During our Small Group Leader & Coach Picnic in summer 2022, over thirty leaders contributed twenty-seven ideas that worked for their group. What are some Small Group ideas that you can implement in your group? What’s something new you can try? Check out these Small Group ideas below for some refreshing ways to innovate:

• Book club: read through and discuss a good Christian book as a group for a season instead of discussing the sermon text
• Praying through Psalms passages each time we meet

• “No agenda” fun days
• Pot luck lunch
• Consistent meeting: establish your dates on the calendar in advance!
• Include a social activity with the group once a month
• Go putt putt miniature golfing together
• Try an alternate study of a book of the Bible or a topical book
• Try having “summer socials”: including some with couples, some with men, some with ladies
• Monthly open-invitation hangout at a Small Group member’s house: on the 4th Sunday of the month after church; members of the group can invite coworkers, neighbors, etc. as desired. (Since this group member’s last name is “Yang”: They call this monthly hangout “Yang Hang”!)
• “Adopt” a missionary family: help your group pray for this family, and invite them to visit when they return to the area, or host Zoom calls to catch-up and pray for them
• Get creative with which night of the week you meet!: This group meets on the 1st Sunday and 3rd Friday of the month!
• Meet every week: with the first week including a pitch-in meal together
• Dinner together before the gathering time: so the group can catch up. But start the gathering on time!
• Use the texting app GroupMe for staying in connect during the week
• Begin with “ice breaker” subjects to get people talking and enjoying one another

• Alternate between men and women meeting together while the other group babysits.
• Make a plan for all 4 weeks of a month!: 1st week: All group meets with kids, 2nd week: Men meet (women stay home to watch kids), 3rd week: Women meet (men stay home), 4th week: Informal gathering
• Take time to come up with good questions for discussion
• Stay committed to prayer together during/after the gathering
• Alternate Zoom and in-person meetings: to accommodate all schedules and care for group members with health concerns
• Do some acts of service: helping people move, provide meals when needed, etc.

• Breakouts into groups of 3 people to discuss
• Have the kids play together while parents participate in the gathering/discussion
• Ask the group for “God sightings”: where they have been seeing God working recently
• Attend an adult Sunday class together with fellow group members
• Nice weather? Have the gathering on the porch or in the yard and include a pitch-in dinner!

Get creative with integrating Small Group ideas from others into your own group! And remember that other leaders can be one of your best sources for ideas on how to lead well when it feels like your group might be stagnant or your ideas aren’t working.