Choosing the right material for your small group is harder than it sounds. With a diverse group of people, interests, and sometimes in different stages of life, it can make this decision confusing and even frustrating.  

Choosing the right material for your small group is harder than it sounds. With a diverse group of people, interests, and sometimes in different stages of life, it can make this decision confusing and even frustrating.

You want to choose material that appeals to everyone and is actually beneficial to them. People are sacrificing their time to be apart of a small group so that their lives are impacted by God’s truth. You want to give them the greatest return on this investment of their time. 

In this guide, we’re going to take your hand and lead you down the path on choosing the perfect small group material. Been there, done that, and I understand how important it is. After fifteen seasons of small groups and choosing the material, I can help you. 

#1 – Confirm it’s a Small Group

There is a difference between a small group and a Bible study. Both are great, but each has its individual purpose. Let’s cover the difference.

Small Group vs Bible Study

Bible study = understanding what the Bible says and means

Small group = how to apply what the Bible says and means into our lives

Bible Study = Knowledge

vs

Small Group = Application

So that means that all small groups should have some form of application focus. Often the destinations of application lies beyond the journey of knowledge (wow, sounded very wise!). What I mean is small group will also include ‘knowledge’, but for the purpose of application. Application means taking something away from the small group to apply in your life so that your life changes. It shouldn’t just make you smarter. It should change your life. 

Bible studies will stay focused on the knowledge piece. I’ve been challenged several times by the older generation in the church that we should be studying the Bible. I totally get it, I really do. I also believe it is the absolute source of truth and God’s word. With that said, we can still use modern mans experience as wisdom and example on how to practically apply Biblical truth. 

Can the Bible be used as small group material? Absolutely, without a doubt. The only disadvantage to using the Bible as small group material is the leader will have to be more mature. (I hate using the term of spiritual maturity, but I lack a better term to communicate what I’m attempting to point out.) They will need to have more experience on how to take God’s word, and ask open-ended questions that promote the thinking, meditation, and deliberation of it. This can be hard to do. It’s a great skill to have. Without it the small group will fail to be a small group. The other ability the leader needs to have is a solid foundation of church doctrine and statement of faith. They will need to guardrail the conversations so that debates don’t start on spiritual doctrines that are not important enough to disturb the unity of believers. 

Goal: Any material you choose should include open-ended questions, or have the ability for you to create open-ended questions. The material should focus on learning how to live out wisdom in a God honoring way. It should not focus on ‘learning’ what it says. It can ask what it says as a means to get to way it means, but should be greater than the pursuit of knowledge. 

Small Groups that focus on a Bible study tend to have ‘right’ answers. Providing answers only to fill in blanks and address scholar material will prevent authenticity and transparency. With these components it’s extremely hard to witness what God can do in each other lives. With this encouragement it hard to grow and apply. 

#2 – Your Unique Flavor

People join your small group because they are attracted to the you. I’m going to get a lot of negative comments about that statement, but it’s true. People want to be around you. They choose you more than they choose the small group itself, or the material. There is something attractive about you and your life. You are successfully living a life that God’s glory is shining through. 

Because of this, your material should be an extension of you, what you’re interested in, your time of life, your focus, your passion, your uniqueness.  Choose a tool that helps you be successful in what God is leading you to do in your life right now. 

That means, if God is putting evangelism on your heart, get a book or study guide that equips you to do it better. If God is putting apologetics on your heart, look through the available authors to help you improve. If God is putting on your heart to reach out to your neighbors, or social circles, choose material that is focused on impacting them. 

People want to be like you. Do what brings you alive. 

Goal: Make them want to be like Jesus Christ MORE than they want to be like you. Your goal is to reveal to them through your fellowship that you are, who you uniquely are, because you’re working to accept how Jesus has created you. 

Through that they will realize they too have a unique identity in Christ, and will want that more and more. 

#3 – Seeker vs Saved

The next most important thing to consider is the audience of your small group. 

Are you hosting a small group so that more people in the church feel connected together? Or are you hosting a group so that people who attend church on Sunday’s can take the next step in their faith and grow through fellowship? Or are you trying to reach the fringe of the community by inviting them into a group to connect them to Christ? 

There is no exact answer for this, as all of these missions and purposes have fuzzy boundaries, overlap with one another, and can be multi-purpose. But it is something to consider. 

Seeker Based: Purpose of connecting non-Christians, or community, to a church sponsored group so that they can learn more about Jesus Christ and what it looks like in peoples lives. A ‘seeker’ is someone who is open to learning more about Christianity, Jesus, and / or the Bible. 

Growth Based: Purpose of bringing together Christians so that they can grow in their faith by participating in fellowship that encourages them and keeps them accountable.  This group is made mostly, if not exclusively, of Christians who already put their faith in Jesus. 

