Small Group Check-Up

By Doug Franklin May 25, 2012

This is a great time of year to give your small groups a check-up. Check these three critical areas:

1. Focus of group – social vs. spiritual. If the focus is social, what can be done to move the group towards more of a spiritual focus?

2. Content – is the Bible study relevant to the students’ lives that are in the group? To often youth pastors use the same curriculum for all their groups. Its hard for freshman boys and senior gals to have a lot in common. Be creative, use curriculum that will engage with students where they are at in life.

3. Attendance – students will always go to something that is great. If attendance has dipped over the year, start asking students why they are not coming. This feedback will really help your small group leader.

Develop a Rescue Team

After you’ve given your small groups a check-up, have a rescue team ready if you need one. This may be you or other youth ministry vets from your staff (It’s good to have a male and female on this team). The rescue team may need to change leaders, meeting times, group focus, or may need to change the student mix in the group. Tip: be quick to respond because once you lose a group, the damage is done.

Don’t do small groups if it’s just something you are going to put on your resume and don’t do it because the other guys in town are doing it. Do it because you believe that it’s the best tool you have to bring the truth of Jesus into the hearts of your students.