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Group Answers Podcast
July 10, 2019

Group Answers Episode 108: Reid Patton on Asking Good Questions

By Group Ministry
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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian talk to Reid Patton about how to ask good questions when facilitating a Bible study.

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. In his free time, Reid likes reading, watching NBA Basketball and Auburn Football, and going to record stores. You can find him on Twitter @jreidpatton.

Questions:

  • If I’m using a pre-written curriculum, how can I make the most out of those questions?
  • What types of questions invite conversation?
  • How should I structure the questions in my group?
  • How would you sum up the big questions small groups should answer?

Quotes:

As someone who writes Bible studies, I don’t know your group better than you do.

I would rather give someone more than they need than less than they need.

The open question is far superior to the closed question.

There are going to be three types of questions in every Bible study: observational, interpretive, and application-based. A good Bible study will balance between those three types of questions.

The three big questions are what? so what? and now what? What does the Bible say? So what do we do with that, why does that matter? Now what do we do with it?

A holistic approach to the text will give you a holistic disciple.

This Episode’s Sponsor: The Overcomer movie has inspired the creation of several resources. For small groups, there is the Overcomer Bible study. For individuals, there is a book called Defined. Both are based upon powerful insights from the Book of Ephesians. Learn more about all the resources at Lifeway.com/Overcomer

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 Answers Podcast
January 30, 2019

Group Answers Episode 85: Writing Sermon-Based Studies

By Group Ministry
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On today’s episode of Group Answers, Brian and Chris welcome Dr. Rob Tims to talk about how to craft a well-written sermon-based Bible study. Rob is a Christ-follower, husband, and father of four living in Nashville, TN. With more than 20 years of ministry experience in the local church, Rob currently manages the editorial team at Lifeway Christian Resources that provides trustworthy, customized Bible studies for individual churches through personal relationships and smallgroup.com. He also is an Associate Professor for Liberty University Online, a researcher, and enjoys preaching and teaching in various venues throughout the year. His first book, Southern Fried Faith, is available exclusively on Amazon for Kindle or in print.

Three Things to Know for Writing a Sermon-Based Study:

  1. Know the goal
  2. Know the culture
  3. Know the basics

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 Small Groups for the Rest of Us.

Uncategorized
May 3, 2018

Unleashing Creative Group Worship

By Group Ministry

by Reid Smith

Although everyone would agree worship is an essential part of our spiritual life, many leaders wrestle with how to incorporate it into their group time without it feeling forced or awkward. One of the ways you can “break the ice” is to help your group members expand their understanding of what worship can look like beyond the church service. For example, worship can mean being still before God and listening for His voice, reflecting on Psalms, or listing things that you are thankful for.

In other words, don’t try to replicate a weekend worship service in your group. Rather, discover ways the people you circle up with can worship together that fits your group’s unique dynamic and personality. Gradually introduce new forms of worship by offering a few suggestions from the list below and getting a sense as to which one your group resonates with the most.

  1. Invite your group members to think of something that feels ordinary in their daily lives, but for which they are grateful. This could include a roof over their head, daily provision for food, their spouse, or their job.Then have each person express their thanks for that person or thing within the group. After everyone shares, let your group know you just had a time of worship by humbling yourselves before God and giving thanks (Psalm 69:30).
  1. Ask your group to reflect on the names of God found in Scripture. Have them share the names of God that stand out to them. Simply Google, “list of names of God in the Bible” if you’d like to give them a list to jump-start their thinking.
  1. Play worship music and ponder the lyrics. Choose a song or two that is especially meaningful to you. As you play it, have your group simply listen intently to the lyrics and reflect upon God’s goodness. Afterwards, invite them to share a word or thought that struck them while listening. Be the first to share, and watch how the Lord uses this to help people express worshipful thanksgiving.
  1. Read a Gospel account of Jesus’ death and resurrection and invite your group to reflect on God’s love for each of them and the world (John 3:16-17). Expand on this time by celebrating communion together (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
  1. Read through Psalms 23, 63 or 64 and then invite people to share what was personally significant to them.
  1. Attend your church’s weekend service or a special event where you can worship the Lord together.
  1. Plan together to participate in a local outreach. Discuss how serving “the least of these” is itself worship and touches God’s heart (Matthew 25:37-40).
  1. Identify something in your current study that you are encouraged to contend for and stand together against the enemy, renounce sin, or proclaim God’s promises. As a group, you can read through Ephesians 6:10-18, Colossians 2:13-15, 1 Peter 5:8-9, Hebrews 12:1-3, or 2 Corinthians 1:20-22.
  1. Invite your group members to bring a picture to your next meeting that’s important to them and be prepared to share how it reflects God’s faithfulness in their lives and what they’re believing God for. Pray together afterwards.
  1. Read biblical references of different kinds of worship such as clapping, raising hands, and bowing down (i.e., 2 Samuel 6:5, 14-15; Psalm 149, 150). Purposefully expose your group to various flavors of worship and talk about what you all think this says about God’s heart for worship.

