Empowering Group Members G

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TABLE OF CONTENTS MPOWERING Training Theme:

ROUP Contents PAGE

LEADER'S GUIDE ...... 2 M EMBERS

Overview

THIS IS WHY THEY CALL YOU A "LEADER" by Sam O'Neal ...... 3 /Table of Contents

Devotional

THE SELF-STARTER STRATEGY FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH by Rachel Gilmore ...... 6

Assessments

ARE GROUP MEMBERS EXPERIENCING LIFE-CHANGE? by Rick Lowry ...... 9

DO I ENGAGE DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES? by Scottie May and Sam O'Neal ...... 11

Case Studies WHEN COMFORT BECOMES A BAD THING by Diana Bennett ...... 13

PERMISSION TO ASSUME POWER by Pat J. Sikora ...... 15

How-To Articles

CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT FOR EMPOWERMENT by Diana Bennett ...... 17

HOW TO SHARE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR SMALL GROUP by Jay Firebaugh ...... 20

MEASURING SPIRITUAL GROWTH by Alan Danielson ...... 21

TRANSFORMATION TAKES TIME by Brett Eastman ...... 25

ENCOURAGING "NEXT STEPS" FOR YOUR GROUP MEMBERS by Tony Escobar ...... 27

LEARNING STYLES AND LESSON PREPARATION by Scottie May ...... 30

Resources

GROUP MEMBER EVALUATION by Steve Grusendorf ...... 33

FURTHER EXPLORATION ...... 35

RETREAT PLAN ...... 36

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Error! Reference How to Use This Resource source not found. Take a quick peek here to maximize the content in this training download.

By Amy Jackson G ROUP This resource is designed to serve as a guide for a training day with your small-group leaders. Use the different

articles, case studies, and assessments to teach your leaders how to empower their group members. M EMBERS Devotional Use this devotional during a training day, pass it out to leaders to do individually, or have coaches go through it with leaders. It's sure to give your leaders some things to think about. /

How to Use This Resource Assessments These assessments will help leaders get a feel for how well they've been empowering group members. Then they can look to the how-to articles for specific ideas on improving.

Case Studies These are written by people with real experience in small-group ministry. They were faced with some common small-group issues, and they chose to empower their group members, even if it was a hard pill for them to swallow. Use these with your leaders to talk through real-life situations.

How-To Articles The first two articles focus on involving group members in order to empower them to serve God with their gifts and talents. Many leaders want to do everything in the group, but involving others can help them grow in amazing ways. The next four articles dive into specifics on empowering group members to take their next spiritual steps, a key for seeing life-change. The final how-to article covers the importance of engaging different learning styles in group meetings. Without this, you'll never be able to empower all your group members to go deeper spiritually.

—AMY JACKSON is Associate Editor of SmallGroups.com.

Need more material, or training on another small-groups ministry topic? See our website at www.SmallGroups.com.

To contact the editors: E-mail [email protected] Mail SMALLGROUPS.COM, Christianity Today International 465 Gundersen Drive, Carol Stream, IL 60188

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This Is Why They Call You a "Leader" G

And what you're supposed to do because of it. ROUP By Sam O'Neal

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A great many people seem confused about how small-group leaders should view themselves these days. One of /

the ways this confusion manifests itself is in the variety of titles that are now used to identify the person(s) Overview leading a group—from facilitator, to host, to shepherd, and so on. But a far more dangerous manifestation occurs when group leaders attempt to carry out their roles without clarity and confidence, resulting in a hesitant exploration of truth and stunted transformation for group members.

Below are several guidelines and principles that will help identify what a small-group leader is not, what a small-group leader should be, and what a small-group leader should do when it comes to exploring truth in community.

What a Small-Group Leader Is Not It's true that different churches have different goals for their small-groups ministries, which can result in different nuances in the job descriptions of their small-group leaders. But generally speaking, a small-group leader should not be viewed primarily as:

 A teacher. We all understand that small-group leaders should not be lecturers who monopolize the group's time by spewing out facts and opinions. But I use the word teacher here intentionally in order to highlight an important misconception: many group leaders believe that the focus of their group's study time should be the transfer of information. They feel that a study is successful if their group members have learned something. But there's so much more to small groups than simply gaining new knowledge.

 Just another group member. This is the opposite of the "group leader as professor" approach, but it's just as harmful. Many churches like to teach that their group leaders are no different than group members because they want to communicate that group members are just as important and valuable as group leaders—which is true. But being equal in terms of worth and value does not mean that people have to adopt the same roles and functions. The reality is that a small group with no leader will rarely move forward.

 A host. This has become a popular re-definition of what it means to be a small-group leader in recent years, primarily due to the influence of video curriculum. The idea is that a person or couple can host a small group in their home, pop in a DVD, and let a "professional" handle the task of leading the group into meaningful experiences with truth. But there is one major flaw inherent in this method of "leading" a small group: a DVD cannot respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit. What happens when a group members is convicted of sin during the discussion and begins weeping? Who calls the group to prayer when group members confess to being in danger of losing their house or their marriage? These situations require a leader who can take control and help the group follow the Spirit.

 A facilitator. Many churches want their group leaders to think of themselves as facilitators, rather than leaders. This is done to combat the "small-group leader as professor" problem referred to earlier, but it creates several problems of its own. Just as viewing group leaders primarily as teachers elevates learning over transformation, viewing them as facilitators elevates discussion over transformation. A study session is deemed successful if the group had a good conversation and a high level of participation, rather than basing the criteria for success on interaction with the Holy Spirit and seeing lives changed.

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Let me be clear about one thing: I'm not saying that small-group leaders should avoid demonstrating any of these qualities. Quite the opposite—group leaders should be able to facilitate discussion, host a gathering, and teach when necessary. But I think that churches go wrong when they make any of these skills the primary focus of a group leader's role. G

ROUP What a Small-Group Leader Should Be So, what is the primary focus that small-group leaders should adopt? The answer is that of a spiritual safari guide. That will need some explaining, I know, but first give some thought to the following two principles of M EMBERS small-group leadership:

Principle 1: Small-group leaders are to be most concerned about the spiritual transformation of /

their group members. Everything else involved with leading a small group—recruiting new members, Overview choosing Bible studies, resolving conflict—are secondary issues and should be subordinate to the spiritual growth of the people involved. If people gather together to enjoy each other's company, eat good food, sing songs, maybe do a service project, but don't grow closer to Jesus Christ as a result, they have only

created a Christianized version of a Kiwanis Club. Not a small group.

Principle 2: Small-group leaders are never able to manufacture spiritual transformation within their group members. This is something that small-group leaders must understand. We cannot force our group members to grow spiritually any more than we could force them to grow taller. No matter how good we become at facilitating discussion questions, resolving conflict, and making nachos, our people will not become more like Jesus unless they are carried there by the Holy Spirit.

These two principles seem contradictory, at first. If small-group leaders are primarily tasked with a job that only the Holy Spirit can fulfill, how can they lead well? The answer is relatively simple: group leaders need to create environments and experiences that allow group members to connect with the Holy Spirit.

And that's what I mean when I talk about small-group leaders as spiritual safari guides.

Can you imagine a safari where the guide spent all of your time talking about flora and fauna instead of actually taking you into the jungle? Or encouraged the tour members to discuss what they felt a rhinoceros might look and sound like, rather than leading everyone to an actual rhino? Or took off his binoculars and said, "Don't ask me where to go; I'm as lost as the rest of you." Such is the folly of a small-group leader who does not lead—who does not bring his or her group members into the presence of the Holy Spirit by directing expeditions into the mysteries of God's Word, the elements of Truth in this world, and the life stories of other people.

What a Small-Group Leader Should Do Here are a few more guidelines and tips that can help group leaders better understand and execute their role as spiritual safari guides.

This doesn't have to create more work. If you're a small-group leader, you don't have to start spending an extra 10 hours a week trying to manufacture "spiritual" experiences for your group members—or 1 extra hour, for that matter. Taking up your mantle as a spiritual safari guide is more of a shift in focus. Instead of focusing your attention on getting people to learn something or like each other or talk more, you're focusing your attention on what the Holy Spirit is doing in your group (and helping your group members do the same).

This doesn't negate everything you've learned …. At SmallGroups.com, we spend a lot of time helping group leaders learn various skills and practices to be used during group meetings. These include writing effective discussion questions, understanding learning styles, interpreting body language, incorporating worship, and so on. And all of those are still important. Think of it like falling asleep. You can't force another person to fall asleep, but you can create an environment around that person that is more conducive to sleep. In the same way, you can't force your group members to encounter and interact with the Holy Spirit, but you can create an environment in your small group that is receptive to the Spirit's movement. And all of the skills mentioned above are helpful for creating such an environment.

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING … But all of the skills you've learned should be subordinate to prayer. The founders of www.smallgroupsbigimpact.com studied over 1,000 churches to answer this question: what are the common traits of healthy small groups? They found that, overwhelmingly, healthy small groups have group leaders that pray for their group members every day. And that makes sense when you understand that the Holy Spirit is responsible for spiritual growth and health. If you want an efficient group meeting that disseminates a lot of G

information, than spend most of your time learning facilitation skills and studying commentaries. If you want ROUP your small group to be a place where spiritual growth happens, than spend most of your time in prayer.

—SAM O'NEAL is the former managing editor of SmallGroups.com and currently works for Threads, a M EMBERS ministry of Lifeway. He is also the author of Field Guide for Small Group Leaders: Setting the Tone, Accommodating Learning Styles and More available this May. Copyright 2010 by Christianity Today International. /

Overview Discuss 1. How do you feel about this definition of your role as a small-group leader? What new ideas does it introduce to you? 2. How do you feel about your partnership with the Holy Spirit—he does the changing while you try to bring people into God's presence? Do you feel "let off the hook?" Does it feel too big a task? 3. Sam O'Neal writes that trying to force others to grow is like forcing them to fall asleep. Instead, we should empower group members to take ownership of their own spiritual growth. What are you already doing to empower your group members? How could you better empower them?

