Christian Small Groups

Christian Small Groups Defined

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A Christian small group is a gathering together of believers who come together to pray, to share and to support one another. Small groups will typically only have 3-12 members at a time. The best part of small groups is that it allows believers to share their lives together, and to help one another on their walk.


Small groups will typically meet on a once a week basis. Some small groups will only meet for a planned amount of time, like a couple of months or so. And some have no end date planned, and will meet for as long as they are capable of doing so.

There are several important parts to small groups. These parts are prayer, learning, sharing and multiplication. Prayer is a remarkably important component to a small group. It is good for each person to pray for their own needs, but it is important that the members focus on praying for others as well. This helps the group keep an outward focus instead of becoming self-centered and in-grown. Learning is another important component to small groups. This is typically the part of the small group where the leader of the group will teach a short bible lesson, or go into an in depth study. It depends on the nature of the group, and what the group is learning about. Sharing in a small group allows for the members to build their relationships up. They can share what they are going through, good or bad, and receive support from the other members. The last part to a small group is multiplication – to allowing the group to grow. It is important for the small group to have an “open chair” policy, so that everyone is welcome, and no one is ever turned away, even if it means the group will be larger than expected.

Christian small groups are an incredibly important part of church life. They encourage members to come together and grow strong relationships with other believers that might not have happened otherwise. They also allow members of the church to learn more than maybe they would have just hearing one sermon a week on Sundays. Church members who attend small groups are better for it because they will have hopefully developed strong relationships with other members, and will have developed more in their relationship with Jesus Christ.

How to Start a Christian Small Group

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If you are looking to build a healthy Christian small group ministry, there are many questions you need to ask of yourself and of your church to make sure this progress runs smoothly. It is important to look around your church and figure out what the visions for the small groups should be and/or are already.


If your church already has some small groups currently meeting, what are their visions? And if your church doesn’t have small groups meeting, what is your vision for a small group ministry? The next important question to ask yourself is: what group of people in your church need to be reached specifically by a small group ministry? Can you reach out to women, men, couples? Or perhaps there is even another group that you see needs to be ministered to.

The next thing you need to figure out is, how will you reach the people for whom the small groups have been created? People will go to a small group that best fits their needs, so you need to figure out what would best fit most people’s needs, in reference to when the group should meet, where it should meet, and how long it should meet for. Often, they group of people you are trying to reach will help determine the answers to those questions. Another question that needs to be asked is, who will lead the group, and how will you train the leaders? Are there people in your church that will step up, and how do you nurture them and train them? Another question you need to take into account is what goals will you have for the small group ministry? Where do you see the ministry in six months? What happens if more people attend meetings then can be handled? Will you split groups, and how will you do that? It is important to come up with a game plan for the future of the new small group ministry.

After you have answered these questions, it is often a good idea to write up a philosophy statement, or manual, for the new small group ministry. It may be beneficial to include in the manual what groups you will establish, what people it will reach, how the leaders will be trained, etc. Any questions you have answered about the small group ministry on your journey should be included in the manual. Small groups are an important part of churches, but establishing a small group ministry is not the easiest thing to do. Asking yourself these questions and developing a philosophy statement can help you walk towards the right direction in developing a healthy small group ministry.

How to Break the Ice

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Christian Small groups are not all serious bible study the entire time the meeting is in progress. Of course, small groups are created in order so that people have an outlet to learn more about God and to grow in their relationship with Him. But many people also go to develop friendships with the other people at the small groups. So, if you are a leader of a small group and you are having trouble getting your members to open up and share with one another, it might be a good idea to use some ice breakers to get the proverbial ball rolling.

A really wonderful ice breaker game is, “If I were a…” This game is especially great because members do not have to get up out of their seats to participate. Everyone takes a turn saying silly about themselves. For instance, one person could say, “If I were a shoe I’d be a sandal because I am in to comfort and relaxed style.” Another person could say, “If I were a show I would be a celebrity gossip show because I love celebrities.” As the group leader, start the game first by saying something silly about yourself, and then encourage everyone else to take a turn. Laughter is the best ice breaker.

Another great ice breaker game is, ‘Who am I?” Everyone writes a name of a famous person onto a sticky note. That note is then placed on another person’s forehead, so that the person with the sticky not on their forehead does not know what name is written on it. Everyone will then take a turn asking the group yes or no questions trying to figure out whose name they have on their foreheads. The first person to guess wins. If you are looking for something very simple, have everyone go around the room to introduce themselves, but instead of just stating their name, have them state a few of their favorite things.

Keep in mind when choosing an ice breaker game to keep it simple. Most people are not going to want to participate in a big, running around game at a bible study. Try to choose a game that members can play from their own seats – with minimal amount of movement or physical effort. Ice breakers are great tools for a brand new group, or a group that has just had trouble connecting. A big part of small groups is building friendships between the members. Members go to small groups to, in part, share what is going on in their lives and to receive prayer and support from other members. But it can be hard for people to open up immediately to strangers. That is where ice breakers come in. They break the ice so people can communicate with one another.

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