what a leader should be, sound, and look like. I imagine someone who is tall (I’m short), extroverted (I’m an introvert), a scholar (I, um … struggled), and forceful (definitely not me). Basically, someone who is the opposite of me.

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.

Group Leadership

October 19, 2017

Three Ways to Do Small Groups This Fall

By Rob Tims

“All of the Bible is always good, all of the time.”

I first heard that statement in a meeting with other pastors visiting Mark Dever at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. We were discussing how pastors should approach their sermon preparation, and how discipleship pastors should approach what their small groups study. The answer: “All of the Bible is always good, all of the time.”

This truth is liberating, for it reminds us that no matter how we go about setting up our small group ministry, as long as we keep the Word of God at the center, we make progress. As you gear up for a new small group season this fall, or if a new crop of members has already begun to grow, consider the way you organize the content of your group. With every new season comes a new opportunity to re-think the way you do small groups. Here are three ways you and your group can approach how you study the Bible:

Sermon-Based

For example, some small groups gather to study the Bible in a way that is tied to the message preached at the service. Using a discussion guide written by the discipleship pastor, group leaders facilitate a discussion based upon the message from the service. Proponents of this method often view the weekend message as the “front door” to the church for a guest. Studies like these help draw in those marginal attendees and make for a more comfortable experience for them since the discussion is based primarily on what everyone heard at the service.

Let Your Leaders Plan

Still other churches let their group leaders plan and teach what they want. They might choose a video-driven study, a short-term study on a given topic, or a book of the Bible. Or, they might subscribe to receive Bible study curriculum from trusted sources, published by LifeWay. Whatever way they choose, group leaders have freedom in this environment to chart their own course for their groups.

Long-Range Planning

Still others might prefer to plan out a long scope and sequence for their groups to study. They might choose to walk through certain books of the Bible for a year, choose various topics to study, or do both over a longer period of time. Planning and purpose are very important variables for churches that take this approach.

With so many ways to set up a small group ministry, there are also many products to help support them. One web-based tool, smallgroup.com, gives churches and their group leaders the ability to create studies for all of these scenarios. Sermon-based groups can quickly customize existing studies to fit the message; church leaders can grant all of their group leaders access to create their own studies; and church leaders can build a scope and sequence by text or topic—or both—for as far out into the future as they please.

Regardless of how you set up your groups or equip them study God’s Word, the important thing is that they are studying God’s Word. “All of the Bible is always good, all of the time.” Enjoy studying God’s Word with your group this fall!

Rob Tims has been married to Holly for 17 years. They have four children: Trey, Jonathan, Abby, and Luke. He has served in the local church for 20 years as a children’s pastor, student pastor, and senior pastor. He currently serves on a team at LifeWay Christian Resources that develops customized Bible studies for groups and teaches two classes for Liberty University School of Divinity Online. He is the author of the book Southern Fried Faith: Confusing Christ and Culture in the Bible Belt.

Group Leadership

September 13, 2017

Fall is Perfect for Community

By Chris Surratt

Who doesn’t love the fall season? College and pro football games are back. The air is a little more crisp in the morning. Sweaters and boots can finally come out of the boxes in the attic. It’s a great time of the year! Fall can also be a productive season for your group, where group members have settled back into a normal routine after the chaos of summer and are ready to engage in community. Here are few things that you can do as a leader to build on the momentum fall naturally brings.

1. Choose a Bible study on community.
One of the primary purposes for having a small group is to create community, and people are naturally pulled toward building relationships during this season. This is a great time to take a few weeks to study what biblical community looks like. You can easily choose a study from smallgroup.com, or get ideas from the options on this list.

2. Add life by adding people to your community.
You’ve probably heard the Benjamin Franklin quote: “Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.” While that’s not always true (the guest part), it is true that groups can go bad after too much time together. The dynamic of a small group can become stale after a few years together unless new life is introduced into the group. This fall is the perfect time to reinvigorate the conversations by inviting that neighbor to your small group.

3. Practice community through service.
This season offers many natural opportunities to serve as a group. You can serve Thanksgiving meals at local shelter. You can organize a back-to-school drive to help an under resourced elementary school. You can pull together as a group to support a mission like Operation Christmas Child. Don’t let this fall pass without giving your members the chance to serve someone else.

4. Build community through having fun.
The fall season is fun! Lean into it by planning fun activities to do as a group. Take a hayride at a local county fair. Build a bonfire and sing silly camp songs as you roast s’mores. Have a pumpkin carving contest and award the best one with a gift card. Host an ugly sweater contest for a group meeting in December. Almost nothing bonds a group quicker than laughter!

Chris Surratt is a ministry consultant and coach with over 22 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 just released by Thomas Nelson. You can follow his blog at chrissurratt.com or follow him on Twitter @chrissurratt.

Group Leadership

September 5, 2017