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Error! Reference The Self-Starter Strategy for Spiritual source not found. Growth

Looking to Shamgar, Rahab, and the Ethiopian eunuch for inspiration G By Rachel Gilmore ROUP

"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." —Theodore Roosevelt M

EMBERS What do Shamgar, Rahab, and the Ethiopian eunuch have in common? Not much, you might say. In God's eyes, though, these little known people from the Bible acted on their desire to walk with God in big ways. As group leaders, we can learn a thing or two from their willingness to start where they are and do what they can / with what they have, to paraphrase Teddy. Their stories differ, but they share a common theme: Shamgar, Devotional Rahab, and the Ethiopian eunuch decided to take steps to grow their faith. As we work on building up God's kingdom, it's important to follow this self-starter strategy for ourselves and as we empower our group members to engage their own spiritual development.

But First . . . The Backstory Before we get into the how-tos, we need to understand why these biblical roles models have something to teach us. God wove these three characters into his never-ending story with a humorist's pen, using the most unlikely people to take action and spur others on in his name.

Shamgar might also be known as a one-hit wonder. Although Shamgar is actually mentioned twice in the Bible—Judges 3:31 and Judges 5:6—he's best known from Judges 3:31. The book of Judges records the Israelites' recurring cycles of obedience and devotion to God followed by distraction, rebellion, and really bad behavior. Prior to Shamgar's appearance, God raised up Ehud to deliver Israel from the Moabites, which he did, leading to 80 years of rest.

When Ehud died, the people started turning away from God again. God asked Shamgar to step in and deliver the people from the Philistines (those giants King David fought early in his career). The Bible records this victory for God in Judges 3:31: "After Ehud came Shamgar son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad. He too saved Israel."

That's it. Period. But we can still learn a lot. The important thing here is the oxgoad. Hang onto that image—he killed 600 giants with a pointy stick in order to restore order in God's kingdom. We'll come back to it.

Then there's Rahab. Not exactly the model citizen in Jericho, Rahab had the reputation of a prostitute. She seems an unlikely candidate to be doing work for the Lord. Yet she did, hiding Joshua's spies and lying to the king on their behalf. Rahab heard about the God of the Israelites and his power, so she protected the spies, asking Joshua's men to save her when they come to destroy the city. You can read her story in Joshua 2 and 6.

The last of our three unlikely role models is the Ethiopian eunuch who appears in Acts 8. In this discipleship vignette, the apostle Philip was walking along the road as the eunuch's chariot passed by. Philip heard the eunuch reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. Familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures, Philip kindly asked the foreigner, "Do you understand what you're reading?"

"How can I," the eunuch responded, "unless someone explains it to me?"

Recognizing you have a problem is the first step in resolving your problem, and so it is with the eunuch who knew enough to know he didn't know enough. Read through his story in Acts 8:26–38.

Start Where You Are Let's look at our one-line headliner Shamgar and his oxgoad. We really don't know anything about Shamgar except that his use of the oxgoad means that he most likely was a farmer, as the oxgoad was a pointy stick used for prodding oxen and cleaning plow blades. Imagine that God comes to you, a lowly farmer, and says, "Hey, I need you to go over to the Philistine camp and wipe out that group of 600 giants. Got it? Great. Thanks."

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Wanting to be obedient, you look around for the necessary supplies and reinforcements to fight 600 giants. But seeing that it's just you and your oxgoad, you decide the stick is better than nothing. Hopefully, since God invited you to this party, he'll also be your date.

What Shamgar's self-starter strategy illustrates is that, as group leaders, we need to encourage our members to ROUP start where they are in deepening their relationships with God, even if it's the equivalent of staring down 600 giants with a pointy stick. Bemoaning how life used to be less busy, less fractured, and less difficult, or always postponing a next step in faith development—reading the Bible everyday, praying with a partner, attending M EMBERS worship weekly, committing to a regular service opportunity—are detrimental to our faith walk. Life is never going to be perfect. It is extremely important that our group members grasp this truth and learn to take responsibility for their own spiritual growth. /

Devotional Reflect 1. What about you? When you think about your own spiritual development, are you stuck thinking back to a time of great growth and missing out on the present? Are you putting off the next step God is calling you to? Or are you grounded in the present, making decisions to regularly sit before Jesus, learning from him, listening for his voice? 2. What about in leading your group? Are you stuck in the past, remembering a prior group and how easy they were to motivate and teach? Or are you waiting for everything to be "just right" so that you can finally get the group moving forward in their faith development? Or are you ready to model that self-starter spirit and encourage your group to take a next step, however big or small it may be? 3. Think about your group members for a moment. Do you have a feel for where they are at spiritually? Are they stuck in the past, waiting for the future, or grounded in the present? Pray for each member by name, asking God to be at work in their lives, even using you to help them.

Do What You Can The Ethiopian eunuch's story in Acts 8 tells us that he was on his way back to Ethiopia from Jerusalem where he went to worship. We get the picture that he had a desire to honor God and know more about him. Yet we also know from his conversation with Philip that he finds God's Word confusing.

However, this is what separates him from those stuck in the past or waiting for the future—he asks for help. That's a pretty simple step, yet crucial to the eunuch's spiritual development. Instead of pining for a past day when he easily understood a text he read or waiting for a future date when someone could explain this text, he proactively asked for help in the present.

Reflect 1. Philip empowered the eunuch with a simple question: "Do you understand what you're reading?" Have you considered that the questions you ask your group members can empower them to take a next step? How does this reality make you feel? 2. What kinds of questions can you ask group members to empower them to stay grounded in the present and take their next steps? Are there any specific questions you need to ask a particular group member to empower them to move forward?

With What You Have As a woman living on the outskirts of town, Rahab's resources were rather limited. But she used what she could to protect God's servants. Her lowly location on the city wall was actually a benefit—it allowed her to lower the men to safety without being detected.

Rahab knew it was now or never. She had heard the stories of God's power and supremacy and understood that retribution was coming for Jericho. She believed what she had heard about God enough that she risked her life to shelter his servants. She was willing to trust this God whom she had only heard about.

Reflect

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING 1. Consider your personality, gifts, strengths, and weaknesses. Write down one strength and one weakness in your small-group leadership. Look at the weakness and reflect on how God might use it for his glory. Remember Rahab's lowly position on the city wall actually enabled her to work effectively for God. The same can be true for you if you are open to God's leading and guiding. 2. Look at the strength you wrote down. How does it make you a better leader? How can you improve G

even more on this strength? ROUP 3. What resources, talents, gifts, and strengths have you not been using in your leadership? How might you be able to weave the gifts God has given you into your leadership? M EMBERS Ready, Set, Go! Read through 1 Corinthians 1:26–2:5. Spend time in prayer. Ask God to help you start where you are and do what you can with what you have to lead your group forward. As you pray, focus on how God can be at work / in your life and the lives of your group members. If you start where God has placed you and work on his Devotional behalf with whatever resources he has given you (few or many), you can't help but adapt the self-starter strategy of spiritual growth and build up the kingdom in his name.

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Error! Reference source not found. Are Group Members Experiencing

Life-Change? G Take a deeper look at several categories of group life. ROUP By Rick Lowry M The greatest reward for any small-group leader is to see real life-change happen in group members. EMBERS Unfortunately, "life-change" is kind of hard to quantify. We don't always see the evidence that our group members are growing unless we take the time to look—and unless we look in the right places. /

The following tool can help. It will assist you in focusing on the habits and patterns of behavior demonstrated Assessments by group members who are merely participating—meaning, they attend meetings, take part in discussions, but don't demonstrate spiritual transformation—and those whose lives are changing. Once you've identified where your group members are, you'll better know how to empower them to take a next step in spiritual growth. In each of the charts below, a score of 1 indicates that all of your group members are experiencing no life- change, while a score of 10 indicates that all of your group members are experiencing significant life-change. True statements on the left indicate a score between 1 and 4, while true statements on the right indicate a score between 7 and 10. Circle the number that seems to best describe your group in each chart. By taking a broad look at all of the scores together, you should get a good idea about the areas where growth is occurring in your group—and the areas where you will need to do some work. If you're not where you'd like to be, try the challenge step offered in each chart.

Attendance and Interaction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Most members attend the group at least -Most members attend every meeting. once a month. -Members continue to interact, connect, -Some members attend every meeting. and function as a community between group meetings. Challenge: Identify a "Community Coordinator" who can help group members connect at a deeper level through social interaction outside of group time, communicating prayer requests during the week, and so on.

Bible Study 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Group members bring a Bible to the -Most group meetings feature one or two meeting and participate in the discussion. people who are excited about something -Most members engage in some kind of they read in the Bible during the week. Bible reading on their own. -Most group members demonstrate a desire to help others learn what they have learned. Challenge: Once a month, see if you can substitute your "regular" group meeting with an event that is entirely focused on applying what everyone has learned.

Worship and Prayer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Most group members attend your -Most group members experience private church's weekly worship service. times of prayer and worship throughout -You pray as a group each week during the week. the group meetings, with several people -Group members have encountered and feeling comfortable to pray out loud. been moved by the Holy Spirit during group meetings and in their own private devotions. Challenge: Plan a group meeting that is worship and prayer only, and include elements that will encourage members to think about intimacy with God in new ways.

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Shepherding and Care 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Group members view "prayer time" as the -Group members who are hurting readily primary vehicle for learning about the share their struggles, both in and outside personal needs of others. of group meetings. G -Some members will call or check in on a -They receive ongoing encouragement and ROUP group member experiencing a tragedy or sacrificial support from the rest of the personal crisis. group. M Challenge: The next time a crisis hits someone in your group, challenge your group members to stick by them EMBERS sacrificially and see it through to the end.

