Happy New Year! Now Let’s Get 2017 Started!

Okay, maybe it’s just me, but it seems like it’s been way too long since we talked about your plans for 2017!

You have plans right? Can I help you develop them?

Or maybe you’ve been saying for weeks, “I need to get my plans for 2017 (or at the very least, January and February) finalized!”

Can I help you with that?

I can, you know. Help with that.

Here are a few ways I might be able to help you:

Sign up for 31 Days to a Better Small Group Ministry

Sign up for 31 Days to a Better Small Group Ministry: my FREE 31 day program designed to help you get the right things done. Designed to guide you day by day through the steps that will help you get done what you’ve been putting off. Or have been reluctant to move on because you were uncertain.

31 Days to a Better Small Group Ministry is open, but there are limited seats. Once it’s full…it’s full. But you can sign up right here.

Can I suggest a few goals to think about?  Here are five possibilities:

• Determine a “percentage connected” you’d like to reach in 2017.  You’ll need to do a little thinking.  You’ll have to figure out your current percentage connected and then how much change is possible, but this is thinking that will pay off!    See also, What Percentage of Your Adults are Actually Connected?
• Determine what strategies you will use to add new groups.  Plan when you’ll use the strategies and how many new groups you’ll launch as a result.  Write these numbers as goals.  See also, Top 10 Ways to Launch New Groups.
• Think about the coaching structure you’ll need in order to sustain the new groups you will launch.  See also, 7 Core Ideas about Small Group Coaching and Recruiting Additional Coaches for Church-Wide Campaigns.
• Think about how you will resource and develop your small group leaders (both your existing leaders and the leaders of the new groups you launch).  Will you hold a centralized leader training event?  Will you decentralize training and equip your coaches to do the training?  See also, FAQ: How Can I Get My Leaders to Attend Training?
• What habits do you need to add or reinforce that will help you to thrive in your role?  See also, 7 Practices of an Enduring Small Group Pastor.

How are you stewarding your responsibility?

It’s not always popular…but this is the way I think. And I’m pretty sure it is the right way to think about what we do.

When I read Matthew 25 (the Parable of the Talents), I am very confident that one of Jesus’ points is that we’ve each been given something to steward “according to our abilities” and we’re expected to steward it well. As a small group ministry point person, I interpret that to mean that I’ve been entrusted with investing the time and talents of coaches (leaders of leaders) and the leaders they care for.

I’m not sure about you, but for me I take this stewardship seriously. I really hope you do too.

Because I believe this is the right interpretation, I feel compelled to manage the investment well! After all…I really want to hear “well done” at the end of the game.

And as a result, as I come to the end of the year, I’m thinking about next year. I’m thinking about how I might improve what I’m doing.

Is that you?

If it is, I want to suggest a few things you might want to consider as 2017 begins:

1. You might consider signing up for my new FREE email course, 31 Days to a Better Small Group Ministry. I think this will really help a lot of people steward their responsibility/opportunity more effectively.
2. You may want to consider attending GroupLife Southwest 2017. I can guarantee you this conference will expose you (and maybe some from your team) to some of the best ideas for small group ministry in the 21st century. You can take advantage of the Early Bird registration through February 27th. You can read about it right here.
3. You might want to consider joining my 2017 coaching network. Every year I invest 6 months in a small cohort of small group pastors and directors. Limited to 12 members, this is an excellent way to reach your goals. You can read about my coaching network right here. Believe it or not, you can still apply and get an excellent rate.
4. You might want to set up a coaching call (or a series of calls) to help you get from where you are to where you want to be (from your present to your preferred future). My coaching call packages can be tailored to fit your need.
5. Need to build an effective coaching structure? Train new coaches? Go back to the drawing board and design your ministry to do things it can’t currently do? Jumpstart January? Maybe one of my mini-courses is just the thing to help you be a good steward of the opportunity.  You can find out about my growing list of tutorials, designed to allow you to move at your own pace and include other members of your team! You can find out about my mini-courses right here.

Listen, I don’t really know what the solution is for you and for your needs. I do know you’ve been entrusted with a stewardship. And I’m pretty sure you want to do a good job.

If I can help you…I’d love to!

Image by Leigh Wolf