One of the principles I regularly teach our small group leaders is to encourage the people in their small group to work through the lesson before coming to the small group meeting. Often it is easy for Christians to become lazy and not want to dedicate time and effort to growing in their Christian faith (see Proverbs 6). As a result sometimes people come to their small group and they haven’t read the passage assigned for that week, they have not prayed about their study, nor have they looked at the questions assigned for discussion for that week. This means that the people part of the group lose out on the growth and insights they would have experienced if they spent some time reading the passage assigned for that week, prayed about what they were learning, and taken some time to answer the questions. In this blog post facilitator tip, I want to show you how and why to encourage your group to work through the lesson before coming to the group.
ENCOURAGE THE GROUP TO WORK THROUGH THE LESSON BEFORE COMING TO MEETING
Just as you as the facilitator need to spend some time preparing for the small group discussion, the members of your small group should spend some time in preparation too. Here’s why.
Why Encourage Them to Work Through the Lesson Before Coming to the Group
The people in your group will get more out of the study if they invest time in the study before talking about it in the group. Here’s why.
Schema
When I was an undergraduate in college I had to take a “Teaching Dynamics” class where we learned various research-based teaching methodologies and techniques. One that stood out to me was something called “schema.” The scientific background to schema was that research showed students retained more information when they “activated” what they already knew about a topic before being taught more about it. For example, if a small group is going to spend a week studying the Lord’s Prayer, the group will learn more about the Lord’s Prayer if they take time to write down their thoughts about what they already know about the Lord’s Prayer before arriving at the group.
Obedience
Another reason that I believe it is good to have the group work through the lesson before going to group is that it is a way for them to practice doing what the church wants them to do, what the small groups pastor wants them to do, what the small group facilitator wants them to do, and what the study guide most likely encourages too. We want people to grow in their spiritual walk, and part of their spiritual walk with Jesus Christ is accepting the direction and correction of the people placed in authority over him (1 Peter 5:1-5). “Obedience to the will of God gives you wings, not chains!” (Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God
What Working Through the Lesson Looks Like
How someone works through the lesson before going to group looks different based on what the curriculum is.
Various Formats and Studies
If your group is using the Wiersbe Bible study guides, encourage your group to read the passage assigned for that week several times and to write out their answers to the questions in the study guide. If your group is using the Chip Ingram study guides produced by Living on the Edge, encourage your group to do the “accelerate” section on their own for the week. If you are facilitating the GriefShare or DivorceCare LIFEGroup, then encourage your group to do the “On Your Own” and “From Morning till Evening” daily reflection sections. If you are facilitating our “Managing Finances God’s Way” LIFEGroup, you might encourage your group to get an envelope that week and start keeping all of their receipts. Or you might have them start a budget and report back to the group how that experience went. How each group works through their lesson before coming to group will look different, but the goal is to get people working through their small group material before coming to group.
Correct Answers and Proper Grammar
When you ask your group to work through the lesson on their own before arriving at your group, remind your people that they don’t have to worry about correct answers, proper grammar, or anything like that. The goal is for people to spend some time on their own working through the material outside of the group. This allows for the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts to grow them into the people that God wants them to be.
