GROUP Leadership may sound like a great burden; I have actually found it to be an unbelievable blessing! That may sound like a strange thing to say, but it has been so true in my life. I could share 100 billion reasons why that has been true, but here are 6 reasons why I can make that claim without a single reservation.

• Leading a GROUP forces me to read my Bible better.

In fact, this year I have gotten more out of the Word of God than at any other season in my life (seminary included). Why?

Because you cannot lead others to where you have not yet been.

I get to go deeper than I have ever gone before so I can take my friends deeper than they have ever been! It is exciting what God is teaching all of us!

• Leading a GROUP has strengthened my prayer life.

Every week the Holy Spirit floods my mind with situations, circumstances, struggles, and praises that my friends share with me at GROUP.

God has shown me that He really wants to cover His people in prayer

He even helps a forgetful guy like me stay focused by giving me gentle and frequent reminders to pray. This has most definitely grown my prayer life!

• Leading a GROUP has made me more loving and humble.

This is especially true when it comes to the sharing of knowledge. I love to learn and I love to share about it, but I have also learned a simple truth that is changing the way I lead:

People are not going to care about how much you know until they know how much you care - John Maxwell

That is a law of leadership that has been impressed upon me time and time again. It’s also true that people are not going to know how much I care if I stay focused on myself. Leading a GROUP forces me to care about others and to put their needs above my own. That makes me more like Jesus.  

• Leading a GROUP has kept me from isolation.

Despite how it looks from the outside, I am actually an introvert. My ideal slice of heaven would be me and my family in a cloister or monastery somewhere with a mountain of old beautiful books and a lifetime to read them. Needless to say, I have powerful tendencies towards getting alone and hanging out with old dead authors. But leading a GROUP forces me to be known. It forces me to share my life with others and that has definitely helped me in my walk with God. Having alone time is great, but we were made to be known. We were made to be in godly community.

• Leading a GROUP has made me feel more connected.

GENESIS has grown so much over the last four years that I have been here.It is easy for me to look out and see a sea of new faces and feel like just a face in the crowd. But, leading a GROUP has caused me to have some of the deepest and best friendships I have ever had.

When I go to church, I no longer see a sea of people.

I see Bruce. I see Susan. I see Jim. I see Erin. I see Linda, Charlie, Rebecca, Nicole, Garret, Bettina, Laurie, Laura, Brad, Jonathan, Diana, Weverton, Pricilla, Walter, Helen, Jeanne… You get my point?

• Leading a GROUP has made me more faithful to the great commission.

As a Christian, I am called to make disciples. If I leave that up to happenstance, I will get so busy that I forget to be faithful. But leading a GROUP helps me remember that our goal as leaders is to help others walk with God so that they can go out and help others walk with God. We are not just disciple-makers. We are trying to make disciples who make disciples! Why? Because our commission is to spread the magnificent name of Jesus Christ until all have heard. And then He will return!

The best way to do that is to help more and more people share that name!

I love GROUPS!

Leading one myself has been so impactful in my own personal walk with God. You can take this to the bank:

If you want your walk with God to grow like you have never seen it grow before, sign up to lead a GROUP. It most definitely will change your life! - Kendall Lankford

If you would like more information on leading a GROUP or joining a GROUP, email me at and I would love to tell you more!