by Allen White | Oct 20, 2010 | Small Group Questions
By Allen White
This is a good question. The right study can certainly make or break your group meetings.
1. Start with Your Group. What is your group interested in studying? Do they want to explore a specific topic or a book of the Bible? What does the group feel like they need at this point? Felt needs are a good place to start. If the group is interested in the topic, then you’re already on your way to a great study.
2. Check the DVD Library. Small Groups at Brookwood Church have access to a library of DVDs by a wide variety of teachers including Rick Warren, Chip Ingram, Beth Moore, Andy Stanley, John Ortberg, Bill Hybels, Priscilla Shirer, Francis Chan and many others. As a group leader, you can check out the DVD, and then order the books you need from the Brookwood Bookstore. The Small Group DVD library is located in the bookstore.
3. Use the Message Discussion Guide. Application questions for the Sunday message are available for small groups and individuals. The guide will take the group a step deeper in applying what they’ve heard on Sunday. The preparation is simply to attend the Sunday service or watch it online, then discuss the questions in your group. The discussion guide is available on Sunday afternoon at brookwoodchurch.org/discussionguide
4. Get recommendations from your coach. Your coach is a great resource for you and your group. Not only does your coach lead a group, but they are also up-to-date on what other groups have used. Your coach will also help in evaluating new curriculum and resources.
5. Check small group websites. Many great small group websites are available such as smallgroups.com, smallgrouptrader.com, bluefish.tv, saddlebackresources.com, and others. It will be easy to get overwhelmed, so don’t look at everything. Many sites offer samples of curriculum to view online.
If your group is new, they won’t have much of an opinion of what to study next. If your group has been around for a while, they will have plenty to say. As the leader, it’s up to you to land on something after the group has given input. Don’t take too long in making a decision. Your group could falter in the process.
Sometimes groups get into studies that just don’t work for their group. Some studies require homework. Some studies use a DVD. Some studies just follow verse by verse from the Bible. If your group gets into a study that just isn’t working, I would encourage you to drop that one and try something else. There is no requirement in the world that says "Thou Shalt" complete every study you start. Some studies just don’t work.
by Allen White | Oct 7, 2010 | Small Group Strategy
By Allen White
Now that your group has spent a few weeks together in the Fall study, you probably have a sense of whether or not you actually like each other and want to continue as a group. Your first thought might be “Continue? What? I thought that this was a six-week commitment.” And, you’re absolutely right, this was only a six-week commitment. I want to thank you for honoring your commitment. This six weeks has been significant in the lives of your group members.
This is not bait and switch. Six weeks is six weeks, fair and square. If you aren’t planning to continue with your group, we do need to think about a couple of things:
1. Is there anyone in your group who has shown interest in continuing the group? If you group has passed around the leadership each week, you probably have a sense of who would be capable of moving the group forward. Who truly cares about the group? Who has attended the most faithfully? Who called when they couldn’t make it? These are the people who care the most about the group and very well could lead the group forward.
2. If there is no apparent leader, are there other groups that you can recommend to your group members? Check to see if there is another group like yours or if there is another group that meets nearby. Don’t just send your group to the wolves, I mean the web. Point them to a couple of specific choices.
If you want to continue with your group, now is the time to decide on your next study. This is the fourth week of the study. It usually works best for groups, especially new groups, to decide on their next study before the current study ends. There are so many choices for studies out there that a period of indecision, even just a couple of weeks, could easily cause your group to falter.
If your group would like to follow the next series at Brookwood Church, we will spend the eight weeks following The Me I Want to Be series looking at the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-13). There are a couple of options that I would like to recommend for your group:
1. Life's Healing Choices is an 8-week study from Saddleback Church. Rick Warren teaches on the DVD. There is also a hard cover book that you can read along with the study.
Click Here to Review the Life's Healing Choices Study Guide
Click Here to Review the Life's Healing Choices DVD
2. Living a Blessed Life by Lance Witt, a teaching pastor at Saddleback Church, is a 6-week study. This study is an enriching, verse-by-verse discussion of the Beatitudes. A teaching DVD is also available.
Click Here for more information on Living a Blessed Life.
3. Message Discussion Guide. The discussion guide is written and posted every Sunday nearly year-round. The guide will help your group apply the teaching from Perry's messages to your daily life. It is available as a download at brookwoodchurch.org/discussionguide
Now if your group has been around for a while or if none of these studies interest you, you are welcome to study what your group is the most interested in. We have a wide variety of Small Group DVDs at the Brookwood Bookstore including studies by Andy Stanley, John Ortberg, Chip Ingram, and many others. You can check the DVD out of the Small Group Library, and then just order the books that you need for your group. When your order comes in, your group members can purchase the study guides from the bookstore.
The most important thing is to make a decision in the next week. If your group is new, you may find that they don’t have much of an opinion about the next study at this point. That’s okay. Just choose one of the options I mentioned for the Beatitudes study and go from there. If you have any questions, your coach will certainly help you.
