As I mentioned yesterday, the first step in the diagnosis of your small group ministry is a thorough examination of your existing groups. Depending on the number of groups in your system (and whether you’re new on the scene), this may be an easy job or may take you some time. It’s important though, because this part of the diagnosis forms an important baseline for future examinations.

There are several items that you will want to know about each of the groups on your list. There is also a little bit of sequence to the way you begin the diagnosis depending on your relationship with the leaders.

How To Collect Information

Let’s take a look first at how to collect the answers. I normally use an email survey. They’re inexpensive to use and easy to set up. I use surveymonkey.com but you may prefer zoomerang.com. You can also simply provide a handout at the small group table or call through your list, but I think you’ll find most of your leaders will appreciate the ability to simply take the brief survey online.

Building Your First Survey

Second, you’ll want to set up the survey to retrieve some basic information. Keep in mind that the length of the survey determines the number of responses you’ll receive. Ask too many questions and some of your leaders will not complete it. Here is what I asked on a recent census:

• Name and best contact info (email and phone)
• Is your group currently meeting (yes, no, we’re on a break but plan to resume)
• If you’re not meeting what is the reason you stopped? (You can provide a list of options or a blank for them to complete. I prefer to provide a list of options and a blank for “other.”)
• If you plan to resume, when you do plan to resume?
• When did your group begin meeting? (Again, you can provide a list of options or a blank for the leader to complete. I prefer a list of options, especially when I know some details about the history of group life in the church. For example, if the church launched groups with 40 Days of Purpose in 2006, that would be an option.)

Although there are other questions you’d like to ask, these are the basics. If I keep the survey short, I’ll develop permission to survey them again to find out other details (like “What are you studying?” or “How many of your members take a turn at facilitating?”)

Important Sequence Details

As I’ve mentioned, the length of time you’ve been on the scene plays a role in how you take this baseline survey. If you’re brand new, be sure and start with a letter or email of introduction. It’s even better if the email comes from someone like your senior pastor. Follow the introductory letter with an email that asks the leader to take two minutes to complete a “brief, 5 question survey” (or however long you’ve made it). Be sure and include a thank-you page in your survey.

If you use a tool like surveymonkey.com or zoomerang.com you’ll be able to keep track of your leaders responses. Send out a follow up request 5 to 7 days later to catch any stragglers. Call the remaining group leaders at 10 days.

Next up in the series is an important look at diagnosing the leaders in your system. You can read How To Diagnose the Leaders in Your System right here.

What produces a genuinely deep connection?  Is it just time spent with someone?  Or are there other essential  ingredients?

When I listed what I called the top 10 axiomatic beliefs of group life, I included the belief that “the longer a group is together the more deeply connected the members become.”  I’ve heard this argued hundreds of times, mostly in response to the idea that good groups grow and birth.  “But we’ve just started to really connect!  How can you ask us to send out Bob and Carol now!”  You’ve probably had the discussion too.  You may have been on either side of the argument…

But the question is, what really produces a deep connection?  And if you’ve been observant in group ministry you’ll know right away that there are plenty of groups that have been together for a long time and still really don’t know each other all that well; certainly wouldn’t consider themselves “knit together in love.”  So what causes that?

I believe there are at least two other ingredients that play a bigger part than time when it comes to deep connection.  First, a common understanding of the purpose of the group is essential.  If half the group’s members long to “do life together” and the other half is really only in it to meet some kind of obligation to the church or pastor…it’s unlikely to get very far.  Does it need a common purpose from the beginning?  No, but you’ve got to help them get there pretty quickly, probably within the first 3 to 4 months.  This is where the idea of a group agreement or covenant is beneficial.  Clearly stating the purpose of the group can start the group on a course for a deeper connection.

The second essential ingredient is intentionality.  Groups don’t drift into a deeper connection.  Group members choose to go deeper.  Sometimes life chooses for us.  We’ve all seen groups that responded to a crisis in the life of a member and found that they had somehow grown closer.  Short of life crowding in, an intentional approach to how group life happens produces a deeper connection.  Developing a spiritual health plan that incorporates  accountability can be an expression of intentionality.  Can you introduce this in the first week?  Probably not.  But you’d best not wait too long.  Group norms harden pretty quickly and it becomes much more difficult to introduce new ideas after about 6 to 9 months.

You may have identified other essential ingredients.  The key is to recognize that more than time is required.  Without a purpose and intentionality, groups are unlikely to develop a deep connection.  And without a deep connection, life-change, the kind of life-change we hope will happen…will be much less likely.

“The optimal environment for life change is a small group.”  No doubt you’ve heard that line over the years and even used it yourself to explain the importance of a thriving small group ministry.  But is life change automatic?  And if  it’s not automatic, what has to happen to produce it?  What are the essential ingredients of life change?   Can they be identified?

