Leadership in Community (Groups Series 6 of 6)

Introduction

The health and effectiveness of a primary care group, like the health and effectiveness of a church, usually stands or falls with the quality of its leaders.

            Group leaders are normally the most significant point of contact for the spiritual nurture and shepherding care of church members. Under the oversight of pastors and elders, a group leader’s primary responsibility is to pray for group members and help oversee their spiritual growth.

            Therefore, churches need an effective group leadership development and oversight plan that includes clearly defined group leadership: 1) qualifications, 2) structure, and 3) training.

Group Leadership Qualifications

The qualities of a group leader should be the same as those for church leaders listed in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.

            This is especially important because churches often see being a successful group leader as an essential qualification for being a pastor, teacher, elder, or deacon.

            When the Apostle Paul describes the qualifications of an overseer, the first quality he lists is to be “above reproach” (1 Tim 3:2). So the first and foremost qualification of a group leader should be proven personal character and godliness. Other qualifications often include:

• Member: a church member in good standing who has taken church membership vows

• Theology: in general agreement with the church’s doctrinal beliefs, including a commitment not to speak or teach against church doctrines

• Ministry: a person with proven ministry experience whose ministry gifts and skills are confirmed by others

• Philosophy: in general agreement with the church’s ministry philosophy, including a commitment to help start new groups

• Training: willing to receive and successfully complete group leadership training

• Accountability: willing to meet regularly with church leaders and other group leaders for ongoing training, oversight and accountability

Group Leadership Structure

Church leaders need to design and develop a plan and structure for raising up new group leaders for the church.

            This structure should be seen as an intentional pathway that can lead someone through a progressive process from being a group member to being a group apprentice, to being a group leader, to being a group mentor, to being a group overseer. Although most people will not become group mentors or overseers, it's still helpful to have this process in place for those whom God has called and gifted to be in these roles.

Group Member

One of the most effective ways to develop a group leader is for the leader first to be a faithful, responsible member of a healthy group under the care of an effective group leader.

            As a group member, the emerging leader needs to experience firsthand what it’s like to serve and be served by other group members, as well as receive spiritual nurture and shepherding from a group leader worthy of imitation.

Group Apprentice

The next step in developing a group leader is for the faithful group member to become an apprentice under the oversight of an experienced group leader.

            The apprentice shares group leader responsibilities, including leading group times of teaching, praying, and sharing. The apprentice may also be responsible for planning the venue and food for the group meetings, sometimes delegating these tasks to other group members called group hosts.

Group Leader

The next step in developing a group leader is for the proven apprentice to become a group leader under the oversight of an experienced group mentor.

            It’s usually best for a group leader to serve a group for a limited time. The initial commitment of a new leader is often for at least one or two seasons (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer) and usually for no more than one year.

            Beyond this, the group leader’s future role can be determined by the group leader in consultation with their mentor and other leaders.

Group Mentor

Those who are effective and faithful group leaders may be called to become mentors of other group leaders, under the oversight of an experienced group overseer.

            It’s usually best for group mentors to oversee no more than three group leaders. In smaller churches the role of group mentors is sometimes carried out by the pastor and elders.

Group Overseer

In larger churches, pastors and elders often assume the role of group overseer by

overseeing group mentors, who in turn oversee group leaders.

Group Leadership Training

This group leadership structure is designed to provide not just a pathway for raising up group leaders but also for the mentoring, training, and supervision leaders need to be effective in their spiritual nurture and shepherding of group members.

            The key to effective group leader training, at all levels, is not primarily the curriculum but the supportive relationships established with these leaders.

            The goal of the leadership structure is to help facilitate intentional, meaningful relationships where true discipleship and mentoring takes place in the lives of group leaders.

            Christ-like leadership also inverts the normal authoritative leadership structure in the world by seeking to serve rather than be served.

            So it’s helpful to see three primary levels of servant leadership training based on intentional relationships between group leaders in ministry.

Level One: Leaders Serve Apprentices

The first level of group leadership training involves group leaders serving group apprentices by providing them spiritual nurture, shepherding, and accountability.

            The group leader serves all group members by helping provide them spiritual nurture and shepherding. But the group leader has a special focus on overseeing and serving the group apprentice as a future group leader.

            This involves much more than helping the apprentice develop the necessary skills to oversee and lead group meetings. It also involves intentional discipleship. Apprentices should participate with their leader in helping care for and serve other members in need.

Level Two: Mentors Serve Leaders

The second level of group leadership training involves group mentors serving group leaders by providing them spiritual nurture, shepherding, and accountability.

            One of the biggest mistakes churches make in developing healthy groups is the failure to develop and oversee supportive relationships for group leaders. As the church’s frontline primary caregivers, group leaders need to receive primary care themselves or the entire group care structure can break down.

            So group mentors serve group leaders by more than just helping them develop skills for leading effective group meetings. They also pray for and with them, and regularly help them to grow spiritually.

            One of the most helpful ways mentors support group leaders is by periodically joining them at meetings with other group leaders and mentors for times of mutual encouragement, support, and training.

            These meetings serve as the group leaders' care groups, and are usually led by group mentors. Similar to the care group meeting agenda, these meetings can include times for praise, prayer, learning, and sharing.

            During these meetings, group leaders receive encouragement and learn from not only group mentors but also from other group leaders as they share experiences and insights.

            Although this periodic meeting of group leaders and mentors is critically important, caution must be exercised not to schedule too many meetings or group leaders and mentors will burn out.

Level Three: Overseers Serve Mentors

The third level of group leadership training involves group overseers serving group mentors by providing them spiritual nurture, shepherding, and accountability.

            In smaller churches, where the role of group mentors is sometimes carried out by a pastor and elders, there is often no need for this next level of group leadership oversight and training.

            But in larger churches, pastors and elders often assume this role by overseeing and caring for the church’s group mentors.

            The intentional, personal discipleship relationship between overseers and mentors is similar to the relationship between mentors and leaders, and between leaders and apprentices.

            And one of the most significant ways overseers serve mentors and leaders is by planning and leading the periodic meetings of group leaders and mentors referred to previously.

Conclusion

The health and well-being of a local neighborhood or community is directly linked to the health and effectiveness of the local church body there.

            Likewise, the health and effectiveness of a church body is directly linked to the health and effectiveness of the small groups that make up that church body.

            And the health and effectiveness of church groups usually depends on the quality of their leaders.