C How to Lead a Small Group 1st Edition

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Leading a Small Group Appendix C

APPENDIX C HOW TO START AND LEAD SMALL GROUP BIBLE STUDIES

Starting and leading a small group Bible study is not a complicated process. It is really fellowship with a purpose. The purpose is to teach people to truly follow Jesus and to share what they learn with others. The challenge is not to let the study simply meet the needs for fellowship, but to make sure each person is growing in his or her commitment to Christ. This appendix provides some helpful advice on how to do this. STARTING A SMALL GROUP Ideally, you will start with people who seriously want to learn about God. This means they are willing to commit time during the week to do the daily Bible studies. This is the ideal. In reality, some people may not be willing to begin with such a strong commitment. The following titles would be the priorities if they want to try out the daily studies: a. Am I Truly Following Jesus? 1-13 weeks (as desired) b. How to Live the Spirit-filled Life 4 weeks c. Faith, Love, Thankfulness, and Prayer 4 weeks d. The Character of God 12 weeks Some groups may want to begin with a quick overview of the Bible and God’s plan for mankind. Hopefully, members will develop a stronger commitment to Christ as they see more clearly what God has done for them. One of the following two studies would serve this purpose: • The Scarlet Thread of Redemption (1-7 weeks) • Highlights of God’s Plan (8 weeks with daily verses) Actually, you can start with any of the studies where you find interest. The goal is to get people into the Word and to apply it to their daily lives. Part of your task is to challenge group members to a higher level of commitment to God. This means you must have a high level of commitment to God. After an introductory study, you will have a good idea of who will be interested in other studies. Some may choose not to continue. Don’t be surprised. Not everyone continued to follow Jesus, and not everyone may continue to attend your Bible study. LEADING A SMALL GROUP The goal of discipleship and leading a group is to build personal commitment to Christ and a desire to disciple others. Below are some things that will help make your small group successful. Time and Format of a Successful Meeting Small groups usually meet at the same time and place every week. Most meet for 1½ hours, although some meet for only an hour over breakfast or lunch. A few meet for two hours by mutual agreement. The meetings should start and end on time so that people can plan their schedules. Below is a suggested format: • Welcome time 15 minutes • Bible discussion time 40 minutes (20 for previous week, 20 for new week.) • Sharing and prayer time 20 minutes • Fellowship time 15 minutes Page 1 of 4

Appendix C Leading a Small Group

Be sure you do not cut back on the sharing and prayer time. This is where much of the ministry to one another occurs. The Atmosphere of a Successful Small Group An atmosphere of personal warmth and open communication makes for a good meeting. Each person needs an opportunity to tell his or her own story and have others listen with interest. This creates opportunities for the Holy Spirit to work in lives. It often takes time for this kind of atmosphere to develop. People go through stages where they first build trust in one another, then become more open and honest about their thoughts and feelings. There also needs to be an atmosphere of prayer. People develop stronger relationships as they pray with and for one another. A supportive environment is greatly helped by getting together outside the group meeting. Do things together when possible. The leader must maintain personal contact with his group members. In many ways, he is performing a mentoring function. How to Include New Members Encourage new people to join. Someone in the group should meet with a new member outside the group at some point to go over the self-evaluation and the Important Christian Principles in Studies #1, #3, and #5. These basic teachings will help the new member in other studies. Things That Hurt a Small Group Several things will hurt a small group: • Groups get too big. The ideal size is 8 to 12, and you should begin another group before it reaches 16. • Trying to do too much in too little time. The goal is spiritual growth, not progress through lessons. Take time for people to grow. • Lack of purpose and vision. The goal is spiritual growth and numerical growth through multiplication. A group that doesn’t grow becomes ingrown and stagnates. • Wrong kind of commitment. The commitment needs to be to Christ rather than to the leader. • Child care problems. Someone needs to teach or take care of the children so that the adults can participate without distraction. • Failure to incorporate, train, and utilize new people. • Poor leadership where the leader is not demonstrating a commitment to the Lord and to the individual members. See Appendix B on discipleship. A Successful Bible Discussion Time This is a discussion time, not a preaching time where the leader shares what he has learned. The goal is to get everyone to participate. (Some members who tend to dominate the discussion may need to be coached privately on this. Others will need to be encouraged to participate.) We have much to learn from each other. Each member should have something to contribute as he applies the Word to his life. Any member can lead the discussion, but the group leader should let the person know ahead of time so that he can prepare.

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Leading a Small Group Appendix C

Below are some suggestions to help the discussion leader prepare: • Pray beforehand that God will give you the wisdom to lead the group to His truths and applications. Pray for the needs of each individual in the group as well. • Be sure you have faithfully studied the assigned verses each day for the past week so that you are prepared to lead a discussion of those verses. • Prepare for the coming week by studying the first lesson and comments so that you can lead a discussion of those as well. • Do some research on the topic for the coming week. You don’t have much time in the meeting, but you may need some helpful background information to share with the group. However, it should be limited to 3 to 5 minutes at most. • Think through questions to ask during both segments of the group discussion time – sharing from the previous week and looking at the upcoming week. o The three basic questions are: What does the Bible say? What does the Bible mean? What truths can I put into practice, and what changes should I make? (See Appendix A, “How to Study Your Bible.”) o Be prepared with other questions to draw out discussion. • Decide how you want to handle the comments for the new week. It saves time if each member reads these comments before he comes. You can begin the new week’s portion of the study with a discussion of the comments. It is particularly important to have a good discussion of the comments concerning “Important Christian Principles” (Studies #1, #3 and #5). Below are further suggestions for leading the time: • Never tell the group something they can discover for themselves. • Open with prayer, asking God to teach each individual as you study together. • Begin with a discussion of what the members learned from the previous week’s verses. Then have a discussion of the comments for the upcoming week and a discussion of the first day’s verses. • Here are some suggestions for the types of questions to consider in prompting discussion: o General questions for the entire group. o Directed questions to a specific person to help get their involvement (but use one they can probably answer). o Referred questions – When someone asks a question, refer it to the group. Let other members participate in finding answers. o Closed questions that need only a “yes” or “no,” and open questions with many answers. Open questions are much better at stimulating thinking. • Your goal is to involve everyone somewhat equally in the discussion. You may need to suggest privately to some people that they share less or more. MULTIPLYING A SMALL GROUP The goal of any small group should be to develop believers who truly follow Jesus and who are able to share these spiritual truths with others. Some may share with their immediate family while others may begin small groups of their own. A good leader will always be looking for ways to develop new leaders. Every member should be seen as a potential small group leader of his or her family and friends.

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Appendix C Leading a Small Group

Here is what you are trying to develop in a future leader: 1. A heart for evangelism. Small group members need a good role model to encourage them in evangelism because these members have great opportunities to reach their family and friends for Jesus. 2. A heart for discipleship. We need others to encourage us in the process of growing spiritually. Everyone needs accountability. 3. A heart for shepherding. Leadership goes beyond training. It involves caring as well. We need more spiritual shepherds – people who are looking out for the personal and spiritual needs of others and offering prayer, counsel, and encouragement. 4. A heart for developing new leaders. God wants us to reproduce ourselves in the lives of others so that they can in turn develop other leaders. Leadership training can be helped by formal programs in the church and elsewhere, but leadership development actually takes place in the small groups as people watch you and follow your example. We hope these suggestions will be helpful as you begin your small group. It is a simple process that is learned best with experience.

Note: This appendix was adapted from material of the International Leadership Academies, CCCI.

© 2008 – 2010 CCCI All rights reserved. Reprints of unchanged appendices allowed. Contact: [email protected]

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