Follow-up is vital to great group ministry.

After the weekly group meeting is over, doing these things will make your group a great group!

1. Follow Up with absentees. Check on those who missed. Make sure everything is okay with them and let them know you missed them.

2. Follow up with guests. Building relationships with guests to your group is vital. Why not invite them over for a meal or meet them for coffee or lunch the following week. It's a great time to ask them about their spiritual story.

3. Track attendance. Especially for a larger group, you want to keep up with who is there. It helps see patterns and helps minister appropriately. Contact me for some tips on how to easily do this.

4. Send prayer requests to the group. This is the first job I give away when I lead a group, because it's really important to remind people to pray for others in the group.

5. Mark your calendar with dated prayer requests. If Frank has a job interview on Thursday, text him Wednesday to let him know you are praying. Then follow up.

6. List the challenge. We should be giving our group members a specific challenge each week based on the Bible study. Write it down. Do it yourself. Next week ask your group how they did with it.

Leading a Small Group can be overwhelming. Doing all the work yourself is not a badge of honor. Sharing responsibilities allows other people to take ownership of ministry and develop ministry skills. So, find some people to share the load with you.