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“What if I’ve got a coach that really isn’t a good fit for the job?”  That was one of the questions I was asked in a recent survey here at MarkHowellLive.  Another question was, “We need more leaders!  How can I encourage more of our congregation to step up and lead a group?”

I want to suggest that the answers to these two questions are actually related.  Might seem strange…but follow along.

I think a key to effective small group ministry is building a culture of test drive first.  Here’s how it works for members, leaders and coaches.

Members: Be sure that you’re marketing groups as a test drive as opposed to a lifelong commitment.  For example, “In the upcoming message series there will be a group curriculum that goes along with what we’re learning on Sunday.  If you’re not in a small group, we want to invite you to take a test drive.  It’s a six week commitment.  We have groups meeting all over the place.  And you’re invited!  Just fill out the…”

The Small Group Connection strategy is another way to encourage people to try a group.  It’s an event that launches 6 week test drives.  “Feel like a face in the crowd?  Join us at the next Small Group Connection.  Give us one hour.  We’ll help you get connected!”

The key to the concept is to make it okay to only take a baby step.  Lyman Coleman recognized long ago that 6 weeks is short enough to encourage people to try a group and long enough to allow the good stuff of community to begin to have an impact (a very loose paraphrase).

Leaders/Hosts: Much like encouraging people to simply try a group, it is possible to implement a strategy that helps more people try leading a group.  Here are two that work well:

• The HOST strategy invites members (and attendees) of the congregation who have a Heart for unconnected people to Open their home for 6 weeks, Serve a few refreshments, and Tell a few of their friends.  It’s a test drive!  There’s no commitment beyond the 6 weeks (although you hope it’s a great experience and they want to continue).
• Invite existing groups to consider “taking a small group vacation” and instead of meeting together for the upcoming church-wide campaign, pair up with another couple or a few singles and host a new group.  A group of 12 can help launch 3 groups!  There’s no commitment beyond the 6 weeks (although you hope that many of them have such a good experience they want to continue).  It’s a test drive!

Coaches: An important aspect of good recruiting is to give people an opportunity to do the function before you ask them for a formal commitment.  Sometimes this is expressed as function before form.  I’ve learned the value of getting to know prospective coaches informally, sizing up what I perceive as the right kind of character and influence, and then inviting them to “help me take care of these 2 new leaders for the next 8 weeks.”

Notice…I’m not calling them a coach.  There’s no job description.  There’s no real training.  And there’s no commitment beyond the 8 weeks.  To them, it’s an opportunity to serve.  To the leader they’re helping, it’s invaluable.  To me, it’s an opportunity to assess their potential.  If they’re really not a good fit it’s easy to simply thank them for their help and move on.  If they do what I’ve asked them to do and they enjoy it (both elements are critical), I’ll invite them to meet with me and then I’ll go over the job description of a coach.

Test Drive First

Can you see how a philosophy of test drive first makes a difference?  I want to encourage you to evaluate each of these aspects in your ministry.  I know it will make a difference in the response you’re getting.

If you haven’t taken my survey you can do that right here.

What are the keys to sustaining the groups you launch?  Although there are many variables, I’ve found there are two that are often missed…and they are both easy to build in to every group in your system.  What are they?  Multiple facilitators and multiple locations (The idea for this article came from a survey I’m running right now.  If you haven’t completed it, you can do that right here).  Here’s what’s going on:

• Multiple Facilitators: Nearly every group that begins will have a best facilitator.  When that person becomes the only facilitator the group is dependent on their presence.  If they are out of town or sick the group often misses a step.  If they move away…the group is almost always toast.  The key is to begin developing multiple facilitators from the beginning.
• Multiple locations: In the same way, groups often settle on a best place to meet.  It may be the home that’s best set up for childcare.  It may be the most central location or the most comfortable.  It may even just be where the best snacks are produced.  No matter the reason, when a group can only meet in one location it becomes dependent on that one host.  If they’re out of town, are sick or move away…the group often dwindles or dies.

