• T = Teach . . . will this church let you teach? This is very important. It’s a great privilege to be able to lead a small-group Bible study, or Sunday school class, and contribute good Bible teaching to the church in this way. (Hebrews 5:12). . . . by this time, you ought to be teachers . . . It’s also a great way to identify and invite one or two hungry ones in the group to meet for one-to-one discipleship and equipping. (2 Timothy 2:2) The things you received from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful ones who can teach others also.
It’s rare that a solid local church restricts those it allows to lead a class or small group, but it does happen. One church I know which has a seminary of the same denomination near by, seems to permit only seminary students or professors to teach in the church. In another instance, from the best intentions perhaps, another church requires any teacher to be a member for at least five years, and requires teachers to adhere only to the curriculum specified by the pastor. The good intention here is possibly to protect the congregation from false teaching, but it still seems excessive and even a bit wary of a lay person’s ability to teach doctrine as guided by the Holy Spirit.
Having found a good church, volunteer to lead a small group Bible study.
Most good churches welcome Bible study leaders. We’ll assume your local church is confident in you to be a biblically accurate and qualified group leader. The church leadership may ask you to take over an existing group, or to start a new one. How do you know what kind of small group to invest in? The discussion that follows may seem harsh or non-inclusive, but we must be realistic concerning how to conduct a ministry that will contribute the most to God’s Kingdom.
If your church asks you to take over the leadership of an existing small group, and you have a choice about which group to be involved with, keep your ministry goals in mind. Since your desire is to teach the whole group, but select and disciple a few, that should be the major factor in determining which group to volunteer to lead. For example, while older church members often exemplify godliness and commitment to prayer, they are usually not the most able to adapt to the activities or spiritual disciplines of discipleship. This is a generalization to which there are many exceptions. And the Holy Spirit will guide you to those into whom you can fruitfully impart your life, regardless of age or life situation.
For the sake of this discussion, however, we’ll primarily consider young adults, or young couples (in their 20’s). They have the energy, relatively few major life problems, and motivation to consider paying the cost of growing to maturity in the Christian faith.
If the church asks you to begin a new small group, you can recruit to this same constituency simply by specifying the age group and focus of the group. For example, an e-vite on the church website:
“New Bible study group for the 18 – 30’s!
College students, alums, young adults, couples . . . all welcome!
Focus of the Bible study group: “Maturity in Christ!”
Studying key Bible passages and topics that help us grow and serve.
Led by Jacob Smith
Contact Pastor Jeremy if you’re interested.”
It’s helpful, by the way, to have the assistant pastor, or small-groups pastor, be the contact person instead of you, as people will feel more comfortable signing up through a church staff member.
The ideal size of a small-group Bible study is about 8 – 10. This promotes good interaction and it means you can have the get-togethers pretty much anywhere, at the church or in a home. One of the main reasons people like small-group Bible studies is to have friends. A group of about this size is perfect for building friendships with other Christians that provide encouragement and accountability.
So, let’s assume 10 people sign up for your small group. It meets weekly at your home. (By the way, snacks and drinks are good, but don’t get too elaborate.) You have an initial get-together so people can start to build relationships. Give the group a hand-out briefly describing the topics you’ll be studying for the first seven meetings. Make sure these topics are relevant to the group. Best bet is to have something like, e.g.“Seven Hot Topics for Millennials!” These topics can discuss what the Bible says about relationships, resolving conflicts, knowing God’s will for your life, money issues, etc. These are topics of sure-fire interest for most people, but especially the 20’s age bracket.
Now begin leading the group! See Question 2: How do I lead a small group Bible study? for lots of suggestions on how to do this.
Pick a faithful one or two. As you meet week after week, keep your eyes open for those in the group who seem most interested, motivated, and hungry. This is pretty obvious, but you can have a few criteria in mind, such as . . .
. . . persons who are attentive and engaged in the study as opposed to the one who’s yawning and checking his watch . . . well, it might not be that obvious . . . but it’s still quite clear who’s interested in the Bible study and who’s not.
. . . those who ask good questions. Good questions indicate a person who is processing the concepts of the topic or passage and trying to dig deeper.
. . . the person who takes the application of the Bible study seriously.
Let’s say the group has just studied how to share Christ, having gone through John 4, Jesus talking with the woman at the well. You could throw out a bit of a challenge to the group sometime, such as, “I’m going over to the campus this Wednesday evening and just talk to some students about faith; anybody want to join me? You don’t have to say or do a thing; just come with me.” If someone volunteers to go with you, that’s an excellent sign of a serious, growing young believer. Even if no one volunteers, it’ll be pretty evident which ones at least wrestle with saying yes.
Overall idea here is to look for and identify the one or two in the group who would respond well to an offer from you to meet together for some discipleship and ministry training.
Help that person(s) to grow. Spend personal time with him or her.
Okay, let’s assume you’ve identified a person you think is serious and interested in growing. Ask him / her if she / he would like to meet once a week. It’s fairly easy to schedule this if the person is a college student, as students have lots of open spaces in their week. It’s more difficult with folks who have jobs, especially if she / he has a family. It may have to be an early morning meeting, or a lunch near their workplace. Evenings are usually more difficult for a married person or one with a family, as that’s the time of day when family is a priority.
Now that you’ve agreed upon a time and place, for example, lunch at the fast food place near the person’s office, the big question then arises: “What do I do with this person?! How do I impart my life to her or him?” You can do with this interested young Christian what Paul did with his young man, Timothy.
It’s been said that all ministry is essentially two things: love and truth. The best picture of this in the Bible (I think) is seen in 1 Thessalonians 2:7 & 11. Paul tells the believers in Thessalonica that he and his team were . . . as a nursing mother tenderly cares for her own children. (2:7) and . . . how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you, as a father would his own children. (2:11) The loving heart of the mother and the exhorting, teaching heart of the father are good depictions of personal ministry. Anyone who has ever seen a mother with a baby or toddler knows what demonstrated and verbalized love looks (and sounds) like. In discipleship, it’s affirmation of the younger Christian you’re helping, and genuine praise. This is not pretense or flattery, but sincere appreciation for the person. Someone once said, “I can live a month on a good compliment!”
This heart of the mother builds trust in the relationship. The young Christian will come to see that you really do like him and care about him. He or she will feel, rightly so, that you are on her side.
The father’s heart to teach and exhort is the “truth” part of this spiritual “Velcro.” Paul describes his goal in