The Ten C's of Asking Quality Questions

• Complete. Make sure participants have all the information they need to answer a question.
• Concise: Good questions cover only one idea at a time.
  
• Clear. Keep it understandable. Be sure questions are not over the heads of group members.
• Connected. Don’t ask a question that will lead your group on a tangent.
• Conversational. The aim is not just to ask questions and have the group answer them; it is to facilitate conversation among everyone.
• Contestable. The best discussion questions do not have one right answer. They are open-ended, which forces people to think.
• Challenging. Ask questions that make people stretch their minds. Silence after a question may mean people are really thinking about their answers.
• Creative. Get group members to look at an issue from a side they may not have thought of before. For example, tell a story containing an unresolved issue and ask participants to solve it. The only bad question is the one you use all the time.
• Controversial. Make a controversial statement and see how the group responds. Just remember to use this method sparingly and with discernment.
• Considerate. Do not embarrass or get too personal too soon. Particularly in new groups, questions that dig too deep may keep people from coming back next week.

^{· copied from Discipleship Journal’s 101 Best Small Group Ideas}

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for Women's Ministry: sign up for Beth Moore's September 18th's Living Proof Live simulcast: - http://www.lifeway.com/event/?id=194&CID=women=eupdate-simulcast-041310-feature

for Women's Ministry: Faithful, Abundant, True: Three Lives Going Deeper, a study by Beth Moore, Kay Arthur, & Priscilla Shirer - http://www.lifeway.com/e19/shop/?id=005189430

for Family Ministry: Using Magazines in Family Ministry - http://www.lifeway.com/article/170220/?CID=PastorsToday-emailCRD20100419-Magazines

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for Church Health: Transformational Church book and assessment tool - http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/transformationalchurch/steps.asp