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Planning for the Future
Identifying the key roles in your group ensures its long-term health.
Category: Leaders
As a leader, you're the champion for fulfilling the purposes of your group. It's critical, then, that you fully understand each member's role ahead of time. That will simplify figuring out who should be in them after your group kicks off. Below are several "job descriptions" of key roles in the group. You'll need to identify who can fill these roles—and then recruit members in your group for the position.
1. APPRENTICE LEADER
Purpose: To serve the group leader and regularly rotate leadership. This person is the future leader of tomorrow. "These things which you have heard from me…teach to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Share weekly responsibility within the group.
Step 2: Regularly rotate the leadership of the group.
Step 3: Stay in your existing group once completed, but eventually start a new short-term group.
Profile: Shepherd's heart, servant leadership, spiritual walk and spirit of humility.
2. MEMBERSHIP PURPOSE CHAMPION
Purpose: To champion the fellowship and community building activities within the small group (Heb. 10:24-25, Eph. 2:19).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Coordinate a group social and/or celebration of life.
Step 2: Follow up on new and absent people with calls and cards.
Step 3: Help assimilate people into the life of the church.
Profile: Social, fun-loving, encouraging and has hospitality gifts, gathering personality; a welcome-wagon type.
3. MATURITY PURPOSE CHAMPION
Purpose: To champion the spiritual growth and personal next steps of each member in your group (Col. 1:28, Eph. 4:15).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Help the group share their progress in their spiritual journey.
Step 2: Help your group grow their habits of maturity by regularly sharing their experiences.
Step 3: Helps each member identify their spiritual next steps.
Profile: Loves learning, has a heart for the Word, desires a growing walk with God.
4. MINISTRY PURPOSE CHAMPION
Purpose: To champion the SHAPE process in the group, the church and the community (Eph. 4:11-13, 1 Cor. 12:7, 1 Peter 3:10).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Help the group share about past and present experiences in serving Christ.
Step 2: Encourage the group to select a ministry opportunity that they could do together.
Step 3: Have the group share their SHAPE profiles and seek to mobilize them into a ministry role.
Profile: Cheerleader, goal-oriented, loves to see people develop and grow themselves.
5. MISSION PURPOSE CHAMPION
Purpose: To champion outreach to the unchurched in your community and around the world (Matt. 28:18-20, Acts 20:24).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Encourage members to pray for unchurched/unconnected friends or family members.
Step 2: Encourage members to invite an unchurched/unconnected friend or neighbor to your group or to a church service.
Step 3: To keep the small group aware of mission prayer requests and/or to participate in short-term missions projects.
Profile: Inviter and bringer, heart for people, cross-cultural experiences, is interested and involved.
6. MAGNIFICATION PURPOSE CHAMPION
Purpose: To champion the purpose of worship and whole-life surrender in your small group (Rom. 12:1-2, John 4:24).
Possibilities:
Step 1: Coordinate a weekly praise and prayer list.
Step 2: Get your group attending worship services in community.
Step 3: Host a communion service or worship time for your small group.
Profile: Encourager, heart for personal and corporate worship, desires a deeper walk with God through prayer.
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