Group Dynamics

September 24, 2020

Three Signs It’s Time to Start a New Group

As we begin to regather, creating more Bible study groups will be essential if our churches are to impact our culture. Here are a few things we as leaders can look for so we know when it is time to give birth to a new group.

Discussion is a challenge

Discussion can be a challenge no matter what size of group we lead, but this is especially true of larger groups. God created us as relational beings. Not being able to interact with others creates short-circuits our minds were not made to handle. We want to interact with others. Some of us have found ourselves talking to neighbors we would have avoided prior to March of 2020 simply for face-to-face interaction during the pandemic. Here is the issue when it comes to groups: the larger the group, the less likely substantive discussion will occur during group time. We will know it is time to start a new group when people hesitate or measure their words during discussion in a way they did not before.

There are no open chairs

Most leaders love a full house. We feel successful in our roles when all the spots are filled. But a full room works against involving more people in the Bible study. A full room may make a leader feel satisfied with less urgency to reach out to potential new members. No empty chairs may lead a first-time attender to feel they were not expected and give the impression they are an intruder. On the other side, the group itself may stop inviting newcomers for fear of losing their spot or feeling crowded. Open spots remind us to keep inviting people to join in Bible study. Creating a new group leads to room for more to be involved.

The group has been together for more than 18 months

Staying together for too long is not exclusive to ongoing groups. Groups that are reshuffled every year or six months will often have people who work around the system and find a way to stay together. Leaders may accommodate these arrangements since we would rather people be in a group than be working against us from the outside. Yet, the longer a group is together, the more difficult it is for an outsider to break into the group. A person in the group loses his job and the others rally around him during the transition. Another person has a medical crisis and the group walks beside that person through some deep valleys. These types of experiences create connections and identity within the group but people who join the group after that experience may have a hard time catching up. In this way, the group becomes functionally closed. While we strive for these types of connections, it is important that they do not become so ingrained that no one else is welcome.

We have reviewed only three signs that it may be time to start a new group. What other signs do you look for that tell you it may be time to start a new group?

Dwayne McCrary is a team leader at LifeWay, adjunct professor at Midwestern BTS, and a BIble study leader in the church he attends.

Group Answers Podcast

September 23, 2020

Church Leadership

September 18, 2020

Three Creative Ways to Encourage Distanced Group Members

By Deborah Spooner

Small groups are meeting in many forms right now.

Some have resumed meeting in person but maybe not in the typical locations or as frequently. Others are meeting only online and meeting more frequently than before. And still others meet partially in person and partially online.

What does staying connected look like in this environment? Whether you are beginning to see your group members in person again or not, we all need unique encouragement as we journey through this unusual time. Here are three creative ways to make steps in this direction.

Use Reminders
Much occupies our time and mental space, but we can schedule interruptions. Choose a different group member for each day of the week, and then set an encouragement reminder for a specific time on your phone. Each day when you receive your reminder, text one of your group members with three things that you specifically appreciate about them and that you are praying for them that day. Using something simple like the reminder app on your phone can be a means of regular encouragement to your group members.

Challenge Up
Sometimes the best way to receive encouragement is in the form of a challenge. In this strange season, challenge your group members to step up. Ask them to share a verse that they read that day or week with another person in the group via text or phone call. This will not only challenge group members to continue digging into the Word but will also help them focus on the truth of those verses that they might share with someone else.

Memorize More
Group members might be dealing with various levels of doubt, insecurity, instability, exhaustion, and more. It can become easy to give an undue amount of attention to these thoughts and feelings. But, we can fight discouragement through the truth of Scripture. To give your group encouragement, pick a passage to commit to memorizing as a group during the next month. As your group members work on remembering the verses throughout the day, this can replace the fears, doubts, and other discouraging feelings they face with the deep encouragement of the Bible.

We must commit to encouraging each other throughout this time. As you step up as the group leader and challenge others to do the same, we will all learn to love Christ more deeply and experience the encouragement found in Him.

