You can register and listen to the recording of this call right here.

Easter is just around the corner (April 4th) and with it comes one of the three best opportunities to launch groups.  So that you don’t miss a trick, I’ve scheduled a free 60 minute teleconference designed to help you increase the number of groups launched as well as the number of people connected.

There are two times available:

• Thursday, March 11th at 10:00 a.m. (CST)
• Tuesday, March 16th at 10:00 a.m. (CST)

You can sign up for the call right here.

Already have your strategy in place?  You might pick up one tip that could add another 10%.  Haven’t even thought about it?  It’s not too late.  You can still put some moves in place that will make a big difference.

Sign up right here and don’t miss out.

Want the scoop but can’t listen in at those times?  I’ll be making the recording available only to the people who sign up for the call.  You can do that right here.

Looking for game changing insight that will help you right now with your small group ministry?  Listen in to my interview with Alan Danielson at 11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. CT, 8:00 a.m. PT).

How to join the call:

Telephone: 1-616-918-8000

Pin: 1034206#

Today’s call features a discussion about three hot topics:

• Pick and stick. Quit changing models every time you read a book or go to a conference.
• Break the box…but don’t throw it out. Don’t stop innovating while you stick to your model.
• Measure Maturity.  Counting groups and participants only tell us so much.

Who’s Alan?

You can get the full 411 right here.  The short story is that Alan has great hands-on experience in churches that are really getting it done in small group land (notably LifeChurch.TV where he was the Central Team Leader for Life Groups and gave leadership to over 1,000 groups on 13 campuses in 6 states).  He is a consultant and speaker and a great friend.

How to join the call:

Telephone: 1-616-918-8000

Pin: 1034206#

Can’t make the call today?  Be sure and sign up to get my update.  All of my interviews are recorded and added to an archive that you can listen to later.

Small Group Fraternity

The Small Group Fraternity is a group of small group pastors and directors from around the country.  About 18 times a year we meet up on a conference call and interview leading small group ministry writers, innovators and practitioners.  Although you’d recognize many of their names (Joe Myers, Carl George and Bill Donahue) we also find cutting edge small group ministries that are trying new things and not yet on the radar.

Miss Henry Cloud’s Willow Creek Group Life conference call?  You missed a great conversation about “Safe People / Dangerous Groups.”  Really fantastic with some great takeaways.  You can listen in right here or you can pop over to the Group Life Facebook site to check some of the comments.  Also helpful to search twitter with #grouplife to see the thread there.

Not subscribed here?  Be sure and sign up to get the updates!

Thursday, September 3rd, 12:00 to 12:45 pm CDT

Click here to register

Trying to figure out why your small group ministry isn’t really delivering the results you’re looking for?  Resigned to the fact that in your church it just doesn’t work?  I want to suggest that there are probably some underlying assumptions that are keeping you from seeing things a different way.

One of the most important books I’ve read in the last decade has been Gary Hamel’s The Future of Management.  Particularly chapter 7 on escaping the shackles.  There are some ideas in that chapter that have come to shape my thinking about what is possible and what we could be doing in small group ministry.

I want to invite you to join me and the Willow Creek Association Group Life team for a conversation on how to apply Gary Hamel’s principles to your ministry.  I know you’ll find it helpful.  I believe you’ll leave with some next steps that will make a difference.  You can join the conversation from your home or office.  And…it’s free.

Thursday, September 3rd, 12:00 to 12:45 pm CDT.

Click here to register!

We talk a lot about life-change in small group land.  We often say that the optimal environment for life-change is a small group.  I regularly tell people that the weekend service—even with inspiring worship and practical teaching—is closest in kind to a defibrillator.  You know that thing they use on you when you’re on the gurney and someone yells, “Clear!”  It can jump-start an irregular spiritual heartbeat.  But it’s not permanent.  It’s temporary.  As soon as you’re back in the car on the way to lunch and the traffic backs up and the kids are screaming, you’re right back to where you were earlier.  A defibrillator only provides temporary jolt.  What’s surgery or therapy?  Life-on-life.  If I know that you’re meeting me at the restaurant and will be asking how I’m doing, I’m more likely to press on and work on the things we’re working on together.  If you want real life-change, you need life-on-life.  That’s therapy or surgery.  That’s where I know you well enough to be used by God to actually help you change.

So…how does life-change really happen at the member level?  I contend that being in a group is not what causes it.  There’s nothing magical about sitting around a coffee table and talking.  No, what I’ve found so often is that if you want life-change to happen at the member level, something will have to happen to the leader of the group…first.

Let me say it this way.  Whatever you want to happen at the member level, will have to happen to the leader first.  If you want your members to experience what it feels like to be prayed for, encouraged in tough times, held accountable, cared for, challenged, laughed with and cried with, listened to…if you want your members to have this experience…someone will have to be doing it to the leaders of your groups first.

