Small Groups

Small Groups helps churches build disciple-making communities where people grow in Scripture, prayer, and relationships. Explore practical, Bible-based articles on launching and leading groups, training leaders, choosing curriculum, facilitating discussion, and creating healthy group culture. You’ll find guidance on group multiplication, care and accountability, welcoming new people, and connecting groups to the church’s mission. Whether you lead a group, oversee a small groups ministry, or want to strengthen community in your congregation, these resources equip you to help people follow Jesus together.

March 1, 2015

Christian Standard

Take Advantage of Special Days to Launch New Groups!

By Michael C. Mack There are several key seasons for launching new small groups or classes, says Mark Howell, pastor of communities at Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas, Nevada, and founder of SmallGroupResources.net. The end of September/beginning of October is a great time to help new arrivals connect through new groups. The end of January/first part of February is a great time to help New Year”s resolution and “turn-over-a-new-leaf” people take a spiritual next step. Right after Easter is another good time to run a small group connection or launch new groups. Special days like Mother”s Day and

January 16, 2015

Michael C. Mack

How to Lead a Great Discussion

By Michael C. Mack Several years ago Jim Lehrer was interviewed about what it takes to moderate a political debate. Several of his techniques are also applicable to teachers and small group leaders. 1. The focus must be on the participants, not the moderator. Some moderators are better at this than others. It”s a learned skill, Lehrer said, not an innate ability. Group leaders and teachers must learn to keep the focus on the participants, not themselves. The leader”s job is not to teach a lesson, where everyone”s attention is on him or her, but to facilitate (or moderate) a

December 4, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Christmas Icebreakers for Your Group or Class

By Michael C. Mack 1. Describe a time in your childhood when you were chosen for something (i.e., a team, an award or distinction, or an important task). How did it feel to be chosen? 2. What nativity-set traditions, if any, did your family have? 3. With which character in the Christmas story do you most identify? Why? 4. As a child, what were some of your family”s traditions leading up to Christmas Day? (For examples, an Advent wreath, candles, a calendar.) Do you have any traditions today? 5. As a young child, how did you anticipate the coming of

November 30, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Seven Things a Facilitator or Teacher Should Never Do

By Michael C. Mack 1. Depend on any resource more than the Bible. 2. Lose sight of your goals. Your main goal is to make mature disciples, not to teach a great lesson. 3. Teach more than you shepherd. Don”t forget that knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. 4. Try to lead using someone else”s gifts. Be yourself. God gave you specific gifts to use in building up the body of Christ. He gave others their gifts for the same reason. 5. Get into debates about little things. Check out 1 Timothy 6:4 and 2 Timothy 2:14 about this

November 29, 2014

Michael C. Mack

The Five Biggest Obstacles to Making Disciples in Groups and Classes

By Michael C. Mack Discipleship and small group ministers were asked, “What is the biggest obstacle you”d like to figure out how to overcome in your ministry?” Here are the top five responses: 1. “How to teach people to slow down so they have time for relationships“”with God, their family, and one another,” says Jim Egli of Urbana, Illinois. Kim James of Los Altos, California, blames the lack of relationships on “too many activities and offerings at church, which dilutes the importance of small groups as a model for discipleship and relationships. In essence, we are “˜too busy” at church.”

November 28, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Top 10 Things Members of My Group Did While I Was in the Hospital

By Michael C. Mack 10. Went on a camping trip together while I was stuck in the hospital room! 9. Visited me several times but didn”t overstay my need for rest. 8. Brought me tulips. 7. Prayed with me. 6. Prayed for me. 5. Gave me a foot massage in the emergency room. 4. Prayed for other people in the hospital while visiting me. 3. Watched our four kids so my wife could visit me. 2. Fixed and brought meals to the house each day for my wife and kids. 1. Loved and encouraged me. Michael Mack is the author

October 26, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Lead Better Bible Studies

By Michael C. Mack The “Preach Better Sermons” online conference webcast in April by Preaching Rocket (the rocketcompany.com), featured some of the best preachers and presenters around and provided great insights into preaching. The wisdom shared can also be applied to facilitating better Bible studies. Here are five practical tips: 1. Create tension. Andy Stanley spoke of how he deliberately creates tension in the beginning of his message to get people to say, “Tell me the answer to that question or problem.” You can do the same as you lead your group. Boil down your main lesson idea into one tension-building

August 30, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Ten Ways to Stifle Discussion in Your Group or Class

By Michael C. Mack 1. Use impressive, big words like regeneration, justification, and eschatology as much as possible. 2. Interject names such as Polycarp, Dietrich Bonhoeffer and, yes, Rick Warren and Max Lucado. 3. Be serious all the time. Since you are studying God”s Holy Word, there is no time for fun or frivolity! 4. Don”t allow people to share their feelings. Focus on facts. Feelings have no place in Bible study. 5. Do most of the talking. Study diligently and then share everything you learned about your topic. This is what it means to teach. 6. If no one responds

July 7, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Restoring Biblical Community

By Michael C. Mack People often ask me why I am so fanatical about small groups. I could provide many theological and statistical reasons, but my personal passion comes from one source: my life has been personally, profoundly transformed, many times actually, in the authentic, Christ-centered community of small groups. Beyond that, as a minister and small group coach and consultant, I have the privilege to see God use the community of healthy groups as the environment where discipleship occurs. If you were to compare your group (or church) to the New Testament model of authentic community, how would you

June 2, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Is It Time to Quit or Time to Commit?