If you need additional resources to aid your group in encouragement, check out Derwin Gray’s Bible study “The Good Life” about finding true happiness through the Beatitudes.

Group Leadership

September 14, 2020

Five Ways to Know You Need to Join a Small Group

By Group Ministry

By Susan Hill

Small groups play a vital role in discipleship because they are the place where believers have the opportunity to come together and build close relationships within the context of the local church. In a perfect world, every church member would be an active member of a small group. But maybe you’re still on the fence about joining one. Here are five ways to know if you need to join a small group:

You want to study the Scriptures at a deeper level. One of the primary benefits of participating in a small group is studying the Scriptures with other believers. In a group study, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from other people, ask questions, and discuss how to apply the Bible to daily living. Also, you’ll probably study portions of Scripture that you might not read on your own. As Christ-followers, we should have a growing knowledge of the Scriptures, and one of the most practical ways to grow in our understanding of the Bible is to study among a community of believers.
You long for community. It’s often been said there are no “lone rangers” in the Bible. God designed people for community, and it’s impossible to become the person He created us to be apart from the local church. Being an active member of a small group provides the opportunity to build relationships with other believers. If you commit to being an active member of an ongoing small group, over time, there’s an excellent chance you’ll meet many of your closest friends there.
You want a place to serve in your community. Many Christians want to serve in their community but don’t know where to start. Small groups provide an excellent outlet to locate needs in the town you live and serve in those places. Areas to serve might include local homeless shelters, soup kitchens, non-profits, hospitals, nursing homes, universities, or anywhere in your community where there’s a need. As Christians, we are called to love God and our neighbors (Mark 12:30-31). Our communities should be better off because of the presence of the local church. Small groups serving together in the community are an excellent way to achieve this.
You want friends who will pray with you. We all need prayer. Being a part of a small group means you already have a group of believers in place who are willing to pray on your behalf. In most small groups, there’s a time for people to share prayer requests. As you become familiar with people in your group, you’ll share phone numbers and email addresses. When something comes up during the week, and you need someone to join you in prayer, you’ll have a group of people to contact.
You want brothers and sisters in Christ who will be there for you through thick and thin. No one joins a local church with the intention of falling through the cracks. Everyone longs for a place to worship in the local church where they know people and are known by others. Attending worship on Sunday mornings is a crucial part of the Christian life, but involvement with our church family shouldn’t be limited to one hour a week. In many churches, it’s easy to come into a worship setting on Sunday mornings and leave without being seen or speaking to anyone. A small group is the best place to nurture deeper relationships. Small groups allow believers to genuinely get to know one another and build relationships that last through every season of life.

Susan Hill is a writer, Bible teacher, and full-time editor at LifeWay. She is the author of Dangerous Prayers: 50 Powerful Prayers That Changed the World, as well as numerous devotional books. She and her husband John live near Nashville, TN with two unruly Golden Doodles.

Group Leadership

September 8, 2020

A Republican, a Democrat, and a Murder Hornet Walk Into a Group…

By Chris Surratt

Remember when “murder hornets” were the biggest thing we had to worry about in 2020?

With all that’s taken place in the first eight months of this year—COVID-19, lockdowns, racial injustice, protests, political tensions—it feels like we should all just take a beach vacation for the rest of the year.

Unfortunately, that’s not possible for most of us, so we’re now trying to navigate through more tension online and in-person than seemingly ever before.

If you haven’t felt it yet, just pop open Facebook, Twitter, or any app where people gather and voice their opinions.

It’s natural that those conversations and opinions are going to carry over to your small group. And that’s not always a bad thing.

We want people to be themselves while in our group, and part of that is allowing them to share anxieties and worries taking place in their lives.

The problem comes when those times of sharing turn divisive. Masks or no masks. Trump or Biden. Pandemic or hoax. Virtual or in-person church/school.

