Transcript:
Hey there and welcome to another episode of the Small Group Toolbox. We're recording this in January. And so this is a time when we think about what is our team gonna look like when it comes to leading growth group for the year. And by team, I mean, like who's gonna help me with this? We're talking about my co-leader, my core members, and even the hosts of the growth group. That's what we're gonna be talking about today. Gathering your team, here we are.
As we kick off get started for the year, because all good ministry is done with other people. Ministry is a team thing. We do it with others. And that includes growth group ministry. There's a saying that goes, if you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far, go with others. And that is certainly true in ministry. If you want to go the distance with growth group, you want to go with others. Now, who is that going to be? Well, before we get to that, I just want to show us a little bit of what Paul did, the apostle, with his ministry. And we think of Paul as a big name, but really when you look into it in the Bible, he is always working alongside others. And kind of the go-to chapter for this is Romans 16. In Romans 16, finishing the letter to the Romans, he just talks about a whole lot of people that he's done ministry with and he's in relationship with. So just to give you a bit of an example.
So Romans 16 verse three, Paul says to the Roman church, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus. They risk their lives for me. Not only I, but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Or we could skip down to say verse six, where Paul says, greet Mary who worked very hard for you. And then verse eight, greet Ampliatus, my dear friend and the Lord, and greet Urbanus, our coworker in Christ and my dear friend Stachis.
So Paul was not a sole kind of ministry guy. He was in a teams. And so I guess the question for us as we go about our ministry in growth groups is who's gonna be on our team? Who's gonna help partner with us in this ministry? In other words, who's gonna be our Mary? Who's gonna be our Ampliatus? Who's gonna be our Priscilla and Aquila to help with the fruitful work of the Lord that we're doing. So.
That's what we're gonna talk about today. So let's start with co-leader. Now, hopefully you have a co-leader. We don't always have co-leaders in growth groups, but if you do, that's great. What are you gonna do there? Well, first of all, so I just identify, clarify who your co-leader is. Hopefully that's clear by now, but if not, clarify that with the team. Who's your co-leader? And then just kind of connect with them. Set up a time to sit down and ideally face to face and talk about growth group for the year. So you'll co-leader start there. Now, what do you do in this conversation as you meet? You sort of say, right, what's the years coming up? Well, it's important before you go into the details like the supper roster or the who's doing what, where it's important that you review the vision. Like, what are you wanting to get from this growth group? What do you want this growth group to be this year?
That's going to be partly just looking at the general vision of maturity and growth groups that you would have received during your training. It's on the infographic and various other teaching that you would have come across. That's the general vision, which you would know is like that we would be growing together to become more like Christ. Now you want to be clear on that and excited about that and see why that's what we do here with with small groups. But I think it's really helpful to kind of particularize it for your group. Like, how is that going to what is it to look like in your group?
Now, what's going to be a kind of vision or a language or an idea or way of thinking that fits with what we're on about here, but also like what's going to really be moving for you? Other people, other groups, people I've spoken to have done, had things like, this year we just want to really grow as Bible women. We're to be women who are keen on the Bible, love the Bible.
That's really what I'd want to see this year. So that was one leader talked about that. Someone else would be saying, well, this year, this is a year of getting serious about Bible and prayer in our lives. And that's going to be focus of our group. So we're going to, by the end of the year, we're going to be people who love the Bible, love prayer.
