A small group's love for two skeptics leads them to Christ.
by Life Together
Two years ago our teaching pastor, Ted, began to meet with a couple with considerable intellectual reservations about Christianity. They agreed to read some Christian apologetics if Ted agreed to read their books. While they read Letters from a Skeptic, Ted read Stephen Hawking's latest, A Brief History of Time.
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Then this past fall we launched a new six-week small group study: "A Taste of Community." ...
Challenging people to host small groups can turn into an evagelistic opportunity.
by Stacie K. B. Maslyn
Finding leaders is an ongoing bottleneck in the process of growing any church or ministry. Having too many leaders is rarely a problem. But that's exactly the situation that Overlake Church in Redmond, Washington, faced as they launched a small group movement.
"People in the Seattle area like to congregate around issues and ideas," says Dean Orrico, Senior Associate Pastor over Connect Ministries. ...
Steve Gladen is pastor of the Small Group Network at Saddleback Church, where he oversees 2,500 adult small groups. In that capacity, he loves watching a big church become small through true community developed in group life. Steve is the author of several resources, including ...
With intention and perseverance you can begin small groups at your church.
by Life Together
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.
At Lifetogether, we say,"Fall is to small group ministry, what Easter is to the church"—that is, if you want to launch a small group ministry, do it in the fall. You can also, of course, start one in January or after Easter, but there's nothing like ...
God equips us each with powerful ministry tools. Discovering yours will help you find your place as a vital minister to your small group. Below are two tools to help you identify your shape for ministry. Use the first tool to begin the process. Use your results to complete the second. Afterwards, talk about the results with your group leader and fellow members. Together you can figure out how you ...
Apply the success of Saddleback church to your small group program.
by Brett Eastman
I can remember it like it was yesterday. I had only been on staff at Saddleback Church for a few weeks when I learned that over 800 men from our congregation were planning to attend the Promise Keepers rally in Washington, DC. I suggested we try to launch some new small groups among the men going to the event. Over 300 said they were interested, but I only had half a dozen men to lead them—the ...
Encouraging people to start new small groups is a key to getting everyone connected.
by Stacie K. B. Maslyn
In Luke 14, Jesus tells a parable of a man in need of guests for the elaborate banquet he had prepared. To get these guests, he sent his servants out into the streets and alleys of the town to bring anyone they could find to his table. He told them, "Go out to the roads and country lanes and make them come in, so that my house will be full."
Pastor Kerry Shook shared this vision on a videotape given ...
How one church built groups from natural affinity groups.
by Life Together
When our church took a health assessment, we made an interesting discovery: People who were not in small groups rated themselves just as highly in fellowship/connectedness as people who were in small groups.
We used to view our church as hundreds of disconnected souls in desperate need of community. But we learned everyone in our church is connected to someone: a family member, co-workers, customers, ...
Recruiting is the holy act of helping others discover their leadership gifts.
by Roberta Hastenes
Some years ago I was responsible for recruiting someone to oversee a pastoral care program involving over 200 adults. It was a big job, and I was looking for a couple who could commit a great deal of time and energy to the program.
I prayed about this problem literally for months, wondering who would be willing and able to take on such a challenge. Eventually I sensed the Lord pointing me to Bill and ...
A few changes in the approach to small-group ministry can make a big difference.
by Life Together
Often small groups become a place in the church, where "every person (or small group) does what is right in his own eyes." Too often small groups operate independently like nation states, where the individual groups choose curriculum, choose frequency of meeting, and refuse any governing or leadership structure but their own. Everything tends to move toward chaos.
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