How do you pray for your small group? You might pray for your group leader, the friendships within the group, your time studying the Bible, or the growth of each member. God loves to answer these prayers. There’s another way to pray for your Bible study group that is unpopular, seldom used, and crucial for maximizing your group’s impact. This prayer needs the spotlight.
You should pray for the end of your small group.
Andrew Hurley (2011) Creative Commons License
To be clear, I’m not advocating for scandal, factions, apostasy, or apathy—I want just the opposite. I want your group to be so winsome and vibrant that it grows and grows. I want addition, not subtraction. Small group birth, not death.
I want your group to end because it splits. And you should want this too.
A Good Problem
Like corn stalks in the summer, a healthy group will grow. As a small community is centered on Jesus and committed to the Bible and each other, people will show up. Our hearts are drawn to close relationships focused on the most important questions and answers in life.
But a growing group reaches a point at which the word “small” no longer applies. Depending on your group’s purpose, this might be fine. But if you aim to take advantage of the friendships and interaction that can make a small group special, you’ll see that a larger group adds some challenges.
When a group exceeds ten or twelve members, it is more difficult to connect with each person in the group. Timid group members can fade into the shadows, and the leader may be tempted to lecture instead of lead a Bible-focused conversation. The prayer list can bulge and swell, spilling out of the house, oozing down the street, and threatening to consume the town. There’s a good reason why many churches and Christian ministries aim to start small groups.
Addressing the Problem
For the good of your Bible study, you should consider splitting the group in two. This makes space for new members and allows close relationships to flourish.
How should the group split? Some groups reach a saturation point, split the group evenly, and come up with a process by which the groups are populated. In other Bible studies, the leader is always training an apprentice. In the fullness of time, the apprentice will start his own group, inviting new people to join.
You may encounter some resistance from within your group when the time to split arrives. This is natural—your group members have formed close friendships, and the potential loss of those friendships looms large. This is why the kingdom-focused vision for your small group is so important. If your group aims to give birth to another, make sure that purpose is clear and repeated often. Pray for it frequently and invite and invest in people with this in mind.
How to Pray
As you pray for the end of your small group, you’ll also need to pray for a new leader. Start early, and pray frequently for God to prepare and equip such a person. (If you’re reading this article and following this series, you might well consider whether God is calling you to lead such a group.)
Pray for single-mindedness and unity within your group. If your group exists for the purpose of introducing people to the life-changing gospel of Jesus as he is known in the Bible, and if God gives your group this common vision, you will be prepared for Spirit-given growth. A tug-of-war changes dramatically when everyone pulls in the same direction.
Ultimately, pray for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done, both within each group member and in your community. When your group splits, it may feel like an end, but it’s just another beginning. It’s a chance to bless even more people by loving them and pointing them to Jesus.
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