Serving Others /

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Assessments -Group members bring refreshments -Group members actively seek out ways to and/or supplies to group meetings when serve and support others during the week assigned. (especially other group members). -Most group members participate in -Most group members have a regular

"official" group service projects. impact in their community, including "official" service projects and individual acts of care and compassion. Challenge: Read John 13:1–17 in a group meeting and conduct a foot-washing ceremony during which group members commit to serve one another.

Outreach and Evangelism 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Your group recognizes the importance of -Your group spends a significant amount evangelism by setting up an "empty chair" of time each month in prayer for people or praying for people to become saved. who need salvation. -Several group members have helped people outside of the group come to faith in Jesus during the past year. Challenge: Ask each of your group members to identify and pray daily for 10 people who need to experience salvation. Set a group-wide goal for the number of people who you hope will experience salvation in the next year.

Accountability 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -Most group members share prayer -Members routinely confess sin to the requests, sometimes including "struggles." group as a whole, or to individual -A few group members have set up accountability partners. accountability relationships. Challenge: Set a goal to have every member of your small group involved in a one-on-one accountability relationship before the end of the year.

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Error! Reference source not found. Do I Engage Different Learning Styles?

Addressing how different people learn gives you a better shot at G teaching them. ROUP By Scottie May and Sam O'Neal

M It's important to lead your group in a creative and engaging way that can meet each group member where they EMBERS are. Take the following assessment to see if you are engaging people from each of the different learning styles in your small group. For more information about learning styles, see "Learning Styles and Lesson

Preparation." /

Assessments Imaginative Learners These individuals start with concrete reality, then diverge creatively. Every Once a Once a They learn best through discussion and interaction. session month semester Never

How often does your group meeting include a group-wide discussion?    

How often do you subgroup by splitting into smaller groups of 2–4 to     discuss a matter more deeply?

How often does your group spend time in fellowship—just getting to     know each other?

How often do you affirm your group members that you enjoy their     company and accept them as friends?

How often does your teaching time address the question, "Why?"    

Analytic Learners These individuals start with ideas and abstractions. They absorb Every Once a Once a content like a sponge and then organize it into theories and concepts. session month semester Never How often does your teaching time include a lecture?    

How often does your group feature an expert on the topic being     studied (either in person or on video)?

How often does the group review material that has already been     covered?

How often does your teaching time dig deeper into theological     concepts and philosophical ideas?

How often does your teaching time address the question, "What?"    

Common Sense Learners

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These individuals start with ideas and concepts, then converge them Every Once a Once a to develop a plan or strategy. session month semester Never How often does your group focus on the practical application of     different texts and ideas? G ROUP How often does your group prepare a service project or make plans to    

impact the community? M EMBERS How often does your group evaluate past experiences?    

How often does a group meeting focus on developing a plan or steps     /

for spiritual growth? Assessments

How often does your teaching time address the question, "How?"    

Dynamic Learners These individuals start with concrete experiences, then accommodate Every Once a Once a them through trial and error. session month semester Never How often does your teaching time include an activity or game that     connects with the study material?

How often does your teaching time include an object lesson of some     kind?

How often does your group time include something new and     exciting?

How often do you explore the "gray areas" of theology and the     Christian life?

How often does your teaching time address the questions, "So what"?     and "What if?"

What Now? Once you fill out the assessment, take a look at the results. Are there some gaps in your teaching style? Some areas of learning that you have not been covering? Remember, the goal of a good small-group lesson is not to include all of the activities listed above in every meeting. Rather, the ideal is to include something in each lesson that appeals to each learning style. If you're falling short of that mark, you may be hampering the growth of certain people in your group—or worse, excluding them all together. — SCOTTIE MAY AND SAM O'NEAL; copyright 2008 by the authors and Christianity Today International.

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Error! Reference source not found. When Comfort Becomes a Bad Thing What to do when you've been together too long G

By Diana Bennett ROUP

Feeling uncertain but excited, I sat around the table with 16 young people eager to be in a small group. I had M

responded to a request from some of the 20-somethings in our church who had asked for cross-generational EMBERS leaders to lead a few of their small groups. The church is very large for New England (2,400) and situated centrally in Boston, Massachusetts, near many graduate schools. Thus, we had many young people in our church. These young people wanted spiritual mentoring, but I also knew the older, more spiritually mature /

leaders, like me, would benefit from the younger believers' energy, young faith, and enthusiasm for practical theology. Still, I wondered why I had put myself in this situation. This would be a challenge! On the flip side, Case Studies it was a wonderful opportunity to be part of a new group of young people eager to be challenged in their faith.

Starting Out In a newly formed group, it is always a wise idea to start with very safe questions. So I asked, "Where did you grow up, and what made that place interesting?" Surely everyone could answer that. After listening to their responses, I moved on. "How long have you lived in the Boston area, and what brought you here?" Next I asked, "What one thing would you really like to see happen in this new small group, and what would make this group worth attending?" Three people answered that they would like to meet someone they might marry. A few others mentioned something about community or growing in their faith.

We formed a covenant to be sure we were all on the same page. We decided to meet during the fall session and evaluate in mid-December, allowing members to decide whether they would continue. I felt this was important for creating freedom for members to switch to another group without the feeling of guilt.

When mid-December arrived, everyone was adamant about staying together throughout the spring. Our hope was that by that time we would be prepared to multiply the group and move on. However, when spring came, a couple of the young women burst into tears and everyone wanted to meet once a month during the summer and weekly when the fall semester started again. I agreed.

As we began our second year, the group was very large with 16 members plus me. Too large. I was sure some would drop out over the summer, but no one did. In fact, we almost always had perfect attendance! But, while we studied hard and had fun together both at group meetings and at outside events, group members only shared the safest parts of their stories. Instead of having meaningful, authentic conversations, members shared general statements like "I think we all struggle with that sometimes" and shared prayer requests for distant relatives and friends of friends. This is okay for groups as they're first starting out, but they should move into deeper territory over time.

Using the strategy I suggest to others to deepen their group meetings, I attempted to break the group into smaller groups for prayer or for the Scripture discussion. The group members, however, would have no part of it. No one was willing to meet in smaller groups, knowing they might be forced to take off their masks or be vulnerable. As we approached the end of the spring semester, I began to mention that we only had a few weeks left and I wanted them thinking about what the future of our group looked like. Panic struck their faces each time.

Same Group Too Long = Superficial Sharing Many groups boast about how long they have been meeting, but my experience is that a large percentage of those groups are very superficial. If the group begins safe and superficial without encouraging the group into a new, deeper stage of sharing, the group will never become a trusting, truth-giving environment. People become cautious of what they are willing to share, and comfort becomes the norm for group life. Unfortunately, this is exactly where we found ourselves.

What Would You Do?

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING  Let the group meet together one more year, but only if they agree to share more deeply.  End the group despite their complaints and help them find new groups to join.  Encourage the group to split and have two separate groups, knowing they may both be superficial groups. G What Happened ROUP The day came, and sensing I was getting nowhere with my gentle suggestions, I decided I would have to be a little more forward. I prayed about guiding the group members into their next steps, thinking about each M member and their gifts and interests. EMBERS

I met with and encouraged several members to consider leading a group of their own, affirming a gifting for

leadership and facilitation. To one young man I suggested he start a group at MIT where he was a graduate /

student. He had mentioned the idea earlier, and I confirmed that this was a good idea and that he was prepared Case Studies to do it well. I helped several others find groups in the church that were good next steps for them and related to their gifts and interests.

I had nine women left. After some prayer, I agreed to meet for one more year with one condition: we would be

vulnerable, share deeply, and our prayer would center only on personal situations and needs. I explained that I wanted to focus on soul care. They agreed.

As a group we celebrated our two years together and covenanted to pray for one another during the transition. I sensed everyone felt secure and excited in their new and growing roles.

Over the next year as I met with the young women, we experienced great community where we could be vulnerable before one another. We began sharing spiritual autobiographies. What deep, interesting, and challenging journeys we had! Describing the state of our souls each week led to intimate prayer and deep transformation. The group matured significantly over the year.

I knew I had done the right thing by empowering the group members to take their next spiritual steps. I also learned how to set expectations from the beginning of a group for vulnerability and open sharing. We were each able to grow in our new groups, and we all saw God work in our lives—something that would have been difficult if we gave into the comfort of the group and stayed together past the appropriate time.

—DIANA BENNETT is the Director of Small Group Ministries at Christ Chapel on Cape Cod. She also serves as the Consultant for Small Group Development and Training at www.LeadershipTransformations.org. Copyright 2012 by Christianity Today International.

Discuss 1. Have you experienced a group that got too comfortable? What was it like and what happened to the group? 2. Do you intentionally try to move your group deeper over time? How? Is your group at risk of staying superficial? 3. Do you think the author handled the situation well? How would you have handled the situation?

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. Permission to Assume Power

Why giving away leadership might be the best thing you can do G By Pat J. Sikora ROUP

Silence. Dead silence. Bored silence. I could feel it hanging heavy in the air. Unspoken, but ever so real. And it M was only the third week of our brand new, first-ever Moms' Bible Study. EMBERS

Our church had previously offered a women's Bible study in the evening, but these women—mostly stay-at- home moms of children under 10—usually couldn't come because they needed to make time for husbands and /

homework. And no one had dared consider a daytime group because of the childcare issues. So this was the Case Studies first group opportunity for these women.

I, on the other hand, had been a leader in other groups. I was pretty certain what needed to be done: arrange for space, train breakout group leaders, write the Bible study, and find childcare workers. I quickly worked

through these tasks. I was pretty pleased with myself. I was excited to provide these women with a quality group experience.

