Jeffrey Wiesner
"If you want to make a big church small, join a small group," says many a pastor.
Ecclesiological quibbles aside, this quip captures a bit of our modern evangelical zeitgeist. In our socially disconnected mega-world, small groups are widely regarded as a prudential—if not essential—part of local church ministry.
But how can a church effectively launch its small groups? What specific details need to be considered to get a small group ministry off the ground and running? Such nuts-and-bolts details are the burden of this particular article.
1. Define your purpose and vision
These are distinct but closely associated.
What is your purpose for small group ministry?
Before launching a new ministry, church leaders need to ask, "What is the purpose of this ministry?" Specifically, how does small group ministry serve God's purposes for his church? In what ways does it supplement and strengthen more foundational ministries in the church, such as preaching, pastoral care, evangelism, etc.?
Robert Coleman, in his well-known book, The Master Plan of Evangelism, offers a related diagnostic: "That we are busy in the church trying to work one program … after another cannot be denied. But are we accomplishing our objective?"1 In other words, busy Christians are not necessarily effective Christians.
So before you build and launch a small group ministry, you might ask yourself some of the following questions: How will small groups …
- … complement rather than compete with the corporate gathering of the church?
- … undergird rather than undermine the ordinary means of grace, especially preaching?
- … support rather than supplant pastoral ministry?
- … encourage rather than discourage discipleship and evangelism?
What is your vision for small group ministry?
Once church leaders agree on the purpose of small groups and their prudence for faithful ministry, they should clarify a vision: "What do we hope our church will become as a result of God's grace through small groups?" Or, put another way, "How will small groups help our church become more scripturally faithful?"
Perhaps they might help particular members of the congregation grow in the grace of:
- Practicing hospitality (1 Pet 4:9)
- Serving others (1 Pet 4:10)
- Speaking the truth in love (Eph 4:15)
- Bearing one another's burdens (Gal 6:2)
- Guarding one another against sin and error (2 John 8)
- Confessing sins to one another and praying together (Jas 5:16)
What might the congregation be like if more and more of its members were to grow in these and other graces? Imagine how such a ministry might further manifest the transforming power of the gospel in a church?
A clear vision helps church members imagine a possible future in which the whole church is carrying out God's purposes by God's grace. Once the purpose and vision for small groups becomes clear, you have what you need to begin strategizing and preparing for their launch.
2. Set an internal launch date
Begin by setting a launch date. Deadlines create positive momentum.
When will your small groups launch?
Many churches organize their ministry rhythms around a common school schedule, with the fall and spring acting as semesters for service, and summertime offering a brief time for organizational rest and transition.
If you set a launch date for the end of August or the beginning of September, then you might begin preparing sometime around spring break in mid-March (~six months out).
3. Define key roles and responsibilities
Four questions will help your organization:
Who is responsible for the groups?
One person should be responsible for overseeing the various moving parts of your small group ministry, including but not limited to casting vision, recruiting leaders, and managing the team. I'll call this person a director. Larger churches might create a dedicated staff position for this role. For smaller churches, however, this responsibility may fall on the pastor or a qualified deacon.
Who is accountable for the groups?
These are your group "leaders."2 Each group leader will be entrusted with and accountable for the task of carrying out the stated purpose(s) for small groups in their particular group.
Who is consulted about the groups?
Who will need to be included in strategic feedback loops for ongoing evaluation and planning? At the very least, those who fill the two roles above should be included in these kinds of discussions.
Who is informed about these groups?
These individuals may not be involved in the small group ministry, but they are need-to-know people in the church with whom communication is key. Among these are the church's elders and staff, as well as other ministry leaders who's responsibilities will run adjacent to the small group ministry.
4. Fill these key roles with faithful saints
I don't think I'm overstating things by saying that recruiting good leaders is the most important part of launching a small group ministry.
Identifying qualified saints falls along two lines: prescriptive and prudential.
Prescriptive qualifications
Prescriptively, small group leaders need to be spiritually mature and scripturally sound. A good place to start would be the character qualifications for elders and deacons in 1 Timothy 3.
While small group leaders are not de facto elders responsible for pastoring-by-proxy, they do have a kind of lower-case-s shepherding role (in the verbal sense of the word). Do not compromise here! Putting immature and unsound saints into positions of influence is the best way to risk disunity, error, and sin spreading through parts of your church. You will be better off by starting fewer groups than desired with a handful of godly leaders than the number you want with unfit leaders.
Recruiting good leaders is the most important part of launching a small group ministry.
Prudential qualifications
Not every member possesses the tools or personality to lead a small group. Don't get me wrong: Every saint can and should serve the church. But not every saint must serve in the same way (1 Cor 12). Assuming like-mindedness with your philosophy and vision for small group ministry, some other prudential qualifications might be considered:
First, I believe the best kind of group leaders are people-people. Relational entrepreneurs, if you will. They aren't wallflowers but have a knack for starting and sustaining conversations with all kinds of people—basic skills needed to lead a small group.
Ask yourself:
- Who are the godly saints who arrive early on Sunday and linger long to connect with fellow members?
- Who in our church is regularly practicing hospitality?
- Are there any members who initiate discipling relationships and leave behind a trail of spiritual fruit with those they meet?
Additionally, these people need to be in the right season for service. A large family with a bunch of young children may have a harder time mustering the bandwidth for hospitality, communication, prayer, occasional visitations, and other responsibilities that might befall a group leader.
Finally, prioritize members who have demonstrated steady faithfulness over time. Which brothers and sisters consistently gather with the church, study the Word, and serve the saints? Prioritize character over charisma. Charisma is helpful for small group leaders, but character is essential.
5. Finalize details
Now, with only a few months remaining (~three months out), it's time to tighten a few screws.
- How many groups will be available for members to join?
