How can we start some new groups?  We have 14 (or 34, 78, or 103) and we’re stuck on how to add new groups.  What’s the best way to do it?  What are some ways that we’re not thinking of?

This is a very frequent question.  And it’s a good one because it’s rooted in a concern for the right things. One of the axiomatic beliefs of many in the group life movement is that good groups grow and birth.  Ought to work.  Sounds good.  But does it work in reality?  Not always.  If you’re depending on apprenticing to provide new leaders and new groups…you’re betting on the wrong horse.

Here are the top 5 ways I’ve found to start new groups.

1. A Church-wide campaign using the HOST strategy is by far the easiest way to launch a significant number of new groups.  While there are definitely some seasons when it is more effective, this method executed with skill can recruit new leaders and new groups in big numbers.  One of the best aspects of the strategy is that it finds leaders you don’t already know.  That is very important.
2. Another way to multiply groups is to put on a Small Group Connection.  I’ve written a four-part series detailing how to do a Connection, but the essence is that you put on an event, sort people out by affinity, and help them through the process of choosing a leader from amongst themselves.  North Point’s Group Link idea has some similarities, but a Connection has one striking difference.  It identifies leaders from the group itself.  That is a huge difference.  Like the HOST strategy, this is a great way to identify leaders when you didn’t know you had them.
3. Encourage your existing groups to take a small group vacation and help start some new groups.  If your church is like most churches, you’ll notice that your earliest small groups are full of great people, many of whom could easily lead a small group…if they’d just leave the one they’re in!  What’s the best way to get them to consider leaving their group to start a new one?  Don’t make it a permanent move.  Make it a 6 week commitment and try to encourage whole groups to take the vacation.  It is amazing how many of these vacations pay off with new groups full of people who need group life and who really need what their temporary leader offers…and the fact that they are needed helps many of these temporary leaders make the decision to move from consumer to contributor.  Best part?  They make the move without pressure from you.
4. The Apprentice model is not a bad idea.  It does work, just not easily and much slower than most methods.  One of the keys is to celebrate those who actually leave their group to launch a new one.  Having the title is of little consequence.  Stepping up to lead a group is the only thing that counts.
5. Taking leader training sign-ups and/or recruiting likely candidates to a leader training process is often the least effective method.  First, people who sign up for leader training do not always have the best motivations.  Second, once through leader training there’s no guarantee they’ll be able to connect with the members you give them.

The key in each of these methods?  Keep in mind that there is no problem-free solution.  Choose your method based on the time of year and the development stage of your ministry.  I use them all…just not at the same time.

How will your hosts add members to their groups?  After you’ve chosen the church-wide campaign you will use and recruited hosts, determining how you will recruit members is a very big decision.  Along with the first two questions, this one has a lot to do with how effectively your campaign reaches into the crowd.  It also pre-determines the administrative challenge.  Here are a 5 things to keep in mind:

1. While geography can play a part in helping a new group form connections…it isn’t the only thing that matters.  For certain life-stages it isn’t a major factor.  The most important element in connectivity is affinity: what your group members have in common.  Several factors can help determine affinity.  Life stage and interests are two very important factors.
2. At some point every church grows beyond its leadership’s capacity to know everyone.  Once that happens it becomes more and more difficult to adequately match everyone who wants to be in a group with the right group.  Additionally, it takes time away from other tasks that are often more important.  This makes is less effective for the prospective new group member to fill out a sign-up form and turn it in, requiring the church to find a match.  I’ve found it more effective for most churches to make a list of the groups available and challenge their members to find a group that fits them.  This can be done in a low-tech way by simply making a list of the open groups available on a table in the lobby.  Slightly more advanced is adding a page on your website with a detailed list of groups (day and time they meet, what they are studying, specific affinity [ie., couples, young couples, women, singles, etc.] with contact information for the leaders (email and phone).  A very effective solution for many churches is to provide a searchable group finder that allows direct contact by phone or email with the host.  This is made very simple through the use of an application like GroupsInteractive or Churchteams.
3. Use of a web-driven strategy makes it possible to send out a church-wide email with a link back to your small group finder on the website.  This can be done easily with a plug and play email service like Constant Contact.  Sending out a church-wide email and adding a small group finder on your website are two ways to make it easy for unconnected people to find a group that fits them.
4. Another affinity factor that is often overlooked is that when the host begins filling their group by inviting friends, neighbors, co-workers, or family members, it helps provide a sense of connection that is less likely when the church takes sign-ups and randomly assigns members to groups.  Equally, when your hosts invite their own friends and connections to join their group…it allows a reach into the crowd that isn’t possible when you simply take sign-ups on Sunday morning and then “deal out” the sign-up slips to hosts.
5. Use the host orientation to give your new hosts some vision and training on how to invite people to their group.  Providing invitations along with a script can make it easier.  Devote some time in the orientation to helping your hosts actively think through their connections and make a list of friends, neighbors and co-workers and make a list of who to invite.  Click here to download an example of what I use to do that.

