Dear Senior Pastor,

Just wanted to take a moment to remind you of a few things.  Most of them you probably already know.  A few you might’ve forgotten.  One might be a complete surprise.

First, if you want your church to be a church of groups, if you want your church to a be a church where nobody stands alone, if you want to be a church with more adults in groups than you have on the weekend…you have to be the small group champion.

You have to be the small group champion.  You can’t delegate that role.  You can’t farm it out to the small group pastor or director.  You can’t give that role to an elder or deacon who is really passionate about groups.

If you want to be a church with a pervasive small group ministry…you’re going to have to be the small group champion.  And there are two ways that you’ll need to step to the front:

• To begin with, you’ll need to champion community on your staff and among your key leadership.  You’ll need to model the idea that ministry is about doing life together.  Whether you do this naturally or not, you’ll need to learn to embed the idea of together in everything your staff and key leadership does.
• You’ll also need to begin to be the recognizable champion of grouplife in the congregation.  Doesn’t mean you can’t have announcements or bulletin blurbs that support what you talk about.  But it does mean that you can’t preach your sermon and then call up the small group pastor to “tell us what’s going to be happening with 40 Days of Purpose.”  Instead, you’ll need to begin to work stories about your own group and testimonies from group members and group leaders about the power of grouplife into the message itself.

By the way, I believe that one of the main reasons that Saddleback has connected over 130% of their weekend adult attendance in groups is that Rick Warren is the small group champion.

Second, if you want to reach into the crowd (and even into the community) you’re going to need to cast vision of life in community beyond the core and congregation.  That means that it can’t be an annual sermon on the importance of grouplife.  To actually reach the crowd (and even into the community) with this message, you’ll have to be talking about it 52 weeks a year.  Why?  Because while the core and even the congregation (to use Saddleback’s concentric circle idea) may attend 3 or even 4 times a month…the folks in the crowd are only attending once a month or once a quarter.  They may only be showing up for Easter and Christmas!  If you want to reach into the crowd, you’re going to have to talk about grouplife relentlessly (I believe this is the number one reason that Saddleback has connected over 130% of their weekend adult attendance in community).

Not only are you going to have to talk about grouplife more frequently, you’re going to have to learn to recognize and select topics that will appeal to spiritual newbies.  You’ll need to learn to choose from the easy end of what I call the Easy/Hard continuum.  When you choose a topic for your next church-wide campaign, it will make much more sense to choose Live Like You Were Dying or One Month to Live (or for that matter, to redo 40 Days of Purpose) in order to include the folks in the crowd.

Third, you’re going to need to coordinate themes and topics that emphasize groups throughout the year.  For the reasons I’ve already mentioned…you can’t take a one shot annual approach and hope to get it done.  Instead, you’ll need to think about how grouplife applies to almost everything and work it into the messages you do all year long.

Finally, you’re going to need to be the big gun, issuing a clear call to action.  When you take time in your message to ask for a response (and an easy way to respond is included in the service) the most effective outcome can be expected.  If it appears to be an afterthought…it will have that kind of response.  Ho hum, no big deal.  If you want a big response, you’re going to need to give the ask priority.

Senior Pastors…we’re counting on you to lead the way and let God use you and your position to build grouplife!

You can read my four part series on The Role of the Senior Pastor right here.

Are you on a countdown yet?  94 days for us.  94 days until we launch 40 Days of Purpose (The Sequel).  At first glance it seems like plenty of time.  Next glance seems like it’s coming too fast and there’s so much to do!

Here’s our “to do” list:

1. Recruit 40 launch phase coaches (who will help us launch over 200 new small groups)
2. Train the launch phase coaches using 4 teleconference sessions
3. Launch a new web-based small group finder that will allow unconnected people to find a group 24/7 online or after every service in the lobby
4. Develop the script for 6 DVD sessions
5. Find a great Parkview story to add to the front end of each of the 6 DVD sessions
6. Recruit a handful of current leaders who will share their story on 2 or 3 videos we’ll use in August weekend services
7. Work with our pastor to fine tune the August messages that will recruit over 200 new small group hosts
8. Plan and execute the 6 identical host orientations that will train over 200 new small group hosts
9. Recruit and manage the 24 hour turnaround data entry process that will populate the new small group finder and make over 200 new small groups visible in time to help thousands of adults at Parkview find a 40 Days of Purpose group
10. Develop the Host Kits that will distribute curriculum and “how to get started” materials to over 300 40 Days of Purpose Hosts.

The most important thing we’ll be doing isn’t even on this list.  We’ll be praying.

How about you?  Are you on a countdown?

