MarkHowellLive.com » Housekeeping

Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark Howell — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:54:30 +0000

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

Check Out These Small Group Ministry Resources

Mark Howell — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 11:42:47 +0000

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.

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.

Check Out These GroupLife Resources

Mark Howell — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 11:54:03 +0000

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 Here?

Mark Howell — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 12:59:31 +0000

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.

Great Resources for Small Group Ministry

Mark Howell — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 11:44:53 +0000

I know many of you only read MarkHowellLive.com by email or RSS reader and haven’t actually been by the website lately. If that’s your story, you might want to take a look at these great resources for small group ministry. And now a word from our sponsors:

Live Like You Were Dying is a church-wide campaign inspired by the Grammy award-winning song recorded by Tim McGraw that has touched millions and features video teaching by Gary Smalley.

The Power of a Whisper is a church-wide campaign based on the new book by Bill Hybels designed to to help Christ-followers better listen for God’s whispers of direction, challenge, and counsel — and act decisively in response.

GroupsInteractive is powerful and simple search tool that helps churches and ministries connect people to small groups.

Love at Last Sight is a church-wide campaign based on the new book by Kerry and Chris Shook designed to help your congregation focus on what matters most in life; loving Christ and loving others with Christ’s love.

ChurchTeams will revolutionize your small group ministry by making finding a group simple, communication with your leaders easier, and what’s happening system-wide understandable to staff.

Good Questions Have Groups Talking provides an extensive catalog of downloadable curriculum for small groups.

If you have a product or service that makes small group ministry better, you may want to take a look at advertising here at MarkHowellLive.com. Email me for details. I’d love to have you join our team!

How To Stay Up To Date with GroupLife

Mark Howell — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:23:46 +0000

How do you stay up to date with what’s happening in GroupLife? After all, there’s a lot happening…and there are cool stories everywhere! Maybe you just count on me to pass it along (and I’m really glad you stop by here to see what I’m talking about). But you really should have a few blogs and websites that you read regularly. What’s the best way to do that? Read on…

Although you probably have a few sites bookmarked, there is a faster and more efficient way to stay up to date. Subscribing to the feeds of the blogs and sites you’d like to keep up with is very easy and makes for a lot less wandering around. Plus, you can be notified when there’s something new (as opposed to stumbling across it the next time you remember to check it out).

Simple Method of Staying Up To Date

I subscribe to the blogs I want to keep up with. There are almost always two ways to do that. You can subscribe by email (when you do that you get an email when there’s something new). You can also subscribe to the RSS feed and check it out using an RSS reader. You can see an example of these options on the subscribe page here at MarkHowellLive.com.
I use Google Reader to keep up with the most of the blogs I follow. It’s really, really easy. And it’s free. All you do is sign up for Google Reader and then add the feeds to the blogs you want to keep up with. You can be up and running in less than 5 minutes.
There are a few blogs that I subscribe to by email because I want their content when it comes out (I only subscribe to 3 or 4 this way). Most of what I follow is on Google Reader and I check it out several times a week.

This Is Moving Week!

Mark Howell — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 16:20:22 +0000

Hey everybody! Just wanted to keep you posted about what’s coming here at MarkHowellLive.com. I’ve accepted a position at Parkview Christian Church in Orland Park, IL and will begin my new role there on Sunday, February 21. So…we’re moving this week.

As you can imagine…internet access will be a little hit and miss this week. I can tell you this though. I’ll be launching a new series in the next few days about how to diagnose existing small group ministries and implement new strategy without making enemies! As we’ve talked about many times, sometimes fresh eyes are super important in an organization. If you want to operate boundary-free…you’ve got to do things you’ve not done before.

In the meantime, take a look at the archives. There’s some very helpful stuff if you just pick a month (like January or February of 2009) and poke around! And I’ll be back in a few days.

Just-In-Time Coaching for Small Group Ministries

Mark Howell — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:36:13 +0000

If you’re reading this article, you may not know about Just-In-Time Coaching for Small Group Ministries, my twice a month recap of the most important articles here at MarkHowellLive.com.

And it may be that the rhythm of the blog suits you better. You may prefer the idea of getting everything on the day that it prints.

Special Offers

It may also be that you’re unaware that there are times when Just-In-Time Coaching features a special offer, like a deal on coaching or consulting. Last week’s edition contained an offer for my January offer of 25% off of coaching and consulting. Worth checking out if you’re even slightly stumped or need a pair of fresh eyes.

Unique Content

There is also often a special lead article that is unique to the newsletter. For example, take a look at this article that was included in the August edition.

Easy to Forward

Another advantage to Just-In-Time Coaching is how easy it is to forward to a staff member or colleague from another church. Give it a try! Just copy this link into an email and send it on. http://www.aweber.com/b/eOqv

You’ll look smart…and I may pick up another subscriber!

Easy to Sign Up!

It’s easy to sign up. You can do it by clicking here. Keep in mind that it’s a double opt-in sign-up. That means you’ll need to reply to the confirmation email that comes after you sign up.

Thanks!

And if I haven’t said it lately, I’m glad you’re along for this journey! This is one of those things that are really better together.

Merry Christmas!

Mark Howell — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 15:21:01 +0000

I hope you have a very merry Christmas…filled with the richness of God’s great love. I hope you are surrounded by friends wherever you are. And I hope your cup overflows on everyone you encounter. God bless you at Christmas!