This job description for a housegroup leader is intended to be useful, rather than complete or definitive. The idea is to provide a check-list of the most important areas, to be used when reviewing the housegroup with the church leadership.
Every group needs to have a task - a purpose for existing. Why else would you bother to meet? Housegroups in the church are no exception. The members must be committed to this task, and find some personal benefit from their involvement. There are therefore three distinct aspects, all of which need to work: achieving the purpose of the group, working together as a group, and meeting the needs of the individuals within the group.
Putting these three aspects together, in any group the job of the leader is to equip the individual members so that the group can work together in achieving its common purpose. What does this mean for a housegroup leader?
The primary areas of responsibility for a housegroup leader can be divided up as follows.
Your task is to equip the saints for the work of service. Your aim is to equip them so well that they don't need you any more. (If you are not convinced about this, try working through the implications of not having it as your aim.)
In modern language, 'apostle' essentially means 'misssionary'. It is at the top of the list to remind us that the church - every part of it! - must always be outward looking.
The apostle is always concerned with the world outside our own little patch. The apostle aims to build up the people here so they can be a blessing to the needy people elsewhere.
The prophet is someone who is in touch with the heart of God - someone who not only experiences intimacy with God, but can communicate how He feels to other people. Prophets express their burden in various ways: sometimes through words, sometimes through actions, and sometimes through song.
The evangelist is someone who is so taken up with the good news that they are constantly helping other people to understand and believe it. People need to both hear the gospel and see it worked out in your lives.
The pastor helps people who are hurting, but the best pastors aim to prevent the problems before they happen: pastoral care should be proactive as well as reactive.
The group must be responsive when people have needs, without allowing itself to become needs-oriented. The group must work for everyone, not just those with the greatest needs, or those with the greatest willingness to talk about their needs.
The teacher must listen more than they speak. Teaching does not happen when you say truth - it happens when people hear truth, and understand it well enough to apply it.
Meetings are not the purpose of group life, but they are are the core of it. Housegroups will normally have some informal meetings and special events - parties, days out, social events, and the like, but there also needs to be a regular 'normal' meeting which includes the following elements. You don't need each one each time you meet, but there does need to be a healthy balance between these areas in the medium term.
The culture of the group is hard to pin down, but it is more important than your Bible study technique or your skill in worshipping together. The culture is the set of shared expectations and standards.
People choose to follow a leader because they see the leader is going somewhere they want to go too, and trust the leader to get them there safely.
The only type of Christian leadership is servant leadership - you are not there to get your own way, but to serve the members and see that they grow. It is more to do with speaking on behalf of the group than with giving orders.
Liaison with other church leaders is a vital aspect of the job. The housegroup is a part of a larger church.
The objective of putting yourself out of a job includes the job of housegroup leadership - the leadership of this housegroup, at least. How else can you move on and keep growing?
The members won't learn from you how to keep growing unless you keep growing. The following areas are vital for you and them.
You can't help the group if you work yourself into the ground! You need to establish useful boundaries, to preserve space for all the important areas of your life.
Useful boundaries are ones that work because you understand both where they are and why. Strict rules ("I always spend Tuesday night with my family") rarely work, but flexibility must be used to achieve better balance, not to squeeze more activity in.
You will need to find some form of balance between the following aspects of your life. If you want or need help finding or maintaining this balance, please ask for it!
Crisis Centre