Leading Small Groups: The Trellis Path to a Thriving Group

A small group without structure quietly falls apart, even with great content. This is a summary based on Chris Surratt's book Leading Small Groups, built around his own trellis metaphor. Skip the structure, and members drift away one by one; build it in from the start using what Surratt calls the Trellis Path, and people stay, open up, and grow.

Key Takeaways

Surratt's Trellis Path is the roadmap this summary follows: root yourself as a leader, build the trellis with solid logistics, plant the group through recruiting, tend it week after week, and graft new leaders to multiply it. Get the structure right, and the content inside it finally has a chance to work.

The 3 Habits That Quietly Kill a Group

Leading small groups well means avoiding three common habits that leaders fall into without realizing it. Each one has a hidden weakness that eventually drives people away.

Winging the Logistics

Picking a meeting time or location at random, without checking who it actually serves, quietly filters out the people the group needs most. Surratt admits one of his early groups had a member who "had to be at her job at 4:00 a.m." and "nodded off a few times during the group discussion" — not from a lack of commitment, but because the time slot never fit her life.

Recruiting Without a Plan

Sending one group text or posting a flyer and hoping people show up rarely builds enough trust to survive the group's first hard week. Surratt notes that his "most consistent group members have normally come from individual invites," not from broad announcements alone.

Leading Without Boundaries

When one person does all the talking and never trains anyone else to lead, the group has a ceiling built in from day one. Surratt is honest about this cost in his own life, admitting his "non-approach to conflict has cost our groups and relationships several times."

The Trellis Path: 5 Steps for Leading Small Groups

Surratt names his approach after a garden trellis: a structure that doesn't force a plant to grow, but gives it something to grow around so it doesn't sprawl and choke itself out. As he puts it, "Well-planned details will be the trellis for the small group... a poorly planned small group will eventually choke out the life of the group." Here are the five steps of that path.

Step 1: Root Yourself

What This Is

Define your identity as a leader before you touch any logistics, understanding that leading means showing up, not knowing everything.

Why It Matters

This solves the trap of waiting to feel "ready enough." Surratt defines leadership simply as "the joyful acceptance of responsibility at a given moment," not expertise — a leader who skips this step often never starts leading small groups at all.

How You Can Use It

Name your biggest doubt about leading out loud instead of hiding it, and set a regular check-in with yourself to watch for burnout. The key move is starting despite feeling unqualified, not waiting until you feel ready.

Examples (Toggle for more)

Less Productive: A first-time leader keeps waiting to "feel qualified enough" to lead, delays for a full year, and the group never launches at all.
More Productive: The leader uses the Root Yourself step.

Decision Logic Step 1: The leader names the fear out loud: "I don't know the Bible well enough to lead a Bible study."
Decision Logic Step 2: The leader says yes anyway, choosing to lead from "the joyful acceptance of responsibility" instead of expertise.
Decision and Output: The group launches on schedule, and members respect the leader more, not less, for admitting they don't have it all figured out.

Step 2: Build the Trellis

What This Is

Set the location, day, time, and launch date before inviting a single person.

Why It Matters

This step has to come before recruiting, because a group with no structure collapses the moment real life gets in the way. The numbers back this up: Surratt warns that "even groups who meet every other week will struggle with consistency," while groups meeting weekly build trust fast.

How You Can Use It

Check that your meeting spot is within a 20-minute drive for most members, and launch in January, right after Labor Day, or right after Easter — never in summer or over the holidays. The key move is choosing on purpose instead of by accident.

Examples (Toggle for more)

Less Productive: A leader rotates the meeting among three different homes each month and launches in June, right before summer vacations hit.
More Productive: The leader uses the Build the Trellis step.

Decision Logic Step 1: The leader picks one central home within a 20-minute drive of most members.
Decision Logic Step 2: The leader sets a fixed weekly time and picks a January launch date.
Decision and Output: The group meets consistently for months without the confusion of a changing location, and momentum builds instead of stalling.

Step 3: Plant the Group

What This Is

Recruit people personally and run a strong first meeting with shared expectations.

