At NCC we have a free market system where almost anything can become a small group! What are you passionate about? What do you enjoy studying? What is your favorite pastime? All of these could be good prompts when considering what kind of group you want to lead.

 

 

Deciding What to Study

Depending on the nature of your group, each semester you may have to decide what you’ll study that semester. In most cases, the content is the activity or topic that gets people interested in your group – it’s the initial reason for gathering.

Chances are that at some point in your leadership you’ll be confused about the direction you should take your group in.

You might need help searching for a topic or you might just not know where to look for material. Or maybe you just need some bright ideas.

Don’t let finding the content of your group scare you. At NCC, we believe the Church should be the most creative place on the planet. We have a free market system, which means that you can choose whatever you want to study, as long as it’s not illegal or unsafe.

Here’s how to decide.

The first thing you need to do is pray. Think about your group as your unique fingerprint. Reflect on who you are. What are you excited and passionate about? Where do you spend your time? How would you like to grow? What would you like to learn over the next semester? Is there a service project you’d like to do?

Keep in mind that the ultimate goal of any small group is discipleship – growing more like Jesus in the context of community.

Find an outlet to express what God is doing in you within the context of your group.

You have a blank slate each semester you lead. That means you can meet around anything, like fantasy football, an inductive study of Romans, organizing a neighborhood clean up, youth mentoring, or a demographic, like all men or all women. You decide.

Once you choose, make sure and answer this question: How am I going to turn my group into a disciple-making opportunity?

If you get stuck and can’t figure out what to do, we recommend a sermon-based group. These groups gather around to discuss the weekend message, so they can process what God is saying and live it out during the week. Each week, the Discipleship Team writes discussions questions that you can use to foster conversation in your group.

So remember, choosing what to study in your group isn’t magic. You decide what to do. Use the process of choosing content to grow into who God is calling you to be, then leverage that for a disciple-making opportunity.

Some Things to Consider:

• What have you studied in past small groups you’ve led or participated in? What was most effective in developing disciples?
• What are some ways an interest group such as fantasy football or photography can be utilized to make disciples?
• How do you ensure that disciple-making is happening in Bible and book study groups, rather than just taking it for granted?
• If you were to lead a group based on where you most need to grow, what would its focus be?
• What group content do you think would be most appealing to non-Christians? To new Christians? To mature believers?