Lesson 4: Leading Small Group on Teaching Day

Full transcript and related links below

Teaching Day

You've prepared and teaching day has arrived. The biblical truth is in your heart and you are ready to joyfully lead your small group. 

Knowing that only God can cause your children to embrace the truth, we encourage you to meet with the other volunteers to pray before class begins. This unifies the team in humble dependence on the Holy Spirit and reminds you to remain prayerful throughout the class. 

When children arrive, engage them in conversation. 

• Get to know their interests and share yours with them. 
• Asking questions about something they've previously shared with you shows you care and helps build relationships over time. 
• It is helpful for your team to have steps in place if behavior escalates during the large group lesson. Quickly and calmly intervene when disruptions occur to support the teacher. 

As you sit among your students during the large group lesson, take note. Are they attentive, interested, bored, confused? Observing how they react and respond will impact how you approach the small group discussion. 

• Begin your small group with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to guide the conversation. 
• Encourage the students to recall the main points they were taught. Typically, you'll want to keep this review as brief as possible.
• If necessary, be prepared to offer correction by restating the main ideas which are listed on the first page of the lesson. 
• Guide the application discussion by following your prepared discussion questions and notes. 

Here are some suggestions to move the discussion along. 

• Lead in a manner that encourages all of your students to be included. If a shy child isn't engaging, it is helpful to ask him or her a simple question. This builds confidence to contribute to the conversation. If he or she still doesn't engage, it's sometimes wise to simply let a shy child remain quiet. Many children are simply not comfortable or ready to process their true feelings regarding spiritual truth in a group setting. Some children are not even saved yet, so go gently. Try to woo them with the love of Jesus. 
• One effective way is to open up about your life. Share a brief personal example to encourage students toward a desired response. Personal examples show that you too need to trust in Christ and depend on the Holy Spirit to walk in God's ways. 
• Have the students reflect on their own personal life experiences. And then direct those reflections Godword. Listen carefully to the students' responses and ask follow-up questions. Ask for clarification if necessary. 
• Encourage them to apply the truth in their lives with concrete examples that are age appropriate. Use the student workbooks as described in the teacher's guide. 
• If your students become too distracted with the activities and are not participating in the discussion, have them stop for a time and redirect their focus toward the conversation. 

Once the group discussion is over, seek one-on-one interaction as they complete their workbooks. 

Close your small group with prayer. Pray with and for the students in your group. Write down prayer requests, including applications from the discussion. Encourage them to pray for one another, check in on requests from previous weeks, and praise God for answered prayer. 

For further training on leading a small group, we encourage you to listen to a seminar by Sally Michael entitled Reaching the Heart: The Importance of Application. The seminar includes sample small group discussions which many have found helpful.

Though only God can produce a righteous life, you can be a means of grace for his word to reach the heart and influence the will. May the children in your small group taste and see that the Lord is good.