Host a Life Group or Bible Study With Less Stress
Having a dinner party or a group of people over for a Bible Study sounds fun and exciting! But when you get right down to it, it can be a lot of work. Most of us regret having planned anything a few hours before everyone arrives. But it doesn’t have to be stressful! Each week we host a Life Group at our home. This consists of dinner and then a Bible Study. I have had only a few people and we have had over 20. We have been hosting this group for our church for over 5 years now. I am sharing this because I want you to know that I’ve done it long enough that I feel like I’ve developed some tips and tricks to make it easier for you.
No one wants a stressed out host and you don’t want to dread something that is supposed to be a beautiful time of fellowship and ministry. First I want to address the expectations we can put on ourselves. The most important things happening during this time is the fellowship that you are sharing and learning from each other about the Word. Perfection has no room here.
Tip 1: Declutter the space you will be spending time with.
Let’s start with the atmosphere. Thankfully I have kept a weekly cleaning schedule for many years that makes it easy for me to have my house ready for guests. (Check out my weekly cleaning schedule HERE.) I used to wait until Thursday, the day of the Life Group, to clean my downstairs. If something unexpected happened in the day, I might be finishing mopping my floors at 6pm while also putting the finishing touches on dinner. I realized that did not work. I moved my lower level cleaning to Wednesday. This way the floors have been mopped the day before and everything is freshly dusted. All I have to do is run the vacuum to pick up any small messes and I always check my bathroom and refresh the hand towel. The “cleaning” part of my prep takes less than 10 minutes.
If you have not decluttered your home and developed a steady cleaning rhythm, that’s ok! You can still host a group. Do focus on the space you and your guests will be spending time in and do a quick declutter. Take a basket and remove extra things from the counters and surfaces. We might be able to walk past the pile of mail for a few weeks, but it will likely be in the way if you are serving on that surface.
Please know this. Your house does not have to be perfect. I struggle with perfectionism and I have had to overcome this. I have a 5 year old and we had this Life Group from before she was born. So I have gone through the all the stages. I would be right in the middle of doing a final pickup and she needed to eat. This wasn’t something I could put off. I would have to feed her and then finish my task or just let it go.
She loves showing her toys and crafts to our guests. It is nothing for me to be serving dinner and realized she has pulled her baskets of toys out in the living room. This is real life. We live here. Your home does not have to be perfect or stay perfect to entertain.
Tip 2: Keep the meal simple
If you are just having refreshments, everything does not need to be homemade. Grab a box of cookies from your local bakery or even the grocery store bakery. Display them on a cake plate and you have instantly elevated your snack. Take a bag of pita chips and put them on a platter with hummus and your simple snack is beautiful.
I cook dinner every Thursday night for our Life Group. While I would love to present a 4 course meal, this isn’t feasible. I have 2 kids and am working during the day. I typically do a one pot meal and I love things in the crockpot. I try to choose dishes that I can start in a large pot or in the crock pot and have 99% cleaned up before anyone arrives. This makes clean up really easy and allows me to enjoy my guests.
The last thing about this is paper plates. Gasp! I know! But I discovered early on that there are very inexpensive and beautiful paper plates that work wonderfully when you have a large (or small) group. No one feels pressure to have to stay and wash dishes so this makes it easier on you and your guests.
No one wants a stressed out host. You can create a lovely meal or simple refreshment for your guests and still have room to breathe.
Here are a few of my favorite meals for Life Group:
These are saved in my recipe highlights on Instagram:
Roast (I do a quick side of potatoes and add a salad)
Tip 3: Prepare. Prepare. Prepare!
Anything we can do ahead of time is going to pay huge dividends in return. Here are some things you can prepare ahead of time:
Cleaning. As I mentioned earlier, I used to save my downstairs (the area we are in for Life Group) cleaning for Thursday. I now do this on Wednesday and just have to spot clean before the actual event.
Meal plan/meal prep. I plan my Life Group meals out a month at a time. This allows me to be 100% certain that I have all ingredients on hand and it also allows me to see which meals work best for what weeks. If I have a particularly busy Thursday, I need to be sure to plug the crockpot meal in on that day.
Materials. Do you print a student handout for the lesson? Maybe you aren’t responsible for that, but this is something my husband and I do. I try to print it out the day before. IF I’m going to have printer issues, it will be then. :) So prepping this in advance is one less thing for me to think about. I also keep a cup of pens to make it easy for me to grab and place out for people to use.
Study Time. If I am the teacher for that week I want to be sure to review the lesson earlier in the week. This is something I can’t wait until the last minute to do.
Plates, napkins, forks, etc. I make sure to keep these on hand at all times. I have a caddy I keep them in. This way I can quickly glance and be sure I have all the items I need. I buy these in bulk at Costco a few times a year.
Tip 4: Relax and set a calming mood.
Take a deep breath. Remember, nothing has to be perfect. People are at your home to visit with you and others, not to be critical. Turn on the lamps and light a candle (be sure it’s a really light scent or unscented for those sensitive to scents.) Remember that this is important. Inviting people into your home for Bible Study or just fellowship with friends is so important. You are doing a good thing! Put on a smile and welcome your friends!