What do you think small groups should be?

I'm looking for some feedback from you here. Any and all of you... so if you get a few minutes, think and pray about this and leave a comment...

This is something I've been praying about for a while now... Naomi and I are about to become the '20-something' small group leaders at our church. The church we attend, Connexion Church, is a new church plant that's only a few months old. This past week was the kickoff for our 'Connexion Groups,' and our group actually starts on the 11th. Since they're a new church, there's no established format for what small groups 'should' be. Naomi and I have talked with Pastor Joe on a few different occasions about what his and our vision for a small group is, and we've prayed about it a lot too. Here's my questions for you:

- Should small groups be Bible-study centered, or community centered?
- If they should be Bible-study centered, then what opportunities are there in a church for Christians to fellowship with and pray for each other, 'hang out', be accountable, spend time investing in each other's lives? Should these things be tacked on to the end of a Bible study each week? Every small group I've been to has made fifteen minutes or so for these things at the end of the time together when people are rushed to get back home to the kids, homework, etc. Do we just designate one day a month to be 'fellowship night?' Is that enough?
- We get Bible teaching on Sunday from the pastor, who spends a significant amount of time each week in preparing and praying over his message. Can a small group leader who has to coordinate who's bringing the snacks this week, how to get the kids fed and in bed before everyone comes over, and has been at work all day until 20 minutes before small group starts be an effective 'preacher?'

- If small groups are community-centered, where can we go for a group Bible study between Sundays? Most churches don't even have Sunday night services anymore, let alone the Wednesday night services that I grew up with as a kid. This is something I've hungered for for many years. I need that boost of being in God's house in the middle of the week. The small groups I've been in, even the Bible-study centered ones, haven't really fulfilled this desire. They invariably fall either on the side of a group opinion-fest about a particular passage of the Word, with no direction and not much learning, or on the side of some well-meaning but under-prepared individual reading from the three pages of notes he wrote at lunch that day.

I do know that some people have amazingly awesome small groups. Everything I've heard about the small group my sister and brother-in-law lead has been incredible. Lots of spiritual growth, lots of fellowship between believers, lots of building and actively developing relationships with God and with others, which is the ideal of a small group. But I think groups like that are rare.

So what are your opinions? What is the balance? I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks in advance for your input.