Resources for Small Groups

When we meet as Christians, we do so in fellowship with each other, caring for each other and responding to each other’s changing needs. But we also meet for the purpose of growth and training: growing in our knowledge of God, strengthening our faith, and training each other to be better able to serve and encourage others with the word of God.

One of the ways you care for the members of your group is by thoughtfully planning the year's program—i.e. where you are leading your group and how to get there. (You might like to watch the introductory video for small group leaders on our video page. Number 4 on the playlist.)

So what do you choose? What constitutes a healthy diet of small group study? We recommend the "50/25/25" approach:

» 50% of the study time available spent in expositional Bible study, i.e. working through a NT or OT book;
» 25% spent doing different kinds of studies, such as topical or character studies, or reading a Christian book; and
» 25% spent doing practical ministry training—such as a course in evangelism, or how to follow-up new Christians, or training for some other aspect of Christian service. (NB. You’re not giving up the Bible in this training—there’s lots of Bible content in Matthias Media courses.)

This 50/25/25 approach ensures that your learning is directed by your study of the Scriptures, and that you keep in mind the aim of serving others and spreading the gospel by training each other in these tasks.

Our small group expositional Bible study guides fall into two main series:

» Pathway Bible Guides—short, simple, straightforward studies for groups with limited experience or time; and

» Interactive Bible Studies—our mainstream series of Bible studies providing challenging, insightful study material for established Christians.

The Interactive Bible Studies series also has four titles in it that deal with topics (money, prayer, doctrine and womanhood). But one of the best ways to study a topic is with our Multimedia studies—covering topics like guidance, holiness and the big picture of the Bible.

Another helpful way to cover a topic in your group is to make use of the discussion guides in our Guidebooks for Life series.

When it comes to training, we have a growing range of courses which are specifically designed for running in a small home-based group, using DVD input, Bible study, role plays and discussion. This includes our Six Steps... series of courses: Six Steps to Encouragement, Six Steps to Talking About Jesus, and Six Steps to Reading Your Bible. The So Many Questions course is also a very useful apologetics course for small groups.

Not quite fitting into any of the above categories is The Course of Your Life. This is a DVD-based course that can certainly be run in a home group context. It's a course we think every Christian should do at some point, to take a step back and think about what life is about—big picture, stretching stuff.

Set out below are some sample yearly plans for different kinds of groups based on the "50/25/25" approach. Remember though, your group is made up of individuals. They are not necessarily all at the same stage of Christian development. The majority of your group may be mature Christians who need to be stretched and trained. But there may be one or two who actually need some basic follow-up to establish them more firmly in the foundations. That’s where you need to be proactive as a leader and cater not just for the group as a whole, but perhaps meet one-to-one with some of those group members that need some extra help.

Conversely, not all your group members may be quite ready to do training, such as in how to lead a small group themselves. But it might be good for you to meet with the one or two who are ready for that and train them so that they can share the leadership with you for a few months and then start their own new group.

If you haven’t done so already, why not pause now and think about the people in your group. Ask God to give you wisdom to discern where they are up to the in their Christian life and how to cater for their growth. It might even make for a very interesting conversation to talk to them individually about it.

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Small Group Yearly Plans

The sample plan below outlines a way to cover key books of the Bible and topics over a two year period. (It might even be a goal for your group to plan to divide up after those two years and lead others through these foundational studies.)

Year 1	Year 2
Full of Promise (OT overview studies)—8 weeks	News of the Hour (Mark)—10 weeks
Beyond Eden (Genesis 1-11)—8 weeks	Six Steps to Talking About Jesus—6 weeks
Six Steps to Encouragement—6 weeks	Simply Chrisitianity course*—5 weeks
The Free Gift of Life (Romans 1-6)—8 weeks	From Sinner to Saint (Holiness)—5 weeks
Bold I Approach (Prayer)—6 weeks	The Free Gift of Sonship (Romans 7-11)—8 weeks

* Note: having done the Six Steps to Talking About Jesus course, the aim of the Simply Christianity course is to provide an evangelistic opportunity for group members to invite non-Christian friends and family to read the Bible in an informal home group context.

The following alternate plan would be a little more suitable for a group of newer Christians, or a group with a little less time for each session, with slightly simpler studies.

Year 1	Year 2
Back to Basics—7 weeks	Getting to Know God (Exodus 1-20)—8 weeks
Following Jesus (Luke 9-12)—7 weeks	Six Steps to Talking About Jesus—6 weeks
Six Steps to Reading Your Bible—6 weeks	Simply Chrisitianity course*—5 weeks
Beginning with God (Genesis 1-12)—8 weeks	Standing Firm (1 Thessalonians)—8 weeks
Faith—6 weeks	Where to Lord (Guidance)—6 weeks

* Note: having done the Six Steps to Talking About Jesus course, the aim of the Simply Christianity course is to provide an evangelistic opportunity for group members to invite non-Christian friends and family to read the Bible in an informal home group context.

If you need any help or advice about using Matthias Media resources in a balanced small group program, please don't hesitate to contact us.