lesson

How much time do you spend preparing a study for your small group? 

In my experience, most small group leaders spend a disproportionate amount of their preparation time on the study. I know I’ve done this—especially when I feel I’m short on time. I do it because the study time feels like the one time when I’m “on” as the group leader. If I’m not prepared, people will just sit there and stare at me. If I don’t have an activity ready, the time will mercilessly drag on. Who wants to face that setting with nothing prepared? I know I don’t. Which is why I fell into the habit of using most of my prep time getting study questions ready. 

The problem with this approach is that small group meeting times are much more than just a study. Time is divided into many activities—there’s socializing and eating and maybe an ice-breaker too. Group members sometimes give updates on their lives and prayer requests are usually shared. These activities are ripe with potential for relationship building, edification, and transformation. But are you spending much time preparing for them?  

Leaders often assume that their group’s study time is the most important time of the meeting. But would this view be shared by their group members? My guess is that nearly everyone in your group didn’t carve out a night in their calendar to increase their Bible IQ. They’re likely looking for something else. Spending the bulk of your time and energy on a Bible study will give your group a Sunday school experience in someone else’s living room. Will this really make a difference in people’s lives? 

Most people don’t need to learn more, they need to live more. They need people to pray with; they need people to challenge them; they need people to share their victories and frustrations with; they need people to stick with them when they fail. Preparing a study isn’t a bad thing; it’s just not the only thing.  

When small group researchers Jim Egli and Dwight Marable surveyed more than 3,000 group leaders, they made a fascinating discovery: “Time spent preparing the lesson shows absolutely no correlation to any of the group growth outcomes.” That’s right; no correlation.