Okay, so that may seem obvious, but one of the critical roles of a small group leader is to shepherd the people in your group. Does the word "shepherd" scare you? It shouldn't. God has provided you with the gifts and abilities to care for those in your small group.
In a healthy small group, the members, as well as the leaders, must be "healthy." In fact, I would ...
Have realistic expectations about what small groups will be like.
by David A. Womack
Note: This article has been excerpted from the SmallGroups.com training tool called Healthy Small Groups.
After more than three decades of promotion in books, magazines, seminars, and classes, the fact about small groups is that not enough churches can testify to success. Among the reasons are:
1. We have few role models, at least in our own culture.
2. The literature on the subject has promoted the ...
The internet can be an important tool in the development of effectiveness in small-group ministry.
by C.R. Robertson
Our weekly small-group Bible study has been over for nearly an hour. The last of the lingerers has just pulled out of the driveway to head home. I'm picking up the popcorn bowls and coffee cups. My wife is already logging onto the computer, preparing to send quick e-mail messages to several of the young women she has just been talking to.
E-mailing someone she has just spent an evening with may seem ...
A simple assessment tool for gauging how healthy group members are.
by Life Together
If you want to have a healthy small group, it goes without saying that its members need to be healthy. So a good way to move yourself and your group toward well-being is by assessing each individual's level of health. Once this is established, you can help one another set goals for growth and can encourage one another in the problem areas.
The following questions are geared toward helping you and your ...
Here are some things to keep in mind when money isn't a factor.
by Nancy Beach
Since many of us who serve in ministry end up leading volunteers, the editors at Gifted for Leadership wanted to find out how leading volunteers differed from leading paid staff. So we asked Nancy Beach, a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church as well as a GFL editorial advisor, who has vast experience in leading staff, volunteers, and the staff who lead volunteers.
Sheperding people may not be as complicated as you think.
by Brett Eastman
When you think of "mission," do you envision taking God's Word to people in remote places, like Africa or Asia? Do you imagine living a Spartan lifestyle, stripped of all the comforts of home? Do you think of abandoning friends, family, a successful career—giving up everything?
Most of us will never experience this type of mission, but that doesn't mean we don't have one. Our mission field begins ...
Living in community is not the same as providing counseling.
Rex L. Stancil
I remember during my training to become a hospital chaplain that one of the earliest struggles I had to face was my need to be needed. Sure, I loved people…I thought. I cared about what other people cared about…I thought. I hurt when people hurt. That was true. However, one of my greatest motivations to be in the midst of ministry and in pastoral care situations was my need to be needed. ...
The Small Group gurus answer questions about small groups and revival.
The Small Group Network Community
We asked a number of small group authorities from around the world these questions: "How can small groups help bring revival to the church?" and "What can leaders do in their areas to help bring revival?"
Five main small group conflicts and how to go about solving them.
Dan Lentz
Let's just be honest. When you're trying to make a difference for Christ in other people's lives, there always seems to be a set of tensions pulling on you as you help people grow in a love relationship with the Lord.
In the main sessions of the Southeastern Small Group Conference, keynote speaker Bill Donahue, author of the "Leading Life Changing Small Groups" and co-author of "The Seven Deadly Sins ...
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