Worship is a vital aspect of biblical community, and the Holy Spirit will help you lead your group to God’s throne of grace (Acts 2:47, Hebrews 4:14-16). As the group leader, be spontaneous and vulnerable in praising God because this will empower others to do the same when they’re ready.

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
April 19, 2018

Five Keys to Leading a Great Video-Enhanced Bible Study

By Chris Surratt

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
April 18, 2018

The Bible as Small Group Experience

By Group Ministry

 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
April 17, 2018

Don’t Glorify Your Busyness: An Appeal to Community

By Caroline Case

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
April 2, 2018

Four Ways to Deal With Tricky Questions in Your Group

By Ken Braddy

If you teach a Bible study group long enough, someone is going to ask you a tricky question. It’s just bound to happen. It’s one of the most uncomfortable things that happen to group leaders. I’ve seen two categories of tricky questions in the groups I’ve taught. “Category 1 questions” are what I’m going to call “innocent” tricky questions. They are asked with pure motives, but can be hard for a group leader to answer. The second category of tricky questions is what I’m going to call “malevolent questions.” These tricky questions are not asked with pure motives. In fact, these are asked by group members when they are intentionally trying to stir up something in the group. Here are four ways to deal with each category of questions.

Four ways to deal with tricky, but innocent, questions:

  • ADMIT – Learn to use three powerful little words: “I don’t know.” It’s OK to admit that you don’t have an immediate response for the person. Use this when you really don’t care to address the question. You’ll earn people’s trust and respect by not simply making up an answer—because everyone knows when we do that.
  • AFFIRM – Say something to the person who’s asked the question like, “That’s a good question,” or, “You’ve helped me see this in a different way.” You can affirm their question, but you don’t necessarily have to stop to address it. Move on. Keep the lesson on track. Affirm the person by saying, “You’ve given me something to ponder.”
  • ASK – This is where it gets fun! Turn the tables, as Jesus did (Luke 20) and simply say, “Now that’s an interesting question—how would you answer it?” 9 times out of 10, the person is eager to share their insight. They asked you, but now you’ve asked them.
  • ACKNOWLEDGE – This is a cousin to the first solution above, Admit. The difference here is that you admit your lack of knowledge and you commit to do further study. You simply acknowledge that you don’t have an answer, but you also promise to do some further study and get back to the person and/or the group.

Four ways to deal with malevolent questions:

If you’ve ever been put on the spot intentionally by someone during a Bible study, don’t despair! This happened to Jesus at various times. In Luke 20 a group of men came to Him to trick Him, and He turned the tables on them. He wouldn’t respond to their question before they responded to a question He decided to throw at them. The result? They dared not ask Him any more questions! I think there is some humor in the Bible, and that’s one of the spots—I would have loved to have been there to see Jesus expertly handle a group of people with a malevolent question!

When you sense that a question has been asked to derail the study or to challenge you, take a deep breath, compose yourself, and choose one or more of the following ways to deal with that malevolent question:

  • DEFLECT – Deal with that potential barbed question by deflecting it. Say, “If I have time before the Bible study is over, I’ll get to that question. If not, I’ll visit with you after class. Let’s continue our study…” I never get to the person’s question (imagine that!). If I sense that the question was asked to do me or the group some level of harm, I always want to isolate the person and not give him or her a platform in front of the group. I always meet with the person afterwards.
  • DEFEND – On occasion, when I really do want to bring correction to the person asking the snarky question, I choose to respond. Jesus did this in Matthew 24 when He was asked an intentionally tricky question about which was the greatest command in the law. Sometimes the best course of action is to confront the person and give your response. Defend your position. Use Scripture. Stand your ground—but do it humbly and gently.
  • DIVIDE – This is a great response that normally puts the person in their place, and causes them not to ask challenging questions anymore. When asked one of those malevolent questions, say: “John has posed a hard question. Let’s divide into groups of 3 or 4 and work quickly to respond based on Scripture. Elect a spokesperson for you group. You have 5 minutes. Go!” What always happens is that the groups of people end up “policing” the person with the malevolent question. They put the questioner in their place using Scripture, and you don’t have to say a word. It also give you, the teacher, time to think about a response while the groups are doing their work.
  • DIG – Normally when you are asked a malevolent question, there’s a question behind the question. Do a little digging and find out the real issue. Say, “Wow—I didn’t anticipate that kind of question in our study today. Why do you ask that?” Continue probing with an even more pointed question, “Why is it important to you that we answer that right now?” or, “Help me see how that question connects to our study.” Just keep digging and ultimately the person will either back off, or that person will reveal the true reason he or she is putting you on the spot.

