Choosing the Right Study

See if this sounds familiar.

It’s your first night with your brand new small group. You’ve introduced yourselves. You’ve had some small talk. Then you say, “Do any of you have a suggestion about what we should study?”

“I think it would be cool to study the minor prophets.”

“I’d like to study the End Times.”

“What about the Gospel of John?”

“I’d like to discuss the Fruit of the Spirit.”

And so on, and so forth.

Add in the millions of choices on Amazon, Right Now Media, and Christian Bookstores and it can be absolutely overwhelming.

The last thing you want to do is pick the wrong study. So you need something to guide you, a filter to comb through all the choices. Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself that will help you choose the perfect study for your group.

Question #1: Why does the group exist?

Principle: The main purpose of every group should flow out of the mission of the church. 

The mission of CFCC is to cultivate fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ who are engaged in Christ-centered worship, stewardship, and relationship.

Once you have clarified your group's mission, write it down. Then answer the question, "What can we study next that will help us carry out that mission? What does it mean to be fully devoted in worship, in stewardship, and in our relationships?"

Question #2: Who Are my people?

Principle: The small-group leader's main function is that of a shepherd who knows his or her sheep.
 Here are a few questions a good shepherd will ask:

• Where are my people spiritually? As a shepherd, you must know where people are individually and where the group is as a whole. Are participants newborns in the faith, spiritual teenagers, or mature adults? (For discussions on how to shepherd people at different spiritual levels, see passages such as 1 Peter 2:2; 1 Corinthians 3:1–3; and Hebrews 5:11–6:1.)

• In what areas do they need to grow? Do your group members need more knowledge about beliefs and doctrine? Do they need to learn the disciplines or practices of the Christian life? Do they need to understand the virtues of the Christian life or the fruit of the Spirit? There are several effective tools you can use in your group to assess their spiritual maturity in these different core competencies (e.g., The Christian Life Profile Assessment Tool by Randy Frazee).

• How do they learn best? Do participants in your group tend to learn best through application-oriented discussion? Do they learn best by doing, hearing, or reading—or is it a combination? Would individuals learn better in a group, or would some one-on-one mentoring be helpful?

Question #3: What do you believe?

Principle: Teach sound doctrine (Titus 2:1). 

As you choose curriculum, be sure it leads you to study God's Word, not just someone's opinions—even opinions that relate to Scripture. Satan is sneaky. He can, without a group even realizing it, knock you off track through innocent-sounding questions. Be careful! A writer can easily move a group to consider his opinions about a doctrinal stance by asking a series of questions that lead the conversation in a certain direction.

Be sure to examine a potential Bible study closely before using it in your group. If you don't feel confident or competent to examine a curriculum for doctrinal purity, ask a church leader to do so first. As a help, CFCC has put together a database of studies that align with our doctrine that leaders have used. You can sort this list by author, topic, and other helpful categories. You can download it below.

Question #4: What are your group's capabilities and limitations?

Principle: A group agreement can help establish some basic ground rules for Bible study selection.
 Here are some things to keep in mind as you think about what your group is capable of, and what it needs:

• Depth of studies. Are the studies too deep? Not deep enough? Just right for your group? 

• Homework. Has your group agreed to do homework between studies? Doing some work between studies can be a good approach for deep discipleship, but it also can tend to close a group, since no one wants to come to a group and be the only one not to have the assignment done. If you do choose to use studies that include some homework, how much is appropriate? Be sure the homework expectations are clear before looking for a study.

• Length of study. How many weeks will the study take? Know the attention span of your group! Most groups get antsy with more than a six- or seven-week study. Shorter always seems better, but discuss this with your group first.

• Length of time in each study. How much time will you spend in Bible study during each session? Are there too many questions for the time allotted by the group? Will projects take too long to complete?

• Good questions. Will the questions in the study lead to discussion and lively interaction, or do the questions sound like a pop quiz looking for one-sentence answers? Also, consider how many questions are enough for a good discussion. Some Bible studies include 15 or more questions. That may be way too many for most groups unless all you are getting is one person answering each question. But that is not a discussion! Sometimes 2 or 3 good application-oriented questions are enough for a stimulating, interactive, life-changing discussion around God's Word.

Question #5: What are your own capabilities and limitations?

