10 Commandments of Small Group Ministry

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I'm sure there are commandments beyond these. I could be wrong. I frequently am. But I believe these 10 commandments are at the very core of a small group ministry that changes communities:

1. Connect people in season and out.

Unconnected people are one tough thing away from never being at your church again.

Loss of a job. Divorce or separation. A devastating diagnosis. A child in trouble.

One tough thing.

We live in a world where one tough thing is always close by.

Unconnected people are one tough thing away from never being at your church again. Click To Tweet

2. Don't lose sight of the interests of anyone.

Don't let the interests of the people who are already connected distract you from the needs of the unconnected. And don't let the needs of the unconnected prevent you from designing next steps for everyone.

I think Paul said it best. "Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." Philippians 2:3-4 NLT

In other words, don't lose sight of the interests of anyone.

3. Never forget the end in mind.

Far more than simply providing a place to connect people, a small group can be the optimum environment for life-change.

What must be true in order for a small group to be the optimum environment for life-change? For starters, it needs a leader who has already experienced life-change. Remember, whatever you want to happen in the lives of the members of your groups must happen in the lives of their leaders first.

4. Don't set the leader bar at Jesus Jr.

This may seem in conflict with commandment #3, but think about it. To be a leader simply means being a step or two ahead (as opposed to 10 steps ahead) of the people who are following you.

Many churches unknowingly set the leader bar so high that it excludes many of the very best candidates. And in doing so, they exclude many of the kind of people Jesus chose to be his closest followers.

5. Pay attention to the spiritual health of leaders.

Whatever you want to happen in the lives of group members must happen in the lives of group leaders first.

Sound familiar? It should, but I want to use the same sentence to help you see that what you want to happen in the lives of group members must inform what you do TO and FOR (and WITH) your group leaders.

Many churches recruit leaders and then forget their development. If you're not paying attention to the spiritual health of your leaders...today is the day to begin.

Many churches recruit leaders and then forget their development. If you're not paying attention to the spiritual health of your leaders...today is the day to begin. Click To Tweet

6. Challenge your highest capacity leaders to become leaders of leaders.

One of the greatest roadblocks to building a thriving small group ministry is the attempt on the part of the small group pastor to personally care for all of their small group leaders. Ignoring the reality of span of care limitations is a major challenge for many small group ministries.

In addition, when the small group pastor tries to personally care for all group leaders it puts a lid on a group of men and women with the exact SHAPE to help develop and disciple group leaders.

When the small group pastor tries to personally care for all group leaders it puts a lid on a group of men and women with the exact SHAPE to help develop and disciple group leaders. Click To Tweet

There is no doubt in my mind that every church has the people God has prepared to lead leaders. In fact, I believe we all know who they are but have never recognized the connection between their fruitfulness and fulfillment.

7. Develop a bias toward new groups.

All of us struggle with the same issue at some point. What's the best way to connect the largest number of unconnected people? My answer? Focus on starting new groups while training group leaders to "fish for themselves."

Few things are as deadly as the tendency to supply existing groups with new members at the expense of starting new groups.

Few things are as deadly as the tendency to supply existing groups with new members at the expense of starting new groups. Click To Tweet

8. Very few small group ministries will go anywhere your senior pastor hasn't been and isn't going.

Hopefully, this is self-evident. The most influential person in 99.9% of all churches is the senior pastor. If you want small groups to be a priority in the lives of the people in your church, they must be a priority in the life of your pastor.

9. Be able to say, "Follow me as I follow Christ."

If we're not growing, if we're not different this year over last, if we're not becoming more like Jesus...we can hardly expect life-change at the member level. If we want to see life-change at the member level, the coaches in our ministries (the leaders of leaders) must see and experience our own increasing life in Christ.

10. NEVER Settle.

The belief that you've found the perfect small group strategy almost always leads to protecting the status quo. Keep your eyes on the horizon. Just over the rise is a completely different idea that will connect the unconnected and help another generation become what God created them to be. Don't miss it!

Need help?

How to Diagnose Your Small Group Ministry is a four session mini-course is designed to help you get into the details of what you're doing, spot the flaws in your ministry and correct them. You can find out more right here.

Image by Eden, Janine and Jim

Posted in Small Group Strategy