Gather Your Harvest: Effective strategies for leading Small Faith-Based Groups

Your Harvest Awaits

…the harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few Matthew 9:37-38

Welcome and congratulations.  You have heard and accepted the call to lead others into a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with the Lord.  It doesn’t matter if you serve as the pastor of a large congregation or the janitor in a storefront, you have a story to tell, and a harvest that is waiting to hear it.  Your life has more value, and your words carry more power than you could ever realize.  This short guide was written to inspire you to deliver what God has placed in your heart with clarity and confidence.  Support is provided to assist you in preparing your lessons, knowing, and connecting with your audience, and effectively serving their immediate needs.  Everything that you do, every word that you speak, and every life that you touch, should be done as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23).   As such, it should be done with a spirit of excellence.  This guide was written to remind you that excellence is in your reach.  The kingdom of God is not a kingdom of competitors, but rather, one of collaborators.  You are not called to compete.  You are called to serve your harvest to the best of your ability. Now open your heart, lean into the guidance provided in the following pages, and prepare to gather your harvest.

Check Your Anxiety at the Door

Restlessness, sweaty palms, stomach butterflies, procrastination, do any of these physical or emotional symptoms sound familiar?  Before we go any further, lets just acknowledge the fact that anxiety is real.  Especially when you are called to a place of leadership.  Nobody wants to feel like a hypocrite.  How can I help others when I am in need of similar help myself?  How can I address the flaws of others, when I can hardly bear my own reflection in the mirror at times?  Certainly, there are others more qualified, more knowledgeable, more attractive, more articulate.  It is okay to be honest about how you feel, and to acknowledge where you are.  It is not okay to embrace an emotional state that is less than where you can be. Honesty is the first step to transformation. Checking your anxiety at the door is achieved through recognizing that God did not call you to your harvest because you were perfect.  He called you because you are forgiven.  He didn’t call you because you were flawless.  He called you because there is a story in your scars of the past, that your harvest needs to hear in the present.  Anxiety reveals that your spotlight isn’t shining in the right place.  It shows that you are placing more responsibility on the creature than on the creator.  Knowing all that there is to know about you, including the things that you have yet to discover, God still hired you, and appointed a harvest for you to gather and equip for his glory.  He alone is responsible for the impact and the outcome of what He has placed in you. You are responsible for responding in obedience to what he has called you to do.  You are not called to perform up to the expectations of your harvest.  You are called to serve at the pleasure of your king.

Strategies for Managing the Anxiety of Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Focus on the hunger of the hearers.  You have the bread that they desire.
   2. Envision the outcome. Start with the end in mind.
   3. Remember that you are never alone. The God who called you, is always with you.

1.  

1.  

Don’t Get Ready, Stay Ready

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:  I Peter 3:15

This passage offers a two-fold preparation protocol for harvest gatherers.  Notice the preparation begins on the inside.  Sanctifying the Lord in your heart means that He sits on the throne of your heart; that He reigns over anything that would threaten your integrity.  It does not mean that threats and temptations won’t come.  It doesn’t mean that you won’t have moments of vulnerability and failure.  Sanctifying the Lord in your heart means that, like David, you are a person after his own heart (I Samuel 13:14), such that in your failures and missteps, you pull on his grace and mercy to restore you.  This results in you learning from your mistakes, growing stronger in the process, and passing on the lessons learned to your harvest.  Building a relationship with your harvest involves allowing them to see your scars. If they cannot relate to you, they cannot receive from you. The other part of this passage that speaks to the preparation of the harvest gatherer, mentions always being ready to give an answer for your hope. This level of preparation extends also to external study and prayerfully considering how what you are studying relates to the experiences of those who are a part of your harvest.  Jesus had the uncanny way of making the truth of his word hit home with his audience through relevant examples.  Such should be your approach.  Scripture is applicable and profitable (2 Timothy 3:16) to all people, in all places, and at all times.  Remain prayerful that the material shared will resonate in the hearts and minds of the hearers.  

Strategies for Remaining Ready to Lead Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Pray and read every day.  Remain informed both of God’s word and his world.
   2. Write every day.  Find time to jot down a few thoughts throughout your day.
   3. Take note of the emotions expressed and conversations being had by those whose path you cross.