And that is where the rub is.  Why?  Well, for one thing, Jethro had it right when he told Moses, “The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone (Exodus 18).”  Ever felt like Moses?  Maybe it was working pretty well and then you added four more groups (and that made 15 total).  Or maybe you launched groups last fall and trying to keep all 21 new leaders going just about friend you.  And on top of all that, you’ve got other responsibilities.

What’s the solution?  Is there a solution?  Yes.  It’s the one that Jethro had for Moses.  “But select capable men from all the people—men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain—and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens.”  Ever wonder where the coaching idea came from?  There it is. Divide the responsibility among capable people.

You can’t do it all.  At the same time there are limitations to what any one person can do.  I like the way Carl George said it, “Everyone needs to be cared for by someone, but nobody can care for more than about 10.”

The lesson?  If you want life-change to happen at the member-level, it has to happen to the leader first.  If you want it to happen in the life of the leader…you’ll need to develop leaders of leaders.

The question?  How is that going?  Are you actually working that edge of the puzzle?  Or have you tried to make it work and it just hasn’t gone anywhere?  Want a sample of my course on building an effective coaching structure?  I want to invite you to join me for a free taste of coaching call that will get you started on the right foot.

Got plans this week?  Why not join me for Take Advantage of Easter (to launch groups), a FREE introduction to our telecoaching services.  Two available times:

• Tuesday, March 17th at 8:00 am (PST), 1:00 pm (EST)
• Thursday, March 19th at 8:00 a.m. (PST), 1:00 pm (EST)

You will learn:

• 4 Keys to Launching Healthy Small Groups this Easter
• Secrets of developing a winning launch timeline

Space is limited.  Don’t miss out!

New 4 Week Telecourse:  Launching Groups That Connect with Your Community

Looking for a way to connect with your community?  Trying to figure out how to develop a "crowd-to-core" small group strategy?  Available for limited time at $49.95, our new 4 week telecourse could be just what you need.  Packed with practical ideas and a detailed strategy…  

You will learn how to:

1. Plan for maximum impact.
2. Recruit the right team.
3. Engage your whole congregation.
4. Sustain the largest number of groups.

You will receive:

• 4 sixty minute conference calls
• Access to full recordings to share with your team
• Complete outlines

When does it begin?

• Tuesdays, March 3  to March 24, 2009
• 8:00 a.m. PT, 10:00 a.m. CT, 11:00 a.m. ET

Have you begun testing the waters of video conferencing yet?  Maybe you’re light years into it and have it all figured out…but if you don’t, can I steer you toward a couple things? Maybe three?

In my consulting work, I’m beginning to use video chat to make it better than a conference call.  To do that, you’ll need a camera.  I’m going with the Logitech QuickCam Pro 9000 and the Logitech ClearChat Comfort USB Headset.  You can read more (and even order your own right here.

Where am I going to use them?  How am I going to use them?  Although Skype has been around for several years, there are some other great, easy solutions for video chat.

Google’s new video chat is one that you definitely need to check out.  Free.  Easy to use.

Another great option is TokBox. Whether you’ve got a team that’s scattered (think coaches or community leaders) or you’re part of a national coaching network like the Small Group Fraternity, TokBox gives you the ability to host a Brady Bunch-like display that will allow your team to see each other.  Best part?  It’s free.

Looking for a way to stay up on the latest small group ministry strategies?  Take advantage of the Small Group Fraternity!
What's the Small Group Fraternity about?

• Exposure to the best strategies and latest ideas in small group ministry
• Your whole team can participate
• Interviews with people like Carl George, Bill Donahue and Joe Myers
• Q&A opportunities you'll rarely get (even at a conference)
• Round table discussion forums on new strategies and solutions
• Information about the newest curriculum and campaign resources

How Does It Work?

Subscribe to the Fraternity like you would a magazine…only it's a teleconference that meets 18 times a year.  18 sixty-minute calls (12 interviews with people like Carl George and Bill Donahue, 6 case studies generating great discussion about strategy and ground-breaking ideas).  The calls are recorded…if you miss one, pull it down from our password-protected website.  Members of your team can call in from wherever they are (or listen to the call later).

How Much Does It Cost?

$295.00 per church includes access to the website, call-in number and password for the conference calls, participation in a unique conversation with small group pastors and directors from pace-setting churches around the nation.

Need a Sample?  Enter your name and email to receive a link to listen in to two recent calls.

There are four essential ingredients to a preliminary discussion about launching healthy small groups off an event (like Easter).  They may sound oversimplified…but these are the keys:

• Begin with the end in mind
• Recruit a solid hundred-fold team to a 10 to 13 week commitment
• Choose a curriculum that is easy to use
• Give every new small group something to do next that is similar in kind…by week 4

If you’re joining us for today’s teleconference, here are the links I mention:

• Circle and Square
• Easy/Hard Continuum
• How to Build an Effective Coaching Structure
• Launching a Healthy Small Group Ministry