Facilitating Small Groups

Relationships

Establish relationships:
Get to know your small group members. What touches them personally and get to know how they most feel appreciated and the needs that can be met by the group always encouraging them to seek God through prayer and the Word.

Be looking for an apprentice within your group; someone who has shepherding gifts that you can shepherd and develop and eventually encourage to lead the group or another group of their own.

Messiah’s method
Model: He did it and they watched. (Mark 3:7-10)
• Be a good example as you lead - live it.
• Discipleship is caught more than taught.
• 89% of what we learn is visual.
• We teach what we know - we reproduce what we are.
• What is a ministry skill they can learn from you? (or) What is an area that needs to change in their life that you are modeling?

Mentor: They did it together. (Mark 3:13-15)
• Jesus mentored His disciples and they were with Him
• Disciple the few - encourage the many
• Questions to ask in mentoring: 
    o What knowledge do they have? 
    o What ministry skills need to be learned? 
    o What character development needs to happen? 
    o What are one or two practical things you can do with them to help them grow?

Monitor: They did it and He watched them. (Mark 6:7-8)
• Accountability is helping people keep their commitments to God.
• How will you hold them accountable? How often will you meet?

Motivate: They did it and He was in the background encouraging them.
• He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 6:9-13)
• And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons, they will speak in new tongues.” (Mark 16:15-18)

Personalities

God made us different!

It is important to understand that people are different. Below are some basic questions you might ask of each member of you group:
• Do they tend to be more introverted; private, quiet, deep with energy focused inward; or are they more extroverted; social, expressive, broad, with energy focused outward? Does extensive interaction with people drain them (introverted) or energize them (extroverted)?

• How do they process information? Are they more sensing (oriented towards facts, experience, the present and what is realistic) or are they more intuitive (orientated towards possibilities, novelty, future and what is idealistic)?

• How do they make decisions? Are they more analytical; objective, logical and critical; or feeling, sympathizing, subjective and personal?

• Do they approach life in a structured or unstructured fashion? Do they lean towards structure; organization, firmness and control; or meandering; inquiring, flexibility and spontaneity?