Let’s tackle those questions one at a time.  First, clearly life change is anticipated, but not automatic.  Right?  A few years ago I met a man who told me he had been in a small group with the same four men for 32 years. 32 years!  That is amazing.   But while it’s amazing, don’t we all know of groups that become great friends but no one ever changes?   I wanted to ask, “Where’s God working on your life right now?  How’s your group helping with that?”  But…that was a conversation that didn’t happen.

I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of Paul’s words in Philippians 3:13-14: “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me.  Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus.  I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” I think the same thing every time I read those words.  If Paul saw that he wasn’t there yet, then I’m not either, and that is my goal.

So how does it happen?  If life change is not automatic, how can it be produced?   And what are the essential ingredients?   Let me at least lay down a few ideas.

• Intentionality.   While growth can be spontaneous and happen without a plan, determining a destination and the steps that lead there is a key step.  I’ve found that some kind of assessment that leads to a plan is an essential ingredient.
• Authentic life-on-life interaction.   Some version of accountability, whether you’re implementing the idea of a spiritual partner or something less formal you’re unlikely to see real change without this ingredient.
• Learning that is guided.  While some of your group members may be able to find their way without guidance, most will wander aimlessly.  Providing study material that leads in the right direction is very important.
• Balancing the purposes.  One of the best developments to come out of the Purpose Driven movement is the conviction that growth happens as a result of health and healthy is a result of balance.   Spending all your time and energy on fellowship and discipleship at the expense of ministry and evangelism will not produce genuine life change.  Using a tool such as the Purpose Driven Health Assessment will help you to see where you’re out of balance.
• Personal time for prayer and reflection.  Time in God’s word, journaling, memorizing scripture, prayer…are all essential ingredients and must be part of any plan.

Thoughts?   We’d love to hear what you’ve found helpful in the journey.  In fact, would you take a moment and complete our 3 question survey?  Click Here to take our survey!

With the launch of our own One Month to Live campaign just 2 1/2 weeks away, I thought I’d share a few secrets of a great Host Orientation…one that encourages new leaders and connects them with a coach.  I’ve tried a lot of different things, tweaked the plan multiple times, and have found that a few details can make a huge difference.  Here are the keys:

• Send a letter to all Host sign-ups immediately after they fill out a sign-up form.  It should be from the pastor encouraging each volunteer and include the important details about the orientation(s).
• Assign each host to a coach and have the coach call them to invite them to "sit with me at the orientation."
• Have each coach "host" a table at the orientation and seat their hosts with them.
• The basic format of the orientation should be: (1) welcome (90 seconds), (2) thank you for your commitment by the senior pastor (90 seconds), (3) time around tables for coaches to connect with hosts (7 to 10 minutes), (4) introduce curriculum, show ease of use, play a couple minutes of the DVD, walk through some of the keys of session one (15 to 20 minutes), (5) provide some coaching on how to invite a few of their friends to attend the group (10 minutes), (6) Q&A.

If you follow this basic format you’ll accomplish a number of important things.  First, you’ll give your pastor a time to adequately thank new hosts and recognize the coaches.  If your pastor is the one who points out the high caliber of your coaching team it will do a lot to help new hosts feel special and supported.  Second, providing some time around the tables for coaches to connect with hosts will allow them a really good face-to-face opportunity to begin an important relationship.  Last, a few minutes helping them see how easy it is to use the curriculum will greatly reduce their anxiety about facilitating.

One of the distinctives of the purpose-driven small group strategy is that healthy groups balance the 5 purposes.  Now, you may not think of your church as purpose-driven…that’s ok.  You don’t have to think of your church that way to benefit from an understanding of the benefit of this idea.

So what does it mean in a group to balance the 5 purposes?  Here it is.  If you think about the experience of most of the small groups you’ve ever been in, you probably will remember a subtle drift toward longer times hanging out in the kitchen eating chips and salsa, possibly good discussions about the Bible around the coffee table, and not a lot else.  Oh, you may have begun with the idea that you’d like to serve together in some outreach opportunity, but in most groups the gravitational pull toward fellowship with a very small twist of discipleship is too strong to overcome.

Is there any hope?  Or are groups just doomed to settle for the fellowship and discipleship tango?  Actually, it is possible and many churches are very effectively implementing the idea of balancing the purposes.  It takes intentionality, but it can be done.  Here’s how.

You may remember having a new tire balanced at the tire shop.  As the tire spins on the balancing equipment, the technician is able to see where additional weight needs to be placed in order for balance to occur.  See where this is going?  In the same way, balance comes not by giving equal time to each of the purposes, but by placing greater emphasis on the parts that need added weight.  Make sense?

So, for balance to occur in your group you may need to spend more time and energy on the purposes that don’t naturally draw you attention.  Attending a worship experience together, tackling an outreach project in your community or serving in an on-campus ministry are all elements that will help "balance" the natural drift toward an over-emphasis on the purposes that come so easily to most of us.

What’s your next step?  Taking the Purpose Driven Life Health Assessment allows your group members to see what their strengths and weaknesses are.   It’s a free download.  You can take advantage of it RIGHT HERE.