Inter-Varsity Press

Contents

About the editors

Introduction The editors

1. What's the point of housegroups? Stephen Dray

2. The makings of a good housegroup leader Phil Cuthbert

3. The skills of leadership John Earwicker

4. Teaching the Bible in small groups Stephen Motyer

5. Creative worship Chris Bowater

6. A trouble-shooter's guide Jon Bush

7. Communicating truth to today-people Dave Cave

8. Praying together Trevor Gregory

9. Sharing Peter and Rosemary Meadows

10. Bridgebuilding: using a housegroup for evangelism Ian Parkinson

11. I was a housegroup junkie Nick Mercer

P.S. The editors

Introduction

They are dedicated and usually very busy people with many demands on their time.

They get a great deal of satisfaction in seeing others grow in faith.

They enjoy having people in their homes and get a buzz from teaching the Bible and seeing Christians gripped by its message.

They are often overlooked in the hustle and bustle of local church life and it doesn't usually bother them a great deal.

They are people who have a special part to play in the purposes of God.

If that description fits you, the chances are you arc now, have been in the past, or one day will be - a housegroup leader.

We hope you noticed that we didn't say you were a super-­spiritual giant who rises each day at 4 a.m. to pray and reads Scripture only in the original Hebrew or Greek. That may be the picture an average housegroup member has of you, but we know different!

The truth is, you are an ordinary Christian with the same pressures, joys, temptations and encouragements that any of us face. There are times when you find it tough following Jesus and leading a housegroup. There are evenings when your heart sinks as the living-room fills up. There are days when you want to give up, but your sense of duty always gets you to change your mind before you write the resignation letter.

How come we seem to know so much about you?

Because the two of us are senior pastors of busy churches where people like you are the backbone of what goes on. We have the privilege (and challenge!) of teaching the Word of God to hundreds of people Sunday by Sunday and we know the demands that makes on us. But we also recognize that running a home, a job and a housegroup makes equally heavy demands. People like you are special.

Perhaps that will help you to understand why this book has been written. We have been involved for the past few years as Series Editors for the Crossway Bible Guides. Together with our colleagues, Stephen Dray, who teaches at Moorlands College and Stephen Motyer who teaches at London Bible College, we have been steadily working with various authors to produce a series of Bible Commentaries written in down-to-earth language-They aim to explain the meaning of the text of Scripture and apply it for Christians living in today's world. We have tried to keep in our minds people like you, who have the responsibility of leading a small group of people who meet regularly to study the Bible.

We have used as authors, gifted people who are in the business of teaching the Bible to others and are doing it well. It has been encouraging to learn of the way in which Crossway Bible Guides have found an acceptance in all sorts of churches across the UK as well as further afield in the USA and other parts of the world.

It was through working together on the Crossway Bible Guides that we saw the need for a resource book for housegroup leaders, a sort of Yellow Pages directory that would cover some of the main things a housegroup leader will face in leading a group over a period of a few years.

We know from our experience in our own local congregations some of the questions housegroup leaders ask:

• How can I develop my skills as a leader?
• Are there ways in which worship and prayer can be developed in the group?
• How can I get some people to contribute more - and others to talk less?
• Can you use a housegroup for outreach?
• How can we move to a deeper level of fellowship?
• How does my housegroup fit into the wider work of God in my local church?
• How can I make my own teaching of the Bible more creative and helpful to the members of the group?

With these and other questions in mind, we looked around to find people who have hands- experience of leading small groups. We gave them a specific issue and asked them to give us the benefit of their experiences over the years. And what you have in front of you now are their insights which they are willing to pass on. So here it is; a complete housegroup leaders' survival guide - well, as complete as it can be! At least it's an honest attempt to get you started, give you e ideas that work and a few words of encouragement along the way.

Probably there are twenty or so other things that we could have tackled But we will have to deal with those in another book. Who knows, your housegroup could have become such a success story that you will be writing -of the chapters!

One last thing. A lesson we are continually learning in Christian ministry we would like to pass on to you. Give 101% of heart, enthusiasm and dedication. That will have a bigger impact on your group than even the most sparkling Bible study. Enjoy reading!

Ian Coffey

Stephen Gaukroger