What can be done?  Obviously, there are some differences for new groups and existing groups.  Here they are:

New Group Strategies

First, launch new groups with an intentional plan for both keys.  Here are two ideas that I always include in my new leader orientation:

1. Ask every new leader to identify and recruit a co-leader as their first assignment.  Regardless of the launching strategy, beginning with a co-leader allows every new group to begin with more than one facilitator (and more than one location).
2. End the first or second meeting of new groups with a quick look at a calendar.  Ask members to sign up to share the load of bringing refreshments, hosting the meeting in their home, or taking a turn facilitating a sessions.

Existing Group Strategies

Second, although you may be tempted to leave well enough alone in your existing groups, they can still adjust their style and add these keys to sustainability.  Here’s how:

1. Begin by measuring the number of groups that have more than one facilitator and meet in more than one location.  This becomes your baseline.
2. Identify any groups that are dependent on a teacher (as opposed to a facilitator).  This one variable accounts for a large number of groups that are vulnerable.  A solution is to periodically introduce a church-wide curriculum using a format that is easier to facilitate.  Challenge the teacher to use these opportunities to develop members who can facilitate.
3. Select a variety of recommended studies that are easily facilitated.  Look for studies that include easy-to-follow leader notes or are DVD-driven.
4. Challenge your existing leader/facilitators to begin developing additional facilitators.  Encourage members to take a turn on an upcoming session (or even a section of an upcoming session, for example the icebreaker question or the prayer time).

Do you have questions you’d like answered?  Complete my brief survey and get into the action!  You can take it right here.

Easter is just around the corner (April 4th) and with it comes one of the three best opportunities to launch groups.  So that you don’t miss a trick, I’ve scheduled a free 60 minute teleconference designed to help you increase the number of groups launched as well as the number of people connected.

There are two times available:

• Thursday, March 11th at 10:00 a.m. (CST)
• Tuesday, March 16th at 10:00 a.m. (CST)

You can sign up for the call right here.

Already have your strategy in place?  You might pick up one tip that could add another 10%.  Haven’t even thought about it?  It’s not too late.  You can still put some moves in place that will make a big difference.

Sign up right here and don’t miss out.

Want the scoop but can’t listen in at those times?  I’ll be making the recording available only to the people who sign up for the call.  You can do that right here.

Have you taken a look at your calendar yet? Easter is April 4th. That’s important for two reasons. First, it’s less than five weeks away!  But I’m sure you knew that already.  The second reason that’s important is that it is more than four weeks away…and you can get a lot done in that amount of time…if you start now.

(I’m offering a FREE 60 minute conference call packed with ideas and tips on how to launch more groups.  You can sign up right here)

FIRST STEP: Planning

The first step is to pull out the calendar and actually lay out your plan.  Taking advantage of Easter to launch groups means that you’ll probably announce a small group connection or encourage people to sign up to join a small group…on Easter.  Using a special insert to make sign-up easy is important.  In addition, you’ll want to reserve the room for the small group connection (or identify enough leaders or hosts to serve as group starters).

Another important planning element is to identify the curriculum you will use to launch groups.  We’ve talked before about the Easy/Hard continuum.  This is a time to choose a small group study on the Easy end.   And this is a good time to have this decision to make.  There are some great studies out there that are on engaging topics and because they’re DVD-driven, they’re easy to use.  Choose a study that is no longer than 5 or 6 sessions.  That makes it easier to commit to but long enough to begin building some connective tissue.  Pick one that you can hold up on Easter as you talk about joining a small group.  Put up a slide showing the cover as you talk about it.  Also, many of the DVD-driven studies include a short promo video.  If it’s appropriate in your service you may want to show the promo.

SECOND STEP: Preparation

Over the next four weeks you’ll have some work to do.  If you’re going to use a small group connection event on April 18th, you should begin to include an insert on Easter (April 4th).  Talking about it on Easter will give you some momentum and allow you to repeat the promotion three weeks in a row (including the day of the connection).  Using the same insert each week allows your congregation to see that this must be important because you’ve highlighted it repeatedly.

