The goal of a small group meeting is to see those in the group transformed into the likeness of Christ. This demands that the leader allow the Holy Spirit to be at work, the Gospel to be the centerpiece of the conversation, and Jesus’ story to invade and transform each group member’s story.
Some group meetings miss the mark. There are at least six reasons why that may be so.
1. The group leader spent too much time preparing for the meeting and too little time praying.
2. The conversational Bible study was allowed to be hijacked by an overly talkative group member.
3. When a transformational moment was about to occur, the facilitator of the group wasn’t sure how to handle the emotions that surfaced so he/she quickly moved on.
4. The group embraced personal opinions rather than discovering and embracing what God was saying through His words discovered in the Bible.
5. The leader of the group gave full attention to group members gaining head knowledge while ignoring the hearts of the group members.
6. There’s unresolved conflict between group members.