What is a Second group?

Five students at a high school learned how to do Second groups with their friends.  Within one semester more than 100 students were meeting in the school field house every Friday morning at 7:15.
A campus ministry started using Second group methods, and within 2 months 25% of their existing groups had multiplied.

I am Second’s immediate appeal is aesthetic with its slick design, cool website, and inspiring films. But the real difference is more than skin deep. Here is the heart behind I am Second’s materials, using the SECOND acronym.

Stories and small.  Encourage people to tell their story. Listen to the stories of others. Then discuss stories from the Bible. Keep your group small (between 2 and 8 people) to maximize impact and allow everyone to discuss these stories.

Everyone learns.  Help people learn how to do these things themselves: a) tell others about Jesus, b) study the Bible, c) pray, d) live in community, and e) endure hard times. They learn these things as they go through the I am Second curriculum.

Consider everyone a potential leader.  View everyone as a potential leader, both before and after they trust Christ. Give people opportunities to lead if they continue to obey and progress. Hand over leadership roles to different people each meeting.

Obedience based, not just knowledge focused.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide people in the life changes they need to make as you do the Live and Tell questions. Then as you start the next session, ask each Second to share how they did with their Live and Tell commitments. Consider not moving on if people did not complete them. This creates an environment in which loving Jesus means obeying Jesus.

New groups rather than big groups.  As people share with others, encourage them not to invite the new people to your group, but instead start a new group. Encourage new leaders to stay in your existing group, which is a “learning” group for them. Their new group becomes their “leading” group. So they get on the job training, but stay connected for ongoing training and accountability.

Discuss and discover.  Focus on the Bible. Trust the Holy Spirit to help each person discover the meaning of Scripture as your group discusses it. Lead through asking questions rather than lecture. Help everyone participate.

You can watch films here that describe Second groups and how to lead them.  You can download free materials to use to lead a Second group.  Or you can buy printed booklets of these materials through our online store.

These materials also are available as an iPhone app and an Android app so groups can discuss the materials using just their phones.

Please leave a comment if you have any questions.  Or let us know your experience using the Second group materials.