1.  

1.  

Expect the Chains to Break

Sunday after Sunday, my wife and I would take the hour drive to the York County Correctional Facility in North Carolina.  We were sent there on assignment to lead discussions with the residents.  I can recall checking in my belongings with the guards, before hearing the eerie sound of two sets of iron gates opening and then slamming behind us after we passed through.  I remember walking down the corridor to my assigned cell block not knowing who would be waiting, not knowing what God had planned to do with those moments, and not knowing how the words would be received by the attendants.  Yet amid all the unknowns of each visit, every step was made with gratitude for the opportunity to serve my harvest.  Every step was made, asking the Lord to go before me and prepare the atmosphere, to prepare me, and to prepare the hearts of the hearers.   Every step was filled with great expectation that the chain breaker would break every chain that kept those men and women from experiencing God’s best for their lives.  Gathering, leading, and equipping your harvest will be filled with a variety of unknowns. However, never allow your unknowns to paralyze your expectation of what God desires to do through your life.

Strategies for Maintaining High Expectations when Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Remember that God is in control and nothing can prevail against what He desires to do.
   2. Recall God’s track record in your life.  Realize that what he has done for you he also desires to do for others.
   3. Find and rehearse scripture that speaks to God’s expectation in the lives of those you are preparing to serve.

1.  

1.  

Color Outside of the Lines

Preparation is essential to serving with excellence.  However, no matter how much you prepare, or how diligently you choreographed the flow of what is to be shared, always leave space for God to change the agenda.  Show up with the energy of expectation that anything wonderful can happen in here.   Your opening prayer and remarks should make it clear to your harvest that you are not in charge of the time being spent together; that we should all be open to allowing God to move however He desires.  You are always operating from a platform of limited information.  In all that you have acquired through time and experience, you still hold the position of only knowing in part (I Corinthians 13:12). Conversely, God is omniscient, or all knowing.  He knows what you need.  He knows what your harvest needs.  And he knows how to move in a manner that no one leaves empty.  As a labourer, you are the vessel. God is the source.  Your goal is not for your harvest to receive from you, but rather to receive from the Lord.

Strategies for Remaining Flexible when Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Rest in the assurance that God is more aware of the needs of the hearers than you are.
   2. Listen to what the hearers are saying and discern what is not being said by asking for further explanation.
   3. Consider that you are a vessel to be used as the Lord sees fit, even if it takes you off script.

1.  

1.  

Get off the Stage

Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord.  Jeremiah 1:8

As a harvest gatherer, you must remember that you are in place to serve, not to perform.  Performers feed off the reaction and applause from their audience.  If your service to your harvest is based on how they receive and respond, it won’t take long for you to become discouraged and burn out.  People will receive what is presented to them in different ways.  Some may rejoice.  Others may cry.  Still others may show no signs of impact at all.  However, if the presence of the Lord is there, then everything connected to him is also present.  His Joy is present.  His peace is present. His healing is present. Even his correction is present as well.  Consequently, there is something of value that can be gleaned by all who are present, when the presence of the Lord is there.  Rest assured that no time spent in God’s presence is wasted time.

Strategies to Prevent the Need to Feed Off of the Response from the Attendants, when Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Realize that people process information in different ways.
   2. Embrace the reality that the Lord’s approval is of more value than anyone else’s.
   3. Pause to ask them to offer their thoughts about a point that was made by you or someone else in the session.

1.  

1.  

Make the Connection

When you have spent time in study and preparation, it is tempting to dive right into your lesson in anticipation of communicating the highlights and key takeaways.  However, care must be taken to discern when the needs of those in the session may require a shift from your program.  You must be willing to be interrupted, if doing so serves the immediate needs of your harvest.  Recall, Jesus was not so intent on making it to Jairus’s house that he could not be temporarily inconvenienced to heal the woman with the issue of blood (Matthew 9:20).   Your harvest will show up with a variety of issues.  Though they may take you off guard, they will never take God off guard.  Remain sensitive to the immediate needs of your harvest.  This communicates that you care about them more than you care about what you want to say to them.  There is a direct relationship between how your harvest will receive from you, and their confidence that you care about them.  Ensure that you invite feedback and encourage interaction.  Everyone has value and something significant to contribute.  This truth must shine through clearly for everyone to be comfortable engaging in the discussion at hand. Engagement from everyone allows for the presentation of new and fresh perspectives, keeping the session interesting and engaging for everyone.