Our format was traditional. We had refreshments, a large group gathering at the beginning for introduction and announcements, and breakout groups at discussion tables for facilitated Bible study. I had my leaders provide refreshments for the first couple of weeks. We arrived early to set up the large room in advance, deciding that a theater style was the most efficient use of our energy and the room's space. We had a hostess who greeted the women and offered refreshments while the leaders met for last-minute questions and prayer.

The first week I proudly welcomed the women, outlined our plans for this new group, and explained our needs for help with ongoing tasks—things like refreshments, clean up, and greeters. Based on my previous experience, I assumed the women would sign up for the various tasks. To my surprise, they didn't.

The second week matched the first—dead silence, no volunteers. My leaders were getting concerned, especially since they had to pick up the slack. They reported that despite the low interest in helping out, the small-group interactions had been as expected. Women participated enthusiastically in the breakout groups. It was just the large group gathering and volunteer sign-ups that were strange. I read their lack of interest in helping out as disinterest in the group as a whole.

By the third week with the same results, I didn't know what to do, if anything. I wasn't sure if this was just a slow-to-warm group or if we had a serious problem. And really, how do you tell grown ladies they aren't pulling their weight?

What would you do?  Just let it go and hope that eventually the group would come around.  Begin with a teaching on group dynamics and serving one another.  Try to manipulate the environment so the women wouldn't have a choice.  Address the situation head on.

What Happened I decided it was time to be bold and confront the situation directly. If the women didn't care about the group, my leaders and I certainly had plenty of other things to do. None of us were interested in carrying or spoon- feeding the group forever. We prayed about our options, and at the third meeting I was very direct with the women during our opening time.

"Ladies, we are so excited to finally have a Bible study for stay-at-home moms. We believe we've needed something like this for a long time to give you all an opportunity to connect with other moms while building your spiritual life as well. But that may just be the leaders' goal. We need to know yours. It is not our intent to make this Pat's group or any other leader's group. In fact, it is our desire to see every one of you serving in From SMALLGROUPS.COM © 2012 Christianity Today Intl page 15 SmallGroups.com E

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING your area of gifting. We need help in lots of areas, and the leaders and I simply can't—and won't—do it all. If this group is to continue, we need your help and your ideas. We want you to have so much ownership of this group that you won't let it fail. We want it to be so important to you that you are willing to guarantee its success. We need your ideas. We need to know what you like and what you don't like. We need you. Talk to us. Make this your group." G ROUP I worked to make sure I didn't sound like I was scolding them. I kept my tone upbeat and didn't point fingers. I

used we messages rather than I or you messages. And I offered options. Despite my intentionality, I didn't get a M lot of feedback. No one patted me on the back and said, "Good job." I assumed I had failed. We decided to EMBERS give it another week or two, and if things didn't change, begin planning for shutdown at the Christmas break.

The next week the leaders met for prayer as usual before the meeting. When we came out, we were amazed to /

see that the room was no longer set up in a theater style. The women had rolled in round tables and set them up Case Studies throughout the room. A couple of women had brought refreshments. And afterward, a couple of women stayed to help with cleanup. After that, they had so many ideas we could barely keep up with them.

One of their ideas was a struggle for me. They said they wanted more fellowship time and less Bible study. I was young enough and inexperienced enough that I fought that one for a while. It was clear to me that what these women needed was Bible study, not more fellowship. What I finally realized was that many of them were starving for fellowship with other women. I also realized that our God is not a one-dimensional God. He encourages both Bible study and koinonia. So we extended the refreshment time, added a few outside activities, and created opportunities for moms with similar-aged children to connect. And it worked!

What I learned that year is that it's essential to deliberately give away leadership in all areas—not just the facilitating. Every aspect of a group is important, and every aspect offers an opportunity to empower someone else to exercise his or her gifts. I learned that the more ownership people feel, the more they will participate in and benefit from the group experience. I'm glad I said something. And I'm glad they rose up to take ownership of the group. We are all better for it.

Discuss 1. The author makes some false assumptions of the group (they didn't care about the group, they needed more Bible study than fellowship time). When have you made assumptions about your group? Did they turn out to be accurate or inaccurate? 2. How might the mothers have felt when they were given ownership of the group? 3. When have you experienced gaining ownership of a group? How did you begin to feel ownership?

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. Creating an Environment for

Empowerment G ROUP Four ways to create opportunities for empowering group members By Diana Bennett M

EMBERS As a large church near many graduate schools, our church has always had many young people. I wasn't very involved with them, though, until they requested a cross-generational leader for one of their small groups. These young people wanted spiritual mentoring, but I also knew the older, more spiritually mature leaders /

would benefit from the younger believers' energy, young faith, and enthusiasm for practical theology. Still, I How wondered why I had put myself in this situation with a new group, all of whom were younger than my

children, and none of whom I knew. I knew it would be a challenge for me, but I was also excited about the - opportunity to speak into these young lives and challenge them in their faith, empowering them to take To Articles ownership of their spiritual growth. But I knew that would take some intentionality. Following are several key ways you can build an environment for empowerment in your group.

Create a Covenant If you want small-group members to feel safe, it is essential that your small-group members make decisions together about group life. Goals, format, meeting time, and study need to be agreed upon. Call it a contract or call it a covenant, but understand its implications as a promise and agreement between group members. Every group makes a covenant whether they realize it or not. Either it is an assumed covenant or a negotiated covenant. An assumed covenant develops when members have a particular idea of how the group will function during its time together without actually discussing the details.

A negotiated covenant, on the other hand, is one that has been thoroughly discussed and agreed upon by the participating members. This process minimizes the likelihood of disappointments due to unfulfilled expectations. Empowerment and ownership develop when group members help form the covenant with their own yearnings and expectations. Covenants should address expectations for meeting times, attendance, participation, confidentiality, hospitality, and availability outside group.

Facilitate Effective Discussion Asking good questions is the key to creating meaningful discussion. It assists in the self-disclosure aspect of group life and eventually becomes a powerful tool for accountability and ownership of the group. Well- constructed questions help group members discover biblical truths for themselves. It is important, therefore, that you cultivate the ability to ask the right question at the appropriate time.

In order for small groups to provide excellent support in times of crisis, change, and stress, you must create a safe environment where telling stories and exploring difficult times are central to spiritual growth. You can empower members to share their stories and struggles by giving them a sense of stability and security. Group members need to know that the other group members really care for them, are committed to standing with them, and will keep what they share confidential. With these things in place, you'll have stories where small- group members testify that they never would have made it through a difficult situation if they did not have their caring and praying small-group friends.

Know the Small-Group Stages When constructing effective questions, it is essential for you to understand the important stages of growth each group can experience. This knowledge becomes a tool in forming effective questions that drive the group deeper and into the next stage. There are four stages a group may experience.

First is the forming stage where members test the waters for trust and confidentiality. Basic history and future questions are safe for this stage. For instance, safe and simple questions like these allow group members to get to know one another: "Where did you grow up, and what made that place interesting?" "How long have you lived in this area, and what brought you here?" "What one thing would you really like to see happen in this

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING new small group? … "What would make this group worth attending?" These kinds of questions also help you identify group members' expectations.

The second stage is often referred to as the storming stage as members become more comfortable and challenged in their faith. A bit of conflict is normal for this stage as differing beliefs and standpoints may be G revealed. Effective questions involve present situations such as "What challenge are you facing this week?" ROUP and "In what way can we pray for you?"

The third stage is often called norming, where members are more open to truth telling and taking their masks EMBERS off. Deeper present and future questions are effective in reaching this stage. For instance, you might ask a future question such as "Where do you want to be spiritually this time next year?" and "What spiritual discipline could help you grow in this area?" /

How The final stage is often referred to as the performing stage. The group is mature and comfortable being - challenged in their faith and practice. While it's a wonderful experience to be in this stage, if the group To Articles continues on in this way for too long, it can begin to lack freshness. But it's the perfect stage to encourage and empower one or more members to consider forming their own group. This is also the stage when groups often end intentionally, encouraging new beginnings and fresh starts.

If leaders are not intentionally designing questions to move members into the different stages, the group may settle into superficial interaction that is hard to change. Unfortunately, most groups function at the forming stage for far too long, and spiritual formation and growth are not evident. Head knowledge might increase, but what I like to call "blending belief and behavior" does not happen.

Recognize Spiritual Gifts An attentive leader will recognize the potential gifts present within the group. Discussing spiritual gifts with your group creates opportunities for you to suggest a role in the group to someone and for members to confirm and affirm the spiritual gifts they see in one another. As the leader, you do not have to lead every component of the group life, and you should not be threatened by a rising potential leader. In fact, empowering others to serve in the group gives them a sense of ownership, brings diverse ideas and experiences to the group, and takes extra responsibilities from you so you can focus on facilitating discussion.

For instance, let's say you sense a member is yearning for worship and prayer within the group. Empower this group member by making him or her responsible for the prayer time. You may decide to give some ideas and guidance, but ultimately let this group member take ownership of the prayer time and use his or her own ideas.

The group opening is another opportunity for empowerment. For instance, I would often start our small group with a lectio divina reading. This quiets the group and centers their thoughts on the upcoming discussion. It also gives the group members the opportunity to share thoughts and invitations they sense from God. Using lectio divina reinforces the idea that everyone is on a level playing field, and we can all hear from God and have something to share. You can also empower a group member to lead this time or come up with their own opener to explore whether he or she has the gift of facilitating.

Another way group members can explore whether they have the gift of facilitating is allowing them to lead discussion in smaller breakout groups. This can empower group members and become a strategic tool for leadership development. Other gifts such as hospitality and follow-up (such as contacting group members who are absent) are also important to small-group life and should be explored.

