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Group Leadership

Quotes of the Week

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“The role of a pastor is not to grow a big church. The pastor’s role is to grow mature disciples who make disciples.” The senior pastor is the most important person in any groups ministry. What the senior pastor promotes, speaks of, and does himself, church members do also. It’s essential that the senior pastor be involved in disciple making. That is, if he expects others to make disciples. — Rick Howerton

“The two factors that will influence you the most in the years ahead are the books you read and the people you’re around.” — Howard Hendricks  in Teaching to Change Lives

Dr. Hendricks hit the nail on the head! Ministry leaders influence others, and are also influenced by others. In fact, the personal influence often determines the level of influence upon others. Careful consideration should be given to what you are reading and those whose company you treasure. — Bruce Raley

Group Leadership
Group Leadership

Quotes of the Week

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“The Holy Spirit of God has the mysterious ability to take the Word of God and apply it to people’s unique situations of life.” — Bruce Raley

“Tithing is an opportunity to prove to God that you trust Him and that you can be trusted with His money.”

Almost every group I’ve ever been in ended up having a discussion about tithing at some point. When this issue arises it’s essential that the group leader aid people in taking their eyes off of money and putting their eyes on God. Tithing has much more to do with faith than it does with numbers. The group member who tithes realizes that, “without faith it is impossible to please God.” (Hebrews 11:6) And those who walk by faith grow to be more and more like Christ. — Rick Howerton

Group Leadership

Quotes of the Week

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“Small groups that play together between meetings are much more apt to pray passionately for one another during meetings.”

What happens between group meetings has a direct effect on what happens at meetings. It’s important that small group leaders schedule times for group members to hang out and play together. When a group leader does this they create an environment that is both relational and transformational. — Rick Howerton

“The collective morale of your individual teachers equals the amount of organizational momentum you have.” — Allan Taylor in Sunday School in HD

Group ministry leaders have the responsibility to keep leaders excited, motivated, challenged, and ready for the future. If the morale of your group leaders or teachers is low, you need to examine your ministry to them. — Bruce Raley

Group Leadership

Quotes of the Week

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“Asking Christian brothers for help isn’t a sign of weakness; it signals one understands what Christian community is.” — Rick Howerton

Scripture often talks of meeting one another’s needs. Others only know a need exists when the person in need verbalizes what is needed. Too many are hesitant to tell brothers in Christ because they believe speaking of such things is a sign of weakness. We must remember that even the strongest of believers had his need met by the church. Paul speaks in Philippians of the church in Philippi aiding him. Evidently, he was man enough to make his need known.

“Churches with ineffective Sunday schools violate the very principles that make Sunday schools a viable organization: they dilute biblical teachings, fail to train effective teachers, replace systematic Bible teaching with other types of group activity, and relegate Sunday school to the status of one more church activity.” — Thom Rainer in Effective Evangelistic Churches

Group Leadership

5 Questions to Ask Before Choosing Your Next Bible Study

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While it may seem trite, choosing a Bible Study is one of the most important things a group leader does. When a group leader chooses the right study at the right time for the right group of people, life’s questions are answered and embraced, people are given the information they need to defend their faith, the gospel becomes known and integrated into everyday life, and people choose to follow Christ.

Here are a few essential questions to consider when choosing your next Bible study:

1. Is the group made up mostly of Christ followers or people who are inquisitive about Jesus and Christianity?

If the group is mostly inquisitive not yet followers of Christ choose a study that is focused on the Explore the Bible.

Rick Howerton has one passion — to see “a biblical small group within walking distance of every person on the planet making disciples that make disciples.” He is pursuing this passion as the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway Church Resources.

 

Group Leadership

Quotes of the Week

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“98 percent of the churches (in Georgia) with the fastest growing Sunday schools involved their Sunday school leaders in training.” — Steve Parr Georgia’s Fastest Growing Sunday Schools

Did you catch that? Growth in Sunday School and leader training are directly related. Almost all of the fastest growing churches are focused on developing their leaders. What are you doing in this area? — Bruce Raley

“When small groups pray passionately, God responds appropriately.” — Rick Howerton

God always answers our prayers. He answers them one of three ways — no, grow, or go:

  1. No. Your request is not in my will.
  2. Grow. Your request is in my will, but I want you to grow by being persistent in prayer. Continue to pray and when the time is right, I will answer your prayer as requested.
  3. Go. Your the timing is right. I am answering your prayer now.
Group Leadership

Always Make the Bible Your Centerpiece

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My wife loves to decorate. This is especially true when we’re hosting a family meal as 12 or so people crowd in around a large oval table. In the middle of that table is a centerpiece. Because she loves flowers, that centerpiece is often made up of flowers from our garden. And usually the flowers are so tall they’re the unavoidable center of attention. There’s no getting around a well-chosen, inescapable centerpiece. When a small group gathers, the centerpiece of the experience should be the Bible. Please know, I’m not suggesting placing a 50-pound King James on a table in the center of the room. I’m talking about being certain the small group discussion remains focused on the Word of God. In order for this to happen, you might want to consider the following suggestions:

Start each group meeting reading a passage of Scripture.

Before starting the Bible study time, pray that God would aid the group in finding out what God is saying and that opinions would be overridden, if necessary, by the truth found in God’s Word. When the conversation becomes a series of opinions verbalized, recalibrate the group back toward God’s Word. You might even say something like, “All of these thoughts are super. But just so we don’t miss what we’re after, let’s search to find out what the Bible says about this issue?”

Remind the group often that God is the ultimate authority on all issues.

We find out what He has to say about things in the Bible. Let several ideas circle the conversational runway, but be certain the truth found in God’s Word is what lands.

Rick Howerton has one passion — to see “a biblical small group within walking distance of every person on the planet making disciples that make disciples.” He is pursuing this passion as the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway Church Resources.

Group Leadership

Transformational Small Group Leadership

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There are three types of group leaders … 1. organizational, 2. educational, and 3. transformational. All three of these are necessities in group life, but one is usually elevated above the rest. When the wrong one is the primary goal of a group leader, the group will never accomplish what God longs to accomplish — making mature disciples.

The Organizational Leader’s goal is to make sure the group is efficient.

This person spends much time making lists, creating schedules, and hosting meetings of leadership teams. This person will give the time he has for group leadership primarily doing these three things.

The Educational Leader’s goal is to make sure the group is gaining knowledge.

This person spends much time preparing to lead the Bible study. He utilizes commentaries, study Bibles, and any other books and online tools that aid him in preparing. This group leader type will spend as much time as necessary — up to 15 hours a week in many instances— studying so that he can teach those in his group.

The Transformational Group Leader’s goal is to see group members shaped into the image of God.

This person spends much of his time meeting with group members, modeling Christlikeness for them in various settings, studying the Word of God enough to be able to guide the Bible study conversation to application, and praying for the group members. The transformational group leader realizes that he isn’t the catalyst to transformation — the Holy Spirit is. So he gives the bulk of the time he has for group leadership praying passionately for God to do what only He can do in those he is shepherding.

Transformational leadership should be the primary leadership style of every group leader. When this becomes number one and organizing the group and educating the group are put in their rightful place, the group leader will find his leadership identity, not in being efficient or in being a scholar, but in seeing group members lives transformed more and more into the image of Jesus Christ.

Rick Howerton has one passion — to see “a biblical small group within walking distance of every person on the planet making disciples that make disciples.” He is pursuing this passion as the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway Church Resources.

Group Leadership

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