What’s next for me and MarkHowellLive.com

As many of you know, I left my last active role on a church staff in August of 2021. A set of philosophical differences with an incoming lead pastor just made my brand of small group ministry a poor fit for Canyon Ridge. When that has happened before (two times out of six moves), we…

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Don’t Miss One at a Time: A 6-Week Study by Kyle Idleman

Did you miss this one? I did. One at a Time is Kyle Idleman’s 2022 entry into the church-wide campaign list. Based on a book written by Idleman and published in January, 2022, and a video series (available on RightNow Media and the Southeast Christian Church website), One at a Time offers an outstanding glimpse…

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How (and Why) to Draw Saddleback’s Concentric Circles to Scale

If you’ve been along for much of this conversation, you know I love a good diagram. Saddleback’s “concentric circles” diagram has tremendous application and I’ve used it a lot to explain things like crowd to core strategy and engagement pathways. This version of the concentric circles diagram has been used many times to illustrate the…

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Making Small Group On-Ramps Easy, Obvious and Strategic

This is a two-part concept. First, so that we’re all on the same page, let’s start with a definition: on-ramp: noun [on-ramp, -awn] an entrance lane for traffic from a street to a turnpike or freeway We all know what an on-ramp is when we’re driving, right? But when we’re talking about small group ministry…it’s…

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Centered: Experiencing a Life in Christ

I’ve spent some time with Centered: Experiencing a Life in Christ, a 9 session study written by Cindy Western and Crossings Community Church in Oklahoma City. Centered is used by Crossings Community Church as the study material that anchors a 10 session experience.* “Centered, a ten-week discipleship journey. explores the meaning of a Christ-centered life…

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Would THIS help you launch more new groups this fall?

If your church is like most churches, the fall ministry season is an important part of your annual strategy. As school begins and summer vacations come to an end there is often an attendance bump. In some communities the end of summer and the beginning of fall is accompanied by the largest number of new…

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