You should also be observant and recognize those with leadership skills or a desire to lead. Those members may be potential small-group leaders, and you might invite them to become your apprentice or attend small- group leader training. During our time together, I realized that several group members would make excellent group leaders, and I encouraged them to test out those skills. Unfortunately, often this becomes a threat to a leader. Instead of seeing it as someone trying to take your place, recognize that you have helped empower someone to recognize their spiritual gifts and personal mission, and that you can now work together to build authentic community.

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Be intentional about your small-group leadership role. Strive to create healthy environments where members feel comfortable, accepted, and empowered. Remember that as you lead, your goal is to help them grow closer to God and more fully understand his call on their lives. Commit to excellence, be well prepared, encourage and care for your members, and watch the Holy Spirit do the changing.

G —DIANA BENNETT is the Director of Small Group Ministries at Christ Chapel on Cape Cod. She also serves as ROUP the Consultant for Small Group Development and Training at www.LeadershipTransformations.org. Copyright

2012 by Christianity Today International. M

EMBERS Discuss 1. Before reading this article, how familiar were you with these three stages of small groups? How might /

understanding them help you to move your group deeper?

2. What roles do you have in your small group? Do you have someone helping with prayer, facilitating, and How follow-up? Why or why not? - 3. Have you identified an apprentice? Is it difficult for you to identify leadership potential in your group To Articles members? Why or why not?

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. How to Share Ownership of Your Small

Group G This is an important step for any small-group leader. ROUP By Jay Firebaugh M The less your group is about you as the leader, the more replicable it will be in the long run. Often the biggest EMBERS barrier to multiplication is a small-group leader who does everything. As a result, participants so identify him or her with the group that they can't mentally picture the group apart from the person leading it. /

Plus, when a group leader has taken the lead on everything, group members don't know how to function apart How from that individual. They feel lost even at the thought of it. - To Articles So, sometimes the best thing you can do as a leader is to stop doing things! Look for ways to engage others in the group—even if it would be easier for you to just handle those tasks yourself. You need to think about the big picture.

With that in mind, here are some practical ways you can go about sharing different responsibilities in your group:

 Have a snack list. This way different people bring food each week, rather than having the leader or host always take care of it.

 Rotate homes. Hosting a small-group meeting in your home helps you feel increasingly part of the group. So don't always meet at the same place. I prefer meeting one month at a time at someone's house, and then rotating to the next volunteer for the following month. If you have a reason for meeting at the same place each week, look for times when you could meet somewhere else for a shorter period—rotate over the summer, for example, or if the host is away on vacation.

 Change your thinking. Rather than automatically doing something that needs to be done for the group, let your first thought be, "Who else in our group could do this?"

 Find "champions" for different areas of group life. For example, have a Childcare Champion who is totally responsible for overseeing all the childcare arrangements. Find a Worship Champion. Recruit a Social Champion to organize and promote your monthly social or ministry events.

As the leader of the group, you need to think like the president of a corporation. It's not your job to do everything as much as it is your job to oversee things in a way that makes sure everything gets done. The more you allow others to participate, the more it will be their small group. And the healthier the group will be!

Discuss 1. What champions have you identified in your group? 2. Do you like to do everything yourself? Why or why not? What are the benefits and drawbacks of this? 3. If you changed your focus from getting everything done perfectly to empowering others to do for themselves, would you lead your group differently? What would change?

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. Measuring Spiritual Growth Using objectives and doorposts G

By Alan Danielson ROUP

There's an old saying in business: "Measured performance is improved performance." It also appears to be true M

of ministry. Absolutely nothing in my 20-plus years of church experience has ever proven this statement EMBERS wrong. In church we measure what is important to us. Even churches who don't measure attendance measure the weekly offering! It comes down to this: when we want to improve something, we measure it. Then we can track improvement and know when we've reached our goals. Measurable goals are simple when tracking /

tangible things like attendance and offerings, but how do we effectively measure spiritual growth? How

For decades churches have tried to measure the spiritual growth of parishioners by having people complete - courses, studies, classes, and curricula. As such, we've helped people acquire certificates, degrees, and To Articles accolades. Why have we done this? Because processes and participation are easy to measure. And these numbers allow us to monitor progress and tell us if people are on the right trajectory. Right?

Sadly, we just don't see enough evidence that this approach has really produced disciples. The problem is that curricula and classes don't necessarily produce disciples; rather, they produce knowledge. While disciples should continue to grow in knowledge, growth in knowledge does not mean the person is a disciple. The Pharisees are all the proof we need. So, tracking discipleship by class participation and completion is just not enough.

Furthermore, this approach to discipleship has produced a lot of church elitism. By accumulating accolades, we've given people the sense that they've arrived, something no disciple should feel. Once people have completed the outlined courses and received the certificates, it's easy for them to feel like they're "done." But sanctification isn't complete until we arrive in heaven, so our earthly efforts at discipleship should never make people feel like they've arrived. This was another problem with the Pharisees.

In reaction to this, many of us in church leadership tried something different. Rather than tracking class participation, we set up ongoing small groups. Then we started tracking the number of groups and participants. Since tracking knowledge didn't work, we began tracking relationships. We felt that disciples were being made when people "stuck" to a group.

This approach has failed to produce consistent, ongoing life-change on a large scale, though. And perhaps we were silly to believe it could. If Christian relationships were truly enough to produce disciples, why didn't it work for Judas? He had a three-year, face-to-face relationship with Jesus, yet Judas still fell away. Relationships just aren't enough. If they were, everyone who has been connected to church for a while would be extremely Christ-like. But we've all known people who go to church regularly yet are enormously rude, selfish, negative, bitter, and just plain mean. Relationships with other Christians are certainly a good thing, and they definitely contribute to discipleship, but measuring relationships still misses the mark.

So what should we measure? How do we, as church leaders, create pathways that lead people to genuine life- change without puffing them up, burning them out, and aiming them in the wrong direction? I'll answer this question by focusing on two types of measurables: objectives and doorposts.

Objectives When I say "objectives" I mean the "front end" of spiritual development. Objectives are easy-to-measure goals that embody what we would like people to aim for and accomplish. Objectives give us an idea of where disciples are going. The measurables I addressed earlier, like group and class attendance, certainly fit under the umbrella of objectives. When determining what objectives you would like to measure, be sure to incorporate the following principles.

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Spiritual growth objectives should be holistic. Spiritual growth is so much more than church attendance, group attendance, and Bible study. Spiritual growth goals should encompass the life of a disciple rather than just one or two aspects of a disciple's life. For example, Financial Peace University (FPU) is a great discipleship tool. FPU, by Dave Ramsey, is a class that teaches biblical personal finance. Through Ramsey's teachings we can measure the number of people in our church who are learning how to conquer debt, live on a G budget, plan for the future, and become generous givers. However, if FPU were our only discipleship tool, it ROUP would not be enough. We must create discipleship plans that address many aspects of people's lives.

Craig Groeschel, the senior pastor of Edmond, Oklahoma's LifeChurch.tv wrote a book called Chazown. In it EMBERS he breaks down discipleship into five key areas: physical life, relationships with people, relationship with God, work life, and financial life. I love the way pastor Groeschel thinks about spiritual growth: it's all- encompassing. You can't grow to wholeness in Christ by being a good steward yet still being a negative, bitter, /

complainer or by being a good friend yet a lazy employee. Holistic thinking in spiritual growth is key. How

Small-group leaders should continually remind group members that becoming like Christ is an all- To Articles encompassing endeavor. A great way to do this is to embrace a more holistic approach to group life. Don't just study the Bible and pray together. These are essential practices, but they don't cover other aspects of spiritual growth. Do mission projects together. Eat healthy foods together. Exercise together. Play together. Spend time

with one another's families. Hold one another financially accountable. This may sound like a lot, but it's really not. Don't try to do it all in a month, but plan to do these things together over the long haul. The point here is simple: people learn best by doing. Do spiritual growth together rather than just talking and praying about it.

Spiritual growth objectives should be realistic. The goals you set for people should fit into real life. To help those you lead establish realistic objectives, teach people how to weave their spiritual growth objectives into their daily lives so the objectives aren't perceived as a burden. You may also need to ask them to replace other habits or activities with the new objectives. We often burn people out spiritually by heaping more and more on them. Instead, we should only ask people to add on if they subtract something.

Small-group leaders can help members create realistic spiritual growth goals by making "stop doing lists." Ask group members what growth goals they'd like to accomplish. Then challenge them to look at their lives and decide what they need to stop doing in order to make room for their goals. Group leaders can best lead this activity by creating their own stop doing lists and openly sharing them. Group leaders also should be willing to have the group hold them accountable.

Spiritual growth objectives should be systematic. I heard Andy Stanley say, "Systems create behaviors," and that statement has stuck with me. If I want to lead people to adopt certain behaviors, I must create systems that lead them to those behaviors. For example, asking a disciple to read the entire Bible in a year is a nice goal. However, it's an objective that is doomed to fail without a system of support. Giving the same person a version of The One Year Bible or pointing them to YouVersion.com and asking them to read the Bible it in a year gives them the goal and the system to achieve it.

You could also hold one another accountable to your goals by checking in about your goals each week at your meetings and sending reminder e-mails or texts throughout the week. For example, if your group decides they all want to read the Bible every day for 40 days, send the entire group a text at 7:00 a.m. each day for the 40 days.

It's likely that your group members will have different spiritual growth goals, so teach them to leverage their own systems. Remind group members that their smart phones and computers can be programmed with reminders for pretty much everything. The point here is to get people thinking not only about behaviors but also about systems that motivate behaviors.

The bottom line is this: you measure what you think is important, so create systems to promote and increase those measurements. One of the greatest ways you can create these systems is leveraging what I call "doorposts."

