The goal of all our training efforts has to be, first and foremost, Christ being formed in the lives of everyone involved. That is why a small group leader's greatest asset is always a tight-knit relationship with God. Small group leaders need to learn about group dynamics, time management, delegation, multiplication, etc.; but most importantly they must be growing spiritually and helping their small group grow spiritually. This is tough work, because spiritual maturity is not a matter of mastering a few lessons to gain biblical knowledge. There is also character, habits, relationships, and vision. When I founded ChurchTeams.com, part of the original vision of this ministry was to build an Internet tool to help assess disciple-making and team-building progress and to help track the ebb and flow of spiritual growth.
Biological growth is recognized by maturity of different systems of an organism. In humans, these include the cardiovascular, skeletal, reproductive, digestive and nervous systems. Similarly, spiritual growth can be recognized by the maturity of different spiritual systems. There are many models of these systems among churches today that are very useful for patterning and tracking individual spiritual growth. However, many churches do not have a system developed or one that is easily accessible by group members and leaders.
Because of this need, ChurchTeams.com developed a system called GrowthFinder, which is designed to use the Internet as a tool to help individuals, small groups and whole congregations to see clearly how they are growing. It also gives them quick, customizable access to tools available that can help them to focus on needed areas of attention. GrowthFinder is built around a generic discipleship ...
