How to make prayer a central part of small groups.
by Life Together
Click here to download free job description for Small Group Leaders (Word document).
One of the most powerful aspects of small groups is the opportunity to offer prayer requests, to pray together, and then to see how God follows through on those prayers. It's amazing to see how God works over three months or six months or a year. Prayers gets answered, situations change, hearts change—your group ...
We wrapped up our small group as we usually do, with a time for everyone to share their prayer requests. After we closed in prayer, Tom approached my husband and me. He was considering dropping out of our small group because he felt overwhelmed by the prayer requests. It seemed to him as though everyone's problems were insurmountable, and although we'd been praying for the same things for months, ...
Use well thought out questions to make a lasting impact.
by Dave Arch
"Do you not yet understand?" —Jesus (Matthew 8:21)
Whether in a public gathering, a confrontation with his enemies, or a private conversation with his closest friends, Jesus consistently used questions to produce change and growth. In the eighth chapter of the Book of Mark, he used eight types of questions.
1. Answering with Questions (Mark 8:5)
Rather than merely answering a question (and thereby ...
Everybody needs a coach—whether to help you plant a garden, build a home, improve a golf swing, or lead a small group. The question is: What does coaching look like? How do we inspire, shepherd, and develop leaders of groups so that they grow in wisdom, maturity, and skills?
To help our coaches, we've outlined four key practices for the oversight of leaders.
Modeling: Pursue Christ-likeness. Grow in the life of full devotion you're inviting others to lead. Paul said, "Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). I remember when Ryan, now almost 16, was about four years old. We were walking down Michigan Avenue in Chicago and I was holding his hand. I let go to pick up a large piece of paper in our path on the otherwise clean sidewalk. I threw it in a trash can and turned to grab Ryan's hand—but he was gone. For a split second, I panicked—it was a busy street with many passersby. I turned around and discovered he was several feet behind me, picking up another piece of trash he had spotted. He threw it in the can and grabbed my hand. It struck me—he watches everything I do!
We're always modeling, whether we realize it or not. Coaches should pursue the Jesus way of life for their own benefit and growth, but should be aware that leaders are looking to them—at least sometimes—to show the way and to live a life worth emulating. We inspire others when we pursue Christ. It's job one for coaches.
How to effectively coach leaders for their continued effectiveness.
by Brett Eastman
Without a guy named John I wouldn't be where I am today.
He was the coach of the first small group I led. When my confidence was waning or I was tired of leading, he came alongside me and said, "I believe you can do it." That meant the world to me. Everybody loves hearing this kind of encouragement.
He also repeatedly said, "I'll help you. I'll walk alongside of you, and you can come to me when you ...
How to create small groups that really care for each other.
by Sue Dunn
If you want to create a church community that really cares for one another, the best way to do it is through small groups. When small groups become the vehicle for care-giving, the whole church gets involved in sharing one another's burdens—a much more personal approach than relegating the task to a committee.
The whole congregation should be making hospital visits, taking meals to people when ...
Move your church to being a church of small groups.
by Russ Robinson
Small group leaders are the most strategic people in the life changing process. Really the goal in small group ministry should be to have small group leaders as "pastors" of the church.
This kind of church is not a natural thing. Church history runs against it. Bill Donahue and I have written about the idea of building churches of small groups. Moving from that vision to reality is a long-term process. ...
Being faithful to God is important, even when it's not easy.
by Life Together
Patti is a stay-at-home mom, who recently was trying to come up with a way to help supplement her family's income. Around this same time, she joined a women's small group and was introduced to the idea of tithing.
This idea was totally new to Patti, who was already worried about making ends meet. Patti told her leader that she didn't know how she could do it, especially since her husband, though a ...
Making a lasting impact requires close relationships.
by Life Together
As you plan your role in your church's small group ministry, it's important to remember the key principle behind your role as spiritual mentor: More time spent with fewer people has a greater impact. Let's break this down:
1. The starting point of all effective mentoring is RELATIONSHIP. Mark 3:14 says, "And he chose 12, whom he named apostles. 'I have chosen you to be with me,' he told them. 'I will ...
Ten ways to identify a promising person to take on guidance of small-group ministry.
by Fred Smith
The most gifted athletes rarely make good coaches. The best violinist will not necessarily make the best conductor. Nor will the best teacher necessarily make the best head of the department.
So it's critical to distinguish between the skill of performance and the skill of leading the performance, two entirely different skills.
It's also important to determine whether a person is capable of learning ...
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