| Pathway Beginning A Group Becoming a Healthy Group Building Leaders Blessing Your Community Overview of Group StagesThis section will provide articles and tools that apply to where your church is on the pathway to a healthy, reproducing, small group ministry. The first section, "Beginning a Group (0-6 months)," helps those responsible for the ministry to get some early success in getting things rolling. One key initial insight: if you try first to identify potential small group leaders, train them, and then launch them in small groups, your success may be greatly limited. Why? Because where are the leaders? They are either too busy, in an existing small group, or uninterested. Look for upcoming articles on how to launch an explosion of new leaders. The section, "Becoming a Healthy Group (6-12 months)," is for churches with existing small group ministry—you've got a ministry, say, but it's not running as well as it could. Perhaps you're stuck on finding curriculum or creating a one-year plan. Or perhaps your small group ministry has become a place where every small group "does what is right in his own eyes." There's hope. Look for practical, helpful articles that can transform your ministry from "good enough" to dynamic. The third section, "Building Leaders (12-24 months)," is just that. It provides more sophisticated ideas and training on building a small group leadership system. At the heart of every effective small group ministry is leadership development. Everything rises or falls on whether this is working well. The final section, "Blessing Your Community (24+ months)," is all about passing along the blessing of God and helping others transform their community through community. As your small group ministry develops and transforms lives and your community, then the natural step is help others do the same. |
Transformation Takes Time
Our small group, like most small groups, is comprised of
people with varying degrees of Christian maturity. One lady arrived as a
spiritual seeker. Within time, she committed her life to Christ and was
baptized. . . .
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| When You Realize Numbers Don't Matter
Every time our church tried to launch a new small group
ministry, we failed. Things never turned out the way we hoped. For our fall
launch, we began planning five months in advance, which left us feeling like we
had things under control. . . .
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| "Dude, I Can't Shepherd a Small Group!"
Some of you have been leading groups for six years—hosting
is old hat for you. Some of you have been doing it for six months and may be
looking to become a better host. And some of you just completed your first
six-week study and, frankly, are still recovering from the experience. . . .
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| Why Small Groups Are a Big Deal
There is no simple solution to growing a healthy, balanced
body of believers. However, a thriving small group ministry may be one of the
best ways to fulfill the biblical purposes of the church—and solve many of the
issues of evangelism and stewardship that can confound pastors. . . .
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| A Simple Picture of Success
When I first joined the staff at Saddleback Church.
Rick told me he reserved seats for over 800 men on 7 different 747s headed to Washington, DC
for Promise Keepers. . . .
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| | From Dream to Reality
Most leaders who dream of "finding a shepherd for every
sheep" find themselves a bit lost when it comes to starting small groups.
You're not alone. . . .
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Sharing multiple sides of yourself with your small group.
by Randy Frazee
Lifestyles today make integrated and interdependent
relationships hard to create and maintain. The absence of this
interdependence makes us hunger for community. Most of us manage
"linear relationships."
Randy Frazee, author of The Connecting Church,
describes linear relationships as running "from one relational unit to
another. As you exit one world and enter another, there may be some
mention of the people you just left behind, but essentially they are
not connected to the present world in any meaningful way" (Making Room for Life, pg. 47).
It is unlikely that you'll be fully known unless
other people in your worlds know each other and interact in frequent
and meaningful ways. This interaction stands in stark contrast to a
linear arrangement, by which an individual has numerous acquaintances
whom they really don't know.
Many small group experiences are only a continuation
of linear relationships. If your group meets once a week or twice a
month for Bible study and fellowship, you may be sharing only one side
of yourself. How do you move beyond this linear expression and into a
circular relationship through which people will see other sides of you?
Consider some of these suggestions to create more circular relationships:
- Eliminate unnecessary circles. To simplify life, you may need to remove some "worlds" that are making your life stressful and hard to integrate.
- Combine the purposes of two or more circles.
If you have a particular hobby or like to exercise a certain way, why
not invite a few people from an existing relationship pod to begin
participating with you as opposed to forming another activity pod. You
will be amazed at the resulting accountability, inside jokes, and
shared memories.
- Invite members of one world to another.
Invite people to your regular activities. These invitations allow
people from work, church, and your neighborhood to start to get to know
each other.
- Share meals. Hosting a regular meal creates
allows you to casually invite people from your various worlds without
additional preparation and without needless embarrassment if people
can't come. Consider sharing the hosting of meals.
- Create a hang out. Why do bad guys always
have hangouts? Can't the good guys have them, too? Consider making your
den, garage, porch, or front yard a hangout where people are invited
just to hang. If this seems too unstructured for you, break out some
table games or play charades, adults and children together.
- Neighborhood watch. Watch for those who do
not know their neighbors. Consider organizing a neighborhood watch, or
host a get-to-know-your-neighbor night.
- Guys/Ladies Night Out. For variety, consider
having a Ladies Night Out where all the ladies in a neighborhood go out
for dinner and a movie or shopping. Dads agree to watch the kids
together. Men can enjoy a similar night out together, perhaps at a
sporting event.
- Become a fan club. If your children's sports
are a big thing, why not start a fan club and invite neighbors to a
local game? Have a victory gathering afterward.
- Participate in daily tasks together. Your
lawn needs to be mowed. Why do it alone? Offer to help someone with
their lawn if they will help you with yours. Shopping, cooking, or
laundry can work the same way. Doing busy work together transforms
tedium into fun.
