The Five Characteristics of a Healthy Small Group
My passion and calling in life is to help Christians learn to be servant leaders, and to help them learn to love God’s Word and grow in their personal relationship with the Lord. I truly believe that every Christian needs to have an individual or group of individuals who can speak into your life. That’s why I was so excited to recently publish the Study Guide companion to “Management Waste,” my book on servant leadership, after repeated requests for the Study Guide from churches and small groups.
I’ve had the honor of both being part of and leading numerous small groups. Through my experiences, I’ve discovered five key characteristics that I believe every small group needs to have if it is to be effective and lasting.
Confidential
For small groups to be effective at bringing our inner darkness to light, there has to be trust between the members. Sharing our struggles can be incredibly freeing and help us open ourselves to the Holy Spirit’s workings in our hearts, but sharing struggles requires willingness to be vulnerable. Small groups only work when you know what you share will not go outside the group.
Structured
Small groups need a leader, a regular meeting cadence, and a set of meeting guidelines that all members agree to. The leader doesn’t necessarily need to be a theologian, but they should either have a solid foundation of key Christian doctrines, or utilize a solid Biblically-based source for the group to learn from. I am aware of many small groups that utilize my podcast for their study of the Bible www.larryodonnell.com/podcast. They simply pick a book in the New Testament (studies for almost the entire New Testament have now been recorded), and play the recordings each week working their way through verse by verse, chapter by chapter. They then have their own discussion after that lesson’s recording is finished. The leader’s main purpose is to guide the discussions and help the group stay on task. Likewise, the group needs to agree on meeting times, duration of meetings, and structure of meetings. Small groups that don’t have these components in place are usually not small groups for long! People get discouraged and just quit coming.
Respectful
We all come to the Bible with a different set of life experiences that can color our interpretation of the Bible. Sometimes, people have different interpretations, and it is important to discuss what solid Bible Scholars say about the passage in an effort to understand what God is saying, rather than just personal opinions. Sometimes, different interpretations might be incorrect, and sometimes there a difficult passages that could have several possible interpretations. However, people need to feel the ability to share what they think without fear of being personally attacked. If something comes up that is Biblically incorrect, it’s important it is addressed in a graceful way (the Bible never contradicts itself). For example, I came to the Christian faith from a Roman Catholic background learned as a child, and I definitely needed to unlearn some incorrect theology and replace it with correct Biblical teaching from the Bible! I’m thankful for leaders who carefully corrected me so I could understand God’s grace and love for me more fully.
Humble
None of us have life totally figured out. If we go into a small group setting thinking we’re there to “rescue” the other members, then we are missing out on the blessing the group could be in our lives. Small groups operate best when they are a collaborative experience, where all members give and receive truth in love. It is important to have the humility to accept insight and admonishment from the other members of the group.
Prayerful
As Christians, we each have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. “And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9). “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). One of the key functions of the Holy Spirit is to help us understand God’s Word. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you.” When we gather with other believers to study God’s Word, the Holy Spirit can open our minds to understand God’s Word. We need to begin and end each small group meeting with prayer, asking the Lord to speak to our hearts, guide our discussion, and reveal truth in our conversation. Furthermore, small group members should be in active prayer for one another between meetings!
Small group study is a great way to grow in your understanding of God’s Word, grow in your personal relationship with the Lord, have a better understanding of who God is through what He has revealed to us in His Word, and become more like Him. If you are considering a small group study of “Management Waste,” I have included a sample small group agreement in the new Study Guide that can be used and modified to help structure your group! The Study Guide is now available on Amazon, with all revenue I receive going to charity.