Doorposts

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Objectives represent the "front end" of spiritual development. Doorposts, on the other hand, represent the hindsight of spiritual development. They are the points we refer back to in order to tell others, and remind ourselves, how God has changed us.

The term "doorposts" comes from the Hebrew word mezuzah. In Deuteronomy 6:9 God commanded Israel to G attach his commands to the doorposts of their homes. The point of hanging the commands on the doorposts ROUP was to remind God's people of what he had done for them and what he expected of them. In today's busy

world, we need reminders like this more than ever. M

EMBERS A doorpost is different from an objective because an objective has a definitive end. A few years ago I reached a milestone when I finished a marathon. By training for the marathon I lost a lot of weight and was in the best shape of my life. The marathon was an objective: an achievable goal. Once it was achieved, I was done. /

How A mezuzah or doorpost is not something that is achievable; rather, it is something that reminds us of a previous - achievement. Like a literal doorpost in your home, this figurative doorpost is something you encounter every To Articles day that regularly reminds you of what was while simultaneously inspiring you with what could be.

Right now the certificate stating that I finished the marathon and a photo of my thinner self are tucked away in

a drawer. They aren't doing me much good there. But if I were to frame the certificate and photo and hang it in my office, they would serve as a powerful and motivating doorpost. An even better motivator would be getting an identical empty frame and hanging it next to the first one. The first frame would remind me of what was, while the second would remind me of what can be.

What if our lives were full of spiritual doorposts? How might the people you lead be different if they were surrounded by reminders of previous spiritual growth achievements while simultaneously being inspired to go even further? Here are some principles that will help you create effective doorposts for your spiritual growth goals.

Spiritual growth doorposts should be visible. Spiritual growth doorposts do not belong in a box, drawer, file cabinet, or computer spreadsheet; they belong out in the open where they can be seen. At our church, we ask families to complete a course called Family ID. In it, families write their family vision or mission statement, identify their core values, and create plans to live them out. After going through the course, we create doorposts by having those families put their handprints on canvases that are hung in our building so families are reminded of their unique Family IDs every time they walk into the building.

Spiritual growth doorposts should be emotional. By this I mean that doorposts should evoke an emotional response. When people complete Financial Peace University at our church, we put their chopped up credit cards in jars that we display in the lobby. When they see the jars, they are emotionally reminded of how good it felt to cut up the cards. Additionally, they are continually reminded that they don't ever want to go back to the world of financial bondage.

Spiritual growth doorposts should be inspiring. This is slightly different than the previous principle in that doorposts should inspire those who have not yet completed the spiritual growth objectives. When people who haven't gone through Family ID see the handprints in our building and read the short explanation hanging next to the canvases, they are inspired to go through Family ID themselves.

Spiritual growth doorposts should tell stories. We'll occasionally feature a video in church about a person or family who has reached a spiritual growth objective. This video serves as a doorpost because it is visible, it evokes emotion, and it inspires. Most importantly, though, the video tells a story. Human beings process and assimilate information best through stories. In this sense, the entire Bible is one big doorpost. It tells stories of faith, triumph, failure, hope, growth, and love. These stories motivate us to grow in our faith. Whatever doorposts you decide to implement in your church, be sure to tell stories about them.

Final, and Most Important, Thoughts

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Leveraging objectives and doorposts will help you move people in the right direction spiritually. The more you consider and implement the principles mentioned above, the more effective your discipleship methods will be. However, no matter what spiritual growth plans you put into place, never forget the following four things.

The Holy Spirit G The Holy Spirit is responsible for drawing people to faith in Christ. The same Holy Spirit is also responsible ROUP for drawing people closer to Christ after they've become Christians. Church leaders sometimes feel like we are

responsible for discipleship. Nothing could be further from the truth. We are not responsible for discipleship; M the Holy Spirit is. At most, we are responsible for fostering environments and opportunities for the Holy Spirit EMBERS to work. Don't ever think that by creating objectives and doorposts your people will automatically become spiritually mature believers. Objectives and doorposts are environmental tools for the Holy Spirit.

The Slow Cooker Principle How In our fast paced, high tech culture we desire microwavable spiritual growth. Growing to be like Jesus is not a - microwaveable process though; it's a life-long process. Remember, discipleship is like a slow cooker, not a To Articles microwave. It takes time for people to mature spiritually. Don't ever think that your spiritual growth objectives and doorposts will quickly create disciples. They won't. Over time, however, in conjunction with the Spirit's work, they will help facilitate powerful and lasting change.

Measure the Right Things Keep track of your objectives, but more importantly, measure your doorposts. The more doorposts you have on display, the more people will be inspired to grow.

Think Before You Toss While you have learned some new ideas about measuring spiritual growth, don't just take your current systems and throw them out. Consider how your current systems can be an effective part of measuring life-change. Just because a current system hasn't yet given you the results you want doesn't mean it's intrinsically bad. Pray about how your church can best implement objectives and doorposts—even within your current systems.

—ALAN DANIELSON is the Senior Pastor of New Life Bible Church in Norman, Oklahoma. Alan is a popular conference speaker and consults regularly with ministries and leaders on topics relating to small groups and leadership. Copyright 2012 Christianity Today International.

Discuss 1. What do you normally measure in your group? Do you think this is good or bad? 2. Do you help your group members make holistic, achievable objectives? Why or why not? 3. What kinds of things can serve as doorposts for your small group achievements? How can you encourage group members to create their own doorposts?

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Error! Reference source not found. Transformation Takes Time Follow these steps to lead people down the path of continued G

spiritual growth. ROUP By Brett Eastman

M Our small group, like most small groups, is comprised of people with varying degrees of Christian maturity. EMBERS One lady arrived as a spiritual seeker. Within time, she committed her life to Christ and was baptized. The evening of her baptism was a special time for our small group, as we celebrated her decision and prayed with

her. Both seasoned prayer warriors and new believers lifted up praises and petitions; new believers prayed out /

loud and learned that there is no right or wrong way to pray. How

Because of this one event, others deeply grew in their prayer life. Those who never would have prayed out To Articles loud when they first joined ended the year praying. That kind of spiritual growth is exciting, but it doesn't happen immediately.

Transformation takes time. Despite the tendency to want instant spiritual growth, small-group leaders need to help members grow step-by-step, sometimes inch-by-inch. How do you do it? Following the acrostic CULTIVATE, here are nine simple steps to get you started.

Clarify the pathway of life. You need to begin with the end in mind. Ask, "What is the goal?" According to the Bible, the goal is to present every man and woman complete in Christ. There isn't one person in your circle who doesn't want to grow. Your role is to find out how to move each member ahead.

Jesus' call is clear. He wants to move us from a seeker of Christ to a student in Christ who is studying the Word and growing in our faith. However, most people get stuck at the midway point.

After we learn to be a student, Christ wants us to be a servant. Generally, 20 percent of people jump into a servant role. Your job is to let the other 80 percent know that God calls every one of his people, according to his or her unique giftedness, to be a servant in the body of Christ.

Understand your members' spiritual goals and dreams. All of us have them and want to work on them. Challenge your members to find one thing God wants them to work on—have them spend time in prayer and reading Scripture to determine what God might be calling them to do. Then ask them to write it down. It might be reading God's Word for the first time in their life, finding balance in their busy life, or finding an opportunity to serve or share Christ with a nonbeliever. You might use a health assessment like "Group Member Assessment" to check their spiritual pulse.

Once they are aware of what God is calling them to do, continue to challenge them in that area. Have them write down one tangible step they can take to begin to fulfill that dream.

Listen for God's heart for each person. You need to look for the moments when their eyes water, when they get fired up, or when they lose interest. When you see such reactions, you know something is happening in their hearts. Listen beyond their eyes and their physical presence for what God might be doing deep in their soul. Here is your chance to help bring those heart-felt desires out.

Transformation happens best through group discussion. The greatest transformation happens when you take the information from the group meeting and apply it. This doesn't often happen in groups of 8–20 people; you have to divide them into smaller discussion groups of 3–4 people. In smaller groups, individuals have more air time and more time for application of the truths from the lesson.

Encourage them to share their goals. Expect them to achieve them together in their divided groups, and try to maintain the groups throughout the entire study. As Ecclesiastes says, two are better than one. God is in the middle of that cord, helping people grow and move to the next level.

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Inspect that which you expect. If you cast out a spiritual challenge, like reading the Bible or taking on a new leadership role, write it down and continue to bring it back to focus at your small-group meetings. You might ask somebody to keep track of members' goals and updates.

G Ask the group to praise God for the results of the first three weeks of working on their goal. Then ask them to ROUP name one problem they are struggling with, and help them come up with a plan for overcoming it over the next

few weeks. When you put them in pairs to discuss these goals, usually the discussion goes deeper and there is M greater accountability. EMBERS

Validate every step. You need to say, "Hip-hip-hooray!" and "That a boy! That a girl!" Don't forget to affirm even the smallest of steps. One man brought a Bible to his small group, and the leader said, "Fantastic! Now /

let's set a goal to read it regularly." Celebrate every step. Look for whatever progress there might be, and How affirm them. -

To Articles As a group, you may agree to celebrate when someone shows progress—memorizing their first verse, praying out loud, reading a book of the Bible, or leading their first group meeting. Your job is to ask, "Who is working on what, and how can we help you get to the next step?" Don't forget to include yourself. Leaders are also on a

spiritual journey.

Ask them to find a spiritual partner/mentor in the group. Most Christians—and even spiritual seekers— want to grow spiritually. At the same time, most don't know how to make it happen alone. You are the catalyst to help members find spiritual partners. Start with yourself, and ask someone in the group to be your partner for the next six weeks. Then ask the group whom they would like to partner with for the next six weeks. Ideally, men pair with men, and women with women.