Why It Matters

This step only works once the first two are solid, since you can't invite people into a group that has no home or plan yet. Surratt's script beats a mass invite every time: "We're starting this group for [type of person] who want [goal]... we feel you'd be a great fit," delivered face-to-face.

How You Can Use It

Pray, then list people to invite starting with your inner circle, and follow up more than once if someone says no at first. The key move is persistence over a single announcement.

Examples (Toggle for more)

Less Productive: A leader posts one flyer on a community board with no follow-up, then is surprised when only one person shows up to the first meeting.
More Productive: The leader uses the Plant the Group step.

Decision Logic Step 1: The leader makes a personal list starting with family, neighbors, and coworkers.
Decision Logic Step 2: The leader delivers the ask in person, using the script: "We're starting this group for young couples who want to grow together — we feel you'd be a great fit."
Decision and Output: A couple says no the first time but joins months later after a second invite, becoming one of the group's most consistent members.

Step 4: Tend the Group

What This Is

Run each meeting so the whole group takes part, not just the leader.

Why It Matters

This is where most groups either thrive or quietly die, since it's the step repeated most often and noticed least. Surratt gives a specific number here: "an effective facilitator should only talk 30 percent of the time" — talk more than that, and the leader crowds out the very people they're trying to build community with.

How You Can Use It

Ask questions instead of lecturing, let silence sit after a hard question, and redirect an oversharing member gently: "Thank you for sharing — let's come back to that later so we can stay on track." The key move is making room for quieter voices every single week.

Examples (Toggle for more)

Less Productive: A leader talks over half the meeting, answers every question before anyone else can, and one member quietly stops attending because they never get a chance to speak.
More Productive: The leader uses the Tend the Group step.

Decision Logic Step 1: The leader asks a hard question, then counts silently to ten instead of filling the pause.
Decision Logic Step 2: When a member starts oversharing, the leader says warmly, "Thank you for sharing — let's come back to that later so we stay on track."
Decision and Output: More members start speaking up week over week, and the group's attendance stays steady instead of quietly shrinking.

Step 5: Graft and Multiply

What This Is

Train a new leader step by step and eventually start a second group.

Why It Matters

This step comes last because you can't hand off leadership to someone who hasn't first watched the group work well for months. Surratt frames this as the real point of leading small groups at all: "Your small group can literally change the world. That fact is worth the effort and pain of multiplying and starting over."

How You Can Use It

Spot someone with leadership potential, even if they doubt themselves, and walk them through leading gradually: they watch you, then help you, then lead while you help, then lead while you watch. The key move is celebrating the new group's launch instead of treating it like a loss.

Examples (Toggle for more)

Less Productive: A leader keeps every facilitation duty for years, never trains anyone else, and the group eventually collapses under its own size with no one ready to take over.
More Productive: The leader uses the Graft and Multiply step.

Decision Logic Step 1: The leader notices a quiet but thoughtful member and invites them to watch how meetings run for a few weeks.
Decision Logic Step 2: The member starts helping lead discussion, then leads solo while the original leader coaches from the side.
Decision and Output: The group splits into two healthy groups, and the new leader is celebrated rather than treated as a loss to the original group.

Actionable Tools for Leading Small Groups

Checklist (Toggle for more)

Root yourself before touching logistics.

Script: "I don't have this all figured out, and that's okay — I'm still going to lead."

Build the trellis with a fixed location, day, and launch date.

Script: "We're starting weekly in January, right in this living room."

Plant the group through a personal ask.

Script: "We're starting this group for [type of person] who want [goal] — we feel you'd be a great fit."

Tend the group by making room for every voice.

Script: "Thank you for sharing — let's come back to that later so we stay on track."

Graft and multiply by training a new leader.

Script: "Watch me lead this week, then next week, help me lead it."

Toolkit (Toggle for more)

The Trellis Path: A five-step structure for leading small groups drawn from Chris Surratt's book, designed to protect both the leader and the group from collapse.

Root Yourself, Build the Trellis, Plant the Group, Tend the Group, Graft and Multiply

This summary is based on Chris Surratt's book Leading Small Groups and his Trellis Path framework for building healthy, lasting community.

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Small Group Structure: A 5 Steps to a Thriving Group

Leading Small Groups: The Trellis Path to a Thriving Group