As a small group leader, the challenge that lies before you is this: to lead your group in such a manner that you help facilitate and cultivate spiritual transformation in the lives of your group members.
Make no mistake. You're not the change agent. That’s the Spirit’s job. But you do play a critical role in helping to ensure that the time spent together as a group is led well, so that the Holy Spirit has the opportunity to work in a powerful way in the lives of those in your group.
So, the question that needs to be answered is simple: How does a leader facilitate small group meetings that lead to transformation?
The remainder of this article will cover two big things:
Before we dive into that, let’s start with one big, important truth that overlays everything that follows: A small group meeting is a holy moment. Consider Hebrews 10:24–25, "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Small group isn't a social get-together. It's a God-ordained gathering for spiritual transformation. It's truly a holy moment. Keeping this in mind will help you see small group rightly after a long, tiring day, when it's easiest to lose sight of why it's so important.
<aside> 💡 Key Principle: Effective leadership flows out of thoughtful preparation.
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You can lead without preparing. It can happen. You can wing it and lean on your charisma or your past experience and hope that it all goes well. But you can’t lead effectively without preparing.
So, how do we prep? How do we ensure that we are ready to go when everyone is gathered in our living room?
Without wanting in any way to seem too elementary or to patronize us as group leaders in any way, I would lean heavily into the biblical truth that the leadership we provide and the effectiveness of that leadership flows directly from the depth of our own personal relationship with the Lord (John 15).