Principle: Know yourself. Don't get in over your head. 

Here are a few things to think about when it comes to evaluating your own limits as a leader.

• Functionality. How easy is the study to use? Does it include everything you need? Does it come with a leader's guide and other leader helps? Is it organized so that it is easy to follow? Does it include suggested times for sections and activities? Does it provide options so you can make choices based on your leadership style and your group's personality and interests?

• Prep time. How long will it take to prepare for meetings? Do you have to spend an inordinate

  amount of time finding materials for the study, or is everything self-contained? Will you have to spend a lot of time trimming the study to fit your group's schedule? Will you have to do a lot of work making the study fit your group?

• Passion. Do you like the study? Can you get excited about it each week? If you're not interested in the subject or the style of the study yourself, your group will quickly catch your lack of enthusiasm, dooming the study. The answer to this one may depend on the answers to numbers one and two above. If you know the study will help the sheep grow spiritually, then you, as the group leader, should have no problem getting excited about leading the study.

Ask yourself these 5 questions and you’ll be on your way to choosing the right study for your group!

MICHAEL MACK is the author of Small Group Vital Signs and is a SmallGroups.com Editorial Advisor; copyright 2003 Christianity Today.

Five Ideas for the Summer

Summer can be a challenging time for Life Groups.

Vacations, and family activities can make it hard to stay consistent. Plus, sometimes people (including leaders) just need a break!

Well here are a few ideas to consider if you’re planning on leading a Life Group this summer.

1. Meet Monthly for a Fun Activity

You could have a potluck, meet for ice cream, or even set up a game night that includes the kids. Ditch your study and focus on investing in one another relationally. Get to know one another on a deeper level as you simply spend time together.

2. Meet Monthly with a Missional or Outreach Focus

The summer is a great time to invest in your community and neighborhood.

Plan one missional activity each month (June, July, and August) that your entire group can participate in. You could visit a nursing home to hang out and build relationships with residents, serve a meal at a homeless shelter, or plan a day of landscaping/cleanup at the church or a local non-profit.

Check out the list of local ministries Cy-Fair Christian Church partners with.

3. Try a New Study

Summer is a great time to mix up your routine. Try a study on a topic you’ve been interested in, check out a video study on Right Now Media, or focus your time on spiritual disciplines like prayer. If you need help narrowing down the choices, check out my 5 questions you should ask yourself before choosing.

You could also ditch the study altogether and use your meetings to share your personal testimonies. As you share your stories with one another, you’ll deepen your relationships in amazing ways, and your discussions will have new meaning and depth. Groups don’t often have time for this during the year, but the summer can be the perfect time.

Alternatively, have each group member sign up to lead a week and share one of their favorite verses or passages. Then discuss the importance of the passage.

4. Involve the Kids

Often in small groups with children, the adults talk in one room while the children play together in another. While there can be great benefits to this (It’s great to have adult conversations without toddlers pulling on your pant leg!), it can also be great to involve the kids sometimes.

You could designate one night a month to involving the kids, or you could involve them every week if you’re brave. Plan a lesson or topic they can easily participate in. You might even put together a quick activity they can do. A really simple way to involve them is by having dinner together to start the meeting.

However you involve them, the kids will benefit from seeing healthy adult interactions and from being loved on my so many adults other than their parents.

The key: don’t plan anything that takes too long. If you think the adults in your group have short attention spans, you can’t imagine how short the kids’ attention spans are.

5. Take a Break

It’s not always a bad idea to take a break for the summer. Sometimes scheduling simply won’t work, or taking a break will free up group members to participate in other church activities over the summer.

Another great reason: you need a break. That’s why I encourage our Life Groups to at least take a month off in January, May, and September.

If you do take a break just for the summer, remember to communicate clearly by the end of May what you plan to do and remind everyone that you’ll start back up when the Fall Session begins on October 3rd.

Do this  before you break for the summer. That way everyone is prepared and informed. Then touch base with group members as often as makes sense. Even a text message can go a long way in staying connected through the summer months.

Whatever you decide to do this summer, make sure you communicate clearly both what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. Taking a break from your usual routine can actually invigorate your group, so be sure to communicate that fact. Then ensure that everyone’s on the same page.