Strategies for Connecting with the Attendants, when Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Encourage interaction and engagement.
   2. Ask if there is an immediate need that should be prayed for.
   3. Celebrate and build upon the ideas that are presented so everyone feels valued and affirmed.

1.  

1.  

Rejoice, Reflect, and Return

No matter where you go, what you achieve, or who you impact in the process, remember you are always under construction.  There is nothing more fulfilling than standing in the purpose of serving others.  Bask in the wake of the euphoria that lingers after every opportunity to impact your harvest.  Rejoice for the opportunity to be used in such a capacity for the glory of God.  However, resist the temptation to live off yesterday’s experience of the power of God.  There is still another level that he wants you to attain.  There are still areas of growth and development that he desires to perfect in your life.  There are still other lives that are waiting in your harvest to receive from the Lord what has been placed in your heart.  Moving from where you are to where God desires for your life, involves reflecting on the experiences of your past.  Consider what was shared.  What did you leave on the table? In other words, what other truths and lessons are there to be uncovered in what you presented.  How was the session received by the attendees?  What was their feedback?  What were the points that connected the most with the audience?  Prayerfully reflect on what was most effective as well as on what could use more study and development.  Excellence is more of a journey than it is a destination.  Complacency is not an option for a harvest-gatherer. When you return to your existing harvest or serve in your expanded harvest, there should be unmistakable growth in who you are and in what you present. 

Strategies for Recapping and Improving upon the Experiences of Leading Small Faith-Based Groups

1. 1. Review which points were covered, and which were missed.
   2. Ask the attendees to share what stood out the most to them.
   3. Collaborate with other faith-leaders by sharing your experience as well as learning from theirs’s.

1.  

1.  

Go Forth

You are on your way!  I am so excited for you.  You have heard and accepted the call to lead others into a deeper relationship with the Lord.  You have joined a team, not of carnal competitors, but of kingdom collaborators.  We are on the same team.  We have the same focus; to gather and equip our assigned harvest, for the glory of God.  Go forth in a spirit of excellence.  Remain sensitive to the needs of your harvest and leave space for God to address them as he sees fit, even if it means taking you off script. You possess so much value, that you cannot contain it all.  This is not because of who you are, as much as it is who you are connected to.  Pour what you have into the lives of your harvest and you’ll always have more than enough of everything you need.

21 Strategies for Leading Faith-Based Small Groups

1. 1. Focus on the hunger of the hearers.  You have the bread that they desire.
   2. Envision the outcome. Start with the end in mind.
   3. Remember that you are never alone.  The God who called you, is always with you.
   4. Pray and read every day.  Remain informed both of God’s word and his world.
   5. Find time to write down a few thoughts throughout your day.
   6. Take note of the emotions expressed and conversations being had by those whose path you cross.
   7. Remember that God is in control and nothing can prevail against what He desires to do.
   8. Recall God’s track record in your life.  Realize that what he has done for you he also desires to do for others.
   9. Find and rehearse scripture that speaks to God’s expectation in the lives of those you are preparing to serve.
   10. Rest in the assurance that God is more aware of the needs of the hearers than you are.
   11. Listen to what the hearers are saying and discern what is not being said by asking for further explanation.
   12. Consider that you are a vessel to be used as the Lord sees fit, even if it takes you off script.
   13. Realize that people process information in different ways.
   14. Embrace the reality that the Lord’s approval is of more value than anyone else’s.
   15. Pause to ask them to offer their thoughts about a point that was made by you or someone else in the session.
   16. Encourage interaction and engagement.
   17. Ask if there is an immediate need that should be prayed for.
   18. Celebrate and build upon the ideas that are presented so everyone feels valued and affirmed.
   19. Review which points were covered, and which were missed.
   20. Ask the attendees to share what stood out the most to them.
   21. Collaborate with other faith-leaders by sharing your experience as well as learning from theirs’s.

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.  

1.