Remember that in the same way your choice of topic and your host recruitment strategy determines your reach into the crowd…so does the strategy you use to recruit members to groups.  Encouraging your hosts to fill their own groups will help them have better connectivity.  Making it possible for members to easily find a group that fits takes some of the administrative burden off your team.

The last piece I talk about in this series is how to sustain the new groups that you launch.  It has to do with telling your new groups about What’s Next? When and How to Promote the Next Curriculum?

I’ve written about this subject before here and here, but it is a critical step in a launch sequence and need to be sure you’ve got what you need to do it well.  Here are a few ideas that I’ve found very helpful.

1. When people sign up to host a group, send them a letter from your pastor thanking them for their willingness to open their home and take this step.  The letter should also give them a few keys to hosting.  It should also tell them that “in order to host a group you need to attend one of the following HOST orientations.”  It should list the days and times (you need to do more than one in order to get everyone to attend one).  It should give them a way to RSVP (by phone or email).  It is also a good idea to call each RSVP just before the day to confirm their attendance.
2. Be sure and be ready to greet people as they come in to the orientation and mix with them as they take a seat.  Introducing them to each other is a good step.  Definitely have them put on a name tag.
3. The format I use takes one hour.  I begin promptly and end right on time.  In fact, I make a joke about starting and ending on time being “one of the most important small group principles you’re going to learn tonight!”
4. The first thing I do is welcome everyone and thank them for stepping up to be a HOST.  I make a big deal about what they’re doing.  To me, it is a really big deal.  I talk about how they are the best link to some of the people they will invite.  I also talk about how much those people are depending upon them to swallow hard and invite their friends and neighbors.
5. Second, I usually take a minute right here, have them turn to the others at their table and share what they are most “terrified” about as they think about opening their home.  I give ‘em a minute or two, then ask them to share with me what they said.  It’s a fun moment.  It loosens up the room.
6. Third, I always include a card in their packet that they fill out that gathers info about their contact info, whether they should be listed on the website, what type of group they’re launching, the day and time of their meeting, whether they’re open to new members, and how many they already have.  I take 2 or 3 minutes and walk them through the items on the card.  They turn it in when they’re on their way out.
7. Next, I always include a prayer guide that leads them through a 7 day prayer calendar for the week leading up to the launch.  “Because what you’re about to do is so critical, you’d best not do it without praying daily.”
8. Another piece that I include in their packet is often referred to as “the 5 circles.”  You’ve probably seen it…it has a circle for each of the 5 spheres of their relationships (friends, family, work, church, fun).  I take 2 or 3 minutes and walk them through each of those areas, encouraging them to jot down names of people they will invite from each of those circles.
9. I take a few minutes and walk them through how the curriculum works.  I show a couple minutes of a DVD session, just to give them a feel for how engaging it is.  I also spend some time talking about how to use the study guide.  And I let them know that each week I’ll be sending them an email with tips on how I’d lead the session.
10. I take questions as they arise.  Repeat their question so everyone can hear.