 Randy Frazee is founder of The Connecting Church and author of Making Room for Life and The Connecting Church.
The Connecting Church Association exists for the purpose of helping you
build biblical community. Please send your ideas about trading lines
for circles to info@theconnectingchurch.org. We would love to hear from you!
Copyright © 2004 Lifetogether. |
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You Get What You ExpectHow to raise the committment of your new recruitsOne of the biggest hang-ups new group leaders face is confusion about what is expected from them—from their personal behavior to their attitude about the group. By having potential leaders sign a form like the following, all expectations are voiced up front, allowing opportunity for discussion and avoiding many potential negative situations. Reproduce this tool for each of your new leaders: Leader ValuesI will commit, to my best effort, in living an exemplary Christian lifestyle while supporting the Church's leadership and basic doctrinal statements. I will commit to learning and growing through my daily time with the Father and other coaching/training opportunities provided by the Church. I will commit to developing a co-leader/ host/facilitator (shared ownership)and Purpose Teams to cultivate a healthy and balanced group. I will commit to including new members and releasing mature members to start new groups over time (6-18 months). I will commit to seeking balance with both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission in my group (open chair and multiplication). Leader: Interviewing Leader: Click here to download the above form in a reproducible Word document. |
Wobbly Spirituality
6 steps for you to help your leaders grow spiritually.
By Brett Eastman, Founder and CEO, Lifetogether
When my daughter Michelle was diagnosed with
a form of cerebral palsy, we thought she'd never walk. But one day she
started getting up on her haunches and crawling. . .
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| Plugging the Leadership Leak
Why leaders need to set an example of community.
by Scott Mawdesley, Small Groups Pastor, Christ Fellowship
Is there enough time? I'm not sure what your lives are like, but mine is
progressively getting faster and more complex. . .
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| The Group that Serves Together Grows Together
Five ways to help task-oriented groups thrive.
by Brett Eastman, Founder and CEO, Lifetogether
Setting up task groups is a great way to develop a
growing number of faithful volunteers in almost any area of ministry. . .
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| The Sure Way to See Lives Change
How small groups can bring true transformation
By Chip Ingram, Living on the Edge, A Ministry of Walk Thru the Bible
Often I get into discussions with people about the early church. They say, "I wish we could be just like the early church. God was so alive, and he was doing such powerful things."
. .
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| Bad Days Are Sometimes the Best Days
And nine other lessons I've learned from my small group
by Brett Eastman Founder and CEO, Lifetogether
Two years ago when I met with my new small group for
the first time, I was so reluctant. I didn't know if I could ever find
the sense of belonging and spiritual family I had enjoyed with my
previous group. . .
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| Create a Caring Church
3 ways your small group can show love to the body of Christ
by Sue Dunn
If you want to create a church community that really
cares for one another, the best way to do it is through small groups. . .
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| Committed to Community
Why churches everywhere are discovering the difference relational ministry can make
by Dan Lentz
It seems like small groups are popping up
everywhere. And churches that have a recognized small group ministry
are becoming more the standard than the exception. Why is that? What's
going on? . . .
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| Front Porch Community
How small groups help people create healthy conversations
Intimacy may be a worthy goal, but small groups are
mostly about learning how to talk to one another. At least that's what
Joe Myers, "multi-preneur" and author of The Search to Belong: Rethinking Intimacy, Community, and Small Groups (Zondervan), believes. . .
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| Give Visitors a Reason to Join
MINISTER
Many people that visit but never return to a small
group do so because it feels cliquish. When visitors walk in to your
meeting, your top priority is to make them feel welcome. Greet them at
the door; give them a hug or a handshake and look them in the eye when
they talk. . .
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| Small-Scale Evangelism
MINISTER
How to show your group that being a light in the world isn't so scary
Does the very thought of sharing your faith with an
unbeliever make you sweat? If so, as a leader you understand exactly
what the rest of your group feels regarding evangelism. There's nothing
more important for a leader than empathy. . .
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| | Developing People
MOTIVATE
3 ways to encourage your group members to serve
As a leader, you are actually in the people
development business. Your role as leader is to motivate your group
members to discover and start using their gifts and abilities to
develop their own unique ministry design. . .
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| Jiffy Pop for Jesus
MULTIPLY
Encouraging your members to launch their own groups spreads their gifts and yours
Once your group members have discovered their ministry "SHAPE," why not set a goal one week that no one
leaves your meeting without a plan to serve over the next three months. . .
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Be a Champion to Remember
Lifetogether's Brett Eastman recalls how his first Small Group Champion shared words that made a lifelong impact
Although I've championed small groups in several big
churches over the past decade, and even though it's been almost twenty
years since I led my first small group, I still remember the day I led
my first group like it was yesterday. . .
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| The Secret to Sharing Your Story
One skill every small group leader should have is
the ability to talk with unbelievers about your experience of God in
ordinary language that an unbeliever will understand. In the church we
use some specialized words like "repentance" and "being saved." . .
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| Tap on the Shoulder
The impact of a single questionIn this story, Brett Eastman, founder and CEO of
Lifetogether, recalls how one man's simple question produced a legacy
of life change:
I attended college in Southern California, and one
day (I remember this like it was yesterday), a guy named John tapped me
on the shoulder and asked me how I was doing spiritually. . .
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