How one church connected an entire congregation through small groups.
Allen White
"Connect 100 percent of your congregation into small groups."
Now that's a sales pitch.
Our church was stuck: A small number of our adults—only 30 percent—were involved in small groups. After seven long years of slugging it out the old fashioned way—raising up apprentices to birth new groups—we were headed nowhere. Only one leader started a new group. Connecting everyone in a group ...
With the right tools, your youth ministry can realize even your most "impossible" goals.
As a youth leader, you've got a tough road. Your job is to get a diverse group of busy, overwhelmed students to share one goal: getting to know Jesus Christ deeper and to make Him known to others. As if that isn't hard enough, you also want your ministry to be a place where students can find real friendships and ...
Seven questions that will lead to effective small groups.
by Jeffrey Arnold
John 15:1-17; Acts 2:42
1. What is the vision for small groups at our church? This question is fundamental. Answering it requires asking two more questions. First, what is our overall vision for what small groups can and will do in our church? (And, What is our biblical basis?) Second, what kinds of people in our church can and must be reached by the small group ministry?
Learn how to develop small groups that will be effective with men.
by Patrick Morley
As one leader put it, "A man is a hard thing to reach!" Yet few ministries have as much potential to revive our families, churches, and communities. When one man turns to Jesus Christ, it breaks a chain of bondage to sin and broken relationships. One changed man can set a family for many generations on a new course of joy, peace, and reconciliation.
Here's how churches are redesigning their systems ...
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. ...
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 ...
Multiplying small groups can be difficult, but the rewards are worth it.
by Randy Frazee
Many groups are resistant to the idea of multiplication. It's difficult to break up an existing group for the sake of reaching out to new people. Having babies—creating new communities—is painful, but the trade-off is better than remaining evangelistically barren. How do you keep a group focused on the gospel's command to be outwardly focused? Here are a few principles for fostering an environment ...
John Atkinson is the discipleship pastor and home-teams director for Bay Area Fellowship in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is co-author ofGo Big with Small Groups.
Building Small Groups: Can you give us a brief summary of your experience with re-launching a small-groups ministry?
Use these five steps to launch a successful ministry.
by Don Cousins
As a whole, ministers are rarely accused of not working hard. But I want to make sure I'm also working smart.
When I look at the marketplace, which I often do as a strategist, I see leaders who are forced to work smart because there's a bottom line telling them if their strategies are working. But in the ministry, the bottom line remains more intangible. It's difficult to evaluate how well we're doing, ...
Before you start a small-group ministry make sure you believe in it.
by Brett Eastman
So many of us have been there—you wake up in the middle of the night feeling pulled toward starting a small group ministry at your church. But by morning you still have no clue how to go about it.
I'll tell you this: If you're a pastor wondering how to go about launching a small group ministry, start by asking yourself, "Is a small group ministry something I truly value and can excite others with?" ...
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