Guidelines for Small Groups

Effective small groups usually operate with guidelines such as these:

• Participation. Each person is encouraged to respond to discussion questions. Anyone may choose to "pass" (not speak) at any time, without explaining why.
• Preparation. Group members covenant to prepare as agreed.
• Prayer. Group members pray for one another between meeting times.
• Presence. Members will be present unless pressing circumstances prevent it.
• Personal focus. Members will talk about their own experience rather than about others' and will refrain from giving advice. Comments should focus on the speaker's ideas and experience, not on others'.
• Confidentiality. What is shared in the group stays in the group.
• Kindness. Members deal with one another tenderly and gently, striving always to "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15). If they cannot speak with love, they remain silent.

Review these guidelines in the group's first meeting and decide how your group wants to modify them. You may want to list the words Participation, Preparation, Prayer, Presence, Personal focus, Confidentiality, and Kindness (and any others your group adds) on a board or easel and post them in the meeting place each time you meet, as a reminder of your agreements for these sessions.

Groups can meet at any time convenient for members. It is helpful for busy people to know the time of meetings, and each meeting should begin and end at times agreed upon. If meetings start late and dismiss later than agreed, attendance may suffer.

Copyright © 2006 by The Upper Room. Permission is given for copies of this study to be reproduced for your group.