Ken manages the Ongoing Adult Bible Studies and Church Trainers at Lifeway. He has been a group leader for 6 years, and has over 20 years of church education ministry experience. He blogs daily about groups at kenbraddy.com.

Group Leadership, Start New Groups
March 26, 2018

Expect Transformation in Your Small Groups

By Group Ministry

by Reid Smith

Imagine yourself in a family room with some of your friends and Jesus showed up. Do you think you’d be the exact same person afterwards as you were before? Nope! Things would of course be different in your life! People are transformed when they experience the presence of God.

A truth about groups that we don’t talk about nearly as much as we should is how Jesus is in our midst every time we gather. The Lord promises to be in the midst of two or three who come together in His name (Matthew 18:20). When Jesus inhabits an environment that believers occupy together in His name, the space changes—and so do we.

God conveys His grace to people in a unique and powerful way because of their faithfulness to come together in His name (Acts 4:31, 33). Therefore, when believers gather in Jesus’ name, they are placing themselves at the mouth of the river of God’s life-changing grace. As a leader, you want to tell group members to expect transformation because of what happens when we gather in Jesus’ name.

Where two or more come together in Jesus’ name…

  • Believers are awakened to God’s leading and purpose.
  • The gathering becomes a springhead for spiritual renewal.
  • The light of God’s grace reaches into the unwanted dark areas sin wants to keep isolated
  • A way is cleared for intimacy with Christ.
  • People see more of God and experience Him more personally (1 John 4:12).
  • Oneness with Christ is experienced more fully through unity with one another, which strengthens the evangelistic impact of your church (John 17:20-23).
  • God’s presence is experienced more powerfully.
  • People feel God’s acceptance and are open to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
  • All the vital purposes of the church can be fulfilled.
  • Lives become more deeply rooted in the person of Jesus Christ.
  • Freedom reigns, and chains of temptation and addiction are broken (2 Corinthians 3:17).
  • God’s Word engages in fresh ways.
  • Believers are empowered to reach out with the transformative love of Christ.
  • Lives are changed forever.

Communicating these effects of gathering in Jesus’ name can actually build the faith of the participants and shift the atmosphere of a group. It never hurts to remind people that our God is Immanuel, “God with us.” Oftentimes, I’ll weave these truths into a prayer as I open the group’s time together.

As one who influences the environments of groups, don’t miss the incredible opportunity to tell people they should expect transformation every time they gather in Jesus’ name! In other words, when we come together to do the things Jesus has commanded us to do in His Word, we are changed—every time. Biblical community grows stronger when we help those gathered with us to focus on the awesome reality of Jesus’ presence.

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, Start New Groups
March 20, 2018

Don’t Do These 6 Things When Starting a New Small Group

By Brian Daniel

Within the last year, my wife and I have launched a home Bible study group through our church’s Life Group ministry. This isn’t our first time to launch a group—far from it. This time, however, I noticed several things about the process that I thought might make a great “Don’t, Dos” post for anyone either considering starting a group or in the process of starting a group. Here are 6 “Don’t, Do” lessons that we discovered in the process of launching our current group.