Passions spill over on each side, and winners and losers are staked out by the group.

However, the message of the gospel—the place where our groups should ultimately stake our flags—isn’t a message of divisiveness.

It’s a message of unity, borne from the fact we’re all unified in our need of a crucified and risen Savior to save us from our sins.

So the question becomes: How do we successfully lead a group of people through a gospel discussion who are deeply divided on the issues of the day? Here are five ideas.

1. SET CLEAR GROUND RULES.

Every group should have some type of covenant or agreement in place for expectations of how the group will function.

As a part of that agreement, ground rules should be set on how political issues will be handled and discussed when they come up.

Above all, every conversation must be filled with faith, hope, and love. If those three things aren’t present, the debate will have to stop.

2. ACKNOWLEDGE THERE ARE DIFFERENT OPINIONS IN THE GROUP.

If there’s more than one person in your group, I can almost guarantee there will be different opinions on hot-button issues. Just acknowledging that fact from the beginning will help alleviate some of the tension.

Determine that you’re not going to have political contests within the group. Contests create winners and losers. We’re all winners when we cling to the message of the gospel.

3. CONTINUE TO PRACTICE THE “ONE ANOTHERS” IN YOUR GROUP.

Pastor Derwin Gray recently wrote, “Jesus says that people will know we are His disciples by the way we love one another. Love doesn’t mean I approve of your sin. Love means I recognize your human dignity and worth.”

As we continue to practice the “one anothers” in our group, the more we will see our fellow brothers and sisters as children of God, not as political foes.

4. BE READY TO CALL A TRUCE.

There will be moments and issues where it’s impossible for everyone to be in agreement. It will be up to you then as the leader to call a truce and ask everyone to agree to disagree on the topic at hand.

Continuing to debate will take time and energy away from the core mission of the group to study God’s Word and make disciples. Know when it’s time to call it and move on.

5. KNOW WHEN TO TAKE A DISCUSSION OFFLINE.

There will be times when a heated discussion should be continued outside of the group meeting. If the debate has turned personal between group members, it’s best to step in and suggest returning to it at a different time.

Don’t let the conflict fester too long without resolution. More time and space can sometimes lead to more built-up pain. Hurt people will hurt people.

With all of these options, use Paul’s advice in Ephesians 4:32 as your guide: “And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.”

Even in this most divisive of times in history, we’re all bonded together by the love God had for us by sending His one and only Son to die for us. We can all unite around that!

A version of this article first appeared at factsandtrends.net.

CHRIS SURRATT (@ChrisSurratt) 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.

Group Leadership

September 3, 2020

Pray the One Anothers Over Your Group

By Group Ministry

by Jared Musgrove

We are facing the greatest one another challenge of our age.

How do we continue to practice the 31 (over 50, if you count those repeated) individual commands of the New Testament that involve our direct, physical ministry to one another and to our neighbors when we have continued physical distancing, a tense (isn’t that putting it mildly?) election year, and wildly differing considerations, convictions, and information around health?

We can get off track focusing on the frustrations of even one of these matters, let alone all at once, which is what the world is asking us to do.

But, for the church, the story is not the pandemic. The story is the continued movement of God through one another.

Now more than ever, we need groups to lead the pursuit of biblical friendships and practice the “one another” commands, using all our gifts to share the gospel, together.

A very practical step you can take is to pray these One Another passages over your group. Whether meeting in person, over a video call, or some hybrid, you can tangibly ask the Lord to make these commands an increased reality of your shared ministry and multiplication. They’re both your game plan and prayer list.

