I am a goal setter. It’s how I can tell if I am successful in what I am doing. I think successful small groups are the ones that set goals for the year. A lot of the time, leaders do not really set goals for the small groups they are leading. They just simply meet. Which is great. Which is part of it, but not all of it.

When leaders set goals for their groups, they know what they are striving for. When students set goals for the group, they know what they are striving for. Goals can be different for each group, leader, and student but going on for the year without goals you will never know if your group is growing the way you want it to grow.

Here are some great goal ideas leaders and students to go through the year:

Numerical Growth Goals: As a leader I love to see something grow. Setting a numerical goal might be something you and your group want to do. Maybe you want to see more students come to your small group. So put it out to your students in the group that you want a 3 person growth by the end of the semester. Set that goal. Have the group go for it.

Scripture Goals: Set what books of the Bible the group wants to go through and in how much time. Maybe it’s a goal to memorize a Bible verse a week. Students can help come up with the goals in the beginning of the year and see if they can reach them before the summer time.

Serving Goals: Have you and your students set a goal on how many serve projects they want to complete for the year. You can check to see what your church has to offer for local community service. I do have to say, the times I serve with my boys are some of the great moments our group has had. It pulls them out of their comfort zones and right into being the heads and feet of Jesus.

Parental Goals: Being a small group leader of students means you are going to be dealing with their parents. Think of some parental goals you might want to set for you as the leader. Some goals I set for myself with my parents is to make sure I send out an email with our study materials once a month. To make sure to talk with them every time I drop one of them off somewhere of if they are being dropped off somewhere.

Setting goals for your group will help you determine growth and to see where you have been. I would suggest you and your group set some sort goals to make sure you are growing in some way.