Archives For Small Groups
Sometimes Christians think they have to agree with everyone in their small group. Part of the growth that people experience in a small group is enjoying fellowship with people that believe and act differently than they do. Learning to love those people and get along with them is a sign of spiritual maturity. From time to time, remind your group that it is okay to disagree.
REMIND THE GROUP THAT IT IS OKAY TO DISAGREE Continue Reading…
Adjusting to this “digital small group” stuff has been difficult for me. Perhaps you have found it to be a smooth transition. I have not.
Due to those struggles, I called two of my small group leaders at our church and asked them for guidance. They gave me four great tips that I have started using in my weekly Bible study on Zoom
The meetings have been much better!
Here are those four tips I want to share with you.
- Use a laptop computer or desktop computer. This gives you a bigger screen so you can see everyone at once. You can also use a tablet like an iPad. A phone can work too, but the screen is so small it makes the video conference more difficult.
- Try to keep the device you are using stationary. This was something I did poorly when I used a phone for our group because the internet was not working for my laptop. I think I knocked over my phone three times during the meeting. But if you can, try to keep your device in one place.
- Stay on mute until you want to talk. If there are 15 people in your group it can be difficult to hear the person talking if there are other background noises. (One women’s group I talked to said that they could hear the husband’s coffee maker brewing two rooms away.) Ask everyone to keep themselves muted until they want to share something.
- Use the “chat” feature if needed. Most video call software has a “chat” area where people can share a message with the group. Feel free to use that if needed.
Whether your group uses Zoom, Google Hangout, FaceTime, Google Meet, or Facebook Messenger, these are some helpful tips you can use.
Facilitating a small group is more art than science. While there are certain principles small group facilitators need to follow, 1 there are various techniques you can use.
VISIT OTHER GROUPS TO SEE HOW OTHER FACILITATORS FACILITATE
Each facilitator is going to have his own unique style of facilitating a small group. Thus, there are things each facilitator can learn from each other. Which is a principle that Scripture also teaches. Continue Reading…
Notes:
- Some of these principles are doing the Unifying Question each week, having an apprentice/assistant/co-leader, having an Empty Chair in the group to remind everyone to pray for unsaved people, serving together at church or in the community, talking less than 25 percent of the time, starting and ending the group on time, calling someone who is part of your group and did not show up for group and did not tell anyone he wouldn’t be there, and encouraging everyone to participate in the discussion. ↩
One the goals of your small group is to have everyone actively part of a weekly discussion. You want each person talking about what he is learning, how he is applying it to his life, and how his life is changing as a result. However, once you have nine or more people in your small group meeting, it is hard to get everyone involved in the discussion, therefore you need to subgroup your small group during discussion time.
SUBGROUP WHEN YOU HAVE NINE OR MORE PEOPLE AT YOUR MEETING 1
Why Subgroup Your Small Group
Notes:
- “Subgrouping in this way will ensure that the doors of your small group remain open to seekers and other lost souls looking for the love of Christ. Not only does it develop leaders, but it also ensures that your small group atmosphere is conducive to adding friends.” Steve Gladen, Leading Small Groups with Purpose
, p. 161 ↩
An important element of every small group is to have some snacks as part of the group. Here’s how to effectively have snacks part of your small group.
HOLD THE SNACKS
Carve out some time either at the beginning or the end of your small group for snack time. Continue Reading…