And the peace of God which transcends understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.Īs you give your leadership to God, He will give you a peace which will enable you to focus on Him and on your women, not on yourself and your insecurities. Phil 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. It doesn’t get any better than that! SMALL GROUP LEADERS: PARTNERING WITH THE WOMEN IN YOUR SMALL GROUPĬommit every aspect of your group and your leadership to God. The better you get to know your women, the more you will be aware of what He is doing. It is such an incredible privilege to watch God change hearts-you WILL see Him do that. You will watch God do things that only He can do.
One of the most exciting things about serving God in this study is to watch Him change hearts-you WILL see Him do that! You will get to see things He is doing that you wouldn’t if you weren’t serving here. Phil 2:13-“for it is God Who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose” That is God’s responsibility alone we can’t. We hope it will be freeing to you to realize what your role is and what God’s role is your role is to love these women, to pray for them, to point them to Christ, to listen, to encourage them toward community it is NOT your responsibility to change them or to solve all their problems. Sometimes her response to a question will give you great insight. Pray God will show you where each woman is. As you listen to what they say during the discussion, God will show you ways to pray for them, ways to connect with them and love them well. As you love and care for your women during the week, they will be more committed to be there and to be open during the discussion. What you do outside the Bible study time will affect your Bible study group time, and what you do during the Bible study time will affect your time outside the Bible study. You’ll be best able to do this by spending time with them during the Bible study and outside the Bible study time. Your role as a small group leader is to facilitate the discussion and to shepherd the women in your group-to know where they are, not only in their lives, but in their walk with the Lord. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Philippians 2:1-7 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. God will decide how that will look, and He will not waste your investment of yourself.
To listen, to care about them, to point them to Christ, then to trust the outcome to Him-that will never disappoint. Finding community and making friends may be a by-product of being a small group leader, but if that’s primarily what you’re looking for, if your motive is anything other than serving God by serving His women, you will be disappointed. Motive needs to be-to be used by God in the lives of the women He gives you, serving them, loving them, pointing them to Christ.
It helps if we keep our focus on why we’re here, to examine our motives in why we’re serving. It never fails that you will see ways He has put women together so that they can relate to each other in significant ways and encourage each other in ways you can’t.Įxpect that you will have ups and downs with your group!ġ Cor 15:58 Therefore, my brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. God will use your willingness to serve Him to have an impact for eternity on the lives of these women! Be praying now for how God is putting your group together for His purposes.