At the end of the meeting in which you pair them up, have them exchange e-mail addresses and spend some time setting goals and praying together. Encourage them to celebrate when they take steps in their spiritual journey.

Together you accomplish more than you could ever do alone. Shared goals make a difference. If you all stack hands and vow to do one ministry project together—just one over the course of six weeks—it will happen. Just ask your group what interests them and what the group could accomplish together. Then ask people to take on specific responsibilities for getting it done.

Our group was moved to feed the homeless. We made a plan and then made barbecue chicken meals. To make a long story short, two of the homeless men ended up coming to Christ—their lives were changed forever. More than that, our small group changed forever, as they learned what can happen when they are motivated by Christ's love. We all grew through that experience.

Expect them to pass it on. If you do not expect them to pass on that which they have been given, they won't fulfill the Great Commission. Not everyone is called to be a teacher, but cast a vision that everyone is called to be use their gifts to help others grow closer to Christ.

Discuss 1. Do you get frustrated when you don't see immediate transformation in group members? How can you remind yourself that transformation takes time and intentionality? 2. Which of the CULTIVATE steps stands out to you the most? How can you work on it with your group? 3. Which of the steps are you already doing? How can you improve on them?

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Error! Reference source not found. Encouraging "Next Steps" for Your Group

Members G Set a goal for spiritual maturity and a realistic pace for spiritual ROUP growth M

By Tony Escobar EMBERS

One of the main purposes of small groups is to develop mature people who follow Christ more obediently. But in churches, and especially in small groups, different people may view spiritual maturity in different ways. /

Some may think of it as having lots of Bible knowledge, for example, or having a great quiet time every day, or being perfect. How

- At Community Christian Church, we believe that spiritual maturity is really about speedy obedience. No one To Articles says it better than our lead pastor, Dave Ferguson, in The Big Idea: "For a Christ-follower, the measure of maturity is determined by the speed of obedience. The most mature Christ follower is not the person who has attended the most church events or accumulated the most information about Jesus, but rather the person whose heart is most transformed. And transformation is seen when a person hears God and responds with swift obedience."

In addition to setting a specific goal for spiritual maturity, small groups also have the incredible privilege and responsibility to set the pace for spiritual growth in the church. But that highlights another misconception that often develops in groups. We think it's our responsibility as group leaders to take our members from being atheists to missionaries in one year or less. In reality, that's not the case at all. Maturity is about speedy obedience, and the pace for spiritual growth is about moving ahead one obedient baby step at a time.

That's why small-group leaders need to learn the skill of helping their people identify "next steps." Below, I've identified a practical, three-step game plan that will help encourage your group members to move forward in spiritual maturity. I recommend writing this plan down and modifying it to fit your specific group, because having a written plan will allow you to do four things: assess the need for growth, ensure clarity and direction, create accountability, and measure progress.

Step 1: Clarify Winning The first step is to think about where we ultimately want our people to be spiritually. We must lead with the end in mind. So what would it look like for our members to win in terms of spiritual growth?

For example, at Community Christian, we want to develop 3-C followers of Christ:  Celebrate God regularly in a corporate setting;  Connect with others in a small group more genuinely through support, confession, and accountability; and  Contribute their resources, gifts, and talents regularly and generously.

Whichever goal you have in mind, it's important to remember that your members may not arrive at their destination within your group. In fact, we will never fully "arrive" as Christ-followers on Earth. So as a leader, think of yourself more like a contributing author who writes a chapter or two in God's story for each member. Others have written before you; others will likely write after you. You don't have to write their whole book.

But you'll win in your small group if you can get members to successfully take the next steps toward their end. They don't have to be perfect. You won't make them perfect, but you want to set goals and do things that will keep them moving in step with Christ.

The most effective way for your group to think with an end in mind and clarify wins is to establish a clear group covenant. This allows you to set a reasonable timeline, to encourage reasonable steps, and ultimately to achieve reasonable goals.

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Step 2: Where Are We Now? Next, evaluate the current status of your group, and of each individual in the group. This helps you determine how far you are from where you want to be, and sets you up for the next steps necessary to keep moving in that direction. In other words, step two helps you assess the growth needs of the group. G ROUP Here are the kinds of questions you can ask to determine where your people are:

 What knowledge do members need? M

 What do they need more practice in? EMBERS  What does my group care about?  Who hasn't been baptized?

 What experiences have our members had? /

 How new are members to the group, or to following Christ? How  How long has our group been together? -  Who hasn't taken core courses offered by our church? To Articles  What challenges do members have?

Step 3: What Is Your Next Step? The final step is to ask your group members, "What steps will we take to get to where we want to be?" In other words, "What's next for you?" This question helps you keep your group on track toward winning.

You want to set basic steps that will point your group toward achieving its goals. Again, be sure to establish these steps with your group and also one-on-one with each member. Here are some of the most basic next steps that a group or an individual can take:  Start keeping a spiritual-growth journal  Take a course or Sunday school class through your church (i.e., financial stewardship, Bible study, evangelism training, etc.)  Get baptized  Start contributing time, talents, tithe, etc.

Miscellaneous Tactics The following tips will make you more successful at the three-step process above.

Less is more. You will be more effective as a small-group leader if you narrow your focus in your covenants and steps. Teach and encourage less so that group members can achieve more. Focus only on what specific wins you want your group to achieve in a given time. Teach and encourage only those steps that will help them achieve their goals.

Offer a menu. Instead of expecting group members to come up with their own next steps, offer or communicate some of the basic steps to them. For example, alert them to upcoming core courses, serving opportunities, baptisms, etc.

Next Steps 101. Allow members to develop at the basic levels first, and then guide them toward more advanced steps.

Peer pressure. Take steps as a group together. Nothing encourages people to action like peer pressure! Because, hey, if everyone else is doing it—why not?

Celebrate. When you catch your members doing something right, celebrate what they have done. Throw parties, bake a cake, get a gift, or just have fun whenever someone takes a positive step. Doing so encourages those who have taken steps, and it encourages others to start taking steps.

Share stories. Stories impact people . Real-life examples of life change will inspire members to want to experience the same.

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Invest in relationships. People will do anything for a good friend. And people are more likely to take on a challenge from a good friend. Building relationships and trust with your group members will make your challenges to them more effective. More relationships mean more steps taken!

Discuss M EMBERS 1. When it comes to your expectations for the members of your group, how would you define "winning?" 2. Which of the three steps do you struggle to implement? How can you be more intentional in doing so? 3. Looking at the miscellaneous tactics, which ones do you want to implement? How will you do that? /

How - To To Articles

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. Learning Styles and Lesson Preparation Understanding how people learn gives you a better shot at teaching G

them. ROUP By Scottie May

M Remember that course in college when you said, "Wow! That was incredible. I can't believe how much I EMBERS learned." Then there was that other class that left you feeling flat, bored, and not sure that you learned a thing. Or the time your spouse loved the well constructed, carefully outlined talk that was accompanied by succinct

power point slides of the key points—but you yawned the whole time. /

How Why these differences? -

To Articles Maybe it's clashing learning styles. Whether you were aware of it or not, differences in learning styles have probably caused some frustration or a lack of understanding in your small group. Of course, the personality, expertise, and enthusiasm of the group leader does make a difference. So does the nature of the content. But

learning styles are a key factor that plays into these tensions, and their significance may not be intuitive for many of us.

So What Is a Learning Style? A learning style is simply how one perceives and processes information. And we all do that differently. That's the rub, and what makes an awareness of learning styles important for those involved with small groups. Let's go back to the definition. To perceive information refers to the way we take in data: through our senses. One person may do it best visually, another through hearing, yet someone else may prefer to be actively involved.

Then there is the processing aspect. That's what the brain does with the information after it has been perceived. Here again are significant differences. Information may be split into parts, organized, clumped together, analyzed, manipulated—any number of things. Most of us can do all these forms of perceiving and processing, but when it comes to learning, we tend to have preferences. The way we learn, especially in our early years, can influence our personality. How we learn matters.

Currently there are many models of learning styles. Some have to do with the influence of environmental factors, such as lighting or type of seating; others relate to influences on body rhythms, like time of day or the season.

One that I find particularly helpful deals with the cognitive and affective aspects of learning—how I think and feel about my learning. David Kolb developed the model in the late 70s, and shortly thereafter Bernice McCarthy contributed insights regarding the affective components of learning. The work of these two educators informs much of this article.

Kolb's model can be represented by a grid with two axes: one horizontal, the other vertical. The vertical axis has feeling (concrete experience) at the top and thinking (abstract conceptualization) at the bottom; the horizontal axis has doing (active experimentation) on the left and watching (reflective observation) on the right. The two axes intersect, creating four quadrants.

The top right quadrant represents imaginative or innovative people who like to diverge in their thinking (type 1 learners); the bottom right is analytic, representing those who assimilate facts (type 2); the bottom left quadrant is common sense for those who converge their learning (type 3); and the top left signifies dynamic people who experiment (type 4).

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Characteristics of Learning Styles First of all, no one is purely one type of learner. We're all a mix of types, but most of us have a style of learning with which we are most comfortable. By the way, intelligence is equally distributed among all styles.

G Here are brief summaries that describe each type: ROUP

Imaginative. Starts with concrete reality and then diverges creatively. Enjoys the arts and beauty. M

Learns through discussion and interaction. Friendly and caring. Enjoys people. Dislikes lectures, EMBERS competition, and debate. May be a people pleaser. Needs to feel liked and accepted to learn well. Asks "why?" Typecast ministry position: pastoral counselor, youth ministry.

Analytic. Starts with ideas and abstractions. Assimilates content like a sponge. Organizes it into How theories and concepts. Learns well from organized experts. Wants all the facts. Serious minded. -

Tends to like ideas more than people. Dislikes discussion, noise, and sitting in circles. They love To Articles school because traditional school is designed for this type. (That's the reason so many teachers and professors are like this: because they are in an environment very comfortable for them.) Asks "what?" Typecast ministry position: systematic theologian, expository preacher.

