Who doesn’t love The Container Store? I could spend hours perusing the shelves because of all the neat gadgets they have to help organize your garage, kitchen, storage rooms, and more. My father used to say, “Everything should have a place, and everything should be in its place” (not that he followed his own mantra!). It’s a noble thought, a great idea, and something to strive for. Organization is especially important in your Bible study group. I’m speaking first-hand as a group leader myself. I’ve recently begun to organize my group and to give away certain leadership functions. The more organized we get, the better we’ll be able to accomplish our goals as a Bible study group. Here are three reasons you should consider organizing your Bible study group:

1. It’s biblical. If you read Acts 6:1-7 and Exodus 18:13-26 (Moses and Jethro’s encounter), you’ll find two examples of groups that needed to get organized. In both instances, the work was divided among many people, and needs were met much more efficiently. Leaders in both stories were able to focus on their primary jobs.
2. There is a transfer of ownership. As you recruit people into leadership roles, the work of the group is transferred from you, the group leader, to the people in the group. One group leader I used to know made sure each person in his group had a job to do – and he had a big group! He told me that unless people feel needed and important, they drift and fail to attend regularly. As a group leader myself, I’ve seen that in play in my own group. I’m giving away as many jobs as I can to the people in my group these days. If they do the work, it’s their group, not Ken’s group they simply attend. Do you think this might be why so many groups struggle to have regular attenders? Perhaps we haven’t organized our groups and given away the ministry to our people often enough.
3. The needs of people will be met. In the Acts 6 and Exodus 18 stories, people’s needs were met. In Acts 6, widows began receiving a portion of the daily food allotment. In Exodus 18, Moses recruited leaders and appointed them over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and groups of ten. In the end, the people went away satisfied their legal cases had been heard, and a side benefit is that Moses’ longevity in his leadership role would occur because he had others helping him – he wouldn’t get worn out by trying to do all the work himself.

How might you organize your Bible study group to share ministry with you? Here are a few roles you might want to consider asking your people to fill:

• Prayer leader
• Fellowship/fun leader
• Outreach leader
• Apprentice teacher(s)
• Ministry leader