Who should participate in small group Christian home bible studies? Many churches launch into the process with a resounding everyone! Unless tough questions are answered this one size fits all group structure may fail. All can benefits from small group study of scripture, discussion, prayer, and fellowship. However God made each person unique and created specific ways of looking at the Word. The bible provides guidance regarding the need to consider different groups. This evaluation needs to take into practical group dynamics when forming groups.
Determining Small Group Leadership - Who Leads? These leaders were drawn according to their God given gifts. In Acts all are given gifts,with some granted the gift of leadership. How do churches identify and nuture these God given gifts to lead home bible group discussions? The identification of gifts is a key first step. There are excellent resources to identify each individual's gift. Once identified as possessing the gift of leadership or teaching the challenge has just begun.
Transforming Identified Gifts into Small Bible Group Leadership The members identified with leadership and teaching gifts create a pool of talent to form these small home groups around. However, feeling such as doubt, lack of confidence, time, and conflicting priorities often create difficulty in selecting group leaders.
- Doubt and fear may fester in the people identified with the gift of leadership and teaching.
- Lack of confidence in abilities could weigh heavily on those identified with these gifts.
- Time priorities raise immediate reasons and excuses not to take the step of faith into the time committment of leading small groups.
- Conflicting priorities inside the church are often a real problem.
Doubts about the purpose of the small bible study. Fear the responsibility will be too much to handle and questions whether they have been called to this ministry. Allaying these doubts and fears are foundational to small group leadership success. Building up of confidence and nuturing the skills and talents are needed.
Resources need to be identified to alleviate the perceived and real time committment for leading a group. Delegation of non-discussion leader roles such as hosting, scheduling, and agenda structure should be deployed to relieve those time pressures. Leaders,who are identified are often channeled to multiple committees, teaching roles, and ministry leadership positions. When too few leaders are raised up, then the demands of the many overwhelm the individual with church responsibilites. These priorities often only have a thin slice of the priority pie that includes family, work, and leisure priorities.
Effective small group leadership development processes retain common elements. These focal points can be introduced in form, structure, and measure uniquely by each church but each must be present:
Nurturing Leadership Small Group Success
- Provide a clear vision supporting small groups and the leaders.
- Pray for the leaders and the small groups regularly.
- Initiate facilitation training to build skills within the gift and confidence.
- Raise enough leaders to fill the roles needed without overcommitting them.
- Develop a format and agenda to create a high quality stress free consistent experience.
- Delegate non-leader roles to other members whose gifts fall in those areas.
The identification and nuturing of leaders within the church is a cornerstone of successful and sustainable small home bible discussion groups. Development of group facilitators in a consistent manner will promote faith based learning and discussion no matter the mission of the groups.
David Zietlow - Dave Zietlow is an experienced senior executive with global general management success in multi site environments. He invigorated ...
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