March 2010

What an exciting thing to consider that God has called you to the teaching ministry of His church! He is helping those in your Small Group become more Christlike through your faithfulness and availability. As you plan to teach each week, consider these four principles that will make your lessons “stick” in the hearts of your people:

1. Teach so they’ll remember. You’re not just telling your Small Group about the Bible; you want them to remember the essentials of what you teach. If they don’t remember from one week to the next what you’ve taught, then you’re not establishing knowledge; you’re just transmitting information.

It helps to give your Small Group the objective for the day. For example, “At the end of this hour, you’ll be able to list the pieces of the armor of God from memory.” It helps to have an outline; surely you have a mental picture of where you want to go with this lesson, right? It helps to actively review all during the hour. You can even have the Group repeat key points from memory throughout your lesson.

2. Teach so they’ll understand. You’re not just helping your Small Group recall facts about the Bible; you want them to live them in a consistent way. Most people at Fort Johnson “know the Bible,” but they do not understand what the Bible means. They can give answers, but do they understand the answers?

It helps to begin with simple concepts and then move to more complex principles that meld these concepts. For example, to explain what it means to “speak the truth in love,” you may want to start by defining truth. And then love. Then explain how some people speak the truth – while losing their tempers. Explain how some people speak lovingly – while ignoring the truth of wrongdoing. How do you do both at the same time?

Set up a target for understanding. Ask yourself again and again: “How do I explain this? What examples or illustrations can I share? What confuses people about this concept?”

3. Teach so they’ll personally respond. You’re not teaching the Bible; you’re teaching people about the Bible. Make sure your Small Group is an environment in which your people feel free to share experiences, opinions, or feelings. There must be an atmosphere of freedom and openness. If there isn’t, your people will keep their ideas and experiences to themselves, and you’ll be lecturing and not teaching.

Ask subjective questions to improve openness. For example, “If you were in this situation, what would you have done?” Or “What experiences of forgiveness have you had?” Also, give attention to how you respond to wrong answers. Be sensitive. One of our Fort Johnson members tells me that she loves to watch how I handle “wrong answers” during our Wed. night discussions. There is an art to affirming everyone’s contributions without humiliating or belittling anyone.

4. Teach so they’ll relate. You’re not just teaching; you’re providing opportunities for your Small Group to work together. The greatest drawback of lecturing is that people focus on the teacher, not on each other. Give your people occasions for bridge-building among themselves.

Vary the group size. Break up into smaller groups. Try husband-wife pairs. Or men and women-only groups. Or randomly divide them. By all means, plan gatherings outside the classroom. Think about a mission project. Give an assignment that will force them to work together outside of class and do the Word.

Your Small Group meeting is a success if you’ve hit the target you set up. Teach. Explain. Review. Involve everyone. Encourage a commitment.