“I can’t find enough leaders!”

Have you ever said that?  If you have, you’re in good company.  It’s one of the most common complaints of small group ministry point people.

Here are the five most common reasons you can’t find enough small group leaders:

1. You’re asking for the wrong thing.  I think this is one of the easiest parts of the challenge to fix.  If you’re not very careful, it sounds like you’re asking for a lifetime commitment to something that requires a lot of energy, hours of preparation, and a selfless quality rarely found apart from Mother Teresa.  Remember, the best candidates are already busy.  They’re already overextended in their work and at home.  If you want to add leaders you’re going to have to make it easier for the best candidates to ease their toe into the water.  This is one of the main reasons that the HOST and Small Group Connection strategies work so well.  They’re designed to start out as test drives.  The first key is to ask for the right thing.
2. You’re not looking in the right places.  Most small group champions spend their time looking for potential leaders among people who are already in a group.  After all, a lot of small group strategies have as a core premise that in order to lead a group you first have to be a member of a group.  The truth is that in most cases the majority of potential leaders are not yet in a group.  Unless your church is already pushing beyond 60 to 70% of your adult worship attendance in groups, the likelihood that your best candidates are already connected is pretty slim.  Again, this is why the HOST and Connection strategies make so much sense.  It’s also why a well-executed church-wide campaign can jump start leader identification and irrevocably change the landscape in your congregation.  The second key is to look in the right places.
3. You’re asking the right people the wrong way.  There are obviously some great people who are already in groups who ought to be leading a group.  All of us see that.  One of the earliest assumptions I developed was that many of the best leader candidates are pre-wired to be drawn to community and they end up in groups even in churches where there’s no real emphasis in group life!  You don’t have to give them a reason to get connected.  They’re already in a group.  You need to give them an inspiring reason to leave their group for a few weeks.  This is why the idea of inviting your existing groups to take a small group vacation works so well.  It’s not permanent.  it’s a few weeks.  And it has the potential to help many of the right people experience what it’s like to move from consumer to contributor.  The third key is to ask in the right way.
4. You’ve put up barriers that are keeping the right people from saying “yes.” For example, if I’ve got to be in a group first before I can lead a group, that’s a barrier.  If I’ve got to attend a 12 session leader training course before I can lead…that’s a barrier.  If the only curriculum I can use requires 2 or 3 hours of preparation, that’s a barrier.  Think very carefully about the barriers you put up.  Eliminate all but the most essential guardrails.  Think test-drive.  Think baby-steps.  Think about making it easy to get started.  You can help new leaders get started with an easy to attend orientation.  You can build in  on-the-job coaching.  You can offer decentralized skill training huddles led by your coaches.  The fourth key is to remove every unnecessary barrier.
5. The wrong person is doing the asking.  The churches that are having the most group life success, that are building the most effective systems, are the churches where the senior pastor is the small group champion.  End of story.  If your not getting your senior pastor in the game on a full-time basis…you’re missing out on the best way to enlist more of the very best people as leaders.  This is why building in a message series with built-in host recruitment before your church-wide campaign makes so much sense.  Don’t miss this important trick!  It will make a huge difference in your situation.  The fifth key is to use the right person to make the ask.

The last time I said, “I can’t find enough leaders” was about 10 years ago.  That’s when I began discovering the strategies that started me on the boundary-free path.

Need help?  It’s easy to schedule a coaching call or set up an on-site consulting visit.  You can find out more or get started right here.

If you want to give your members a gift they’ll never forget…use a church-wide campaign.  What Rick Warren calls a spiritual growth emphasis can have an impact that your people will still be talking about 10 years from now.  More importantly, done in the right way, a church-wide campaign can have a transformational impact on your community.

(Need help?  Click here to find out about my Church-Wide Campaign Coaching program)

Key Concepts To Incorporate Into Your Planning

Top 10 Reasons Church-Wide Campaigns Miss The Mark

The Exponential Power of a Church-Wide Campaign

Preparing for Church-Wide Campaigns

New Church-Wide Campaigns

In addition to the lists of church-wide campaigns that I’ve provided in 2008 and 2009, here are a few new offerings that you may not know about:

The Me I Want To Be, by John Ortberg, is now available as a church-wide campaign.  If you’re looking for a plug and play opportunity, this is a good one.  Although you’d need to position it carefully, it could be a study that would reach beyond your congregation and into the crowd that comes less frequently.  I can see this study being very powerful in January, while New Year’s resolutions are their strongest.

