Lifeway Group Essentials Will Help Churches Revitalize Bible Study Ministry

Lifeway’s Group Essentials Conference is scheduled for January 11–12, 2027, at Calvary Baptist Church in Tupelo, Mississippi. The free, two-day event is designed for Sunday school or group ministry directors, pastors, ministers of education, and people in similar church leadership roles, with particular relevance for those who have served in their position for five years or less. Lifeway describes the conference as practical training to revitalize a church’s Bible study ministry. Participants will study principles for growing healthy groups, best practices for enlisting and training workers, and eight signposts that indicate group members are growing as disciples. The program is led by Ken Braddy, Lifeway’s director of group ministry, who has more than twenty-five years of experience in local-church education ministry. The published schedule begins with check-in and networking at 12:30 p.m. on the first day, followed by sessions on the state of groups, theology and discipleship, why groups matter, the purpose of ongoing groups, and starting new groups. The second day addresses a formula for growing group ministry, enlisting and training leaders, curriculum as a disciple-making tool, and next-step planning. Lifeway says each participant will develop an action plan to implement after returning to the local church. Attendees also receive a conference notebook, a Bible, and three books related to Sunday school leadership, including Breathing Life into Sunday School, Building a Disciple-making Ministry, and Breakthrough: Creating a New Scorecard for Group Ministry Success. The event provides access to seventeen additional digital books and accompanying church training plans. Lunch on the second day and snacks are included, while lodging is not. Although the event is physically located in Tupelo, its methods and resources are intended for church leaders who can travel from across the country and apply the training in congregations of different sizes.

The conference addresses a recurring challenge in church life: groups can continue meeting without clearly helping people learn Scripture, obey Christ, care for one another, serve, and make disciples. Attendance matters, but a crowded room is not by itself evidence of spiritual health. Leaders need a biblical purpose, prepared teachers, an intentional process for welcoming people, and a way to recognize growth that reaches beyond enrollment totals. Group Essentials therefore connects theology with the operational work of ministry. Recruiting workers requires more than filling vacancies; it involves identifying character and gifts, explaining expectations, providing training, and supporting leaders after they begin. Starting new groups requires prayer, clear communication, space, curriculum, and people willing to multiply rather than protect a comfortable circle. A church action plan should name a small number of priorities, assign responsibility, set realistic dates, and identify evidence that members are moving toward greater biblical understanding, obedience, service, prayer, community, and mission. Teams will benefit most if a pastor attends with the person who directly oversees groups, because shared learning can reduce the gap between conference enthusiasm and local implementation. Before traveling, participants can gather current information about group attendance, leader vacancies, training frequency, curriculum use, guest follow-up, and multiplication. After the conference, they can translate the notes into a ninety-day plan and schedule the first leader-training opportunity. Ken Braddy’s Breakthrough: Creating a New Scorecard for Group Ministry Success is an especially close fit because it urges leaders to measure whether group members are learning and obeying God’s Word, caring for people, making disciples, and engaging in service rather than relying only on attendance. The practical reason to attend is to return with a repeatable ministry plan, not merely a folder of ideas. For churches seeking to renew Bible teaching and group discipleship, the event offers focused instruction, useful resources, and time to build a plan alongside leaders facing the same work.