If you’re planning to recruit hosts or leaders to serve as groups starters (instead of a connection event) you’ve got just enough time to recruit them and train them.  They should be recruited for a 12 week commitment.  Although you’ll be using a 5 or 6 week small group series, you’ll want the hosts or leaders to be in place for a little longer.   An important strategy is to begin talking about the next curriculum at about week 4 of the first study.  If you can keep them together for two six-week series they’ll be much more likely to stay together.

No matter which strategy you’re planning to use to launch new groups you should also plan to connect your new group leaders with a coach; someone to walk alongside them for the next few weeks.

STEP THREE: Implementation

Once you’ve laid the groundwork you’re ready to launch some new groups.  With your insert in place and your connection event calendared for April 18th (or your hosts/leaders cued up to begin) you’re ready to promote the new study.  Let’s take a moment to look closely at how to promote it.

There are two very important parts of promoting a small group launch: placement and format.   Where you place your promotion is huge.   The ideal placement is in the message itself.  You can really get a lot of mileage out of a well-timed reference to the importance of authentic, life-on-life fellowship in our lives.   If all you can get is an announcement, make the best of it and use the promotional video that comes with the study.  At a minimum, be sure you’ve got a slide with a picture of study, any important dates, etc. If it fits in your sermon to refer to it, have them pull out the insert right then and drop it in the offering later in the service.  Even better if you can say, “In your program is an insert.  It looks like this.  Take it out and while you’re doing that I want you to welcome Bob and Carol (who are ready to share how meaningful their group has been to them).”   That will take you about three minutes.  But it is a huge advantage and well worth the time.

Ready to Try It?

It’s a great opportunity to launch additional groups before fall.  Don’t miss it!

Need a little help developing the plan? Let us help you! Join me for Take Advantage of Easter, a FREE introduction to our telecoaching services. Two available times:

• Tuesday, March 17th at 8:00 am (PST), 1:00 pm (EST)
• Thursday, March 19th at 8:00 a.m. (PST), 1:00 pm (EST)

You will learn:

• 3 Secrets That Will Increase the Number of New Groups
• How to develop the launch time line

Space is limited. Don’t miss out!  Sign up right here.

There is a new spiritual formation series out that you need to know about.  The Good and Beautiful God, by James Bryan Smith, is a must have for your curriculum resource shelf.  More importantly, it just might be what you need personally to take an important next step.

You’ll get some sense of this book’s potential by learning that Smith was mentored by Richard Foster, and has had connections with Henri Nouwen, Brennan Manning, and Rich Mullins.  To top off his preparation he co-taught a class with Dallas Willard at Fuller for 10 years.  That is quite a pedigree.  When you begin to work your way through The Good and Beautiful God you’ll see that the author’s time with mentors like these was well spent.

Although a person can read the book and do the exercises individually, it really is intended to be worked in community.  Each chapter is immediately followed by a soul training section.  The intended pattern is that you read each chapter thoroughly, complete the exercises, reflect on what you’ve learned, interact with your group about your experience, and then continue to interact offline.

Each individual chapter tackles an under-the-waterline negative narrative that are “running (and often ruining) our lives.”  For example, in chapter two (on God is good) Smith considers the narrative that “God is an angry judge.  If you do well, you will be blessed; if you sin, you will be punished (p. 40).”  Countering that narrative is Jesus’ own narrative that “his heavenly Father is good–good like no other: ‘There is only one who is good (Matthew 19:17).’”  Following the examination of Jesus’ own narrative is an exercise intended to instill an awareness of God and His creation.

Clearly, this is a resource that will work well for groups that have been around the block a time or two and are looking for something that will take them deeper in their connection with God.  The key might be your awareness of it and your recommendation.  Since the default drive of many seasoned groups is often motivated by an interest in learning more about the Bible (book series), they won’t necessarily pick up a book that takes them deeper experientially.  Your recommendation will make it more likely.

If you’re looking for a resource that will provide depth and experience, The Good and Beautiful God is a good one.  I highly recommend it.  Let me know what you think!

