How Do I Take My Group Forward?

As we begin another year of GROWTH Group life, lead­ers may be look­ing for a primer to help them set the dir­ec­tion of their groups. Whilst groups are a safe place where mem­bers can come “home” to friends, and relax with a degree of sta­bil­ity, there should also be a sense of steady pro­gress as shep­herd lead­ers gently dir­ect their flock to greener pastures. 

For some time we have made clear the 5 Wins of KBC group life (refer the down­load “5 Wins of Group Life”), which every group works towards, but within that frame­work there is massive scope for each group to be unique. Given that every KBC group is dif­fer­ent, the leader needs a plan for how they are going to tra­verse the next 12 – 18 months. Fol­low­ing are some tips to make your job easier: 

1. Have a Clear Pic­ture in Mind
   The first role of lead­er­ship is to under­stand the present real­ity, and then define a pre­ferred future. Its called “vis­ion”: a pic­ture of how things should be. What do you think the group should look like? What would you like the group to have leaned or applied. What does it look like when YOUR group applies the 5 wins? It may mean there is con­sist­ent out­reach, or that new lead­er­ship teams have been developed. It may mean that the mem­bers have learned sig­ni­fic­ant new skills or that deep heal­ing has come to their lives.

   The clearer you can see and artic­u­late how it would look for your group to suc­ceed, the more chance there is of you get­ting there. Import­antly, any worthy vis­ion must be groun­ded in a worthy pur­pose. It should be worth doing, and be com­pel­ling enough to cre­ate energy. It should be a dream that God Him­self might have, and require faith on behalf of the group. Pray and med­it­ate before the Lord, ask Him for what vis­ion He would have for your group. 

2. Gather Build­ing Blocks
   Once you know where you are going, you need to find resources that will facil­it­ate the jour­ney. This may include cur­ricula; wor­ship mater­ial; guest speak­ers; and ideas for group pro­jects. Tim­ing is everything, and you should map out a rough timetable for when the group will be ready for activ­ity or teach­ing, keep­ing in mind the phases of group life. (STEP 4: Passing It On has com­pre­hens­ive train­ing in this).

   The most import­ant assets are your group mem­bers them­selves. Engage the group mem­bers in the vari­ous activ­it­ies so you are free to focus on the lead­er­ship func­tions of the group. Del­eg­ate as much as pos­sible in regard to recur­rent and time con­sum­ing activ­ity such as stud­ies, hos­pit­al­ity and prayer lists. Enga­ging the group mem­bers also increases their per­sonal growth, enabling them to develop skills in a safe environment. 

3. Live it Out Per­son­ally
   Chris­tian lead­er­ship is at its purest at group level. It is face-to-face, and glor­i­ous in its sim­pli­city. In group life, you cant ask people to do or be some­thing you aren’t liv­ing out per­son­ally. If you want your group to out­reach, then do it your­self and share your “war stor­ies” with them. We must embody every value we espouse, lead­ing by example through walk­ing more than talking. 
4. Stretch and Cel­eb­rate
   For pro­gress to hap­pen in the group, activ­ity must go bey­ond the four walls of the weekly meet­ing. It is scary and chal­len­ging, but occa­sional activ­it­ies that require the group to safely stretch them­selves add huge momentum to spir­itual devel­op­ment. Whether it be serving the home­less; going on mis­sion; or help­ing out with Yes We Care, there needs to be an out­let for the the­ory learned through study. 

   Then come back together for de-brief and cel­eb­ra­tion. Share the highs and lows, and thank God for His pro­vi­sion. This pro­cess builds con­fid­ence and faith among the group, adding a new dynamic to the weekly meet­ings. Remind the group of the vis­ion, and point out the pro­gress that has been made to date. 

Groups that have a plan sel­dom fail. The leader’s role is not to do all the activ­ity of the group, it is to set dir­ec­tion and facil­it­ate the jour­ney. Take some time at the begin­ning of the year to come before God for ideas and dir­ec­tion for the people He has put in your care