Small Group Leaders Archives

Last week, I shared that I was coaching one of our elementary small group leaders in effectively leading her group. (If you missed that post, you can read all about that here.)

This past Sunday, I sat in on the group again and saw something AMAZING. The entire atmosphere in the group had been transformed – for the better. Here’s what I observed:

A new routine was established.

Last week, I suggested that the leader establish a routine when the children arrive to the group after the large group teaching time. She determined the following routine: When you come to the small group area, grab your Bible and circle up on the floor. So this week, the children who were there the week prior did just that – amazing! Of course, the children who weren’t there didn’t know what to do but that takes me to my next observation…

The routine and simple guidelines were reviewed.

She asked me to review the routine and the guidelines with the group of nine children. I began by praising the children who remembered what they were supposed to do when they came to the small group area. Then I explained the routine to the children who were absent the week prior and why this routine was being implemented.

Then I explained the guidelines, which we’ve intentionally kept short, sweet and simple:

Respect the adult in charge. (I gave examples of what that looked like.)
Respect the other people in your group. (I gave examples of this too.)

I briefly explained the ‘whys’ behind the guidelines. All in all, this took about two minutes to explain. This wise investment of time made for a more calm, pleasant environment even though more children were present this week.

The Bible story was reviewed in a more engaging way.

The leader did a fabulous job engaging the children while reviewing the story. She asked great questions (mentioned here). She also kept children engaged by regularly referring to them by name.

The leader was more aware of when it was time to change things up a bit.

Because the children were more within her eyesight, she was able to notice when children were getting restless. When she noticed this, she changed things up a bit. How? Read on…

The children were able to move around after the discussion time.

Last week, I suggested that the children get up and move around after the discussion time on the floor. She had them complete their journal activity at the table before doing a Bible verse activity at the whiteboard. It was very effective. Changing up the ‘scenery’ came at just the right time because she was more aware – and prepared.

The leader was more confident.

I wish you could have been there. Her voice was surer and her posture more upright. She was prepared with her ‘cheat sheet”. She was more relaxed. Her body language screamed, “I can do this!” It was such a God-thing to see this after just one week.

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My goal in coaching this sweet leader was to not only help the children have a great time but also to help her strengthen her leadership muscles. I think she’s on the right track! Moving forward, I suggested that she:

1. Take time at the beginning of each session to briefly review the guidelines.

2. Have fidgety children sit on either side of you or directly across from you. This will allow you to correct behavior with a gentle hand on a shoulder or eye contact.

3. Sit where you can see the clock. This will help you keep track of time. (Note: There is no clock in this leader’s area, but there will be next week!)

4. Break up your 30 minutes into three 10-minute segments.

5. Build anticipation for next week with comments like, “I can’t wait to see you again next week!” or “Next week, we’ll ____. I hope to see you then!” or “If you come next week, you’ll hear more about ____.”

Now it’s your turn to share…How do you coach your small group leaders to lead effectively? Post your tips below!

This past Sunday, we hosted a Small Group Leader & Parent Breakfast for Route 45, our church’s Preteen Ministry. I was inspired to plan this after I saw an idea on a great website, Stuff You Can Use. The website offers a free, editable kit that will help you plan the entire event. The event was originally designed for Middle School Ministry, but I found it easy to design it for our needs.

I described this event to our parents as the church version of “Back to School Night”. This type of event is usually held in August or September. Since things were extremely busy in the fall, we scheduled it for February, the mid-point for our ministry year.

Here’s an overview of our event:

Purpose: The primary purpose of this event was to bring parents and leaders together for a light breakfast and conversation. Since our preteens are allowed to check themselves in and out on Sunday mornings, many of our parents and leaders had never met. I didn’t want the school year to go by without this important face-to-face interaction.

Logistics: We held our event on a Sunday morning during both of our morning services. Parents were encouraged to attend during the hour that their child attends Route 45. I recruited a few teens to help me teach the morning’s lesson and help with crowd control. Leaders were provided with a timeline for the morning and a copy of conversation starters prior to the event so that they’d be familiar with how things would operate.

Promotion & Registration: We began promoting the event through our weekly parent email approximately two months before the event. It started as a “Save the Date” promotion and then moved to actual emails with more details. We also promoted the event through announcements during our preteen Large Group time, our online church newsletter and the church bulletin. Invitations were provided for each preteen to take home and give to their parents. (We wanted to publicize in many different ways.) Our invitations and other handouts were customized to be blue and white (to complement our color scheme) and include our logo.

Food: We kept the menu pretty simple. We served muffins, bagels and cream cheese, protein bars, fresh fruit, juice and bottled water. We were able to keep the event to less than $60 for food and supplies.

Decor: We set up three 9-foot tables parallel to each other with space to walk in-between. We covered the tables with table cloths and placed an acrylic sign holder in the middle. The sign holder held the names of each small group leader. At each place setting, we placed a legal-sized place mat (with a section for notes); a two-sided post card – one side shared how we want to partner with parents and the other side listed our leaders and contact information; and a feedback card that parents and leaders could use in telling us if the event was beneficial, if we should offer it again and suggestions to make it better. We also placed name tags, pens, markers and copies of Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof’s book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity, for parents to peruse.

Here are a few pictures:

Flow for the morning: At the beginning of the morning, I welcomed parents, shared the purpose of the gathering and brief overview for the morning as well as insight into our ministry year. (We launched Route 45 in September, so the word for the year is “new”…new format, new curriculum, new leaders, new space, new programming, new, new, new!) Then I turned things over to our leaders and let them facilitate the conversation. Five minutes before the service ended, I wrapped up the time by giving a few announcements and a heartfelt “thank you” to our parents and leaders.

Overall, I am so glad that we held this event and I look forward to it again in the fall. It warmed my heart to see parents and leaders talking about how we can best work together to help our precious children in their spiritual journey.

Leaders and volunteers: How do you encourage a partnership between your ministry and parents?

Parents: How can your church better partner with you as you guide your children spiritually?