Some groups exist mainly to do something: plan an event, decide a direction, solve a problem, build a ministry, or study Scripture with focus and clarity. These groups can be deeply honoring to God—when they’re led well. Building on Emory Griffin’s (Getting Together: A Guide for Good Groups) description of effective task groups, which is one of three types of groups discussed, here are four practices that help task groups at Christ Church Ann Arbor succeed.
1) Keep the group small enough for real participation.
For discussion and decision-making, Griffin argues that five to seven people is often ideal. Too small and you lack perspective. Too large and people stop speaking, subgroups form, and energy leaks away. It’s about giving everyone a voice.
2) Keep the agenda short enough for depth.
A long agenda usually produces shallow conversation. Good groups choose a few key issues and discuss them well. If your meeting ends with “We ran out of time again,” that is often a design problem, not a commitment problem.
3) Build in healthy diversity.
Griffin emphasizes that groups do better work when members have different backgrounds, skills, and outlooks. Leaders often choose the “agreeable committee”—people who think like them. But that narrows wisdom. God often speaks through the very perspective we didn’t think to invite.
4) Expect stages—including conflict.
Many successful groups move through predictable phases: getting oriented, then wrestling with differences, then uniting around a direction, then acting. Griffin notes that disagreement is often in the middle of productive work. The goal isn’t to avoid conflict; it’s to handle it with love, truth, patience, and prayer.
A simple task-group rhythm that often helps:
Open in prayer and name the meeting’s goal.
Discuss 1–2 key issues with everyone participating.
Assign clear next steps (who does what by when).
Close with gratitude and prayer for unity in action.
Task groups don’t have to feel like frustration factories. With clarity and wise leadership, they can become places where the body of Christ practices shared discernment and joyful service.
By Pastor Chad Burrow
