Discipleship, Group Pastors learn how to grow stronger small groups at Discipleship Leaders Retreat

Paul Gwinn, minister of Education and Administration at Central Baptist Church in Carthage, returned to the Discipleship Leaders Retreat with the intention of learning tips and tricks for developing and sustaining small groups as the church seeks to do so. 

“I think one of the main things that [Discipleship Leaders Retreat is] beneficial for is that it's a reminder to us that… When we come to know Christ, we are given gifts, to use, to serve in that capacity and to minister. So I think it helps remind us that we need to help people see that vision, help to draw them in so that they can share in their gifts and use them how they were intended to [be used],” said Gwinn. 

April 27-29, Texas Baptists’ Discipleship & NextGen ministry hosted their annual Discipleship Leaders Retreat at Summers Mill Conference and Retreat Center in Belton. With the theme “Growing Stronger Small Groups,” attendees received training through five keynote sessions led by Rick Howerton, co-president of Perpetually Growing Church Ministries and co-author of multiple books, and enjoyed opportunities for rest and fellowship. 

“Group ministry is a relational ministry, not an informational ministry” 

Howerton kicked off the retreat with a session titled, “4 Foundational Imperatives & Expand the Infrastructure.” He shared the 4 foundational imperatives of leading a perpetually growing group ministry: lead, expand, launch and strengthen. For the majority of the session, he focused on expanding the infrastructure of your group ministry. 

“[Jesus] instilled in his disciples that you must have a passion to see people set free. If we're not passionate about seeing people set free from the bondage of Satan, we will never be passionate enough to dive into this [small] group thing as deeply as we should,” said Howerton. 

Howerton said every group ministry needs a coach, a leader and an apprentice, who all need three things: encouragement, gracious accountability and someone to answer questions. He told attendees that they have a responsibility to ensure that small group leaders know their expectations and are held accountable so their group members can be disciplined and mature in their faith. 

“You can't have a perpetually growing group ministry if you think that you need to carry all of the load; it's just impossible. This is why this is so important, because group ministry is a relational ministry, not an informational ministry,” said Howerton. 

He concluded the session by reading Acts 2:42-47. He said the directives in the passage are what are needed for biblical community. 

“There's a great leadership principle that says, ‘You must be very careful that you do not give too much time to those who aren't going to change anyway. Give your time to those you can raise up, who are going to be change agents,’” said Howerton. 

Davey Gibson, discipleship and pastoral care pastor at Sugarland Baptist Church, said he learned that by training small group coaches, he can multiply his leadership in his small group ministry. 

“I think any time that lay leaders are taking ownership of a ministry, our churches are going to grow, staff can provide vision, can provide direction. But it is our volunteers that make church work,” said Gibson. “So anytime I can empower my leaders to go and be the body of Christ, that's going to be so much better than just a single track for ministry.” 

Training small group leaders by modeling, giving the “Why”

Howerton kicked off day two of the retreat with a session focused on launching new groups. He said there are four necessities for launching new groups: a leader, location, launch team and launch date. He then gave attendees a list of responsibilities of a group pastor when launching a new group, including assigning a coach to a new group leader and equipping the leader through foundational training.

“A personal invitation is the best way to begin a group because you are already beginning a relationship,” said Howerton. “‘I’m being invited to be loved by somebody,’ that’s what people should feel when they are invited into a [small group]... If we’re not careful, we create systems that are relation-less.” 

Howerton said the best training for a small group leader is for them to see it modeled. 

“The best training there is, is for someone to watch someone do it right and then go do what they’ve seen done,” said Howerton. “[Jesus] modeled things more than anything else and then [the disciples] went and did what they had seen done.” 

He concluded the session by encouraging pastors that group ministry should be built from the bottom up, not the top down. 

“Sometimes people try to say, ‘We’re going to do this,’ without giving the ‘why.’ Great leaders recognize that the ‘why’ is that people will join you on the journey,” said Howerton. 

Equipping leaders for different small group roles

In his third session, Howerton continued teaching about launching new groups. He gave attendees a list of roles for each small group and shared that each role must receive foundational training, a job description and a playbook. 

“You need someone with a passion for that thing to be responsible for that [role], but you need to decide what roles are going to be needed to be played in your setting,” said Howerton. 

Howerton warned attendees that when discerning each group leaders’ roles, they must remember that if they don’t want to see heresy taught, they need to see if there are any heretical thoughts before leaders are given an audience to teach. 

“Heresy is the most dangerous of things, and when you start down the slippery slope, all you do is slide further backward. There is a perfect north, and it is the Word of God,” said Howerton. 

Howerton concluded the session by encouraging attendees that people don't always feel ready, but they can be confident that God has called them and that he will equip them in the moment to lead.

Gibson said his favorite part of the Discipleship Leaders Retreat is that he gets to meet discipleship and group pastors who are tackling similar challenges. 

“Meeting a lot of experienced discipleship pastors gives me an opportunity to continue to grow and develop as a minister, as a pastor, and gives me a chance to go and then implement this new, cutting-edge [strategy for group ministry]... and see ways that I can adapt that to my particular setting,” said Gibson. 

To learn more about how the Discipleship & NextGen ministry can be a resource to you and your church, visit txb.org/discipleship.