What your small group leader actually needs (and probably doesn't have)
Six things to fix before you launch another series. None of them are theological.
Small group leaders are the engine of mid-week church life and the most under-supported people in the building. We ask them to host, prepare, listen, mediate, follow up, and gently disciple eight other adults — and we hand them a PDF on a Tuesday.
The six
Material
Ready to use, written for their context, aligned with Sunday teaching. Not an article they have to adapt at 9pm.
Training
Not theology training — facilitation training. How to ask better questions, sit with silence, gently redirect, notice the quiet one in the corner.
Backup
A named staff member, reachable by Friday. Not "the office". A person.
Rhythm
A predictable arc per term. Start week, mid-term review, close, rest. Without rhythm there is only tiredness.
Feedback
Someone is actually reading what they send. The leader who fills in a group form and gets silence will stop filling it in.
Cover
Permission to cancel a week. To take a term off. To not be the hero. Most small group leaders quietly leave because nobody told them they were allowed to be tired.
What to do tomorrow
Pick one. Fix that. Tell your leaders you have. Then pick the next one in a fortnight. This is one of those rare areas of church life where six small fixes — done in sequence — change the whole experience of belonging.