1. “…Be at peace with each other.” (Mark 9:50)

2. “…Wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14)

3. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34)

4. “…Love one another…” (John 13:34)

5. “…Love one another…” (John 13:35)

6. “…Love one another…” (John 15:12)

7. “…Love one another” (John 15:17)

8. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love…” (Romans 12:10)

9. “…Honor one another above yourselves. (Romans 12:10)

10. “Live in harmony with one another…” (Romans 12:16)

11. “…Love one another…” (Romans 13:8)

12. “…Stop passing judgment on one another.” (Romans 14:13)

13. “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you…” (Romans 15:7)

14. “…Instruct one another.” (Romans 15:14)

15. “Greet one another with a holy kiss…” (Romans 16:16)

16. “…When you come together to eat, wait for each other.” (I Cor. 11:33)

17. “…Have equal concern for each other.” (I Corinthians 12:25)

18. “…Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (I Corinthians 16:20)

19. “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” (II Corinthians 13:12)

20. “…Serve one another in love.” (Galatians 5:13)

21. “If you keep on biting and devouring each other…you will be destroyed by each other.” (Galatians 5:15)

22. “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.” (Galatians 5:26)

23. “Carry each other’s burdens…” (Galatians 6:2)

24. “…Be patient, bearing with one another in love.” (Ephesians 4:2)

25. “Be kind and compassionate to one another…” (Ephesians 4:32)

26. “…Forgiving each other…” (Ephesians 4:32)

27. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.” (Ephesians 5:19)

28. “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:21)

29. “…In humility consider others better than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3)

30. “Do not lie to each other…” (Colossians 3:9)

31. “Bear with each other…” (Colossians 3:13)

32. “…Forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” (Colossians 3:13)

33. “Teach…[one another]” (Colossians 3:16)

34. “…Admonish one another (Colossians 3:16)

35. “…Make your love increase and overflow for each other.” (I Thessalonians 3:12)

36. “…Love each other.” (I Thessalonians 4:9)

37. “…Encourage each other…”(I Thessalonians 4:18)

38. “…Encourage each other…” I Thessalonians 5:11)

39. “…Build each other up…” (I Thessalonians 5:11)

40. “Encourage one another daily…” Hebrews 3:13)

41. “…Spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)

42. “…Encourage one another.” (Hebrews 10:25)

43. “…Do not slander one another.” (James 4:11)

44. “Don’t grumble against each other…” (James 5:9)

45. “Confess your sins to each other…” (James 5:16)

46. “…Pray for each other.” (James 5:16)

47. “…Love one another deeply, from the heart.” (I Peter 3:8)

48. “…Live in harmony with one another…” (I Peter 3:8)

49. “…Love each other deeply…” (I Peter 4:8)

50. “Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (I Peter 4:9)

51. “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others…” (I Peter 4:10)

52. “…Clothe yourselves with humility toward one another…”(I Peter 5:5)

53. “Greet one another with a kiss of love.” (I Peter 5:14)

54. “…Love one another.” (I John 3:11)

55. “…Love one another.” (I John 3:23)

56. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:7)

57. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:11)

58. “…Love one another.” (I John 4:12)

59. “…Love one another.” (II John 5)

*From Carl F. George, Prepare Your Church for the Future (Tarrytown: Revell, 1991), 129-131.

Dr. Jared Steven Musgrove is Groups Pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, TX and co-founder and Executive Director of communityleadership.org. He is married to Jenny and father to Jordan and Joshua.

Group Answers Podcast

September 2, 2020

Group Answers Episode 168: Leading Better Discussions With Your Online Group

By Chris Surratt

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris, Brian, and Ken discuss how to lead a better discussion with your online group.

Ideas Discussed:

Call on a specific person to answer a specific question.
Send questions to group members in advance of the Bible study.
Do not answer your own questions.
Ask group members to raise their hand, use the chat feature, or use the “raise hand” feature in your online meeting tool.
Send group members to a breakout room.
Use a curriculum series that is discussion-oriented.

Resources Mentioned:

Leading Better Discussions blog post

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

Group Leadership

August 20, 2020

Challenging Paradigms

By Group Ministry

By Reid Smith

All of us come to the table with our own experience, biases, and presumptions about what works best with starting and multiplying healthy groups in a church. Over time, paradigms (or ways of thinking) about groups formulate in our minds, which in turn influence the culture of the community being built. This is natural, but should be challenged so that the culture of community in your church is being shaped strategically around informed convictions instead of unchallenged paradigms.

