The best way to get people to come when you are first starting up your Bible Study is to personally ask them. I am so sold on small group ministry that I want to see everyone in the church in a Small Group Study. I know it will be one of the best things that will ever happen to them. I know God will minister to them. I know they will gain so much as they spend time sharing with other Christians, and learning from the Bible. So I want to ask them and invite them to our study. But there are other ways to get people to come. You can send out flyers in the mail. You can put an announcement in the bulletin. You can phone people. If you are really the shy-type, ask someone who is more outgoing to make the contacts for you. People love to help a new ministry get started off right.

Sometimes it is easier to get people to come the first few times than to keep them coming. We are a very busy society. Everyone has many obligations and activities in which they are involved. Every small group will have its core that is very faithful, but others will come sometimes and then miss for a while. In order to keep them coming back, you must be tireless in your efforts. When people miss a few times, it’s easy for them to get out of the habit of attending. A phone call from the leader will encourage them to continue. You can also send brief notes or postcards to those that miss. Periodical mailings to remind everyone of a new part of the study that may be especially interesting to them can also help.

Occasionally, people in our group have volunteered to make a simple dinner for the Study. When this happens, I am on the phone to everyone that week to remind them that they don’t have to eat dinner before the study. Of course this also reminds them to come to the study. We have also had pot luck dinners. The group enjoys these times of eating together. You could also plan some special event: perhaps an outreach event, or the study held in another location. Use your imagination, and you can probably come up with many more good ideas.

Continuing the Group after Completing the First Study

I like short studies of between 6 to 12 weeks. I think this encourages people to participate since they can commit to a short, definite period of time. However, once you have a group going, you will develop strong fellowship, a caring atmosphere, and a willingness to share. This is not to be discarded lightly. I have found that if we continue the Small Group by starting a new short-term study, most of the participants will continue. Once again, keep it to a short period of time so that people can more easily commit, and not drop out. You can continue doing this successfully for years. The key is to allow people to drop out gracefully after a study is completed and not make them feel guilty that they are no longer part of the group.

How to Get New People Involved

Once your group is going, you must continue to try to get new people. Your group will constantly be changing as some move away, others have their work schedule altered, and others have new family obligations. The best way to get new people into the Bible Study is for the members of the group to invite their friends. Some people will come to a Small Group, but would never dream of coming to church on Sunday morning. Many ways to get new people to come will be unique to your group. Each group has different personalities and different approaches to talking to people. You could hold some event such as a family picnic to facilitate your group members in inviting their friends. This way they can become familiar with the Bible Study group. There are countless ways to find new people. Use your imagination and encourage your group to get involved in inviting others.

Another good way is to invite those who are new to the church. People who are looking for a church home can float indecisively from church to church waiting for God to send them a word from heaven. I often tell visitors that are searching that if they really want to understand how our church works and how our people think, come to a Small Group Study. They will learn a lot about us quickly and easily. Every week, get a list of the new visitors and give them a phone call or send them a flyer. If there are many Small Group Studies in the church, you could do a mailing which would include all the groups. But this church mailing should be in addition to the personal contact or individual flyer. There’s a big difference between being invited to some church Bible Study, or to being invited to my specific Bible Study. People respond best to personal invitations.

The third way to get new people is to keep letting everyone in the church know what your group is studying or doing. Once every six months it’s a good idea to send out a mailing to everyone in the church who are not already going to a Small Group Fellowship and tell them where you are in your current study. We even had people from another church who came to our Bible Study because they heard about it from a friend who attends their church! So don’t hesitate to let everyone know.

A fourth way is to invite your neighbors and those with whom you work or have business dealings throughout the week.

Whichever ways you use, be consistent in inviting new people. If your group gets too large, someone can always start another group. But that new group will never be started if you stop inviting new people. Never feel that you are too full for any more.

Duties of the Leader

In order to have a successful Bible Study, the group leader must take on certain responsibilities. Some of these may seem obvious, but I think they all are very important.

Prayer

This is, after all, not your Bible Study, but God’s. Every week it’s a good idea to spend time consulting with the Boss. And you need to spend time each week praying for those in your group — some will be going through extreme difficulties. Remember, prayer makes a difference.

Preparation

If you don’t care enough about your Bible Study to spend time preparing, why should anyone else? Set aside time each week for prayer, study, and reflection on the Bible Study.

Hospitality

This seems kind of obvious, but I thought it should be mentioned. Making people feel like welcome guests is part of your responsibility. Whenever someone comes to my group study, I feel real joy inside — to think that they sacrificed their evening to come visit with our group and to study God’s word together with us. I think people need to understand we are happy they are there. Let people know they are welcome.

Consistency

Only real emergencies can be a cause to cancel your Bible Study. You cancel due to illness only when you’re really sick. If you can go to work, you can lead a Bible Study. I’ve even held a Bible Study when I was too sick to work. When relatives come visiting, they can join you in the study. When you schedule family outings, schedule them around your Bible Study times. If you will cancel for any lame excuse, you are giving a message to your group members that you do not feel the study is that important. Pretty soon you will hear your lame excuses repeated back to you as your group members tell you why they missed. The key is to be consistent.

Faithfulness

If you are a group leader, in the eyes of everyone in your group, you are a leader of the church. What kind of leader are you? Are you faithful in your attendance of the services and activities of the church, or do you just go when you feel like it? Our purpose of a Small Group Study is get people grounded in God, solid in their faith, and established in the church. It is not a ministry unto itself. If we take church attendance lightly, we are giving the wrong message to our small group. We need to be faithful to church.

Letting Others Know about Your Group Members’ Needs

Sometimes you are the first and only one in the church to find out about a group member’s medical emergency or family troubles. It is your obligation to pass this news on to the minister or others who would like to help out if they knew there was a problem. You don’t want to be breaking confidences, but many times there were people in our small group going in for surgery that no one else in the church knew about. By alerting others, it helps the person get through their difficult times a little easier.

Have Fun

Leading a Small Group should be fun. Don’t let it become a drudgery or a duty, and don’t be afraid to be yourself. If you are excited about something you have learned from your week’s preparation, be sure to share your enthusiasm. Allow God to fill your life with joy as you grow in your faith and share Christ’s love with others.