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 ...
Learn how to get everyone in a small group participating.
by Life Together
When it comes to getting everyone to participate in your small group, it's important that you—their leader—know your level of openness is the primary factor in setting the tone for the group's involvement and openness.
Along with that, here are 5 ways to get your small group members to participate in group life:
1. When you ask the first question, you should answer it first. When you're done, ...
Expecting God to work is most important piece of seeing him work.
by Life Together
In planning a small group ministry, you may wonder how much you can expect from your coaches, leaders and members. But one person you can expect great things from is yourself—that is, if you expect God to use you.
Here's what Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church has to say about our expectations:
If He's going to use you, you need to expect Him to. There are many examples I could have used, ...
Learn from these often-overlooked keys to making the most of your small-group lesson.
by Terry Powell
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This article examines a taken-for-granted aspect of discussion-leading. Below, you'll find several important things to keep in mind when responding to group members' participation.
Exhibit enthusiasm
When you lead quality Bible discussions, people will find fresh, "I've never thought of that before" insights. In response to a study question, participants may notice a truth for the very first time, ...
Getting more people involved in leadership gives greater ownership.
by Life Together
Sunday school is one of the best places to begin building community in your church, but often Sunday school consists of star teachers—and few people end up in leadership as a result. This is the story of how one church moved from a soloist (the rock-star Sunday school teacher) mentality to a choir (a host of people providing leadership) philosophy of Sunday school ministry.
Learn to understand people and help them understand themselves.
by Doug Self
Note: This article has been excerpted from the SmallGroups.com training tool called Becoming a Great Listener.
Editor's note: This material was originally written to help pastors improve their listening skills while visiting church members in their homes. It has been adapted for small groups.
According to Robert L. Montgomery, author of Listening Made Easy, the ten most common characteristics of a good ...
Showing your small-group leaders how important they are is essential to keeping them going.
by Brett Eastman
As a leadership coach, you have a crucial role in sustaining the small group structure of your church. Without this layer of your leadership, small groups stand on shaky ground for the simple reason that their leaders feel unsupported and therefore unwilling to take ownership of the group and its mission.
To keep this from happening, you need to let your group leaders know that they are most valued ...
Before you start a small-group ministry make sure you believe in it.
by Brett Eastman
So many of us have been there—you wake up in the middle of the night feeling pulled toward starting a small group ministry at your church. But by morning you still have no clue how to go about it.
I'll tell you this: If you're a pastor wondering how to go about launching a small group ministry, start by asking yourself, "Is a small group ministry something I truly value and can excite others with?" ...
Follow this step-by-step approach to learn more about contemplation in small groups.
by Tony Jones
Exodus 14:14
A small group of high school seniors meets at our house on Monday evenings. Every week, they gather with Julie and me on our couches in the basement, munching popcorn and drinking Diet Coke. We've spent the year trying to get our arms around the entire Bible, reading a chapter each week from Walt Wangerin's novelized version called The Book of God.
One of the secrets of effective small-group ministry is to train group leaders to think in terms of developing a group agenda rather than relying exclusively on a curriculum. Specifically, train leaders to develop a small-group agenda that incorporates all the values you have adopted for your ministry. Curriculum is simply a tool that is part of the group agenda.
Printer view of these results
