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It’s Christmas Eve in the morning. I don’t know about you but here in Las Vegas it’s 39 degrees but nice and warm inside.  There was a thin spot of ice near the edge of the pool yesterday.  Meanwhile the palm trees are lit for the season.

We’re about halfway through Christmas Eve services at Canyon Ridge. Very exciting!  In the years ahead we’ll hear lots of stories about “I came for the first time to a Christmas Eve service in 2012.”

When I think about the meaning of the season…I can’t help but wish you a Merry Christmas and hope your season is bright.

It’s been over four years since I published my first post here at MarkHowellLive.com.  Today marks my 900th post!  Time really flies when you’re having fun.

My mission from the very beginning has been to push the boundaries of small group ministry; equipping point leaders with strategies for the 21st century, reviews of the latest small group ministry books and the best small group curriculum, interviews with ministry innovators, and tips and ideas for small group leaders.

The coolest part?  Connecting with all of you in the process!  There’ve been almost 70,000 unique visitors from 174 countries.  Not a day goes by that there aren’t visitors nearly 24 hours a day from around the world.  That is amazing!

I need to thank my sponsors (ChurchTeams, Liquid, Lifeway, Zondervan, NavPress and IVP.  Thanks for making this possible!

And thanks for letting me play a part in your ministry.  Thanks for stopping by.  And don’t be a stranger!

mark

I very rarely update you on the goings on for the Howell family, but wanted to bring you up to speed on a big move for us.

We landed at Parkview Christian Church in February of 2010.  Joined a great team on a really great mission.  Led by Senior Pastor Tim Harlow, Parkview has been one of the fastest growing churches for something like 7 of the last 9 years.  So exciting to be part of what God is doing in southwest Chicago.

The last two years have been quite a ride for us.  The number of small groups and people in them has almost tripled.  Men’s and women’s teams are really solid and cranking out great opportunities, designing next steps for every Parkview man and woman and first steps for their friends.  Our GroupLife Midwest 2012 conference was very cool.  Really, really been a fun time.

But…a feeler extended by another great church in Las Vegas caught our attention.  5 hours from my parents and 4 to 5 hours from a sister and her family and a brother and his family.  Lots of geographic reasons to give the opportunity a hard look.  Throw in a leadership role and a chance to impact a region like Vegas…what’s not to love about that!

Still, we’ve loved every day here at Parkview.  Made some awesome friends.  Connected with many ministry leaders throughout Chicagoland.  The relationships are the toughest things to leave behind.

My first day in the office at Canyon Ridge Christian Church as Pastor of Discipleship Communities is February 29th.  Hope you’ll give me a shout if you’re out that way!  And…you might as well honk if you see two silver cars streaking toward warmer weather with Illinois plates.  Just might be the Howells!

I have a lot to be thankful for today.  And I’m definitely thankful for my readers!  The opportunity to be involved in ministry with you is a very good thing.  Thank you for the chance to play a part!

Praying you have a great day wherever you are.

Blessings,

mark

Looking for grouplife resources?  Here are folks that help make MarkHowellLive.com happen:

Live Like You Were Dying: a church-wide campaign inspired by the Grammy award winning song.  Developed by a team that helped launch the 40 Days of Purpose, the DVD features teaching by Gary Smalley.

Churchteams: a pioneer in small group ministry software, Churchteams now provides an all-inclusive church management system.

God’s Story, Your Story: Published by Zondervan, Max Lucado’s newest book is available as a 6 week church-wide experience.

Building Biblical Community: Developed by Lifeway, this 4 session group experience kit features Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen.

Liquid: a unique story-driven line of DVD curriculum.

101 Great Ideas to Create a Caring Group: this classic grouplife resource is published by NavPress.

The Story: this new church-wide campaign is published by Zondervan and features Randy Frazee.  Sign up to receive a copy of The Story sampler and DVD curriculum sampler (while supplies last)

Interested in advertising your product or service?  Here’s how it works.

You have an idea of where you’d like your small group ministry to go.  It might be a pretty vague idea.  It might be close-your-eyes-and-picture-it accurate.  But you have an idea.

MarkHowellLive is all about helping you get to there…to where you dream of going.

I think getting to there begins with an accurate appraisal of where you actually are right now.  Not wishful thinking.  Not highwater calculations (like how many groups you had in 2004 when your church did 40 Days of Purpose.  None of that.  Instead…the road to there begins with an honest and accurate appraisal of where you are right now.

Want to get to there?  I want to invite you to start by subscribing to my blog.  There are three ways to subscribe and you can do that right here (they’re all FREE).

What does signing up for my blog get you?  Just a steady drip of practical ideas and strategies designed to help you build a small group ministry that works in the 21st Century.  You’ll also find reviews of the latest grouplife curriculum and church-wide campaigns.  Want a taste?  Take a look at some of my favorite posts.

Need to know a little bit more about my background?  Check out my about page or what leading grouplife practitioners or consulting clients are saying about me.  If you need personalized help, the fresh eyes of a strategic outsider…take advantage of my coaching or consulting services.

Whether you’ve never been here before or you’ve found me more than once by searching for a small group ministry related topic…I invite you to sign up to get my updates.  If you’re a small group champion (paid staff or volunteer), you’ll find regular encouragement here.

Looking for grouplife resources?  Here are folks that help make MarkHowellLive.com happen:

Live Like You Were Dying: a church-wide campaign inspired by the Grammy award winning song.  Developed by a team that helped launch the 40 Days of Purpose, the DVD features teaching by Gary Smalley.

Churchteams: a pioneer in small group ministry software, Churchteams now provides an all-inclusive church management system.

Advent Conspiracy: enter to receive a free Advent Conspiracy DVD download.

Building Biblical Community: Developed by Lifeway, this 4 session group experience kit features Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen.

Liquid: a unique story-driven line of DVD curriculum.

101 Ways to Reach Your Community: this new Steve Sjogren resource is published by NavPress.

The Story: this new church-wide campaign is published by Zondervan and features Randy Frazee.  Sign up to receive a copy of The Story sampler and DVD curriculum sampler (while supplies last)

Twelve: a global online gathering for small group ministries and ministry leaders.

Interested in advertising your product or service?  Here’s how it works.

New to MarkHowellLive.com?  With almost 500 articles, there’s a lot here and I wouldn’t want you to miss out on anything.  Let me take a moment and show you around!

First, if you’re looking for a certain topic (i.e., church-wide campaigns, small group curriculum, small group strategy or leader tips), take a look at my archives.  I’ve created an archive short-cut on the menu bar at the top of the page.  Or, if you know the title (or part of it) of the article you’re looking for, use the Google search feature in the sidebar to the right.  It’s fast and very accurate.

Second, take a moment and subscribe to my blog.  It’s FREE and you can choose from 3 ways to have the content delivered fresh (by email, RSS, or a twice monthly e-newsletter).  Click here to get started.

Third, if you’re wondering who I am and need a little more info about what I do, you can check out my “about page.”

Finally, if you’re looking for personalized church-wide campaign coaching, strategic consulting, or a speaker for your upcoming retreat or staff development meeting…you can find out about consulting and speaking right here.