By Michael C. Mack June is perhaps the best time of the year to assess the small group(s) under your care and review your own leadership. How are you doing as a steward of the people God has entrusted to you? Over the years, I”ve seen many leaders either call it quits or decide to recommit when June rolled around. Let”s face it. Leading a small group is a big commitment. It”s a calling by God to invest your life into the lives of other people, to allow God to use you to bring about transformation as only he can.

May 21, 2014

Michael C. Mack

The Eternal Impact of a Small Group Leader

By Michael C. Mack This is the time of year many small groups and group leaders make some vital decisions about their futures. Will we take a break over the summer? Will we continue meeting after this month or are we done as a group? Is it time to change our focus as a group? Over the next two months, I want to encourage you as a leader and as a group. It”s easy to lose sight of what God is doing in and through you, and what plans he has for your future. I thank God for Marcus and

April 28, 2014

Michael C. Mack

Does Worship Belong in Small Groups?

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: Should we worship in our small group?  ANSWER: Does a heart belong in the human body? Does an operating system belong on a computer? Does peanut butter go well with jelly? Does chocolate belong in a chocolate chip cookie? Worship makes a small group run. It”s what holds it together. It”s what makes a sweet aroma, pleasing to God. The question about whether worship belongs in a small group usually comes from Christians who believe for some reason, and with no biblical support, that worship should be reserved for a certain place (the church building)

March 20, 2014

Michael C. Mack

What Should We Study Next?

By Michael C. Mack If you”ve been in a small group for more than a few months, you”ve probably heard the question, perhaps many times: “What are we going to study next?” It”s usually asked as you turn to the last lesson in your current study guide. This question tells a lot about your group. Here are a few possibilities: “¢ The group is focused on content rather than Christ and community. “¢ The group has no long-range plans. “¢ The leader is not shepherding the group. “¢ The group has no mission or has forgotten it. I”ve often compared

February 22, 2014

Christian Standard

The Perfect Gift for a Small Group Leader

By Andrew Mason I was working hard at my desk earlier this week when I heard one of my small group members walk into the main church office and ask whether I was in. Those moments always increase my heart rate because I don”t want to ignore people, but I”m always afraid of being derailed for 45 minutes or so when I”m already running out of time to get my work done for the day. I erred on the side of friendliness (plus my door was open and he could see me sitting there). He walked in and handed me

January 17, 2014

Michael C. Mack

“˜I Don”t Have Time for a Small Group”

By Michael C. Mack Consumer Christians may be the most likely to claim they”re too busy to join a group. It”s not a new excuse, and I”ve decided on some strategies for confronting it. “I”d like to be in a small group, but I just don”t have the time right now.” I have heard that phrase/excuse 7,463 times since getting involved in small group ministry. But who”s counting? It used to frustrate me whenever I heard it. Sometimes I”d argue with the antiparticipant, using my best biblical and sociological case for group involvement. But that never worked. As a small

December 1, 2013

Michael C. Mack

What Are God”s Goals for Your Group Next Year?

By Michael C. Mack What”s God going to do in and through your small group in 2014? Now is the time to prayerfully ask that question, set some goals, and make some plans for next year and beyond. Perhaps you need to confront the brutal facts of your current reality, as author Jim Collins put it in Good to Great, “When you start with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of your situation, the right decisions often become self- evident.” That”s what we did at Northeast Christian Church several years ago. We wanted to determine if our

October 29, 2013

Mark A. Taylor

Self-Fed

By Mark A. Taylor Usually my wife and I grab something at a restaurant after church on Sunday morning, but a few weeks ago the church fed me lunch. It was an information meeting for small group leaders at our church, and the menu was box lunches from one of my favorite local cafes. I tried the chicken salad sandwich. Never had it before””it was great! There were extra meals on hand after the meeting, so each of us could take a couple home with us. My wife and I enjoyed ours the next day. So that means the church

October 20, 2013

Michael C. Mack

Restoring Life to Your Small Group

By Michael C. Mack QUESTION: Our small group started strong, but now it”s dead. We launched around an eight-week churchwide campaign. The first meeting had all the signs of a successful group, but by week five couples who had been so excited about being in a group started making excuses why they couldn”t stick with their commitment. One by one they began to drop out. To make the group more convenient, we began meeting every other week. The group dwindled even more. People lost track of when we were meeting and didn”t come. Finally we just decided to pronounce the

September 28, 2013

Michael C. Mack

How Your Small Group Can Carry Out the Great Commission

By Michael C. Mack The mere mention of “small group multiplication” makes some group members squirm. “I finally found a great group of friends,” they protest, “and now you want to split us up?” In last month”s issue, I dared to bring up the subject. I pointed out a “secret” to small group multiplication: healthy groups reproduce naturally. In fact, group multiplication happens best and more often, I”ve found, when it isn”t forced. To carry out the Great Commission, we must continually develop new groups, new churches, and new ministries. But where do we find leaders? I think the best

August 24, 2013

Michael C. Mack

The Secret to Small Group Multiplication

This is the time of year to plan for the long-term health, growth, and continual expansion of your small group ministry. Here are some tips for making that happen. By Michael C. Mack One of the most “reproductive” leaders I”ve ever known is Laura. I lost count of how many times her group multiplied. Since she was an expert, I asked her to conduct a training session for other leaders on how to multiply a group. Her response offers a clue to the secret of multiplication: “I have no idea what to teach others about this,” she told me. “It

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