One of the best ways of challenging paradigms is by asking questions. As you search God’s Word and your heart, your paradigms might change or be further solidified. These inquiries are meant to be thought-provoking and are good to process with other trusted leaders whether or not you’ve launched groups in your church yet.

Are you ready to begin building a strategic culture of community in your church? Clear your mind and honestly grapple with these 10 questions:

Do you think of groups as a “ministry” of your church or as the building blocks of every ministry area of your church?
Is there a clear vision for groups? What language does leadership intentionally use to support this vision?
Does your church put more emphasis on joining or starting groups? What are the pros and cons of the language leadership uses to support this emphasis?
Do you consider it to be more advantageous to have a broad/open-ended or narrow/specific definition of what constitutes a “group” in your church? Explain.
What is the primary motivation of getting people in groups (retention, member care, increasing engagement in church activities/volunteerism, spiritual maturity, mission, etc.)? Are other critical things being under-communicated as a result of this emphasis?
On a scale of 1-10 (with ‘1’ being “if I have time and feel like it” to ‘10’ being “a vital spiritual habit I prioritize weekly”), how important do you think your average church member views their personal involvement in a group? Explain.
What are the qualifications for serving as a group leader? Would you consider yourself to have a high or low bar? Explain.
Do you have an ongoing rhythm of equipping leaders once they get started? Describe any gap you see between what this looks like now and what you hope it will look like.
What does success look like to your group leadership? How is it measured and celebrated?
How is growth and multiplication built into the way groups are communicated and stewarded in your church?

It is actually a good thing if you’re walking away from this exercise with more questions than answers. Take time to figure out how the Lord wants you to plant, prioritize, and prune your group life so that Christ-centered community can grow healthy and strong.

If you’re not the Lead/Senior Pastor, then find a way to process these questions together, agree on responses, and document them. This will establish and maintain a strategic culture of community that will start and multiply healthy groups throughout your church moving forward.

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

August 11, 2020

Best Practices for Online Groups

By Chris Surratt

As you might imagine, having an online group experience is considerably different than sharing a living room or classroom in person. Here are a few tips for participating in or facilitating an online group experience.

Recommend group members to download meeting software at least 30 minutes prior to meeting, just in case they have technology issues they need to work out.
Make sure your face has sufficient lighting.
- Lighting works best in front of your face, not behind.
Make sure your face is centered in the video camera.
- Members probably don’t want to see only your forehead or neck throughout the meeting, so position your camera accordingly.
Select the quietest room/location you can find.
- Turn off anything making noise in the background (TV, radio, appliances).
- Put pets in a different room or have them in a place where they will be most quiet.
Only use one device per household.
- When two devices are used in the same room, it produces feedback that affects all group participants.
- If two people feel more comfortable participating with their own devices than sharing the same one, each should have his or her own room for doing so.
Mute your computer unless you’re talking.
- If everyone’s microphone is turned on at the same time, the sound quality can be an issue and it can be hard to hear the person who is talking. The best policy is to mute yourself when you are not talking.
- If you are muted, make sure to nod your head and listen well so people can recognize you are following them.
- You will be muting and unmuting a lot, so get used to it.
- Also, you’ll get called out if you don’t unmute, so don’t be offended.
- The host may mute you if you don’t do this yourself, so don’t take that personally.
Be an assertive moderator.
- The moderator/host of the group will need to be welcoming and in charge. Make sure as host you jump on a few minutes early to welcome everyone.
- Redirect the conversation or mute participants as necessary. This may feel rude at times, but it is necessary to manage a good online experience for the group.
- Generally speaking, the moderator should talk 30% of the time and listen 70% of the time.
Create a plan for participants to indicate they’d like to talk.
- Since participants will often be muted, having a plan will help you know when to mute and unmute.
- You may try something like raising a hand, answering in a specific order, or another signal.
- Utilize the “chat” features to post questions for discussion.
Give your full attention to the group experience, resisting the urge to multi-task.
- When participants are not paying full attention it can be a big distraction online just like an in-person group.
- When talking, spend some time looking at the camera, not just the screen. This digital form of “eye-contact” goes a long way toward creating a sense of connection and community.
Stay in touch afterwards.
- Assign prayer partners to call each other after group is over and pray with them.
- Or text each other in gender specific text chats to share requests.
- Leverage GroupMe, Facebook Groups, WhatsApp, etc. as a place to stay connected and keep the conversation going throughout the week.

