A couple of weeks ago, I shared Part 1 of the Small Group Tool Box thoughts. I mentioned that even if you never intend to lead a small group, this is still a great tool box to have on hand. The first couple of tools are a good example of why this is true. Even if you never teach or lead, you can be an integral part of building the framework.
Let’s take a look at our first tool.
Parameters: The Questions to Ask
Any small group must start with parameters, what you want your small group to look like. It’s a bit like laying a foundation for a house or building; this tool provides a picture or framework for what you want your small group to look like. This tool is essentially a list of parameter-setting questions you’ll ask yourself each time you want to start (or help someone else start) a small group. The answers will change and may vary widely from one opportunity to the next, but, the questions themselves are very stable.
1. What will the focus of the small group be?
While some small group types can overlap, ultimately you need to pick one primary focus. Perhaps you’re discussing starting a Bible study. That’s the foundational parameter. From there you can decide if you’re going to just look at a book of the Bible or find some kind of guide to use. The same would be true if we chose a book club or a hobby group.
2. What will the group composition look like?
Will there be a limit to the group size, or is it open to as many as our interested? While the term is technically “small group,” the concept of small can vary widely.
You will also need to consider if there is any exclusivity to your group. Will it be open to anyone? A mixed group or gender based? Targeted at a certain age group or a certain demographic such as parents of little ones?
This question also encompasses whether your group will be open or closed. That simply means addressing how easily someone can join a group after it has started. For instance, in certain book clubs or Bible studies, it can be hard for someone to jump in after the group has started because they will lack necessary context. And some groups, like mentoring groups, are always closed by nature. There is no other way to truly accomplish the purpose of the group.
Other groups have sessions that are a little more open. While there are advantages to being involved the whole time, new members can still join halfway through and not feel lost.
3. What is the scheduling capacity?
Is it a weekly meeting? Bimonthly? Monthly? This is less about looking at a calendar for availability and more about knowing the capacity of whoever will actually be leading the group, whether yourself or someone else. The details — what day of the week or time of day — will come later. You need to determine early on, though, what general scheduling will allow maximum investment in this group.
This applies both to the ability to consistently dedicate time for the meeting itself, but it also relates to the ability to invest and prepare. It might be that you know you can easily handle having a weekly book club because you can definitely read and be prepared to discuss a chapter each week. (Unless, of course, you’re tempted to devour the whole book in three days; in that case, a chapter a week seems to be terribly cruelty!) When it comes to leading Bible study, however, you may be processing that you’re also responsible for Sunday school lessons or other such responsibilities. So, in order to devote good preparation time, you might want to meet every two weeks.
4. What will the duration of this particular group be?
Some groups naturally lend themselves to long duration. For instance, if you have a hobby or book club, you can rotate through projects and just keep going as long as you can continue to coordinate the scheduling. Members can come and go depending on their personally availability or interest in the hobby or book.
Other groups, however, need to have very definite start and end points. For mentoring groups, an end point is a very important necessity. It doesn’t mean it has to be a short length of time. Eighteen to twenty-four months is not an unusual duration for a mentoring group. But, there must be an end date and a point where the mentees are then pushed to the next step of mentoring others, even if it’s an in-between step of being a co-mentor with someone more experienced.
Any closed group, by nature, should have an end point. This provides opportunities for rotation, letting current members interact with new concepts or people while also allowing new people to participate in a new rotation of the closed group.