- When, where, and how often will each group meet?
- What curriculum, if any, will particular groups be using?
These and other details need to be established months in advance so that group leaders can prepare and church members can consider their commitments.
6. Train your leaders
You've met with prospective group leaders and awaited their prayerful responses to your invitation. Your team is complete! Some small group offerings are already ready to launch in the fall.
Now schedule a time to get all group leaders in the same room at the same time for training. In addition to getting everyone on the same page with the purpose and vision for small groups, focus extra attention on certain underappreciated aspects of small group ministry:
Thoughtful hospitality
When a group member walks into a host home, what kinds of sights, smells, and sounds might help to draw people in?
Regular communication
What kind of regular communication will be expected of group leaders to group members? When and for what reasons might they need to communicate with the church's deacons or elders, as physical or spiritual needs arise among group members? If you use a church management software (like Planning Center), do you expect them to use it? If so, what kind of training will they need in order to learn how to do so?
Facilitating discussion
What do group leaders need to learn about leading discussions? This training may be especially relevant for those gifted teachers who love to talk but need to learn how to draw out contributions from others—and endure awkward silences!
Conflict resolution
When (not if) conflict occurs, how might group leaders help group members navigate disagreements in a godly, edifying way?
Create small group discussions with Logos's Bible Study Builder.
7. Get the word out
Create anticipation. Let your congregation know small groups are coming!
Besides normal means for making announcements, are there other ways you will communicate the purpose and vision for small groups to your church? Some churches may decide to use a dedicated sermon. Other options might include video announcements or casting vision at other public church gatherings.
However you decide to create anticipation, you can be sure of one thing: Getting an entire church on the same page regarding the purpose and vision of small group ministry requires more than a mass email or a web banner. The small group director will need to cast vision dozens of times through multiple means over a long period of time.
8. Conduct sign-ups
With group leaders trained, details finalized, and vision being communicated, the time has arrived to make sign-ups public!
Plan ahead
Two months is likely the absolute minimal amount of time needed to conduct sign-ups, considering many members will have already started making their fall plans.
Clarify the pathway to involvement
Make signing up for a group as clear and easy as possible. Don't force people to hunt for the needed information. When joining a group is just one click—or QR code—away, groups are more likely to fill up.
Communicate. Communicate. Communicate.
In our information age, emails, text messages, and social media posts are little more than white noise. Church members can get distracted and forget to sign up: "Oh yeah, I planned on doing it. I just keep forgetting to sign up!"
You will need constant communication through a variety of mediums to keep the information in front of your church.
Commission group leaders to recruit members
Small group leaders are the best promoters for small group ministry—better than emails, web banners, church bulletin announcements, text messages, etc. A general rule of life is that people are more likely to get involved when they are personally invited.
Knowing this, commission your group leaders to populate their own groups through personal invitation: "Come join us! I'd love for you to come and be a part. Our group would be so blessed to have you in it!" Also, if you use an online church database like Planning Center that allows group leaders to manually add group members—even better!
People are more likely to get involved when they are personally invited.
Set group limits
Some groups will fill up quickly while others may struggle to fill chairs.
A word of advice: Consider purposely setting the group limits lower than is actually needed. For example, if you think groups shouldn't grow any larger than sixteen members, than set the limits at ten or twelve. That way, once popular groups fill up, sign-ups will gravitate toward other groups where space still needs to be filled. Once most or all of the groups have reached a critical mass, and more space is needed, open up extra spots.
Collect payment (if necessary)
In my experience, if a group plans to use a curriculum, it's better to collect a flat fee during sign-ups and buy all the books at once, rather than asking members to purchase them individually. Additionally, this creates excitement when group members walk in on the first week to find a fresh stack of books sitting on a coffee table ready to be given away.
9. Launch your groups!
The week leading up to the first group meetings should be filled with encouragement and excitement.
Pray expectantly
Before launch, the director should gather the group leaders together one last time to pray, iron out unforeseen details, and remind everyone why they're serving (purpose) and what you hope to see God do through their ministry (vision).
Communicate with group members
Group leaders, especially, should communicate with group members: "Hey, saints! I cannot wait to be with you all. Let's start praying now that the Lord uses our time together to help us grow. I'm praying for each of you by name already. See you soon!"
Offer a welcoming environment
For the first meeting, try not to put any responsibility on group members for providing snacks, drinks, dining ware, etc. In fact, if your church can afford it, you might think about giving every group leader a $50 gift card to a local store for supplies.
When the group members walk in for the first time, they should find a home filled with intentional sights, sounds, and smells inviting them into relaxed Christian fellowship.
Consider including testimonies
Naturally, the first group meeting will include casual around-the-room introductions. But group leaders might consider asking one or two members to share their testimonies each week, beginning with the group leaders on week one.
I once participated in a group that did weekly "life maps," in which one or two group members were responsible to bring three items to the group (a book, CD, picture, ticket stub—whatever) that helped to illustrate major moments in their spiritual life, from their life before Christ, to their conversion, and, finally, their new life in Christ. Each week, we looked forward to hearing a "life map" nearly as much as the study we were working through.
10. Debrief
Within the first month or so of your group launch, the groups director should consider gathering together the group leaders for a debrief (what we often call "pros" and "grows"). More than that, it's an opportunity to tell stories, encourage leaders, and praise the Lord for his faithfulness.
Conclusion
Without a doubt, much thought and work goes into launching small groups. But despite your best efforts, some things will work and others won't. Some leaders will exceed your expectations, others will fall short. Don't fret or grow discouraged.
Small groups exist to prop up Word-ministry among your church's members. Our Lord will build and strengthen your church by his Word and Spirit, not by your organizational prowess. So even as you work hard to make your groups operational, put all your trust in the Lord to make them fruitful!
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