When we examine the life of Jesus, we note that He healed and ministered to individuals, He shared the gospel message with large crowds, but He also taught His disciples in small groups. Through daily interactions and revelation of the Word, Jesus educated, equipped and empowered a small intimate group of His chosen followers.

Christ gave us an example for learning, growing and fellowshipping in like manner. When we study the Word of God, pray and serve together, greater Power is experienced individually and collectively (). Small growth groups provide us a structured and scheduled time for study, provides a source of support, provides collective resources, provides greater accountability, and gives the opportunity to witness God’s miraculous, working power and avenues by which we can share our stories with others ().

The LIFE Bible Studies are designed for individual or small group study. If you would like to consider developing a small growth group, here are a few tips to get you started:

• Pray for God’s Leading: Seek God’s leading and blessing! Pray for your leadership. Pray that He will direct you to those whom He will have join you. Pray that the growth group will be blessed!
• Reach out to Family, Friends, Neighbors and/or Church Members: Reach out personally and individually to family and friends, sharing your desire to begin a growth group, and inviting them be apart.
• Plan and Prepare: Think through the logistics. Will you meet in person or virtually? How often will you meet (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.) and for how long will you meet (30, 60, 90 minutes)? If meeting in person, where will you meet (a home, the same home each time, a rotation of homes, a church, a community center, etc.) and will you provide a meal or a snack? If virtually, what platform will you use? Will it be video or audio or the option for both?
• Discussion Facilitation: Consider who will facilitate the discussions? Will it be one person every time or will you rotate through the group members?
• Study Format: How will you format the actual study and discussion? Will you review highlights from the study? Will you read the study/watch the videos together and then discuss? Will you have a set of questions pertaining to the study for the group to discuss? Will you have group members share personal insights/reflections?
• Supporting Productive Discussion: Think through how will address concerns that might arise such as maintaining the flow of the discussion (i.e., how to prevent some from dominating the conversation, how to encourage everyone to participate or overcoming awkward and prolonged silences); creating a safe space (i.e., developing agreements beforehand, discussing issues of confidentiality, respecting every voice); or dealing with conflicting opinions.
• Moving from Knowledge to Application: Think through ways to support actual growth in the group members. How might you hold members accountable (i.e., you might establish accountability partners or have members report on their progress or application each meeting). How will you incorporate worship and prayer?
• Ministry beyond the walls: Think through ways your growth group can share what they are learning with others. How might you prepare those in your group to branch off and start other groups? How can you as a group serve the community or church?

  There you have it! The biggest hurdle to starting a small study group is — wait for it — starting a small study group. Pray Plan and Produce!

  I hope this helps and if you have additional questions or comments, please share below. If you have started a small group Bible study, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to share with our community your thoughts, suggestions, lessons learned, or miracles experienced in the comment section below.