By the way, this is the kind of book I’ve used in the past to help the coaches on my team experience a kind of life that helps them pass on the right thing to the leaders they’re working with.  Remember, whatever you want to happen at the member level will have to be experienced by the leader first.  Life on life is the primary way transformation happens.  A book like The Good and Beautiful God could set in motion quite a stir in your system.

There is a reason that an annual physical is recommended.  Although we may show up for the physical with some concerns, a thorough physical examination will sometimes identify developments that we did not sense already.  In much the same way, an annual diagnosis of your small group ministry is a good idea.

I’ve already identified several areas that need examination.  One of the most critical areas is senior pastor buy-in.  Why?  Because it is impossible to build a pervasive small group culture without senior pastor buy-in.  That is not an overstatement.  It is the plain truth.

Symptoms of Healthy Senior Pastor Buy-In:

• Your senior pastor is actually in a group.  Start there.  That they are in a group is the first indicator of health.  Note: They do not need to be leading a group.  In fact, that they could be in a group they are not need leading might be a healthy thing.
• Your senior pastor refers warmly to their group and group members.  This is a little on the warm fuzzy side of diagnosis, but the key is that their group participation isn’t a check-off item.  An earmark of genuine buy-in is that their group is a source of joy and encouragement.
• Your senior pastor refers publicly to their group.  Not to say that they would necessarily identify members by name, but that they’re open about the personal benefits of being in a group.
• Your senior pastor is the public face of your small group ministry.  That role is not delegated.  Regardless of who has the title of Small Group Pastor or Director, churches with pervasive small group ministries, churches of groups, are clear about who is the small group champion.  It is the senior pastor.  They are leading the public charge for group life.  Saddleback is the great example of this where Brett Eastman, Steve Gladen, and Ron Wilbur have carried the official title of Small Group Pastor but Rick Warren has been the unwavering small group champion.
• Stories about group life are frequently included in your senior pastor’s sermons (story, live testimony, video, etc.).  Although the degree of frequency may vary, the ideal is constant reference.  Again, the example is Saddleback’s weekly reference to the importance of being in a group.
• Your senior pastor takes strategic advantage of the natural seasons for small group emphasis.  Although they refer to group life year round, they are personally committed to leveraging key moments during the year to produce small group ministry momentum (late September/early October, late January/early February).

Prescription:

Diagnosis is essential.  So is prescription that moves your ministry in the direction of health.  The challenge for many of us is that moving in the direction of small group ministry health is about leading up.  Unlike your influence on small group leaders or coaches, if you are going to provide guidance for your senior pastor it won’t be by telling them what they must do.  It will be by becoming a resource and a help.  Here are some ideas that you can use:

1. Regularly pass on the best stories about the benefits of group life.  When you hear a good one, be sure and tell it to your senior pastor.  Make it your business to find good stories.  Build it into the way your coaches operate (“What’s the best thing happening in your group right now?” should be every coaches first question).
2. Become a talent scout and a video producer.  You should always be on the lookout for great stories that could be live testimony or recorded on video.
3. Release your senior pastor to be in a refreshing group.  Encourage them to hand pick group members that are safe.
4. When there’s a church-wide study that’s about inviting neighbors and friends, encourage everyone (including your senior pastor) to start that group with a preselected co-leader (who can keep the group going once the pastor returns to their safe group).
5. Become a student of group life strategy.  Your understanding of how church-wide campaigns work, how to sequence a small group connection, and how to leverage video or live testimony to promote groups (along with many other ideas) will help your senior pastor succeed.

If you missed The Summit: A Convergence of Small Group Experts you missed a great 90 minutes.  But it’s not too late!  They filmed it and you can watch it right here.  What a great conversation!  Bill Donahue, Steve Gladen, Carl George, Lyman Coleman, Bill Search, Reid Smith, Rick Howerton, Randall Neighbour, Eddie Mosely, and Greg Bowman.

This is a great 90 minute conversation.  You’ll definitely come away with some great takeaways, some concepts that will immediately become part of your thinking.  Whether you watch it now or later…don’t miss it.  You can watch it right here.