  1. Don’t: Assume Everyone You Ask Will Show Up. I know, I know. “Of course,” you might say. “Of course, everyone I invite won’t show up.” Even those who may have told you they will come, don’t count on it. Our group was not launched out of another group, so my wife and I actually had to recruit un-grouped couples—which adds another degree of difficulty. Even though I knew not everyone I invited would show up (not even those that said they would), I was still caught a little off guard the first night. Retrospectively, I realize that I was a little too careful about trying to get it just right. I invited 12 and felt confident about having 8 the first night. Do: Land on an ideal number and invite more than double the ideal number. For me, that means inviting 9 couples. For singles, I think you can bend that rule a little bit, but the basic ideology doesn’t change.
  1. Don’t: Take the Bible study portion of the experience lightly. This is critical. Even as someone who produces small group Bible studies on a daily basis, I realize that I approached my decision the wrong way. No question I chose a great Bible study. It was foundational for believers with content rightfully rooted in Scripture. It had application both for the individuals in the group and their families. The problem with my decision was that it was what I wanted to do. In the end, I realized, it was perhaps a little more bent on the academic and a little less bent on any kind of application to the lives of the group members. I knew all along the study I wanted to launch with. I was so sure, in fact, that I never really listened to the hearts of the people I was recruiting. Do: Just pay attention to what people are revealing to you about their spiritual needs. A great place to begin is with a historical figure like Joseph, or a Book of the Bible like Ephesians.
  1. Don’t: Be unintentional about when to launch and how much lead time to build in. We launched in the spring. I had been in several encouraging conversations about our need for new groups and families looking for a Life Group. We did some wise things, set a date, and began the process of inviting families that had no group home. In our excitement, we failed to look at the calendar. Most of us have astutely concluded that the best times to launch groups are January and September. This doesn’t mean that all other launch points are out of play; it’s just that they’re not quite as natural and may require additional planning. We launched a couple of weeks before spring break and about the time spring sports were ramping up with summer just around the corner. We made it through this season, but it took some hustling to keep our momentum. Do: Plan at least 6 weeks from your first small-group meeting and take measures to know the rhythms of your church and the families as their lives intersect with school and community. Know the calendar. Simply planning helps avoid poor launch times.
  1. Don’t: Conclude that your winsome personality will be enough. I caution against relying on the sheer force of personality for recruiting and beginning a Bible study group in your home. For starters, it’s not a great idea because, ultimately, this isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus Christ and how His death and resurrection plays out in the lives of believers. It’s important to remember that. But it also positions you, as the leader, as the emotional center of the group. While your energy and enthusiasm are supremely important, being the emotional center can be a drain on you down the road. An alternative approach would be focusing on potential group members themselves. Do: As you are engaging individuals and couples in pre-group encounters, be sure to listen for needs and articulate how you think this group will meet those needs and provide valuable community and disciple-making discussion.
  1. Don’t: Be flippant about the schedule. People like to know what to expect. As a group leader, it’s your responsibility to be sure the group has a direction, a focus, and something akin to a destination. Far too many groups enter into a, “So what do we want to study next?” conversation at or around the same time the current study is wrapping up. This shows a lack of commitment and doesn’t instill a great deal of confidence in the group leader as someone who is serious about disciple-making. I like to stay two studies ahead of our current Bible study experience. Pay attention to prayer needs for future Bible study experiences. I’ve learned to create a schedule and keep it in front of the group. Do: Create a 3-month schedule with built-in group outings, weeks off that may be due to travel or holidays, and discussion topics. If you’re using one of our studies, the Table of Contents makes this real easy. Review this every week. It creates a sense of expectation while also demonstrating your commitment to the group.
  1. Don’t: Create false expectations early in the group life. Leading up to our first meeting, I was making all these great plans with food and fellowship. One of the primary shows of hospitality that I had planned was a full meal. In fact, in my heart I thought a full meal might be one of those things that my wife and I offered every single group meeting. By no means should this be discouraged, and I realize that many groups make this a normal part of the group time. That being said, be very sure about any expectations that you might be setting. For instance, the full-meal-plus-Bible-study approach is the same thing you might be complaining about a few months later when group members are still at your house 3 hours later. Do: Keep the Bible study central to the group time so everyone knows why they are there. Make water and light snacks available early on in the group, but have the flexibility for a special occasion down the road.

This list is by no means exhaustive. When you’re starting a group, give good, devoted time to the who, how, what, and why. Our group is going great. We’re not immune to the same challenges anybody faces with busy schedules, personal lives, children, and activities, but we remain engaged with the gospel.

Group Answers Podcast
March 14, 2018

Group Answers Episode 56: Jana Magruder On Kids and Groups

By Group Ministry
http://media.blubrry.com/freebibleteaching/p/ministrysites.s3.amazonaws.com/podcasts/groups/EP56_GROUPANSWERS.mp3

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On this week’s episode, Brian and Chris join Jana Magruder, the Director of Lifeway Kids. Passionate about kids ministry, Jana discusses the following questions:

  • Why is it important for kids to be in a small group as well as a large group setting in kids ministry?
  • What are the essentials to discipling kids?
  • What do children’s ministers look for in a small group leader for kids?
  • How can a church start a kid’s small group system if they don’t currently have one?
  • What should groups do about childcare?

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 Small Groups For The Rest Of Us.

GUEST: Jana serves as the Director of Lifeway Kids. She is a Baylor graduate and offers a wealth of experience and passion for kids ministry, education, and publishing. She is the author of Kids Ministry that Nourishes and Life Verse Creative Journal, the latter which she co-authored with her teenage daughter Morgan Grace. Jana and her husband, Michael, reside in Nashville along with their three children. You can follow Jana on Twitter.

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