How to lead
A Great Small Group
How to Lead a Small Group Bible Study
Sharing buttons:
hey girls Tiffany dawn here and welcome
back to another week of Tuesday Girl
Talk so how is your Christmas shopping
going have you guys gotten everything I
don't know about you guys but the men
and my life tend to be the hardest to
shop for and my husband is the worst I
feel like a lot of times as girls are
easy like get us cute clothes and you're
good to go but like for guys I don't
know what do I get them like a football
so I know every guy's different and my
brother loves fashion stuff so he was
always easy to shop for it but my
husband is another story so I was so
excited because I got the best idea for
a Christmas present for him and I can't
tell you because he watches all my
videos but I'm really excited but today
what I want to talk with you about is
actually something a little bit
different than usual how to lead a small
group I started leading small groups
when I was in high school and some of
them over the years have gone better
than others but they've all been a lot
of fun and a big learning experience so
today I want to share with you the top
eight things that I've learned about
leading small groups that helped me and
I'm hoping they can be helpful for you
too whether this is your first time ever
leading a small group or whether this is
your hundredth time and as always please
feel free to leave your own comments and
things that help you with leading small
groups because I would love to read them
and learn from them
so let's go ahead and get started tip
number one know your audience I love
doing Beth Moore book studies I think
her Bible stories are just amazing but
in the videos that she does and in the
Bible studies themselves it kind of
assumes that you already know a fair bit
about the Bible so there's some like
Christianese words in there and there's
like a lot of looking up different
passages in the Bible and it's amazing
but if somebody doesn't really know
anything about the Bible it can be very
overwhelming or even confusing but then
I have some small groups with girls who
don't really know much about the Bible
at all maybe aren't even sure they're
Christians so we try to do something
that's a little more approachable for
anybody one of the places I love to go
is the Bible project which is on YouTube
free videos that give an overview of the
narrative of the Bible so it's important
to know who are the people that you're
hoping will be in this group and you
choose your study material accordingly
tip number two find a co-leader or a
friend you can help you with leading the
Bible study so yeah it's helpful to have
somebody who can lead
discussion every once in a while but
even more so it's really helpful to have
a friend there who's consistently there
almost every week has got your back is
going to talk during discussion times
and somebody will be there to welcome
the girls as they come in and text with
the girls during the week to follow up
just to help build that sense of
community so takes a weight off of your
shoulder so it's not all on you and it's
so much more fun to do stuff like this
with a friend tip number three come
prepared with some good questions
there's nothing worse than getting to
Bible study and having people ask you
questions that you were asked in first
grade Sunday school do you think I'm
five still then people are going to feel
like why would I answer this question
and it won't really go to conversation
started so you want to ask open-ended
questions that are thought-provoking and
kind of touch on our response
spiritually and emotionally to the
passage you're studying but also don't
feel like you have to be stuck to the
questions you've planned because it
could be that you get going in the
discussion and the conversation just
like takes off on this topic or idea or
verse that you didn't expect and it
could be like God is really working at
hearts there so don't feel like you have
to just end it and go back to your
questions let the conversation go as
long as it's still on the topic of like
seeking God and really sharing what's
going on in our hearts so have that list
of questions be prepared with it but
also don't feel like you have to be
stuck to it tip number four have a
little bit of a schedule or some
structure girls just love talking and
being together and sharing about life so
if you don't have time built in to do
that it can be easy to just get off
topic and never actually get to the
study so for example in the study I'm
doing right now the girls come at 6:30
and we just hang out and talk and people
arrive and that gives them flex time to
use if they're running late they're not
missing anything in the study then at 7
o'clock they actually start the study
and then at the end of the study we
close out with prayer requests and
sharing a little bit of what's been
happening in our own lives and then we
have another half an hour to an hour
built in where people just stay until
they want to go and just hang out and
talk and because of that structure it
helps us to stay focused during the
study time because we have time to catch
up before and after and to be girls and
just enjoy doing life together which is
so important tip number five never say
anything behind somebody's back unless
if it's really good one of the ways you
build trust in a small group is for you
as
leader to set the tone for the whole
group and so if you're talking about
people behind their back that's going to
make it so people think oh is she
talking about me behind my back too and
it can create a really toxic atmosphere
so it's so important for you as the
leader to never engage in talking badly
about somebody in the group if you do
say something when they're not in the
room make it be amazingly positive
raving about the things you love about
that person and then that will get back
to them and they will feel so loved tip
number six is give a get-to-know-you a
questionnaire at the beginning of a
small group session I love to hand out
to each of the girls this little forum
where they put down with our birthday
their favorite snack their favorite
color and then I can also take notes on
it throughout the year of other things I
learned that they love so if they have
certain sport they're in or a play
coming up I could write that down and
then it gives me a way to just get to
know them and do little things that let
them know they're loved and their
birthday sending out a group text to the
person like happy birthday we love you
and then saying hey I know you love
hummus and pretzels so that's what we're
having tonight just little things like
that go along white letting someone know
how loved they are tip number seven is
assign jobs when people have
responsibilities and something it helps
them be more committed and feel more
interval like needed part of the
community so if you want to have
somebody in charge of assigning who
brings a snack on each different week
that's a great way to have a job for
somebody you can also have girls that
you think are great at leading
discussion take turns leading the
discussion sometimes I've had some small
groups where our girl plays guitar and
so she'll do some worship songs at the
beginning so the more you give that
sense of ownership to people in your
small group the more committed they'll
become and the more community they'll
feel and lastly but most importantly
number eight is pray a lot I cannot tell
you the power of prayer like when we ask
God would you come as you move at us he
wants to do that already and sometimes
it feels like he's just waiting for us
to ask I start praying for small groups
months before they ever start and and
for me I'll be praying like God who do
you want in this small group like would
you put us together and then before it
starts and while it's going on praying
for the girls like that God would really
just be working in their hearts that
they'd be open to him but also that he
sense of unity in our group that people
wouldn't be mad at each other or have
drama but that there just be this sense
of unity I think sit Maps we buy into
the idea that if we're praying we're not
doing anything but really when we're
praying we're asking God to do what we
could never do and I've seen him work
miracles and girls lives like this one
girl was like for the first time in my
life I feel like God is real and she has
this amazing walk with God now and knows
that he loves her and he is completely
transforming her life from the inside
out and that would never have happened
without just asking God to work in our
hearts so girls I hope those things can
be so helpful for you again please
comment your own thoughts and ideas in
the box below I would love to read them
and learn from them and if this is your
first time ever leading a small group or
about to be your first time comment that
below to you I want to be praying for
you and I want to hear that because that
is so exciting
and next week I'm so excited to share
with you something God's been teaching
me that has been setting my heart free
over the last few years if you've ever
thought I wish I could love God like
that girl does or I wish I could serve
God like that person does this next
video next week is for you so I will see
you then have an amazing day and I love
you girls bye
