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20 Tips for Life-changing Small Group Leadership

April 28, 2007 by Darryl Wilson Leave a Comment

Have you ever been out visiting Sunday School prospects and could not find the people at the address on the guest registration or prospect assignment card? And you met someone in the “wrong” house who was praying for God to send someone. And you were the “someone.” We must take advantages of these God-moments when He provides them.

In a similar way, I was thinking about how busy Sunday School and small group leaders are today. I believe that could be one of the biggest problems causing Sunday School to be less effective than its potential. Anyway, as I thought about busyness, I remember Michael Zigarelli‘s book that came out a couple of years ago entitled Freedom from Busyness published by LifeWay. There are many things I like about the book, one of which is that it comes with an audio CD to help readers benefit even if reading time is limited. Even though I hesitate to add to your busyness, I recommend you purchase and read it!

A second thing I like about his book is true because it is intended to be a five-session group study. As a result, a brief small group leader guide is provided. That small group leader guide was my “God-moment” for the evening. I was reminded of the guide when I came across a web article containing the twenty tips for life-changing small group leadership (pages 74-82). In each of my next three blog entries, I will address six or seven of the twenty tips. Here is Zigarelli’s list without commentary:

  1. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU.
  2. OPERATE IN GOD’S STRENGTH.
  3. OPERATE IN JOY.
  4. ENCOURAGE ACCOUNTABILITY.
  5. PREPARATION, PREPARATION, PREPARATION.
  6. MODEL THE WAY.
  7. CREATE A SAFE ENVIRONMENT FOR SHARING.
  8. HONE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS.
  9. STAY ON POINT.
  10. BE SURE THAT SCRIPTURE IS YOUR FILTER.
  11. LISTEN FOR SEGUES TO THE NEXT QUESTION.
  12. ECHO WHAT’S BEEN SAID.
  13. CONNECT THE DOTS.
  14. CUT OFF THE DOMINATORS.
  15. ASK FOR PEOPLE’S OPINIONS.
  16. FRAME QUESTIONS USING “WHY” AND “HOW.”
  17. PERMIT SILENCE AFTER YOU ASK A QUESTION.
  18. STAY WITH FRUITFUL CONVERSATION, EVEN IF IT’S TAKING TOO MUCH TIME.
  19. USE A BOARD OR EASEL IF APPROPRIATE.
  20. SUMMARIZE KEY POINTS.

What a great list. I’d encourage you to read the article I mentioned above. Then rate how well you are doing at life-changing small group leadership. Rate yourself on all twenty tips on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 meaning poorly and 5 being great). Total your points. You should strive to score above 75 points. Pray. Ask God to show you where you need to start in order to be an even better tool in His hands. And give God your busyness. Plan to be revolutionary!

Related posts:

Sunday School's Neglect of Leadership, Part 4
Sunday School's Biggest Impact on Disciplemaking
Simple Outline for Bible Study
Reflections of a Sunday School Teacher/Leader

Filed Under: Small Groups, Spiritual Maturity, Teaching Tagged With: accountability, dominators, groups, leadership, listening, preparation, safe environment, tips

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