Seeker based small groups look very different than growth based small groups.  A seeker small group will often have more of a social time, and spend more time getting to know each other. It will include ‘light‘ study material and focus on the basics of faith in Jesus. Instead of everyone in the small group having an equal share in the contribution of the conversation, it’s often that this type of group will give preference, and more attention, to the seeker themselves.  

If a seeker based small group can be related to someone being served crackers and cheese, than a growth based small group is being served the meat and potatoes. This group is more focused on the meat of the matter. Everyone in the group is encouraged to contribute equally, and everyone learns from each other in addition to the material at hand. Iron sharpens iron, and in this environment people sharpen people with their testimonies, sharing their faith, praying for each other, and encouraging one another. 

(image of a horizontal line with basic – deep and highlights where seeker and growth based would land on the spectrum). 

Goal: Identify if you audience has a foundation of Jesus in their life and wants to grow in their faith, or if your audience doesn’t know Jesus or how to base their life on Him. 

#4 – Size of Church

In a big church, it’s really easy to find people that are like you. 

In a small church, it’s difficult to find a group of people that are the same as you. And it’s even more difficult to prevent people that aren’t the same as you from joining. Matter of fact, in a small church, it’s not even healthy to attempt this because it creates division of unity. It’s easy to create a click of ‘youngsters‘ , or an exclusive ‘mature’ club within the church. Even if this isn’t your intention, it only takes one or two people outside your group to suggest it and the label won’t go away. This will only lead to further division. 

Considering your size of your church can provide some general guidelines on the where the material can be on the spectrum of ‘general’ to ‘specific niche’. 

Church size > 300 = General material

Church size 300 <–> 1,000 = Time of Life material

Church size > 1,000 = Specific Niche / Time of Life

Goal: Identify the size of your church and consider how general you need to stay, or if the church size allows you to have a small group that can focus on a specific niche topic without impacting the unity of the church. 

#5 – Time of Life / Common Issue

Everything points to the creator and author. Everything points to the savior Jesus. So in all honestly, the subject matter itself doesn’t matter. The quality of the material matters, but not the subject. Unfortunately, we tend to forget and overlook this truth and look for more practical things to focus our studies on.

Looking at the time of life you are in, and the audience of your small group will give you a platform to choose what material you can use. 

Challenges in those times:

Singles; ministry, finding a partner, career choices, how to witness, how to be  a good neighbor

Married; How to love and respect each other, parenting, time management, finances

Empty Nesters; Time with kids, and grandkids, neighbors, event planning, serving

Again this reference is only meant to be a guide, not a rule. What I’ve found is when the group is all in the same time of life there are subjects that work very well. These ‘niche’ topics like ‘parenting’, make feel members feel immediately connected because that is something they are really concerns with. The topic is important to them, so they are invested. 

I’ve been in small groups that have focused on marriage. The point was become more like Jesus and you’ll have a better marriage. I’ve been in small groups that have used the topic of parenting. The point was become more like Jesus and you’ll be a better parent. 

Topics can help us see Jesus in a different perspective. We can get into the habit of reading the Bible and glossing over the intricacies of Jesus. Sometimes focusing on a topic helps we see things we wouldn’t have otherwise seen. For example, how did Jesus evangelis? Or what did Jesus say or do that can help be a better father or mother? Did Jesus bring his neighbors cookies? 

Things to Stay Away From

Not all topics qualify as a ‘common’ platform for small groups. For example it’s great if you enjoy playing soccer, but it really makes for a poor small group topic. Hobbies, sports, and vacation plans all create an atmosphere that is more social and based on interests. These groups tend to fall away from using the Bible and faith as the common foundation. It’s also common these types of groups discourage transparency because some people become fearful of not knowing as much about the hobby as others.  People will usually fall into the leader position because of their experience and knowledge on the topic, rather than their leadership abilities. 

Goal: Consider if time of life, or a common issue can be used as small group material.

#6 – Quality of Material

There is a lot of junk out there.  Unfortunately the pursuit of money has promoted the creation of a lot of resources. 

So how can you tell the difference? Here are some ways for you to quickly review and filter what resources are quality and junk. 

• The amount of scripture present
• Trusted authors
• Leadership recommendations

There are different kinds of preaching. There is expository teaching, and topical teaching. Expository preaching is where the text is read for it’s material and meaning and the theme is derived from that source. It is explained to the congregation using the scripture and broken down. Topical preaching is when a theme is chosen and then scripture is found to support that theme. Without getting in a argument, topical teaching can more easily take scripture out of context and skew the original intent because it’s being used with the goal of supporting the preachers theme. 

The same thing can be done with authoring as preaching. Matter of fact, most books are based on a ‘topic’ than the ‘exposition’ of a passage or Bible chapter. Because of this it’s really best to go to a book store and flip through the material you’re interested in. Take a look at a few chapters and really take the time to examine if this author is using scripture in context, or are they only using it to support the theme of their book. This is easier said than done. Your goal as a small group leader is to love and serve the members of your small group. By taking the time to do the best you can to review the material you are loving them and serving them. Even if you try to do this and get it wrong, that’s alright. If you start material and half way through you feel uncomfortable about it, say it. Point out to the group the area you are concerned with and ask them what their thoughts are. Give them an opportunity to contribute.  Keep a pulse on it, and if you have a few strikes, toss the material. 

