Has COVID-19 altered the design of your small group ministry?

If it has, have you found yourself playing defense? Or offense? (or both, come to think of it).

This has been a challenging season (understatement of the year).

And the season is turning out to be a disruption (and not just an interruption).

What's the difference between an interruption and disruption? An interruption causes a brief pause in our normal routines but a disruption brings permanent changes.

Since COVID-19 has disrupted the ministry landscape (and not just interrupted it), it is likely time to reevaluate the design of your small group ministry.

Here are 10 practices you need to adopt going forward:

1. Think digital first.

Bottom line, COVID-19 has made digital essential and also alerted many of your congregation, committed and core to the upside of online (i.e. no travel time, no need for childcare, attend the service in your pajamas, have dinner while your group is meeting, etc.).

At the same time, online has likely been your church's true front door for at least a decade. A "how did you hear about us?" survey would likely reveal that a large majority of new attendees check out the website and watch a service before they ever step foot on your campus.

If your church is like most, as consistent on-campus attendees have become less frequent, your online attendance has probably increased.

What does this mean practically?

Begin thinking about the digital implications of what you're already doing and what you're planning to do. Retrain your team to start conversations by thinking about the best digital options going forward.

See also, ARE YOU SPEAKING THE NATIVE LANGUAGE OF THE PEOPLE YOU’RE TRYING TO REACH? and EVERYONE YOU HOPE TO ENGAGE IS ONLINE

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