Need a short video that casts the right vision for small group ministry?  One that caught my attention in 2011 was Flaws of Biblical Proportions.  Take a look.  If you haven’t seen this one, you’ll be figuring out how to use it:

Can’t see the video? You can watch it right here.

Yesterday we talked about the 7 numbers that matter most in small group ministry.  As important as quantitative measurement is, today we need to talk about gathering stories, the qualitative aspect of small group ministry.  Why?  Let’s just say that while your ministry intelligence depends on the numbers we gathered yesterday, lives actually hang in the balance and depend on the stories you gather.

Lives Hang in the Balance

Really?  Lives hang in the balance?  Uh…..yeaaah!  Stories might be the single most compelling ingredient whether you’re talking about recruiting leaders or casting vision for a small group as the optimal environment for life-change.  As much as you might hope that a powerful sermon extolling the first century example of Acts 2:42 will compel a response, often overwhelming twenty-first century evidence suggests that nothing is as compelling as personal testimony.

How do lives hang in the balance?  Every opportunity to persuade and encourage an important spiritual step, might be the last opportunity.  At the risk of sounding melodramatic, there are lives in the balance every time the doors are opened or the conversation ensues.  Every time.

How to Gather the Most Compelling Stories

There are at least four ways to gather stories:

1. Coaches can be taught to ask, “What’s the best thing happening in your group?” or, “What’s the best thing that happened in your meeting last night?”  These simple questions often prompt the recounting of story unlikely to be heard by senior pastor or staff (without the question).
2. Make it your practice to provide regular opportunities for small group leaders to share stories.  This form (or your own version) completed at a small group leader gathering will often surface several compelling stories.
3. Become a story maven; a collector of stories.  Always be asking people for their story.  People generally love talking about their story.  Simply making it your practice to ask for their story often leads to a very compelling discover.
4. With permission, pass on the best stories to your senior pastor.  With a little work, these stories can become an extremely compelling live or video testimony; a powerful moment in a message or on the web.

Want do you think?  Want to add an idea?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

My first encounter with Ed Dobson was in 1993 when I read Starting a Seeker Sensitive Service.  Pastor Emeritus of Calvary Church in Grand Rapids, you may have run across Dobson in his 2009 book, The Year of Living Like Jesus: My Journey of Discovering What Jesus Would Really Do.

My most recent encounter with Ed Dobson was at The Story conference in Chicago.  As his session began…it was immediately obvious that something had happened.  In the first sentence or two I learned that he had ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease).  For the next ten minutes or so, I heard…and observed…the damage of the disease.  Amazingly, I also heard…and observed…the power of God.

Flannel’s 2011 release of Ed’s Story: A Film Series about Hope (1-3), a mesmerizing example of story-driven visual-media, pulls you steadily into the story.  A series of short films (five of seven are currently finished and separately available as 1-3 and 4-5), each one tells a piece of the story and all of them are very immersive.  Something about the pacing, the intelligent spacing of speech to video (almost like white space) and the camera placement and shot selection itself, create a backdrop against which an irrepressible hope stands firm.  Sometimes all the description in the world fails what a sample will do.   You can watch the first short film right here.

Ed’s Story wrestles with the issues suffering raises: worry, identity, forgiveness, gratitude, and healing.  Accompanied by a personal reflection guide, there is a powerful discussion to be had.  Although deeply biblical, this isn’t your typical set of small group questions complete with directly referenced scripture.  While a leader’s guide would help ensure direction, the video content along with a thought-provoking set of discussion questions will open the door for some very memorable meetings.

This is a powerful experience; one that I want my group to have.  I have a feeling you’ll want your groups to have it, too.

I remember seeing this commercial last year and how easy it was to resonate with the vision.  If you dream of your groups being more engaged in their neighborhoods…this is must see TV!

Click here to see the video. (HT @mike_breen)

Love this simple encouragement from my friend Bill Search, Small Group Pastor at Southeast Christian Church and author of Simple Small Groups.  If you like this one, you’ll find a lot of great content right here.

Can’t see the video? Click here.

God’s Chisel is a very creative video and could easily set up a great small group experience.  Produced by The Skit Guys,  it could be embedded on a small group blog and then viewed on a computer monitor or laptop. (HT Collide Magazine and their Videos of the Week segment)

Can’t see the video?  Click here to see it at WorshipHouseMedia.com

Don’t know if you’ve seen this.  Love this very short commercial for grouplife from the folks at North Coast Church:

Growth Groups: Bungee from North Coast Church on Vimeo.

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Looking for a fun way to highlight the value of community? This worship house media video does a great job:

Can’t see the video? Click here to check it out.

We’ve had some huge changes in our lives in 2010 and one of the the biggest was moving 2,000 miles to join the staff at Parkview Christian Church.  We love this church and its heart to reach people who are far from God!

Here’s a peek at how our Christmas Eve services opened.  Need something cooler?  Wish I could show you the emails we got after the first service.  Life change rolling!

Parkview’s 2010 Christmas Eve Opener from Mark Howell on Vimeo.

I caught this opener on North Point’s online service this a.m. and knew you’d want to see it.  It’s bootlegged…just grabbed it on my flip camera.  But very cool.

Santa Went Down to Georgia from Mark Howell on Vimeo.