(This is part 2 in a series on leading small group Bible studies. Read part 1 here).
Do you wish your small groups would recruit to themselves?
Over the course of the semester, you’ve probably seen your small group numbers begin to dwindle as students become busier and busier and find all kinds of excuses for why they can’t make the Bible study that week.
It can feel like pulling teeth to constantly recruit and, dare I say beg, students to come back to the group each week.
No one wants that!
You certainly don’t. Your students don’t.
What if you could build momentum through your small group Bible studies each week in such a way that students were anticipating it and inviting their friends on their own?
You need to make two more adjustments.
In last week’s post, you learned what makes small group discussion awkward. If you aren’t careful with the questions you ask, you can end up giving your students a pop quiz! No one wants to be put on the spot, especially when they are taking a risk to come to your study already.
You learned the first 2 adjustments you need to make are to:
- Summarize before you ask
- Ask illustration questions
Those 2 adjustments will really help the flow of your groups. Your discussion will improve. But these last 2 adjustments will really help set your groups apart. If you execute these well you will add more value to your students’ faith development and leave them wanting more.
Adjustment #3 – Make it sticky
One factor that keeps people coming back is learning something that sticks with them.
It should be obvious, but no one wants to come back to a 45-minute discussion where a bunch of guys who don’t know anything about the Bible sit around and give their opinions about the Bible.
No one wants to come back to a 45-minute discussion where a bunch of guys who don’t know anything about the Bible sit around and give their opinions about the Bible. Click To TweetThey want to learn.
The truth is, no matter how good the discussion is, no one will remember the discussion. And that’s okay! You want them to remember the truth of God’s Word, anyway.
Your job is to present the truth of Scripture in an interesting, compelling way that is memorable and “sticky.”
There was a Bible study on our campus once led by another ministry that did this well. Each week there would be guys who would be talking about the lesson they learned. It stuck with them! As a result, they talked about it. They shared about it with their roommates. That study grew!
In every study, try to have a simple example, metaphor, drawing, or illustration that will be the main takeaway from the study.
Most of you use these in your 1 on 1 meetings with students. Use these in your studies too! I’ve found often it goes even better.
Examples of Sticky Illustrations
A few classic ones:
- Belief vs. Trust – Pointing vs. sitting in a chair
- Biblical faith – Hear, believe, trust rungs of a ladder
- Worldliness/Idols – Broken cisterns diagram (Jer 2:13)
- Fellowship – an outward facing circle
- Gospel – 3 Circles
- Gospel – The Romans 6:23 diagram
- Lordship – Pie chart of life
- Lordship – two thrones
- Grace vs. works – T-chart
You can google any of these and probably find a youtube video of someone sharing them. These little nuggets are sticky. They bring the truth of Scripture alive. When Jesus taught the people, He used all kinds of metaphors and stories that were memorable.
Once again, you’re not turning this group into a lecture, but you can easily present one of these as an illustration and then discuss the implications of it.
When guys or girls leave your study, they aren’t going to remember the discussion. They will remember how it made them feel. If it felt like a quiz they weren’t prepared for, they are going to be much less likely to subject themselves to that kind of painful torture again. However, if you’ve made a deposit into their life by giving them a memorable, sticky takeaway, they’ll think back and appreciate the impact the study is having on them.
Adjustment #4 – End Strong
Daniel Pink, a best-selling author and expert on human behavior says, “Endings help us evaluate entire experiences.” How you end your study is one of the most important factors that will keep people coming back.
If you end well, people will remember your study positively.
The problem is most Bible study leaders don’t do a good job planning on how to end their study. You probably spend a lot of time thinking through discussion questions, but not your conclusion.
As a result, most studies end with an unclear and vague application, or worse…the dreaded:
“Alright…well….that’s all I got. Anyone have any questions?”
Yikes.
Don’t Give them Homework
You probably know you are supposed to end the study with some sort of application. You want people to put into practice what you have just talked about.
In the example using 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, you might typically end with an application question like, “Ok guys, so how can you make the gospel more important to you this week?” or “How can you prioritize the gospel this week?”
Again, put yourself in the shoes of your audience.
They don’t know how to apply this!!
You need to tell them.
Nine times out of ten you’ll get some answer along the lines of, “I just need to spread the Word” or “I really want to love people well this week.” The answers are so generic because they don’t know what else to say. In their minds, those answers at least sound good.
Instead of asking the question above what if you helped guide them towards an application?
An example could sound like this:
Leader: I’m so encouraged that you guys are here exploring your faith! Paul says teaching and passing on the gospel was the MOST important thing to him. You guys are prioritizing your faith by just being here! (Always encourage your group when you can). One of the things that helped me prioritize faith was to start reading the Bible consistently. I had some guys help me do that. I’d love to do that with you guys. I’ve printed off this bookmark with a list of verses. Do you guys want one of these?
Group: Lots of head nods
Leader: Awesome, here you go! This has a verse to read each day. It takes 5-10 minutes. I’d love for you to try to do that a few times this week. Also, I’d love to meet up with some of you and do it together. I thought that would be a cool way to get started. Let me pray for all of us and we’ll be done.
Now you’ve given them an opportunity to respond and you’ve set yourself up with some follow-up opportunities with people you think might be even more interested.
Don’t treat the application like a homework assignment. Treat it more like an optional resource that could benefit those who are more hungry spiritually. Half the students probably never look at it again. But some will, and you can capitalize on that interest.
In some studies, I’ve even given multiple application options and written them out at the bottom of the handout. That way when I ask the application question they could talk about which one they are choosing and why. But they aren’t left hanging to come up with answers on their own.
That builds confidence in the discussion.
After they discuss, offer to pray for them and end the group. If people hang out for a while after, great! But that closing is strong and leaves a positive taste in the mouths of your students.
Put it into Practice:
Will these adjustments guarantee success?
No.
You aren’t the Holy Spirit. You can’t control people’s response.
But you can do everything you can to lead an effective study and remove unnecessary, awkward barriers to the Bible and biblical truth.
As Howard Hendricks once said, “It’s a sin to bore people with the Bible.” Thankfully, you don’t have to. God’s Word is alive and active. It’s useful. It’s effective for salvation.
Unleash it from the rigid structure of a formatted discussion. Use these adjustments to strengthen your small group discussions and keep people coming back for more!
Discuss
- Brainstorm with your team some “sticky” illustrations you can use in your studies.
- Evaluate: Do you spend much time planning through how to end your studies well? If not, what are some ideas that could help?
