People need encouragement. It’s pretty tough doing a job on your own without the support of others spurring you along. Bible study group leaders are no different. They require training and resources, but they also depend on encouragement. In a church with many leaders, no one person can be relied upon to provide all the encouragement. It must come from a number of places. God’s Word is our primary source of inspiration. We look to the members of each group to not only support one another, but also their leaders. Co-leaders can meet and pray and share together about their groups. Fellow leaders can catch up and support each other in their roles as leaders. A pastor or mentor can catch up with leaders here and there to enquire about how they’re travelling and suggest ways ahead.
All this can happen quite naturally without any planning or any specific structures. However, the truth is it usually doesn’t. We need to get organised. We need to be deliberate about mentoring and encouraging each other. It helps to have a plan, to arrange regular catch-ups, and to agree on a purpose for our meetings.
Sometimes we can get stuck wondering what to talk about when we meet others. How’re you doing? Good. How’s the group? Oh, it’s okay. What’ve you been studying? The same as everyone else. Need any help? Nah, I’ll be all right. Well, I’ll see you next time. Okay!
We can do much better! I want to suggest five areas for mentoring meetings that offer focus. To keep it memorable, you might want to think about each area as one finger!
1. Passage
For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)
The Word of God is at the heart of all ministry. God speaks and gives life. He cuts deeply within us to transform us into the likeness of his Son, Jesus. Our small groups should be focused upon the Scriptures because we desire to see change in people’ lives. For the same reason, we want to shape our mentoring and encouragement times by opening God’s word together. This isn’t the place for a detailed Bible study together, but we do want to hear from God each time we meet.
There are many different approaches when it comes to looking at the Bible in mentoring meetings. Here are a few suggestions:
- Choose a few verses that have stood out in your recent Bible studies and share what they have meant to you.
- Choose one of the pastoral letters (1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus), take a few verses at a time, and reflect together on what you learn about Christian leadership.
- Read through one stanza of Psalm 119 each time you meet and share any new insights into God’s word.
- Take a short New Testament book, such as Philippians or James, read a few verses each time to encourage each other.
2. Personal
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.
Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Timothy 4:12; 15-16)
Leadership involves teaching in word and example. We’re called to walk the talk. Mentors should take an interest in the lives and teaching of their leaders, but we can’t expect people to do what we’re not prepared to do. Sharing should be mutual rather than one-directional. This might be a little awkward at first, but will become easier as our relationships grow.
It’s helpful not to be prescriptive about what we discuss together. Some weeks there might be a big issue that takes most of the time. Other weeks there may be very little to discuss. Here are a few suggestions to get us going:
- Get to know a little about each other’s lives – family, work, interests, etc.
- Share together about how you became Christians.
- Is there something you’ve been really encouraged with recently?
- Is there something you’re finding hard?
- How are you finding being a leader in the group?
3. Pastoral
Bible study groups are about more than Bible study. They’re about the lives of the members of the group. It’s important that we recognise that everyone is different and that God is in the business of working in each person differently. This means we need to think specifically about individuals. Mentors can encourage their leaders to show an active interest in each member of the group. One way to do this is simply asking what they have observed.
Our greatest desire is for every member in our groups to know and love God, to place their trust firmly in Jesus, and to look forward to the hope of heaven. We want to spur people on to love and good works, which God has prepared for them to do. This means a leader is rather like a Christian ‘coach’ urging the members of the team forward.
Mentors can help this to happen. We can discuss and pray about the people in our groups. As we do this, it’s important to be motivated by love. There is absolutely no excuse for gossip. We need to respect confidentiality. Many times we can talk productively without even needing to mention specific names or details.
Sometimes there will be people in our groups with very great needs. They could be very ill, going through a marriage break up, struggling with depression, out of work, having a crisis of faith, or struggling with other serious matters. This may be beyond the capacity of the group or its leaders to deal with. The mentor may be able to assist by linking the leaders with the wider support of the church, or other resources.
4. Practical
It takes skill and practice to lead a group well. We want to encourage leaders to keep getting better at their ministry. It could be helpful for a mentor and leader to undertake a training course or refresher together.
There are a number of useful books that highlight elements of small group leadership to develop. I suggest Leading Better Bible Studies by Rod and Karen Morris and Growth Groups by Col Marshall. Reading through these books will give you plenty to discuss.
Mentors can take the initiative in encouraging leaders to develop as leaders. Ask questions, be specific. For example:
- What aspects of preparing or leading a Bible study do you find most difficult?
- Why do some studies work better than others?
- What do you think is stopping the group from opening up in prayer times?
- How do you think social activities could help the group ‘click’ together?
- What plans do you have for the term ahead?
- Have you considered any ways that the group could serve the church together? What are these?
One area of practical consideration and long-term importance is equipping new leaders. We can be apprenticing leaders within our groups by giving them opportunities to lead and work through issues of leadership. Mentors can take a role in encouraging the leaders in their task of developing new leaders:
- Have they identified people who could be potential leaders?
- What are the leaders doing with their apprentices? (e.g. preparing studies together, praying for members of the group, reflecting and planning together, following up members of the group one-to-one)
- Have they encouraged their apprentice to participate in a training course, read some helpful books, come to a leaders’ meeting?
5. Prayer
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. (1 Corinthians 3:5-9)
Without God we can do nothing. We can’t make a person trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for their salvation. We can’t fill a person with love for others. We can’t save a person from the judgment of God. We can’t guarantee their future for all eternity. BUT … God can do these things and more. So we are to rely on him, call out to him, ask him to be actively working in our lives and the members of our groups.
As mentors meet with leaders, they should pray. Together, humbly, asking God to be graciously at work. Allow the time to speak together with God, not as an afterthought, but as the most practical use of your time together. God loves to hear our prayers and he is more willing to bless us with answers than we are to ask him our questions.