Personal Story:

I’ve personally had this happen a couple times. The small group wanted to focus on the topic of impacting our neighbors. I don’t remember the specific book, but we all choose it together. After a couple chapters people were motivated and encouraged, but it wasn’t the type of encouragement that comes from scripture. I read ahead and put a few examples together where I thought the author was using scripture out of context. I pointed this out and asked the group what they thought. They agreed with some of my observations, and they appreciated I cared about them enough to take time to research this. During that discussion it came out that one person in the small group absolutely hated the book and felt very uncomfortable with it. They were happy I said something, because they were scared to say anything because I was the leader and I picked it out. They didn’t want to offend me or hurt my feelings. At the end of day we decided we were more than half way through and could finish the book in just a couple weeks. (We had a couple members that were really big on ‘finishing’ what they started). We also all agreed the author had the right heart, and their message was still something Jesus would support even though we felt some scripture was being used out of context. We finished the book, everyone knew I cared, and other got to express their thoughts that would have otherwise been hidden. It was a win. 

One thing I’ve learned about my church leaders, other than they tend to be really good with vision casting, love people, is that they READ! Wow, do they read. And they are ultra sensitive to honoring God’s word. They can be the absolute best resource for helping you identify good material. Hopefully you have a leader that enjoys reading at your church and you can leverage them as a resource. 

#7 Flavor of Group

Hip, reserved, extroverted, introverted?

If you’ve gotten this far and now that your group is a small group focused on the application of God’s word through fellowship, and you know if your material will be general or specific, and you know the topic it’s based on, and you’ve validated it’s quality material truly based on God’s word. The last filter you can apply is the flavor of your group. I feel an example will best be used here to start this point. 

Your small group is a bunch of rag tag singles that LOVE Jesus. Most of them actually came up in the church through the youth group program. Your located in the heart of the city. The demographic of your group is largely diverse with whites, Hispanics, and Asian and everything in between. 

Choose A: The Master Plan of Evangelism by Franklin Graham

or 

Choose B: Crazy Love by Francis Chan

Again, either one is fine, but one has been created by someone who’s life more closely resembles the flavor of your group. It’s more easily understood and therefore more applicable. 

I’ve seen it so many times before, the difference between grinding through material and devouring material. There is this super amazing quality Christians have called ‘loyalty’. Unfortunately as a leader you need to have your pulse on when its being used and overshadowing an issue. Remember what we talked about in item number two? People like you, and they want what you want. So if you choose material that isn’t great, they probably won’t say anything. They will just grind through it. But if you take the time to assess the flavor of your group and pick material that is most applicable, that will end up being material they devour! You small group discussion times will rock! The only problem will be trying to get them to shut up at the end of the night so you can be respectful and let people leave. That is a good problem to have. 

#8 – Are They Reading the Bible?

This won’t help you decide what material to use for small group, but it will impact how you use that material and the focal point it has on your small group. 

As Christians, we are free, free indeed. It’s a wonderful thing. And that means we’re free to discover and choose material for our small groups that can make a great impact on our faith and our fellowship. But to hold onto freedom, we need to have a firm hold on truth. The Bible is the source for that truth. 

In the past we’ve leveraged a great study guide from the local Christian book store. It was really nice having organized material, broken down in digestible chunks that had a cadence common to how our small group was meeting. As a bonus the guide had discussion questions that helped elevate this pressure and responsibility from me as a leader. While our group had discussions based on these questions it become evident that the lenses people viewed these questions through was more worldly than Godly. There was something missing. 

If you choose to use a book or study for your small group, you should make it clear that people should still be reading their Bible on their own. The Bible is the foundation, and more important than the study guide. Give the small group members the freedom, that if presented with the choose of reading the study material, or reading the Bible, they should always choose the Bible. They can come to small group and contribute from that instead of the materiel. The material should only come after they have read the Bible and have a firm, regular, allowance of scriptural truth. 

#9 – Time Expectations

Give expectations on how much time people should be spending reading, studying, and preparing for small group.  

“How much people value something is equal to what they invest.”

Tell them how much you want them to read, and how much time you want them to spend. 

Personal Story:

I recently had a friend step out of small group because, “It was hard work.” When I pushed into this and asked him why it was hard work he revealed that he just wasn’t getting the same things out of the material that the rest of us were. He then added something they caught my ear, “I read it TWICE! I still didn’t speak to me.” Later that night at during our small group discussion another friend was sharing his takeaways and was asked, “How did you get that much out of it?” His response was, “I read it seven times.”