3 Ways to Kill Your Sermon-Based Small Groups

Sermon-based groups have their benefits, but they’re not easy.

This week your church will gather in different ways for different purposes.

We usually think of the weekly gathering as the primary worship service, but beyond that larger gathering, people in your church will likely get together at least one more time. Call it Sunday school, call it small groups, or call it missional communities—it’s a different environment with a completely different vibe than the larger worship gathering.

While each of these smaller groups are different in their tone and goals, we have seen at LifeWay Research some commonalities starting to emerge within them. One of the fastest growing philosophies in small group life involves the content that the group is based on.

This growing segment in group life seeks to bridge the gap between the sermon and the small group. These sermon-based groups do not diverge from the pastor’s main point; instead, they look at the same text or theme they heard from the pulpit, except this time in a posture of discussion.

Proponents of the sermon-based model love the synergy their people get; instead of bombarding them with different messages multiple times in a week, the church is able to hammer again and again the core truths of the week. It creates a greater sense of focus than you might otherwise have; that sense of focus is at least part of the reason for the growth in these types of groups.

But with the benefits come a new set of challenges to effective disciple-making through sermon-based groups. If you’re not careful, you might fall in love with a philosophy without thinking through those challenges that, if unmet, will kill your sermon-based small groups. Here are, three ways you may be killing your sermon-based small groups.... Keep reading

The small groups at the Journey here in Murray, Kentucky are sermon-based. Small group leaders receive a weekly sermon study guide in advance of the sermon. This study guide includes the texts that will used in the sermon and which each small group is expected to read aloud as a part of the discussion. All small group participants are encouraged to adopt a Bible reading plan and are invited to share with the small group any special insights they got from reading the Bible since the previous small group meeting. The study guide contains questions designed to help the small group leader to take the discussion to a personal level. The purpose of the small group meetings is clearly conveyed to participants at the first meeting and reiterated at subsequent meetings. Critiquing the sermon, gossiping, and griping are presented as an inappropriate use of the small group's time together. Small group meetings typically conclude with a time of sharing and prayer. This time is used to provide emotional and spiritual support to those who need it.