Leader preparation · 2–3 minutes
Your aim for this conversation
Read Acts 6:1–7. Notice the problem in verse 1, the Twelve and the Seven in verses 2–6, and the result in verse 7.
The conversation is for each person to see their own calling as needed, whether or not it comes with a paycheck. Conrad's counsel for finding it was to be attentive.
Essential questions: Q1, Q3, Q4. Use Q2 when time permits.
Timing plan
45 minutes
- Opening
- 4
- Passage
- 5
- Questions
- 24
- Application
- 7
- Prayer
- 5
Total · 45 minutes
The Big Idea
There is no small calling: every believer has a calling, and the church needs each one.
Remember Sunday’s message
Sermon reminders
The Problem in the Early Church
As the church grew, the Greek-speaking widows were overlooked in the daily food distribution. Conrad said the gospel keeps reaching new circles and cultures, and it meets practical needs as well as spiritual ones.
The Two Callings: The Twelve and the Seven
The Twelve stayed with prayer and preaching, and the Seven were chosen to care for the widows. One could not function without the other.
General vs. Specific Calling
Every believer shares a general call to love God and grow like Jesus, and the qualities asked of the Seven reflect it. Each person also has a specific calling, and the Seven seem to have been chosen because they were close to the problem.
How to Discern Your Calling
Conrad's counsel was to be attentive: to your background, gifts, temperament, experiences and the brokenness around you, and most of all to Jesus, who gives gifts to his church.
The Result and the Body
When each group did its part, the word of God kept increasing and the disciples multiplied. Each calling makes a contribution but is not the whole, so the church needs every part.
Wednesday’s conversation
Reflect & discuss
Read Acts 6:1–7 together in the ESV.
Acts 6:1–4 · Essential · 6 minutes
The Twelve and the Seven
In Acts 6 the Twelve kept to prayer and preaching while the Seven took on the daily care of the widows, and Conrad said one could not function without the other. Which of those two kinds of work comes more naturally to you, and where have you seen it put to use?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Conrad said the Twelve could not give up their calling to serve tables. When have you had to say no to a good task so that someone better suited could say yes?
- Which kind of work in our church do you most easily overlook?
If it stalls
Read verses 2 and 4 aloud and ask what each group would have lost if it had tried to do the other's work.
Acts 6:3 · Optional · 7 minutes
A call for everyone
Conrad said the three things asked of the Seven, "good repute, full of the Spirit, and wise," are a general call for every believer. Which of the three do you see growing in your life right now, and which one would you most like the group's help with?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Conrad noted that this list reads nothing like a job description. Why might character matter more than skill for a task like feeding widows?
- What could this group do to help each other grow in one of the three?
If it stalls
Read the three phrases in verse 3 slowly and let each person choose one before anyone explains.
Acts 6:5–6 · Essential · 8 minutes
Close to the problem
All seven men have Greek names, and Conrad suggested they were chosen because they were close to the problem and to the widows who were being overlooked. What need are you close to because of your background, your work, or what you have lived through, and what is one thing you could do about it?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Optional, more personal: Conrad listed life experiences and traumas among the things to be attentive to. Has a hard season made you notice a need that others miss?
- When has someone else pointed out a gift in you that you had not noticed?
Background you may need
- Conrad said the passage does not tell us how to discern a calling, and offered "be attentive" as his own counsel for the church to test. Treat it as a help, not a formula.
If it stalls
Offer a general example, such as a retired teacher helping children read, or someone who has known grief sitting with others who grieve. Let people pass.
Acts 6:7; 1 Corinthians 12:14, 19–20 · Essential · 8 minutes
Many parts, one body
Conrad said, "Our calling makes a contribution, but it's not comprehensive." Where are you tempted to think your part is too small to matter, and what is one step you will take before next Wednesday to live out your calling?
Leader notes
Follow-ups to have ready
- Optional, more personal: Conrad called comparison an almost "toxic disease" that we all carry. Where does comparing yourself with others shrink your view of your own calling?
- What would this group lose if one person stopped doing their part?
If it stalls
Read 1 Corinthians 12:19–20 aloud and ask what a body would be if it were only one part.
Carry it into the week
Next Steps
From the sermon
- Encourage one another to love and good deeds, and keep pursuing Jesus together.
- Be attentive to how God has wired you: your background, what you are passionate about, and where you see brokenness around you.
- Talk with a pastor, a neighbor, a friend or a family member about what your calling might be.
Application
Before next Wednesday, thank one person whose quiet work in the church you depend on, and tell them what their part makes possible.
My notes
Close in prayer
Thank God for the gifts he has given this group, and ask him to make each person's calling clear and to help us serve one another well.
Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV Bible, © 2001 by Crossway. Text Edition: 2025. Used by permission. Permissions. Prepared for this small group from the July 12, 2026 sermon; questions and applications are editorial study material.