FAQ: Do You Have a Job Description for a Small Group Director?

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I get asked certain questions on a regular basis.  One of the most frequent is “What does a job description for a small group director (or pastor) look like?  Today I want to give you the basics, but I want to be sure and qualify it by acknowledging that this is by no means complete and I’m sure some of my grouplife peers would have a different take.

But here are the four things that I think ought to be on the job description for a small group director:

Create and oversee a leader development concept that helps “test-drive” hosts become leaders over time.  This will include:

  • Communication strategies
  • On-site, decentralized and web-based leader development opportunities
  • Coaching

Recruit and develop a team of coaches sufficient to care for the number of leaders in the organization.

Work with the senior pastor and other staff to develop the church-wide strategies surrounding grouplife.  This includes:

  • Annual church-wide campaigns
  • Connection events
  • Mid-size events forming steps that lead to grouplife

Design, implement and manage strategies that make it easy to join a group.  This includes:

  • Website content and groupfinder capability
  • Periodic church-wide emails with easy-to-use click-to-join opportunities
  • A lobby presence designed to make it easy to get information

Note: Depending on the size of your church, some of these responsibilities might be delegated to other members of a Small Group ministry team.  Additionally, depending on the experience and expertise of the small group pastor, a strategic outsider can sometimes provide the perfect complement to an energetic but less experienced staff member.

One of my most common roles as a consultant is to provide the strategic elements while coaching a staff member in day-to-day responsibilities.  You can find out more about my consulting and coaching programs right here.

Want do you think?  Have a question?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

2 Comments

  1. Pastor Rod Kesselring on October 5, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    I know it seems foolish but I would add in budget.  I just spent a considerable amount of time working on a budget for next year



  2. Anonymous on October 5, 2011 at 12:28 pm

    Thanks for jumping in here Rod! Developing a budget could certainly be added, along with several other line items (for example, staffing the weekend services and the infamous, “Other duties as assigned”).