What Makes a Great Small Group Leader?
by Phil Sommerville
Surprisingly, the answer is not knowledge, special skills, personality, or even super sainthood (whatever that is). In my experience, the biggest obstacle to people becoming great small group leaders is willingness. Think about this biblically for a moment. The disciples, with one notable exception, all became great leaders. But what were their qualifications? None of them were Bible scholars, none were seen as spiritual leaders, and their personalities were all over the map. They seemed to have only two characteristics in common, a faith in God and a willingness to step up when Jesus said, “Follow me.”
If you have a growing relationship with Jesus and any kind of interest in leading a small group Bible study, you can become a great small group leader. You just need to be willing to try it. The rest you can learn and grow as you go. We’ll help you here at faithalive365.com with lots of leader tips learned from experience.
What’s Stopping You?
“I’m not a Bible scholar.” You don’t need to be. You’re not giving a lecture, or leading a seminar. This Bible Study small group style where the learning comes from each other. Let the Small Group Curriculum do the work. If you have a good study that asks good questions, all you need to do is read the questions and facilitate the discussion – a skill easily learned. We’ll cover it in another article here on our site.
“What if I’m asked a question I don’t know?” A great group leader isn’t someone who knows it all, but someone who is modeling a hunger to learn and grow. If you get stuck, there’s no shame in saying something like, “That’s a great question. I want to know the answer to that too. I’ll study it this week. Why don’t we all think about it this week and we’ll share what we’ve learned next week?” Then, contact one of your pastors and ask for help. Pastors get excited when people are interested in learning more about the Bible. To equip you as a leader, all of our Faith Alive 365 studies come with Leader’s Guides with suggested answers to every question. We want to make it easy for you.
“I don’t have the right personality.” Unless you’re anti-social or dysfunctional in general, you have the personality to be a small group leader. Yes, you need to be friendly, inviting, and able to hold a conversation, but beyond that it doesn’t matter if you’re outgoing, reserved, fun-loving, studious, emotional or stoic. God shaped you with your personality and He will use it. Remember, there are people in your church who will respond better to your personality than to someone who is your opposite. They need a leader like you. And if you’re not a party kind of person, share the load. Let someone else in your group plan the fun. If you’re not an organizer, find someone in the group who likes to organize rosters, send out reminders, etc. By sharing the load, you’ll help others grow and that’s the whole point of a small group Bible study.
“I’ve never been in a small group study.” I’ve seen people with no small group experience become good leaders, but not often. I recommend that you join a group and get a feel for what it’s all about before stepping out to lead one.
“I’m not sure of what I believe about God, Jesus and the Bible.” In that case, you need to join a group not lead one. Small groups are a perfect place for learning more about the Bible and developing your relationship with Jesus. You’re among friends who won’t judge you because they want to learn and grow as much as you do. And in the small group environment there’s freedom to fire away with your questions. Your leader may not have every answer but he or she will help you find them. We recommend our study, “Passion” as a good place to begin to learn more about Jesus and the Christian faith.
If you’ve read this much, then you definitely have an interest in being a small group leader. I believe Jesus might be calling you. Now, all you need you need to do is be willing. Here at faithalive365.com we can equip you to be a great leader, but the willingness, that’s up to you.
Phil Sommerville is co-founder of Faith Alive 365 and a former Small Groups Pastor who has trained hundreds of small group leaders from churches of all sizes.
Read more articles in Small Group Leadership Tips | Leave a Comment
Tagged With ask good questions, Bible study, small group curriculum, small group leader, willingness
Comments
Leave a Reply