Small groups meet at least one of the fivefold functions of the church: fellowship. However, the best small groups fulfill multiple functions. Small groups can gather to worship and pray together. Small groups can be places where people receive Christ as Savior. Small groups can spearhead missions work, both in your community and around the world. And they should certainly provide discipleship for members.

As part of the discipleship pathway, small groups should attempt to achieve excellence in the curriculum they follow. Plenty of books and resources are available. But there are two ways to proceed when it comes to choosing small group materials. The first is a church-led approach; the second is a self-directed one.

Some churches allow their groups complete liberty in choosing their course of study. It’s up to the individual leaders, with minimal input from the small groups pastor. Church-led curriculum, on the other hand, comes directly from the church to the leaders each week. It is often based on the pastor’s sermons, but it doesn’t have to be.

In this Perspectives, we look at two options for selecting small group material. But regardless of which option you choose, it’s important to provide good training and correction when needed to make sure each group is following theologically accurate and practically beneficial studies each week.

Self-Directed

When I think of small groups, I immediately think of the leaders who dedicate their time to gather with their people each week. Without competent, committed leadership small group ministry will fail.

In fact, the most successful small group pastors don’t spend most of their time studying and writing curriculum or even advertising their groups. They’re the ones who invest energy in recruiting, training and mentoring small group leaders.

So, if the focus of successful small groups is on leadership, that’s where the emphasis should stay. In the recruitment and training of these leaders, their leadership skills are vital. That requires you as a pastor to empower and entrust them. Providing a one-size-fits all curriculum each week could send the opposite message.

But when you entrust them to lead in all areas, including curriculum, they will not only embrace that responsibility, but they will also own the vision of the whole church within their group.

Empowerment goes beyond just saying, “You can do this.” There is a theological component involved. Each believer is a holy priest (1 Peter 2:9). That means God empowers them to lead — in their homes, workplaces and the church.

That doesn’t mean they work independently of the authority of the local body. But it does mean you can trust them to make good decisions about topics of study each week as long as you are actively discipling them as leaders.

Make sure each group is following theologically accurate and practically beneficial studies each week.

The key reason to empower your small group leaders to decide for themselves on a course of study for their group is, quite frankly, because leaders know their group best. As they walk through life together, praying for the needs in the group, and helping during difficult seasons, leaders come to know what type of study will resonate best.

Also, their group dynamics are likely unique to a specific age group or social setting. For instance, they may lead a college-age group or a senior adult group. In a sermon-based setting, if the lead pastor is preaching on parenting for six weeks, that topic might not be the most relevant one to either of those groups.

And relevance is important in small groups. The point of meeting is more than just the study; it’s also about fellowship, praying for one another and bearing one another’s burdens. The topic of study should support those goals without getting in the way.

Trust your leaders to know how best to accomplish that, and you’ll find groups who are healthy and growing.

Church-Directed

Small groups in your church are a powerful way to disciple believers and encourage one another. They are also a great way to continue strengthening the mission and vision of your congregation in the community. But that means leading them from the top down, especially when it comes to choosing curriculum and study topics.

One major flaw in an unsuccessful small group ministry is a lack of structure. If the members are unclear about meeting times and locations, if the meetings are sporadic, or if the group setting is disorganized, the group is unlikely to stay together.

In the best scenario, the small groups pastor will step in and provide enough stability and structure to facilitate the needed growth and cohesion. One way to accomplish that is for the staff to carefully structure and prepare curriculum.

The most popular church-directed structure is to provide sermon-based curriculum. Each week, the pastor prepares additional material, questions or discussion topics based on his or her preaching notes. Then, the church sends that material to the small group leaders.

This accomplishes two things. First, it allows the small group leaders to feel fully prepared, even with minimal study or preparation. Additionally, it ensures that each small group will have quality discussions.

Sermon-based curriculum also gives you the power to focus on one single message each week. That message is first presented in your weekend sermon, and is then reinforced throughout the week in small group settings. When leaders have multiple options for study, you may have multiple messages presented.

Sometimes, those messages could contradict or run counter to one another. Aligning small groups with the one message from the church each week keeps everyone on track.

Finally, your church is one church, not myriad groups tied together. The church should focus on the one thing that God wants it to hear each week.

When you use sermon-based curriculum, you are telling your people that their attendance at the weekend service is a vital part of being one church together. And unity of message lessens the danger of division and dissension among your people.

The mission of your church is to grow the Kingdom together, not to create several individual kingdoms. What better way to remain unified than by keeping everyone on the same page?

This article originally appeared in the March/April 2018 edition of Influence magazine.