One of the most important steps in diagnosing your small group ministry is to accurately assess the health of your coaching system.  Much like your physical body, having a respiratory system is essential…but it has to be a working respiratory system.  Here are what I think are the most important diagnosis questions about coaches:

• Have you developed a job description for the coaches in your system? This is a prerequisite step.  It will be very hard to diagnose without a set of expectations.
• Do you have coaches in name only? They may have the title, but they’re really only place-holders.  You learn that you need one coach for every five small group leaders…so you recruit a few “coaches” but they’re not the right people and they really don’t do anything.  Expectations are very low and their work is never seriously inspected.  Symptoms: Small group leaders don’t know who their coach is or can’t remember the last time they talked.
• Do you have 30-Folds in the place of 100-Folds? This is a very common mistake.  It is a great temptation to use “warm and willing” instead of “hot and qualified,” but it is a huge mistake.  I’m using Jesus’ “30, 60, and 100 fold” to describe the relative capacity of people.  When you put a 30-fold into a slot you need to realize that they’re not going to be able to influence even another 30-fold.  Don’t let idealism get in the way of reality.  Symptoms: Leaders aren’t drawn to their coach.  No zip to the relationship.
• Do you have 100-folds wearing multiple hats? This is also very common.  You get the right people on the team but don’t help them clear their calendar.  Bandwidth is a precious thing.  If you’ve openly declared small group ministry to be a key to your strategy, you’ll need the full attention of these key players focused on this one responsibility.  Symptoms: Coaches aren’t clear on what to prioritize.  Leaders don’t feel prioritized.
• Do your coaches have clear objectives? This works both ways.  Coaches are often unclear about what their role is.  This results in their defaulting to a kind of accountant, checking on whether the group meets, who is in the group, etc.  The flip side is that leaders are also unclear about the role of their coach.  Their most common comment is that they don’t need a coach. Symptoms: Leaders don’t look forward to connecting with their coach.  It’s a chore for both parties.
• Fo you have unrealistic expectations for your coaches? This also works both ways.  Many times a new coach is recruited and released into action without anyone preparing the leader.  Because first impressions are so important this results in an unexpected call and results in an insurmountable barrier between the new coach and the leader.  On the flipside, the leader is introduced to their coach but poorly prepared for the coach’s involvement.   Thinking that the coach is a watchdog or an accountant when they could be a mentor.  Symptoms: “Who are you?  Why are you calling me?”
• Poor matches between coaches and leaders? This may be the second most common problem with the whole coaching idea.  I refer to it as “the arbitrary assignment” issue.  Here’s the situation: I’ve got 20 groups and I want to develop a healthy span of care so I recruit 4 coaches and deal out my leaders.  Five for Bob.  Five for Steve.  Five for Joe.  And five for Debbie.  And we’re done.  The problem is that it’s tough to make a meaningful assignment that way.  It’s arbitrary.  Symptoms: The start-up energy is too great and takes too long before actually paying off and seeming like a good investment to either coach or leader.  It’s a formality.
• Was there a time lag between the group’s beginning and assigning the coach? This is the number one problem and the main reason coaching fails.  Without question the easiest time to assign a coach is at the very beginning.  Any time after that only increases the likelihood that the graft won’t take.  Once a group has made it through their first 6 to 12 meetings they’ve figured out most of the very basic coaching issues (how to engage Sue’s husband, how to help Bob and Carol to come on time, how to help Bill not dominate, etc.).  The groups that couldn’t figure out the basics are dead anyway.  They often don’t make it through this season.  The leaders of the groups that do make it have legitimate questions about why they need a coach.  Symptoms: “Why do I need a coach?”

Coaching is an essential element of an effective small group ministry.  These questions should help you diagnose your current coaching solution.  For more information on building an effective coaching structure, take a look at my four part series.

You can read the next article in this series, Diagnosing Senior Pastor Buy-In, right here.

Once you’ve gathered the basic information about the groups in your system, it’s time to find out a little more, to look more closely at the leaders themselves.  And as I mentioned in the first article in this series, there is a purpose to this step.  From your diagnosis you’ll learn a lot about how to help your leaders and what needs to happen next in the development of your system.