So that was a particular vision for another leader. Or another one would be like, we want to form a group and where our relationships are going to be deep and godly and really spurring on to each other, each other in Christ. So a little focus there on a deepening of relationships. Now all those things are good, but what's really great is for you and your co-leader to have a kind of shared enthusiasm and vision for what you want to see in the group for this coming year. So don't get caught up in the details too early. Start with the vision. What are we hoping for? What would be the dream group experience there that you're looking forward to? And then the next thing to talk about with your co-leader is like some expectations. Now,
that could happen in different levels, but a few key things to think about is like, how are going to work together? What's going to be the nature of our partnership? Is there a senior and junior partner? How are we going to work together? How are we going to meet and communicate? Are we going to have a weekly meeting, four-lightly meeting, a phone call once a week, a text message on the day? What's going to be a good level of communication? And then…
I think it's also good to share about what our strengths and weaknesses are. So what do we bring as co-leaders? So for example, I have a particular weakness in remembering people's birthdays. It just doesn't seem to register as a priority for me. I'm probably a little cold in that sense. It's not a strength. So if I can for me to co-leader who's going to be like, yeah, I love remembering people's birthdays and celebrating that, then that's great. Now, maybe there are more important things, strengths and weaknesses to share, but that's a good way to just be honest with your co-leader and stuff, to talk about those things. But yeah, how are you going to work together as partners in this? And then finally, I think we're a bit more into the details of what are we looking for in the in the group, talking about time? What time we're going to meet? When are we going to allow people arrive and start the study? What time are we going to finish?
Are we going to attach supper or a meal or what sort of frequency there, what kind of meal or supper or morning tea, whatever it might be, how are going to communicate as a group? we going to use WhatsApp, Messenger, Snapchat, whatever, how are we going to communicate? How are we going to do prayer in group time? Are we going to do triplets or all in or guys, girls, that sort of thing? What are we going to do about a weekend away? Should we try and book one in or just have a social day out on a certain time? These are the of the details that you've talked about in your group and as many details as you wanna go into, knowing of course that there's always unpredictable things in a small group leading.
I think you most of the way they're having talked things through with your co leader. And the final thing they might be due to do would be just to update your growth group team leader, let them know ⁓ how things are going, we're underway, seem to be connecting well. And, and there you are. So there is a good some just practical advice, I think on starting to gather your team and there with firstly, your core your co leader. Now, the next part of your team, your team is not just your co-leader, it's also your core members. Now, what is a core member? A core member is kind of someone who's in your group as a member, they're not formally a leader, but they're in your group as a member and they're core. They're just gonna bring strength and stability and positivity to your group. So a core member would be someone who you're just going to be excited to hear that they're in your group. You know, they're a friend basically, and they're there for you. They're on your side and they're going to be there every week. They're going to be there at church on Sunday. They are going to be positive about the group. They'll contribute. They'll just be a sort of person that you think, yeah, fantastic. So excited to have that person in my group. So finding a core member. They might be suggested to you or you might extend an invitation to them or you
You might talk with some of your team leaders about that. Who can I ask who's a good person? But identify a friend, someone who's going to be great for the group.
Meet with your identify your core member. You should reach out to them. Meet with them. Have phone call, whatever, and share expectations. People don't usually know what a core member means. So they'll say, yeah, I'll be a core member. But what does that mean? And that gives you a chance to say, well, I just want some to be really enthusiastic for the group and be on my side and helpful and contribute in different ways and and and talk through that.
Really, I think one of the most encouraging things that a call member can do is actually just come to church each week and group each week. When I meet with growth group leaders, that's often the thing they find most encouraging about a group member. Are they there every week? Are they there at church? And it's amazing how much encouragement that can be. gather your core members. think maybe one or two core members is about right. And then you'll be welcoming lots of regulars who will of course be encouraging hopefully as well. So core members, gather your core members. And the last person to think about as your team is gonna be your host. So the person hosting your group actually plays quite a large role in the health of the group. And we'll probably talk about that more in another podcast.
Assuming it's not you or your core member or your co-leader, your host will have an important role in the health of the group. So you want to be talking with them and saying, well, thanks for hosting. Here's what we're thinking. What are your expectations? What are my expectations? And things like setting up the room, making the space, minimizing distractions.
How is this going to work well? So a host, just by being a host, sort of sets an example for the other group members. So you probably want to have that sort of conversation with your host about what you'd really like to see from them. And also for you, they're making sacrifices by hosting as well. You're also thinking, how can we help you? Are we going to do the dishes, do some setup, some pack up, tidy up? How can we help you as a host?
So there are kind of whole heap of conversations that you can have starting out in a group that is about gathering your team. Remember, if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go far, go together. So in this time, especially before groups start, yeah, use it to gather your team and do everything you can to help this to be a healthy group as you start. So that's it for this episode and I'll see you in the next one.