Life’s Healing Choices is a powerful 8 week experience based on The Beatitudes.  Used by Saddleback in the fall of 2009, this is the study that pushed overall group involvement to new heights with over 28,000 participants.  Integrating John Baker’s powerful book by the same name, and relying on many of the principles that have been so effective in Celebrate Recovery, this is a study that can have impact beyond the congregation.

Unexplainable: Pursuing a Life Only God Can Explain, by Don Cousins, is an engaging book and DVD that can be used as a campaign.  Particularly if you’ve done a campaign in the past and you’re only looking for content…this could be a good way to move your congregation spiritually.  While this isn’t a topic that will easily engage the crowd…it will be a way to help the congregation take a step toward greater commitment.

Create Your Own Church-Wide Campaign

As you’re planning your next church-wide campaign, keep in mind that you have several options.  In addition to a growing selection of off-the-shelf campaigns, many churches are choosing to create their own.  I’ve provided a few ideas for creating your own campaign right here.

If you’re thinking about creating a custom church-wide campaign…one that really fits your church and your mission…I want to encourage you to consider outsourcing the production to an experienced team.  The key reason that I suggest you at least consider having the project developed for you is that a church-wide campaign can be the very first exposure many people have to your church.  Neighbors and friends, invited to join a small group, will often see and hear your pastor for the first time in a living room.  It only makes sense to make that their first exposure ought to be a high quality experience.

I’ve provided a little more thinking on this idea right here, as well as a sample of one of the church-wide campaigns we developed for a great church in Texas.

John Ortberg’s latest, The Me I Want to Be is now available as a church-wide campaign (in addition to being a great study for individual groups to do).  Answering the question, “How can I become the best version of me?” the church-wide study will help your whole congregation take important steps in the same direction.

Delivered in the same format as many other church-wide campaigns:

• DVD-driven small group material
• Participant guides designed to be used in the group
• Available weekend sermon outlines
• Promotional resources including bulletin shells, postcards, posters, and powerpoint
• Discounts on group purchases

I like the feel of The Me I Want to Be.  The DVD reflects the learnings of the last few years.  Shorter teaching sessions make for a better more engaging experience.  Easy-to-use participant guide will encourage good participation.  More streamlined, with simpler implementation and fewer hoops to jump through.

If you’re looking for a church -wide experience that will take your congregation on a personalized journey…this is a good one.

• “I can’t find enough leaders to take care of the number of people who want to be in a group.”
• “Many of the people with the most potential to lead are just sitting in groups as members and won’t leave to start a new group.”

Sound familiar?  Those are two of the most common complaints of small group pastors, directors and champions.  You might as well admit it…we’ve all made those observations at one time or another.  I was right there with you until I discovered the secret of priming the leadership pump.  Here’s what I do:

First, I begin training every group leader to rotate facilitators.  This little step seems innocent and really not a big deal, but it is huge.  By training group leaders to rotate facilitators you counteract one of the most common objections of potential leaders.  “I could never lead a discussion” is an objection that melts away once a member begins to take a turn leading now and then.

I actually begin talking about the importance of rotating leaders in the HOST or Leader orientation.  I have them pull out the Small Group Agreement, work my way through the agreement, and tell them how to make rotating facilitators happen right out of the gate.  “If you start your group by asking one other person to help you lead it, you’ll be way ahead.  That’s assignment #1 as you leave this orientation.  Think about who you’d most like to have in your group and ask them to help you co-lead the group.”

The next thing I train new leaders to do (once they’ve recruited a co-leader) is go over the Small Group Agreement with their group, talk about the value of rotating leaders (30 seconds), finish session one of their first study, and then have everyone turn to the small group calender (provided if their group isn’t using curriculum with a built-in calender).  One of the columns on the simple calender is a sign-up opportunity to take a turn facilitating the group.  When the leader asks if anyone would like to take a turn, the co-leader can be the first to say “yes.”  That often gets at least one other “yes.”

An obvious requirement: In order to pull this off you’ve got to be using curriculum that makes it easy to lead.  DVD-Driven is a great choice.  You’ll find some good possibilities right here.  The key is to choose curriculum that has a just-add-water format that emphasizes discussion and downplays the importance of teaching a concept.  Look for transformation, not information acquisition.

The second thing I do is downplay the birthing idea.  I do like the idea of apprentice leaders and groups that birth.  I’ve just found that in practicality it rarely works.  Better to celebrate groups that develop rotating leaders and are becoming what Brett Eastman calls a “crockpot of leadership development.”

The third thing I do is create regular opportunities for groups to take a vacation and help start new groups.  I’ve written about how to build in the idea of a small group vacation into your annual calender right here.  Essentially, all you’re doing is leveraging an annual church-wide campaign to ask existing groups to consider not meeting for the six weeks of the campaign and instead, step out and help launch some new groups.

