FAQ: WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LAUNCH NEW SMALL GROUPS?

Share via:

FAQ: WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LAUNCH NEW SMALL GROUPS?

What’s the best way to launch new small groups? Ever asked that one? I get asked that question a lot…probably more than any other question. And for good reason, after all, who isn’t trying to increase the number of groups (and the number of people in groups) in their church?

So what’s the answer? It’s not as easy as that. I could tell you what I think, but I’d rather lead you through a way of thinking about it so that you can make up your own mind. Ready for that? Okay…here’s how I talk about it.

First, a couple assumptions. Here they are:

There is no problem-free. This is a very important realization. What it means is that no matter what situation you’re wrestling with, all of the possible solutions to that situation have issues. All of them. There is no problem-free. You just have to choose which of the problem sets you’d rather have.
There’s an upside and a downside to everything. In some ways this is a corollary to the first assumption. What it means is that nothing is without some of both (positive and negative). You may want to argue that there are some purely negative things. I’ve not run into one but I’m not going to argue it. Just take it for what it is. Turns out there’s even an upside and a downside to the assumption!

5 Common Methods of Launching New Groups:

Now the answer to the question: “What’s the best way to launch new small groups?” Remember that we’re going to walk through a way of determining that for your own congregation. To do that, you need to know that there are several common ways that groups are being started.

The Old Fashioned Way: A leader is recruited (either from an existing small group or out of the congregation) and usually given some kind of training. Those who sign up to be join a small group are assigned to the new leader once training is completed. A slight variation of this one is where people who would like to lead a small group can sign up to be trained. Either way, a leader is either recruited or signs up on their own. This method is probably the most familiar. Whether you’re a cell church, embrace the meta model, or are totally into affinity based small groups, this is your method at its root.
A Small Group Fair is another slight twist on the old fashioned way. After being vetted and trained, new leaders are given the opportunity to take part in a kind of meet and greet where potential new members can mingle with leaders, get a feel for the leader and the kind of group and choose a group to join.
Small Group Connection Event: An event is used to gather potential small group members and then a process sorts prospective members by some kind of affinity. In the Saddleback version, the newly formed group is led to choose a leader from amongst themselves. This is often referred to as a “small group connection.”
GroupLink is a North Point version of the connection strategy designed to utilize preselected and prequalified leaders for the new groups (a backup option in the strategy enables new groups to form without a prequalified leader when there are not enough leaders to connect the number of new members looking for a group to join).
The HOST Strategy (as part of a church-wide campaign): Hosts (as opposed to “leaders”) are recruited to open their home for the length of the campaign series (often 6 weeks) and invite a few of their friends to be part of the group. The recruiting process can be done by tapping the shoulders of the “usual suspects” or as a kind of invitation in the worship service itself. The way you recruit has an effect on who hosts and ultimately whose friends get invited. Ordinarily, the church does not provide members, instead they are personally invited by the Host. A version of the strategy enables Host volunteers who have been vetted and trained to be listed as open groups ready to receive unconnected people looking for a small group.

Problem Sets:

Now that you know some of the most common ways that new groups are started, let’s develop the problem sets for each of the strategies.

The Old Fashioned Way (including a small group fair)

Sometimes difficult to get apprentice leaders to leave their existing small group when it’s time to birth.
Difficult to find qualified leaders who are not currently in a small group.
Challenging to find enough leaders to provide the number of groups needed.
Some who volunteer to lead have alternative motives.

The Small Group Connection Strategy

Uncertainty about the maturity or appropriateness of the person chosen to lead.
Lack of control about the quality of the leader candidates.
Those chosen to lead may be unwilling to commit to leading.
Might necessitate an honest conversation if the group chooses someone with insurmountable issues.

The GroupLink Strategy

Need to build a process that identifies, vets and trains potential leaders in advance.
Challenging to identify, vet and train enough prequalified leaders to connect the number of potential members seeking a group.
Possible false starts in cases of groups beginning without prequalified leaders.

The HOST Strategy

Uncertainty about the maturity or appropriateness of the person who volunteers to host
Lack of control about the quality of the HOST candidates
Those who commit to host a group may not wish to continue beyond the campaign series.
Might necessitate an honest conversation if the host candidate doesn’t meet your qualifications

Conclusion? Based on these problem sets, which way do you go? You can surely see that there really isn’t a problem-free solution. Which set would you rather have? In some ways it may depend on things like how concerned you are about your unconnected members and attendees, how effective you’ve been at recruiting and developing new leaders, or how well you know the unconnected people in your congregation.

What do you think? Have a question? You can click here to jump into the conversation.

FAQ: WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO LAUNCH NEW SMALL GROUPS?

First, a couple assumptions. Here they are:

5 Common Methods of Launching New Groups:

Further Reading: