Small Groups
Small groups are bands of people who meet together for a shared purpose. Within a church setting, groups typically meet for the purposes of discipleship and friendship. No two groups are alike and there is no perfect formula for churches to follow. However, recent research data on small groups reveals how anyone can position their small group to thrive.
MinistryLift offers nine training workshops on small group ministry. Each one can be customized to fit the specific interests and needs of your church. If you’re unsure of your greatest training need, take a few minutes to complete MinistryLift’s free small groups assessment to measure your current effectiveness in seven areas.
TRAINING WORKSHOPS
Each training workshop includes large group teaching that is paired with times for small group discussion and activities. Sessions can be customized to fit within 45-75-minute timespans, depending on how you want to organize the event. A description of each session is below.
How to Build a Thriving Small Group Ministry
The success of your small group ministry does not depend on how often it is emphasized by church leaders. The key lies in what your church is doing. This session identifies three factors in the life of your church that directly impact the health of your small groups.
What Makes Small Groups Grow
Why do some groups struggle while others thrive? This session presents four actions that group leaders can take to spur sustainable growth in their groups (the research findings are based on Jim Egli and Dwight Marable’s book called Small Groups, Big Impact).
How to Develop Your Small Group Leadership Skills
The common denominator between successful group leaders isn’t a personality trait or spiritual gift, it’s specific skills. The good news is that these skills can be developed by anyone. This session equips you with four essential skills to help you grow as a small group leader.
How to Maximize the Impact of Your Small Group Meeting
Have you ever wondered how you should organize your small group’s meeting? This session outlines proven techniques to help you navigate your meeting time, such as how to break the ice, how to recognize and use non-verbal cues effectively, and how to be an active listener.
How to Develop Excellent Questions
Stupid questions may not exist, but many questions fail to stimulate group conversation. This session equips you with principles to develop great questions, regardless of study topic. Through individual exercises and group feedback, you’ll learn how to create compelling questions to strengthen your group meeting times.
How to Shepherd Your Group
Small group leaders have the privilege of shepherding the people in their group and providing them with care. This session teaches you how to make disciples, build your group culture, invest in your community, and provide loving support.
How to Address Conflict
When people gather together, disagreement often follows. Many group leaders are faced with the challenge of addressing conflict while keeping their group focused on their united purpose. This session will outline biblical principles of managing conflict that you can apply to your small group setting.
How to Coach Others into Spiritual Maturity
Coaching (sometimes called mentoring) is the skill of asking good questions and providing timely counsel to empower others to act on what God is asking them to do. This session equips you with coaching skills to fit the context of your small group setting.
How to Reach Others and Multiply Your Group
Strong communities have a sense of mission beyond themselves. This session identifies essential outreach and multiplying skills: how to mobilize and equip people to serve, how to encourage people to be missional, how to add members to your group, how to launch a new group, and how to minimize launch pains.
Next Steps:
- Contact MinistryLift with the training you’d like to receive (refer to the session descriptions above or complete the small groups assessment)
- A training expert will contact you within 48-hours to discuss your training options
- You’ll receive a training proposal that’s customized to fit your needs
Small Group Trainers
Keith Reed is the Director of Special Events and MB Seminary and a small group trainer. He has served as an associate pastor where he oversaw small group ministry in addition to other responsibilities. Keith has led many different groups, spanning from Alpha table groups to home study groups to small discipleship groups.
Dr. Randy Wollf is Director of MinistryLift, Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Leadership Studies at MB Seminary (Langley, BC campus), and a small group trainer. Randy has served as a pastor (including several years overseeing small groups), church planter, and missionary. He has also been involved in various small groups for over 25 years including helping start missional communities as part of a house church network.