By building these three elements into your system you’ll be able to overcome the two biggest complaints of small group point people and raise up a nearly unlimited number of small group leaders.

I’m regularly asked how Saddleback can have more adults in groups than they have in worship.  People everywhere scoff when they hear the numbers.  And I have to admit, it is pretty wild.  After all, during Life’s Healing Choices, their most recent church-wide campaign, they had over 4,500 groups with over 35,000 people in them while their worship attendance was averaging 22,000 to 26,000!  (By the way, that’s not preacher talk.  Their database supported those numbers in September)

Ever looked at their numbers and shaken your head in disbelief…or amazement?  Here are my top 10  keys to understanding how they do it:

1. Saddleback talks about groups all year long.  While there may be certain weeks where group life gets even more attention (early fall as they launch their annual church-wide campaign, first of the year to catch people who have just made commitments at a Christmas Eve service or want to start the new year fresh, just after Easter for the same reason), they talk about the importance of being in a group every weekend.
2. It doesn’t matter who’s preaching (Rick Warren, Doug Fields, Tom Holiday, etc.), they talk about groups every weekend.  They talk about the power of group life and they mention their own group.
3. It doesn’t matter what message series they’re in, they talk about being in a group every weekend.  For example, during a 2007 message series on recovery they featured a different testimony each week on the power of being in a group (Celebrate Recovery, Divorce Care, Grief Care, etc.).
4. They have systematically made it easier to start new groups.  “If you have a heart for unconnected people, are willing to open your home for 6 weeks, serve a few refreshments, and tell a few friends…you can be a host.”  This is a huge point because they’ve recognized that there will be problems, they acknowledge going in that not all of them will make it, and yet they are committed to helping as many begin as possible because they know that every host is the best person to reach certain people.
5. They have systematically lowered the bar in terms of who can lead a group.  If you’re inviting your own friends and neighbors, why should you have to be Jesus Jr.?  They’ve provided great next steps for new hosts designed to help them get started and grow in Christ, but they’re not waiting until they have it all together.
6. They regularly develop new DVD-driven small group curriculum that is easy to use and can be facilitated by new and inexperienced leaders.  Just-add-water and plug-and-play accurately describe the degree of difficulty.
7. They immediately connect each of their newest leaders with a coach who can help them through the beginning stages.
8. Their newest groups are given a follow-up curriculum that is equally easy to use.  They don’t wait until they ask what’s next.  They actually begin talking about what’s next before the first series is completed.
9. Their topics for church-wide campaigns are carefully designed to appeal to the crowd.
10. A regular strategy is to ask their existing small groups to consider taking a small group vacation during church-wide campaigns and instead of meeting together, step out and help start new groups.

I believe an underlying principle for Saddleback is that they are always looking for a better way, an angle, that will help them connect more people.  I remember when everyone thought the Connection idea was crazy even as it launched over 800 groups and connected over 7,000 people in them.  I remember when the HOST idea first began to be used and many people thought it was completely crazy to allow someone to sign up to open their home.  What will be next?  It’ll probably seem crazy.  It may or may not work.  And I’ll be holding my breath…because if it works who knows what could happen!

When comparing small group ministry strategies and systems there are some fundamental questions to consider.

• What are the requirements to be a leader?
• What does a new member commit to?
• How will you care for the leaders?
• How does a new group begin?
• What materials can be used?

One of the most effective small group ministry strategies is centered on the idea that an annual church wide campaign is the easiest ways to launch new groups.  At its root it is a pretty simple strategy:

1. Choose the right topic for an alignment (weekend message series and small group curriculum)
2. Launch it at the right moment (there are three best times)
3. Provide a curriculum that is easy to use
4. Ask members and attendees to consider hosting a group and inviting their friends and neighbors
5. Provide a follow-up curriculum that is on an appealing topic and easy to use

5 key elements.  Admittedly, there’s a lot more to it, but those are the keys.  And clearly there are some important distinctions that you’d best not overlook.  For example, there are certain topics that are easy to invite friends and neighbors to and others that will just not work.  There are times on the annual calendar that are naturally better than others.  But when you get the keys right…this is a great way to organize a small group ministry because it answers many of the most important questions.

