5 Engaging Questions to Jumpstart a Small Group Discussion

Silence. Blank stares. There’s nothing that is more frustrating when you are leading a small group!

I remember the first small group I ever led at a retreat. I’d led Bible studies for a few years, so leading a small group was nothing new to me. Except that this time, I had exactly five minutes to prep to lead. We had just listened to a teaching and now it was time to break into small groups. We gathered in the small side room and everyone was looking at me. Yikes! I had furiously scribbled notes during the teaching, but I still felt lost.

On top of my own feeling of being unprepared, my group tended to be filled with some of the quietest people at the church. I’d ask a question and get a few quiet responses. We would just get the first sparks of a conversation going, and I’d get excited and ask a follow-up question. Now, I don’t know what I said in those follow-up questions but they were about as effective as throwing a heavy, damp log on a sputtering fire. That was the most awkward 45 minutes of my life. I left feeling like the worst small group leader in the history of small group leaders.

Sound familiar?

Maybe you’ve been in those groups and felt the awkwardness. Or maybe you’ve led those groups and felt the defeat. So how do we ask questions that keep the conversational fires rolling? What will inspire both deep thought and reflective conversation? How do you lead a discussion that gets group members engaged, on-topic, and building on each other’s thoughts?

Over the years I’ve picked up a number of ideas. Some are my own, and some have come from leaders with far more experience than myself. These are all questions that you can keep in your back-pocket for any discussion, whether it is based on a study that you have all worked on together, or whether it is in a retreat setting where you just heard a teaching that you are now needing to talk about. Tuck these away, and pull them out when the silence hits and you aren’t sure where to go next – and watch the conversation begin to build.

Question 1: What did you learn about the Lord?

This question seems obvious but was one I picked up on in training many years ago. A leader with far more experience than myself shared this back-pocket question, and the follow-up, that he would use in training small group leaders. He would use it to jump-start any discussion, even discussions where group members seem quiet and non-responsive.

This question gets right to the heart. Bible study is about the Lord. Bible teaching is about the Lord. No matter what you are in the Word, no matter the topic that was studied, there was something to be learned about the Lord, His ways, His plans, His purposes, His character.

Sometimes there will be something new that the group discovered about Him, sometimes it will be a reminder of a truth that they already knew. Either way, this gets the conversation going and centered around the One that deserves to be at the center of our discussion. Once you discuss this, move on to the follow-up:

Question 2: What difference does this make to your life?

Here’s the application. You learned the doctrine – the facts about the Lord. But now it’s time to put that doctrine to work. Is there a change that needs to be made to walk in His image more closely? Something to repent of that grieves Him? Peace to be embraced as we trust Him more? A mind-set that needs to be adjusted? When you gaze at the Lord, you leave changed.

Question 3: How did what we studied/ heard this week connect with your life?

This question brings the lesson home and makes it very personal. It’s amazing how the Lord times the things He teaches us. My church is a strong Bible-teaching church, with a commitment to chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse teaching, and I often sit in awe as my pastor speaks directly to a prayer, a situation, a concern that is very much on my heart – and that he is entirely unaware of. That’s the Lord speaking through him.

The Lord does this with studies as well. There was one time I was choking back tears in Starbucks working through a study. The Lord was speaking very powerfully through the text. It was so personal and so relevant that I had no doubt it was Him speaking, even though the text was just a narrative in Deuteronomy. Be sure that the Lord is speaking to your group as well, and give them an opportunity to share.

A word of caution with this question – keep an eye on the time as you discuss. This is where your dependence on the Spirit’s leading will be vital. Some people will tell stories for hours if you let them. If time is short, remind your group to keep it brief, and allow others to share as well. But the beauty of this question is that it reminds each group member just how personal the Lord is and helps them learn to listen to His voice.

Question 4: What challenged you as you studied this week? What encouraged you?

These questions invite discussion that becomes more than a volleyball game between you and your group – with you volleying questions at them, and them returning an answer to you. As the group talks about what challenged them, it’s likely that others in the group will echo the thought, and still others will be able to respond to the challenge. Maybe it was something they didn’t fully understand, and the group can work together to find an answer.

Remember that as a small group leader you don’t have to have the answers. Your role is to ask the right questions that get the group thinking. Remember to dig deeper as the group answers. Ask “Why?” Get to the root of the challenge or the encouragement.

Question 5: What was your main take-away from this study/ teaching?

This is a favorite question of a mentor of mine, and I love using this as a closing question in a discussion. It wraps everything up and brings clarity to a discussion that sometimes can feel like it went in fifteen different directions. What I love about this question is hearing how the Lord is working differently in each member of the group. We all studied or heard the same thing, but the Lord spoke uniquely into everyone’s life if they have ears to hear.

Enjoy your discussion!!

These questions, in addition to any other more pointed questions that may be unique to that week’s study or teaching, will keep your conversation going for a while. Remember that life change is the goal of any Bible study. Without putting what we learned into practice, we are simply engaging in an academic exercise that misses the entire point. But when we can get our groups thinking about the difference that the study has made for them, they will naturally become engaged and excited.

Let me know what you think! Do you use these questions? How have they worked for you? Do you have any other questions in your back-pocket as you lead? I’d love to hear them!

Praying for you as you disciple others for the Kingdom!

Looking for a study that will take your group deep into the Word? One that allows God’s Word to speak for itself, focusing on the text of the Bible, guiding your group through the process of transformational in-depth study? Check out Treasuring God’s Word Inductive Bible Studies! Flexible, engaging, challenging, designed for new believers and experienced students alike, with a heart for God’s Word to take center stage!