How to Make Your Group Meeting Successful
What makes for a great Life Group meeting? Depending on your church background, your passion, or your theological convictions, the answers to this could be as many as the number of “C’monnnns” we’ve heard from Pastor Sam.
If you grew up in a Southern Baptist background, complete with the LifeWay quarterlies and felt boards (I know I just lost some of you), you might say something like, “Life Group meetings are great if we make it all the way through the curriculum plan for that day.”
Maybe you grew up in more of a non-denominational background, and in your church, community was the buzzword. If everyone in your group ate well and got to know each other deeper, that was a win.
Others may feel successful if you’ve studied rich theological concepts complete with cultural and textual exegesis and building the hermeneutical bridge.
If any of those describe you, your understanding of what makes a good Life Group meeting might be incomplete. You might say, "Kris, is it bad to get through the curriculum?" Absolutely not! "Is it wrong to build stronger relationships?" Of course not! "Should we not desire to help our group members deepen Biblical literacy?" The answer is obvious. We should!
All of those things are good things. Good, however, can often be the enemy of great. So what does make for a great Life Group meeting? I’m glad you asked. I believe Life Group meetings move from good to great when everyone in the group engages in meaningful gospel conversation.
Ken Blanchard said, "The person who talks the most learns the most." In other words, if we want to make disciples and teach them everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19), then we must get them talking.
Here are 3 ways to help make that a reality:
1. Practice the 70/30 Rule
Okay, I’ll just say it: Most group leaders talk way too much. In my experience as a consultant with LifeWay and Executive Director of Discipleship.org, I’ve seen this on repeat in churches across the country. The group leader becomes more of a lecturer than a facilitator of gospel conversations.
I coach leaders to practice the 70/30 rule. Leaders should only talk 30% of the time, while group members should talk 70% of the time.
2. Ask Good Discovery Questions
A basic rule of thumb in consulting is “it matters who says it.” The same is true in discipleship. Instead of teaching a concept, think, “How can I ask a question to get my group members to discover a concept for themselves?”
For example, rather than teaching the concept of God’s sovereignty, ask questions like, “When you’re walking through a storm in life, why is it tough to find peace? How can you help yourself remember that God is in complete control of every situation? What can our group do to help each other during those times?”
We want to help make this easy for you! The Leader Guides we write for each TSC sermon are based on this principle. You can find them at tsclife.org/groupleader.
3. "Gospel" Each Other
Recently, in the group I lead, someone brought up a struggle they were having making a vocational decision. What resulted next made my pastor-heart jump for joy. I didn’t say a word. Other members of the group started speaking up and sharing how the Lord had led them through similar situations, quoting scripture over her, and committing to pray for her family. Friends, that is a healthy group dynamic. I wasn’t teaching a theological concept; rather, the members of the group were “gospeling” her to be more conformed to Christ.
Maybe you’re thinking, "Yeah, but my group won’t speak up like that." If you find yourself in that situation, simply turn to your group and pose the question, “So, what do you guys think?” Lead them spur each other on toward maturity in Christ.
---
This week, when you finish your session, ask the question, “Was everyone in my group engaged in meaningful gospel conversations?”
If you grew up in a Southern Baptist background, complete with the LifeWay quarterlies and felt boards (I know I just lost some of you), you might say something like, “Life Group meetings are great if we make it all the way through the curriculum plan for that day.”
Maybe you grew up in more of a non-denominational background, and in your church, community was the buzzword. If everyone in your group ate well and got to know each other deeper, that was a win.
Others may feel successful if you’ve studied rich theological concepts complete with cultural and textual exegesis and building the hermeneutical bridge.
If any of those describe you, your understanding of what makes a good Life Group meeting might be incomplete. You might say, "Kris, is it bad to get through the curriculum?" Absolutely not! "Is it wrong to build stronger relationships?" Of course not! "Should we not desire to help our group members deepen Biblical literacy?" The answer is obvious. We should!
All of those things are good things. Good, however, can often be the enemy of great. So what does make for a great Life Group meeting? I’m glad you asked. I believe Life Group meetings move from good to great when everyone in the group engages in meaningful gospel conversation.
Ken Blanchard said, "The person who talks the most learns the most." In other words, if we want to make disciples and teach them everything Jesus commanded (Matthew 28:19), then we must get them talking.
Here are 3 ways to help make that a reality:
1. Practice the 70/30 Rule
Okay, I’ll just say it: Most group leaders talk way too much. In my experience as a consultant with LifeWay and Executive Director of Discipleship.org, I’ve seen this on repeat in churches across the country. The group leader becomes more of a lecturer than a facilitator of gospel conversations.
I coach leaders to practice the 70/30 rule. Leaders should only talk 30% of the time, while group members should talk 70% of the time.
2. Ask Good Discovery Questions
A basic rule of thumb in consulting is “it matters who says it.” The same is true in discipleship. Instead of teaching a concept, think, “How can I ask a question to get my group members to discover a concept for themselves?”
For example, rather than teaching the concept of God’s sovereignty, ask questions like, “When you’re walking through a storm in life, why is it tough to find peace? How can you help yourself remember that God is in complete control of every situation? What can our group do to help each other during those times?”
We want to help make this easy for you! The Leader Guides we write for each TSC sermon are based on this principle. You can find them at tsclife.org/groupleader.
3. "Gospel" Each Other
Recently, in the group I lead, someone brought up a struggle they were having making a vocational decision. What resulted next made my pastor-heart jump for joy. I didn’t say a word. Other members of the group started speaking up and sharing how the Lord had led them through similar situations, quoting scripture over her, and committing to pray for her family. Friends, that is a healthy group dynamic. I wasn’t teaching a theological concept; rather, the members of the group were “gospeling” her to be more conformed to Christ.
Maybe you’re thinking, "Yeah, but my group won’t speak up like that." If you find yourself in that situation, simply turn to your group and pose the question, “So, what do you guys think?” Lead them spur each other on toward maturity in Christ.
---
This week, when you finish your session, ask the question, “Was everyone in my group engaged in meaningful gospel conversations?”
Recent
Archive
Categories
no categories
No Comments