Still, it is not problem-free.  Wise leaders simply choose the set of problems they’d rather have.  Here’s a quick overview of some of the key disadvantages and advantages:

Disadvantages:

• It takes a lot of energy to pull off a church-wide campaign.  Regardless of church size, this is a high energy endeavor.
• It requires the focus of the whole church.  A church-wide campaign is not something you do while two or three other initiatives are being launched.
• You will have people sign up to host a group that may not meet your standards.
• Not all groups will make it.  Not all of them will even start, let alone finish the six-week study or continue to the follow-up curriculum.
• Choosing the right topic can be challenging.
• You may have to set aside normal practices to accomplish a church-wide campaign (i.e., “we’re in a year-long study of the Book of Acts).

Advantages:

• Focusing all your attention once a year on one thing brings energy, clarity and focus to your congregation.
• The right topic and curriculum can bring new vitality to outreach effectiveness.
• Recruiting hosts skillfully will identify a new wave of potential leaders.
• Encouraging ordinary members to take a step will open their eyes to new ways God wants to use them.
• Aligning weekend messages with a small group curriculum launches one conversation for 6 weeks bringing renewed focus to the congregation.

There are probably other advantages and disadvantages.  This is not a stand-alone strategy.  Many churches use it in combination with ideas borrowed from other strategies and systems.  But it has some distinct elements that can provide a renewed sense of purpose once a year.

Here are three additional articles on the church-wide campaign-driven idea:

• The Exponential Power of a Church-Wide Campaign
• How to Sequence a Small Group Launch
• Lessons from Saddleback: How to Launch Your Church-Wide Campaign

For an overview of the major small group strategies, check out my article, “How To Choose a Small Group System or Strategy.”

How will your hosts add members to their groups?  After you’ve chosen the church-wide campaign you will use and recruited hosts, determining how you will recruit members is a very big decision.  Along with the first two questions, this one has a lot to do with how effectively your campaign reaches into the crowd.  It also pre-determines the administrative challenge.  Here are a 5 things to keep in mind:

1. While geography can play a part in helping a new group form connections…it isn’t the only thing that matters.  For certain life-stages it isn’t a major factor.  The most important element in connectivity is affinity: what your group members have in common.  Several factors can help determine affinity.  Life stage and interests are two very important factors.
2. At some point every church grows beyond its leadership’s capacity to know everyone.  Once that happens it becomes more and more difficult to adequately match everyone who wants to be in a group with the right group.  Additionally, it takes time away from other tasks that are often more important.  This makes is less effective for the prospective new group member to fill out a sign-up form and turn it in, requiring the church to find a match.  I’ve found it more effective for most churches to make a list of the groups available and challenge their members to find a group that fits them.  This can be done in a low-tech way by simply making a list of the open groups available on a table in the lobby.  Slightly more advanced is adding a page on your website with a detailed list of groups (day and time they meet, what they are studying, specific affinity [ie., couples, young couples, women, singles, etc.] with contact information for the leaders (email and phone).  A very effective solution for many churches is to provide a searchable group finder that allows direct contact by phone or email with the host.  This is made very simple through the use of an application like GroupsInteractive or Churchteams.
3. Use of a web-driven strategy makes it possible to send out a church-wide email with a link back to your small group finder on the website.  This can be done easily with a plug and play email service like Constant Contact.  Sending out a church-wide email and adding a small group finder on your website are two ways to make it easy for unconnected people to find a group that fits them.
4. Another affinity factor that is often overlooked is that when the host begins filling their group by inviting friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members, it helps provide a sense of connection that is less likely when the church takes sign-ups and randomly assigns members to groups.  Equally, when your hosts invite their own friends and connections to join their group…it allows a reach into the crowd that isn’t possible when you simply take sign-ups on Sunday morning and then “deal out” the sign-up slips to hosts.
5. Use the host orientation to give your new hosts some vision and training on how to invite people to their group.  Providing invitations along with a script can make it easier.  Devote some time in the orientation to helping your hosts actively think through their connections and make a list of friends, neighbors and co-workers and make a list of who to invite.  Click here to download an example of what I use to do that.

Remember that in the same way your choice of topic and your host recruitment strategy determines your reach into the crowd…so does the strategy you use to recruit members to groups.  Encouraging your hosts to fill their own groups will help them have better connectivity.  Making it possible for members to easily find a group that fits takes some of the administrative burden off your team.

Looking for a sample message that casts vision for life in community?  You can download the audio of a great example by John Ortberg right here.  Here’s a link to the transcript.

Given in preparation for Menlo Park’s 40 Days of Purpose experience in 2004, this message provides a look at how Ortberg encouraged a large “join a group” response.

Keep in mind that this is a different message than the type that recruits HOSTs.  In developing a launch sequence, this message would be given after you’ve already recruited and trained HOSTs for a church-wide campaign.