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Description of Small Group meeting structure |  |
The following structure guide for a weekly Small Group meeting has proven to be very effective in supporting the different aspects of small group life, focusing the members on Jesus, his word in the bible, and applying it to our lives today, for our friendship within and on the edges of the group.
The structure consists of 4 basic elements:
- Welcome
- Worship
- Word
- Witness
The following material has been adapted from resource available at http://www.cellchurch.co.uk/.
Welcome
The Welcome part of the small group meeting, otherwise known as the "Icebreaker", is designed to allow small group members to get to know each other in a fun and relaxed way. It's when we begin to drop our masks and to let others in to know who we are and how we relate.
So the Icebreaker question should be easy to answer, light and humorous, but give each person in the small group the opportunity to become a little bit more open and vulnerable if they choose. Most groups find that the more reticent members gradually learn to trust others through this time and to begin to be more open themselves.
The person leading the Icebreaker should pose the question and, after a brief pause for the usual shocked reactions from members who are wondering how to respond, give their own answer. This models for the small group members the kind of thing we're looking for and how long the answer is expected to take. If the first one takes ten minutes, you can say Goodbye to the rest of the evening!
We have collected together a long list of Icebreaker ideas from various web sites and resources, if you want to see the list click here.
Worship
This could be sung worship if there are musicians in the group. If not it could be anything that exalts the Lord in the meeting e.g. the reading of a psalm and pause for reflection and prayer.
The Worship part of the small group meeting is where the Body of Christ formed in the Welcome part of the meeting gets connected to the Head of the Body, Jesus! It sometimes seems a strange shift of gear from the hilarity of the Welcome, but there's often an awesome sense of the Lord's presence.
Word
This section is based around personal application of a teaching, perhaps from the Sunday service or other source. Often at this point there will be opportunity for corporate prayer for those who request it - an opportunity for the group to minister one to another.
This section will contain resources for the time of the small group meeting when we seek to apply the Word of God, rather than attempt a Bible study. In this part of the meeting we're aiming to understand the implications of Bible teaching for our lives and to support one another as we make changes to our lifestyle to come into line with Kingdom values.
Your questions will typically be simple and direct. Questions like:
The 'Word' Section is often linked to the Sunday preaching theme and scripture passage. The 'Word' Section of the meeting is the time for edification through interaction with Scripture, ministry and prayer.
Witness
Based around the corporate aim of making friends with non-believers and seeing them come to Christ, this section is often used for planning strategy and prayer.
This web site publishes a range of Small Group outlines, use the menu on the left to find them, or click here.
This is a template from which you can construct your own small group outlines.
.... and here are a few helpful suggestions to assist you as you write your own 'Word' outlines:
Sample passage: Philippians 3:7-14
But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which is through faith in Christ - the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead, I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
It is helpful for you to clearly state an objective or two for this portion of the meeting.
Questions should be centred on life application. They must be clear and to the point. The focus must be on hearing and responding to God.
Do NOT use questions that assume previous Bible knowledge if you want non-Christians and new Christians to feel at home. Questions like, "What other Bible passages say something similar to this one?" or "What is the cultural background to this passage?" are not appropriate unless you want to restrict your groups to well-established Christians!!!
You might re-word each of these questions to provide a series of subtly different questions from which the leader of the evening can choose one or more to use. Make sure that each of the four types of questions are covered.
For our sample passage and the objective stated above, you might offer the following suggestions for your small groups:
- Invite someone from the group to read Philippians 3:7-14 aloud.
- Ask: "What stands out to you in this passage?"
- Ask: "What is something that you gave up to follow Christ?"
- Note that some people give up obvious and ugly sins to follow Christ, but other like Paul have to give up things like religious legalism and self-righteousness.
- Have someone re-read verses 13 and 14.
- Discuss: "What are some obstacles that hold Christians back from going on with God today?"
- Move into smaller groups with three or four men or women in each group to share and pray together around this question: "What is God asking you to leave behind and is God calling you to reach for in the year ahead?"
Frequently instruct people in your agendas to move into smaller groups. Even in a group of 10 people, there is not enough time for everyone to minister and be ministered to if it stays together the entire time.
Notice that the sample instructions for the Word time given above are only 14 short lines and only include four questions. Do not give leaders numerous questions. It is better to include several quality questions with clear, simple instructions. If you include too many questions the groups can easily become centred on Bible study instead of focusing on responding to God in prayer. If an agenda has more than six questions, instruct the leaders to pick the best four or five for their group.
http://www.wag.org.nz is a resource site providing bible studies for small groups. The studies are discussion based and are on a wide range of subjects, at a variety of levels. The material is free and a new study is added each week.