There are several components in diagnosing the leaders in your system.

• How did they begin as a leader?  Were they chosen at a connection?  Did they volunteer as a host initially?  Were they developed as an apprentice and then help launch a new group?  Were they a member in a group and then took over as a leader after a previous leader stepped down?  As you can see, there are a number of ways that a person might have ended up as a leader.  Can you see how understanding the path they’re on might be important to know?
• Do they see themselves as a leader/shepherd of their group?  Or do they see themselves as simply a host (someone who just opens their home and turns on the DVD player?
• Are they open to being discipled or developed?
• Do they have an active  connection with a coach in your system?  Do they have a “name only” connection with a coach?  Have they rejected a previous coaching assignment?
• Do they see themselves and their group as an extension of the ministry of your church?  Or would they describe themselves as “not really affiliated with your church?”
• Do they actively participate in leader training/encouragement events?
• Does their group participate when there is a church-wide study or alignment?
• Do they actively follow up when a potential new member expresses interest in their group?
• Do they do everything for their group?  Or are they actively sharing leadership with other members?
• Do they lead every session?  Or are they rotating the facilitation among their members?
• Does the group always meet at the leader’s home?  Or are they rotating their meeting place?

These are the basic questions I use in developing an understanding of the leaders in my system.  You may have others.  The key is to actively develop a better understanding of the leaders who are building the members in your groups.

You can read the next article in this series, How To Diagnose the Coaches in Your System, right here.

As I mentioned yesterday, the first step in the diagnosis of your small group ministry is a thorough examination of your existing groups. Depending on the number of groups in your system (and whether you’re new on the scene), this may be an easy job or may take you some time. It’s important though, because this part of the diagnosis forms an important baseline for future examinations.

There are several items that you will want to know about each of the groups on your list. There is also a little bit of sequence to the way you begin the diagnosis depending on your relationship with the leaders.

How To Collect Information

Let’s take a look first at how to collect the answers. I normally use an email survey. They’re inexpensive to use and easy to set up. I use surveymonkey.com but you may prefer zoomerang.com. You can also simply provide a handout at the small group table or call through your list, but I think you’ll find most of your leaders will appreciate the ability to simply take the brief survey online.

Building Your First Survey

Second, you’ll want to set up the survey to retrieve some basic information. Keep in mind that the length of the survey determines the number of responses you’ll receive. Ask too many questions and some of your leaders will not complete it. Here is what I asked on a recent census:

• Name and best contact info (email and phone)
• Is your group currently meeting (yes, no, we’re on a break but plan to resume)
• If you’re not meeting what is the reason you stopped? (You can provide a list of options or a blank for them to complete. I prefer to provide a list of options and a blank for “other.”)
• If you plan to resume, when you do plan to resume?
• When did your group begin meeting? (Again, you can provide a list of options or a blank for the leader to complete. I prefer a list of options, especially when I know some details about the history of group life in the church. For example, if the church launched groups with 40 Days of Purpose in 2006, that would be an option.)

Although there are other questions you’d like to ask, these are the basics. If I keep the survey short, I’ll develop permission to survey them again to find out other details (like “What are you studying?” or “How many of your members take a turn at facilitating?”)

Important Sequence Details

As I’ve mentioned, the length of time you’ve been on the scene plays a role in how you take this baseline survey. If you’re brand new, be sure and start with a letter or email of introduction. It’s even better if the email comes from someone like your senior pastor. Follow the introductory letter with an email that asks the leader to take two minutes to complete a “brief, 5 question survey” (or however long you’ve made it). Be sure and include a thank-you page in your survey.

If you use a tool like surveymonkey.com or zoomerang.com you’ll be able to keep track of your leaders responses. Send out a follow up request 5 to 7 days later to catch any stragglers. Call the remaining group leaders at 10 days.

Next up in the series is an important look at diagnosing the leaders in your system. You can read How To Diagnose the Leaders in Your System right here.