As we implement best practices for online groups, can we find best resources? Turns out LifeWay and various Christian leaders have partnered for resources that are especially timely in this current season. Check out an online Bible study group for Derwin Gray’s The Good Life, a multitude of teaching video options, and individualized resources such as Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal or Foundations: A 260-Day Bible Reading Plan for Busy Believers.

Group Leadership

August 6, 2020

Leadership Investment Rhythms

By Group Ministry

By Reid Smith

Intentional investments made over time into developing group leaders will empower them to create healthy environments where biblical community can grow. This requires meaningful touchpoints in different ways with enough frequency that leaders feel known, loved, included, and challenged and they continue learning and growing.

Different leaders need different kinds of care. This care will look different for each leader based on their experience in leading groups. There are repeatable investment rhythms you can easily put into motion to build relationships for healthy leadership development. A group leader will fall somewhere on the spectrum of new to experienced. For simplicity sake, we will only look at these two general categories:

New leaders typically want time to interface with you in person and be connected with other leaders. They are helped by a higher frequency of touchpoints that are more personalized. You want to love on these leaders and provide ample attention and direction, especially within the first few months as they begin leading.

Experienced leaders typically prefer a lower frequency of touchpoints that don’t require as many in person meetings. They need to know you’re there and care, but they don’t need the same level of engagement as new leaders. Keep these people in the loop and show your appreciation for them.

NEW	EXPERIENCED
Pray for them regularly Call or text 1x/mo* Meet in person 1:1 or group format 1x/1-2 mos Send email or note 1-2x/mo Visit group twice in first 6 mos Be available as needed	Pray for them regularly Call or text 1x/mo Meet in person 1:1 or group format once per semester Send email or note 1x/mo Visit group 1x/yr Be available as needed

* Weekly frequency during their initial training & up through their first study

The concept of “span of care” applies as the scale of your group leadership grows. For example, let’s say you have eight group leaders. You’ve built relationships with them over time and have been able to provide the necessary care, but you want to do more. About this time, four new leaders emerge out of these groups who are eager to launch their own groups.

You quickly realize that you can’t maintain the same level of care with your first wave of leaders and also pour into the next wave. To meet this growing demand, you select one of your most capable and available leaders to function as a “coach” and invest into half of your experienced leaders (4) and half of the new leaders (2). Instead of your span of care becoming unmanageable at twelve, you equally divide care for the whole group of leaders between you and your new coach resulting in a 1:6 span of care.

Keep in mind that span of care is an elastic concept in practice. For example, coaches with greater margin and leadership competency can care for a greater number of leaders. Yet, it is important to continually assess what level of care leaders need because even the most experienced leaders face personal crises and challenges in group life that will require greater investment at times.

Occasionally, you and your coaches should plan to substitute an in-person touchpoint with a half-day retreat or conference that will develop your leadership community. There is an array of top-notch content available on demand for this type of setting. Adding variety into how you invest in your leaders will help guard against these rhythms falling into ruts.

The table above can serve as a rule of thumb to help you determine what healthy investment rhythms should look like in your church as you assess the maturity and specific needs of your group leadership.

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