Do you see the butterfly?

I love summer. Time to rest; time to read and journal; time with friends. And it’s not over yet!

I love fall. The cooler days; the colors; the celebrations; and more opportunities to be with friends. And it’s just beginning.

This fall I’m returning to facilitating a small group Bible study at our church. It’s been a while and I’m excited to be back.

For me, September has always marked new beginnings.

It started with school days, then teaching days coinciding with collegiate ministry, and church ministry. That’s a lot of years of September beginnings. My calendar, a 9-month, 3-month schedule kicks off (pun intended) every September. Old habits die hard.

I bet many of you are also blessed to lead small groups.

As this September new year rolls around again, it’s good for me to remember … and I’ll share with you … my top 10 lessons of small group leading. Perhaps these will help you too.

1) Don’t go to my closet and pull out my leader hat. Be who I am. Share vulnerably. Everyone is growing.

2) Keep peeling the layers of the onion in my life. No matter how many times I’ve been through the material, approach it as if it’s the first time.

3) Partner in leading. Invite your friend to lead with you; take advantage of her strengths. Affirm her often.

4) Communicate regularly. Invite the people in your group to meet for coffee or come for lunch. Call, text, email – let them know you want to be a friend.

5) Share other resources you happen upon freely. Learning doesn’t always initiate with me. Blogs, magazine articles, you-tube videos. The resources never end.

6) The value is in the group! Listen and learn from the others. If I don’t, I miss out big time. Give them the pedestal.

7) A leader, no. God gave me this group to help facilitate what we are all learning. We’re in this together.

8) Pray, pray, and pray again. For yourself, for your friends in the group. For wisdom, for ears to hear, for the Word to truly be living and active for each group member.

9) Set up anticipation. I’ll share how I heard from God next week. Or something similar.

10) Know when to take a semester off to re-charge your spiritual batteries.

Copyright: Sue Tell, August 2024