Common Sense. Starts with ideas and concepts but then converges them to develop a plan or strategy. Enjoys figuring out how things work. Hands-on. Dislikes lectures, memorizing, lots of reading, and being told how to do something. Focuses on tasks sometimes to a fault. Asks "how?" Typecast ministry position: practical theology, administration.

Dynamic. Starts with concrete experience and accommodates through trial and error. Experiments, takes risks. Very flexible. Change agent. Enjoys learning in a variety of ways. Dislikes routine and "rigid" truths. May be comfortable in front of people. Asks "so what?" and "what if?" Typecast ministry position: pioneer missionary, evangelist.

Learning styles vary greatly. Those differences can be challenging for a small-group member, or they can make community experiences rich and fulfilling—it all depends on your perspective. In some ways, the style differences remind me of the diversity of spiritual gifts described in the New Testament; they also parallel the diversity of the Body of Christ noted in 1 Corinthians 12. You wouldn't want a small group made up only of people who are analytic, Type 2 learners any more than you'd want a body made up of only hands.

A small group of diverse learners is complementary, sort of like a marriage. The differences in members' styles can help each other develop their strengths and also grow in areas of weakness. Diversity is healthy and, I think, draws on biblical principles.

Relevance for Leaders Why should small-group leaders be aware of learning styles? Because you need to be aware of your own learning preferences. Know your strengths, but also be aware of ways of learning that make you uncomfortable—the method or approach you tend to avoid as a leader. Most of us prefer to do what makes us comfortable. But what I dislike in a learning setting may be exactly what would help another—usually a person whose style is opposite mine—to gain insight into a spiritual truth.

For example, Imaginative learners may focus so much on relationships within the group and issues in their lives that they fail to spend an adequate amount of time on the content. Analytic learners may be so text focused that the group struggles to get to know each other well. Common Sense learners may be so task oriented—even with caring, servant tasks—that relationships or Scripture may be neglected. And Dynamic learners may be so flexible that truth may become relative. As in most of life, sameness is not best.

How to Use Learning Styles

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING Here's how I've applied the concept of learning styles to my own group leading and teaching. First, I don't worry about the style of the people in my group or class. Fully aware of my own weaknesses and preferences, I intentionally try to introduce an activity or experience that's relevant for each learning style at some point in every session, even if it's brief. That way, every person feels comfortable at some point, which then helps them be willing to be stretched in methods or styles that are not their strength. G ROUP Several years ago I came up with five-steps that help me plan lessons. I call them the "5-Ates to Educate."

(The term educate, by the way, does not mean to teach or to learn; it means to draw out or to lead. Think about M how that definition might affect your role as a group leader.) EMBERS

The five steps are Locate, Elaborate, Illuminate, Integrate, and Activate.

The Locate step becomes the aim of the lesson and relates to a felt need or problem facing the How learners. -

To Articles The Elaborate step takes that problem and pushes it to its logical conclusion if there is no resolution to it. Imaginative learners enjoy doing this kind of creative thinking.

The Illuminate step brings people to the text—whether the Bible or another book being studied—to examine the content for the truths and facts. Analytic learners thrive here.

The Integrate step then helps apply the truth to the felt need or problem. This application step helps learners devise plans for resolving the life problem identified in the Locate step. Common Sense learners are strong here.

Finally, the Activate step helps participants become motivated and accountable for living out the truths identified in the Illuminate step. This draws on Dynamic learners' strengths.

Once again, the leader does not need to match learning style type with certain activities. Just let it happen.

I am glad I know about learning styles. I find them so helpful. Yet the model described above is a tool, and only a tool. It's not a panacea for all the problems that arise in small groups.

In addition, there is one more thing that will help you immensely when it comes to learning and spiritual transformation in your small group, regardless of your learning style: time and space for reflection. Time for reflection is essential because it creates the space necessary for you to hear the whispers of the Holy Spirit. After all, it is the Spirit of God who is the true teacher—the one who truly brings about transformation in the lives of your group.

Discuss 1. Prior to reading this article, how aware were you of learning styles? What are you taking away from this article? 2. What is your primary learning style? Do you tend to lead your group in this style? How might you and your group benefit if you were to experiment with different learning styles? 3. How do you normally prepare for meetings? How might using the 5-ates help you teach in a way that engages and empowers all your group members?

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Error! Reference source not found. Group Member Evaluation Examine how a recent study has affected your head, heart, hands,

and feet. G ROUP By Steve Grusendorf

If "Knowing" and "Applying" were cities on a map, they would be miles apart. The challenge is charting a M EMBERS course that will take you from one to the other. For many small-group members, the route is confusing—full of twists, turns, dead ends, and rotaries. Honestly, we all need a little help from time to time. This evaluation is designed to help you navigate the road from knowledge to application—taking a journey / that stops at your head, heart, hands, and feet. At each stop you will be asked to consider some thought Resources provoking application questions, and by the end of your journey you will find how far you've traveled down the road to application. It's important to know that this evaluation is not a pass or fail test. Think of it as a temperature gauge. The goal is to be more intentional about applying what you've learned in your small group.

Head If you've memorized any verses over the course of this study, write out the references:

Have you come to a better understanding of any biblical doctrines? If so, which ones?

Write out any new spiritual disciplines you have learned:

Heart Have you changed the way you think about someone or something? You used to think:

Now you think:

Has your prayer life changed or improved over the course of this study?

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How have your devotional habits changed or improved? G ROUP

M EMBERS

Hands /

Have you stopped any behaviors as a result of this study? If so, why? Resources

What new behaviors have you started practicing as a result of this study?

Feet Thinking of how you've learned and changed during the study, have you shared those new ideas and behaviors with the people in your family? If so, who?

Have you shared those ideas and behaviors with people outside of the small group?

Who:

Why:

Have you engaged in any acts of service as a result of this study? If so, what was the outcome?

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Error! Reference source not found. Further Exploration Websites and books to help small-group ministry empower G

people to take the next step ROUP

Smallgroups.com. We specialize in equipping churches and small-group leaders to make disciples and M

strengthen community. EMBERS

 Do You Lead a Life-Changing Group? (Assessment Pack)

 Improving Small-Group Accountability (Practical Ministry Skills) /

Resources  Leading a Life-Changing Bible Study (Practical Ministry Skills)  Overcoming Growth Plateaus (Practical Ministry Skills)

LeadershipJournal.net. This website offers practical advice and articles for church leaders.

Kyria.com. A website ministering to Christian women.

The Big Idea: Focus the Message, Multiply the Impact by Dave Ferguson, Jon Ferguson, Eric Bramlett. Discover how to present one laser-focused theme each week in order to facilitate family and small- group discussions, foster creative collaboration, energize your staff, unify diverse church ministries, and more (Zondervan, 2007; ISBN 978-0310272410).

Field Guide for Small Group Leaders: Setting the Tone, Accommodating Learning Styles and More by Samuel O'Neal. Sometimes a small-group leader just wants to know how to survive the next meeting—not how to instruct and correct or shock and awe, but simply how to set the table for a life-changing encounter with God. The Field Guide for Small Group Leaders shows you how (IVP Connect, 2012; ISBN 978-0830810918).

Successful Small Groups by Teena M. Stewart. Explore the process of building and maintaining a growing community from concept to practice (Beacon Hill Press, 2007; ISBN 978-0834123373).

Transforming Discipleship: Making Disciples a Few at a Time by Greg Ogden. Ogden explores the few-at-a-time methods of Jesus and Paul as the best model for discipleship (Intervarsity Press, 2003: ISBN 978-0830823888).

EMPOWERING GROUP MEMBERS MPOWERING

Error! Reference source not found. Retreat Plan How to create a one-day retreat on the theme of "Empowering G

Group Members" ROUP

SMALLGROUPS.COM training themes expand easily into one-day (or even weekend) training events. Here EMBERS is a sample schedule you may follow for the theme of meaningful prayer. The purpose of this event is to help your small-group leaders begin exploring ways to deepen and enhance their small-group prayer times so they are meaningful and transformative. /

Morning Retreat Plan

 9:00–10:15 A.M. Opening Session: Hand out copies of "This Is Why They Call You a 'Leader'" by Sam O'Neal, and allow time for each person to read it. Then form groups of three or four. Have each group discuss the questions at the end of the article. Reconvene for the last 20 minutes and

have the groups share their comments and consider the implications of O'Neal's ideas for small-group ministry.

 10:15–11:00 A.M. Devotional: You can lead a Bible study, or you can have group leaders remain in their subgroups and explore "The Self-Starter Strategy for Spiritual Growth" by Rachel Gilmore. Photocopy and pass out the study, or use the handout as your notes.

 11–12:00. Activity: Do a fun activity together to give everyone a bit of a break from pure discussion. Allow time at the end to debrief the experience. For ideas, be sure to see our icebreakers.

 12:00. Lunch Afternoon

 1–2 P.M. Second Session: Have each person take the "Are Group Members Experiencing Life-Change" assessment and read through the article "Measuring Spiritual Growth." Allow 15–20 minutes at the end of this session for discussion and reactions. Then take a look at "Group Member Evaluation." Discuss how having group members fill this out might help them measure their own growth and take appropriate next steps.

 2–2:30 P.M. Stretch Break.

 3–4:30 P.M. Final Session: Allow groups to choose a Case Study they want to review and give them 20–30 minutes to read through it and discuss. Allow time for sharing ideas and reactions as a large group, then have everyone read through "Creating an Environment for Empowerment" and discuss in smaller groups.

You can create similar retreat plans for any of the other SMALLGROUPS.COM themes. Simply determine what you want to accomplish and select the handouts that support your objectives.