Small group leaders are awesome. They’re the most important people in any local church. They have a big job with many tasks, but there’s one task that surpasses them all. The greatest thing a small group leader can do is give their job away. Here’s why that matters.
It matures other people
“Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.””
Matthew 28:19-20 NLT
Remember that we grow mature by helping others pursue God. That’s why small group leaders are the most mature people in the room. But if you want to help others mature, you need to give away responsibility. Let them co-lead the group. Train them how. Encourage them to mentor people outside the group and at home. Teach them how to do what you do so they, too, can grow mature.
From the first small group Rich and I were in it was easy to see the ways in which it would serve and help to mature us as Christians. Proverbs 27 has the famous verse about iron sharpening iron. Small groups are exactly the place where those sort of “sharpening” relationships happen and grow. It brings the bible and our faith into a public part of our life on a day and time other than Sunday morning.
It helps you stay sane
Exodus 18:14 (NLT) When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What are you really accomplishing here? Why are you trying to do all this alone while everyone stands around you from morning till evening?”
Exodus 18:17-18 (NLT) “This is not good!” Moses’ father-in-law exclaimed. “You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself.
Leading a group well is fun and exciting. That’s why it’s tempting to hoard your power and make people dependent upon you. Many small group leaders (and even pastors) want to be the superstar. According to Jesus, that’s crazy. He created his church to work like a body with many interdependent parts. So it will drive you insane trying to shepherd everyone around you. Quit it. Share the ministry with as many people as possible.
In 1 Corinthians 12 we read about all Christians being part of one body. It would be crazy to believe that you alone could even begin to do the work of the entire body. All of us are gifted, and all in different ways. It is important to the health and growth of the church that everyone be matured and empowered to use their gifts. The spiritual growth of an entire church is a heavy burden to bear. But that weight lightens significantly each time we reproduce ourselves as small group leaders!
It empowers the next generation
“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus. You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others. Endure suffering along with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”
2 Timothy 2:1-3 NLT
Everybody dies. If small group leaders don’t equip others, their gift dies with them. That’s why Jesus was so intent on equipping and empowering his disciples to carry on his work. He even came back from the dead and put on a seminar for them. You won’t be able to do that, so you’ll have to train people while you’re alive. Don’t wait until it’s too late.
Jesus set the example for this. He chose a group of 12. He spent time in close relationship with them, teaching and praying and being prayed for. And then, in no uncertain terms, he sent them out into the world to continue the work of sharing the Gospel.
Even before Jesus we see examples of leadership in Small Groups. Noah and his family – finding favor with God in a wicked world, being placed in a boat to survive the flood and begin again once the earth had been wiped clean. Daniel, Hannaniah, Mishael, and Azariah – they prayed for and encouraged one another while exiled and serving in Babylon.
If you want to thrive as a small group leader, give your job away.
Practical advice:
- Invite purposefully
- Let someone open or close in prayer
- Let someone host the group at their home
- Let someone lead the conversation
“Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:12-16 NLT
