Plan according to the time available (episodes 18-55 min.).

Where to start? 

For ongoing input, connect with other likeminded leaders by joining our zoom community. You can begin with just one friend, one-on-one, or look to gather together a new or existing small group. Also see the Resources tab.

The Jesus Study Team

is a small group with a big purpose.

Draw together a core group made up of those who have seen something “different” in Jesus and want others to experience that difference. The team meets together regularly (shoot for weekly) to support the group process and pray. They plan, oversee the food, and invite friends and family to join in. This team can take on the following roles:

--The Group Leader oversees the group’s study and discussion process, and seeks to foster one-on-one friendship evangelism and discipleship within the group. We encourage the Group Leader to send out weekly emails and to model servant/leadership within the group.

--Meal Organizer oversees the food. Many groups provide sign-up sheets for ongoing “potluck theme nights.” Meal Organizers can also keep in touch during the week with group emails. (The first meal will likely be something like a pizza night instead of a planned potluck.)

--Set-Up/Sign-Up/Name Tag/Greeter should be designated, especially for larger groups. For the people who may not feel comfortable at first, you’ll want to extend hospitality and friendship from the start. 

--“Tech Person” to oversee film presentation and casting to the TV. 

--Small Group Facilitators (for larger studies—eight or more) oversee their group. It is best to sit around small tables with just four to six others (and separate spouses), rotating members weekly.

As interest grows

When a group begins larger or grows (to say, a dozen or so), the larger size presents unique challenges and opportunities. Small groups provide a depth of intimacy that gives members more of a chance to participate. Larger groups can bring together those small groups and offer a breath of give-and-take sharing that highlights the best insights.

Getting the best of both dynamics (meeting in small groups within a larger group context) allows the facilitator to act in the role of a “dialogical (not mono-logical) teacher,” bringing together main points from the small groups and pressing their implications home in the larger group gathering.

As a group leader, your goal is to foster a guided conversation. This is true for small group leaders and for large group leaders, just on a larger scale. High quality large group dialogical teaching brings a soft touch to the larger group interaction, allowing a breath of insight from the best that those among the small groups have to offer. Such a combination can be a thing of beauty!