7 Key GroupLife Deal Breakers…and the Workarounds You Need to Know

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Deal breakers. We know them. Sometimes they're in the fine print. Sometimes they come out later. But we know them.

Pretty much every endeavor has them. Every occupation. Every business. Every relationship.

Deal breakers.

In the land of grouplife there are deal breakers and then there are deal breakers. Here are what I think are the 7 key deal breakers:

1. A senior pastor who delegates the champion role.

The small group champion role cannot be delegated. The most influential person in the congregation must play the role of champion. In 99.9% of all churches the most influential person is the senior pastor.

The small group champion role cannot be delegated. The most influential person in the congregation must play the role of champion. In 99.9% of all churches the most influential person is the senior pastor. Click To Tweet

It may not be a permanent workaround, but making sure that your senior pastor hears the best life-change stories and how to use them to support values they hold dear goes a long way. I've "staked out" more than one senior pastor in order to get big stories into their messages. See Your Senior Pastor as Small Group Champion Leads to a Church OF Groups

2. GroupLife and Authentic Community as a selection on the buffet.

Relegating small group membership and authentic community to a selection from a buffet of options lowers the probability that everyone will experience it. If the small group is the optimal environment for life-change, allowing that probability to be lowered is a fool's game.

Relegating small group membership and authentic community to a selection from a buffet of options lowers the probability that everyone will experience it. If the small group is the optimal environment for life-change, allowing that… Click To Tweet

One of the best workarounds I've discovered is to find ways to encourage all ministry leaders to incorporate the same essential ingredients. See A "Plated Meal" Leads to a Church OF Groups

3. Unrealistic expectations about priorities and commitment.

How much of your program is based on the availability and attention span of another era? If you have a Sunday evening service or a Wednesday night prayer meeting, you're using forms that were common 20 to 30 years ago and may be trying to add grouplife as an additional expectation in an era when the pace of life will not accommodate one more thing.

How much of your program is based on the availability and attention span of another era? If you have a Sunday evening service or a Wednesday night prayer meeting, you're using forms that were common 20 to 30 years ago and may be trying… Click To Tweet

A workaround might be to begin to repurpose your Sunday evening or Wednesday night service to include the essential ingredients of life-change and then present them as on-campus options alongside off-campus alternatives. See Unexamined Expectations about Priorities and Commitments for more.

4. Leader requirements that exclude ordinary people.

High leadership standards is almost always motivated by genuine concerns. At the same time, raising the bar too high makes it unlikely that you'll find enough leaders to connect everyone. Churches that are committed to connecting everyone learn to make it easy to take the first step into leadership and nearly automatic that new leaders step onto the development conveyor belt.

High leadership standards is almost always motivated by genuine concerns. At the same time, raising the bar too high makes it unlikely that you'll find enough leaders to connect everyone. Churches that are committed to connecting… Click To Tweet

As a workaround, propose an entry level opportunity like Steve Gladen suggests in Saddleback's Leadership Pathway. See Leader Requirements: Raising the Bar, Lowering the Bar, or Open Bar?

5. Ineffective leader development.

Whatever you want to happen in the lives of the members of your groups must happen first in the lives of group leaders. One of the main environmental factors limiting small group ministries is that groups struggle to become more than a good way to connect people. Unless your small group leaders are being discipled and developed, they are unlikely to do the right things to and for the members of their groups.

Whatever you want to happen in the lives of the members of your groups must happen first in the lives of group leaders. One of the main environmental factors limiting small group ministries is that groups struggle to become more than a… Click To Tweet

Need a workaround? Build in the right kind of coaching. See Coaching FAQ: What Is the Role of the Coach?

6. Matchmaking as an essential ingredient to connect with a group.

If your small group ministry has more than 5 to 10 groups, it will be increasingly difficult to help unconnected members find "the right group for them." In addition to being increasingly difficult, investing limited staff time in matchmaking comes at the expense of something else (notably, investment in developing and discipling coaches and leaders).

If your small group ministry has more than 5 to 10 groups, it will be increasingly difficult to help unconnected members find the right group for them. In addition to being increasingly difficult, investing limited staff time in… Click To Tweet

A great workaround is to provide events that connect people and a 24/7 way that unconnected people can find a group that fits without going through a matchmaker. See What's the Best Way for People to Sign Up and Commit to a Group and Matchmaking: Making It Easy to Find a Group

7. GroupLife as an annual emphasis.

If the only time you ever talk about small groups is once a year during the fall, you're going to have a hard time connecting beyond the usual suspects.

If the only time you ever talk about small groups is once a year during the fall, you're going to have a hard time connecting beyond the usual suspects. Click To Tweet

A key workaround is to develop an annual grouplife calendar and create additional easy opportunities that lead to a group. See 5 Keys to Launching Groups Year Round

Need Help?

How to Diagnose Your Small Group Ministry is a 4 session mini-course designed to help you get into the details of what you're doing, spot the flaws in your ministry and correct them. You can find out more right here.

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