At this point in your preparation for the launch you’re probably wondering about How to Recruit Members to Groups?  I talk about that right here.  Miss an article in the series?  You can catch up right here.

Preparing to launch a church-wide campaign?  There are some keys to doing it well (and it’s not too late to kick your campaign up a notch!).  Here are some ideas you can use right now:

• Take advantage of the website.  Keep in mind that many of the adults in your congregation only attend once or twice a month.  The website can be a way to make sure they hear about what is coming.  To take advantage of the site, make sure you’ve got the upcoming series on the home page (perhaps in a block midpage or in the rotating banner).  Need an example?  Take a look at Saddleback’s home page as they prepare for Life’s Healing Choices.  A second important aspect of leveraging your website is to link the homepage image of the upcoming series to a page that has more detail.
• A second important key to promoting your launch is your bulletin or program.  Be sure and include a weekly section with information about what is just around the corner.  You can use the bulletin to promote the series, HOST orientations, and how to find a group.
• A postcard size insert promoting the series can be included in the bulletin for 2 to 3 weekends leading up to the church-wide campaign.  “This is not for you.  This is for you to give to your neighbors and friends, inviting them to join us for the series.”  Since the most powerful invitation is a personal invitation…this can make a big impression.
• Direct mail is an effective way to build name recognition.  Whether you mail to your database or to the wider community, it can help but it should be done alongside personal invitation.
• Once you have your website ready, be sure and send an all-church email that links to the site.  Services like Constant Contact make it very easy.
• When your church-wide series is a national campaign you can usually obtain banners, postcards, bulletin shells, etc. easily and inexpensively from services like Outreach Marketing or from the campaign website.  One Month to Live and Live Like You Were Dying are two that have their own promotional resources.

Some of the ideas on this list will take preparation.  Others can be implemented easily and inexpensively with just a few days notice.  The key is to take advantage of a few to promote the series.  What if in choosing one or two ideas you could add another 3 to 10% response to your campaign?

Next, I’ll take a look at Host Orientations That Work.  Missed a post in the series?  You can catch up right here.

Looking for a sample message that casts vision for life in community?  You can download the audio of a great example by John Ortberg right here.  Here’s a link to the transcript.

Given in preparation for Menlo Park’s 40 Days of Purpose experience in 2004, this message provides a look at how Ortberg encouraged a large “join a group” response.

Keep in mind that this is a different message than the type that recruits HOSTs.  In developing a launch sequence, this message would be given after you’ve already recruited and trained HOSTs for a church-wide campaign.

Inspired by the Grammy Award winning song recorded by Tim McGraw, and developed by a group of incredible church-wide campaign experts, Live Like You Were Dying offers a great experience for your congregation.

Designed to help your congregation wrestle with how to live life to the fullest, this church-wide campaign has everything you need to pull off a very impactful season in your church.  Featuring sermon transcripts developed by Lance Witt, DVD-driven small group sessions with Gary Smalley, and produced by Doug Slaybaugh (formerly president of Purpose Driven during the development of the 40 Days of Purpose) this is a just-add-water campaign.

I’ve found there are a few key factors to determining whether a given church-wide campaign is a good fit for your congregation.  Production quality, presentation style, full featured, customer service, and topic are 5 distinctives that must be evaluated for fit.

1. Production Quality: Live Like You Were Dying is a professionally produced suite of materials.  DVD, study guide, available marketing materials, extras…all have a high-quality look and feel.
2. Presentation Style: The DVD features Gary Smalley, acclaimed author and speaker.
3. Full Featured: Everything you need is available in the kit.  I refer to it as a “just-add-water” campaign.  You can take a look at the kit contents right here.
4. Customer Service: You’ll appreciate the personal attention you receive from this team.
5. Topic: This church-wide study features a topic and presentation style that are cleanly on the easy end of the easy/hard continuum.  If you’re looking for a study that your members can invite friends and neighbors to attend…this study will be a great fit.

Final Word: I’ve heard great things from several churches who have used Live Like You Were Dying.  The fact that it is based on the Grammy Award winning song will be advantages in many areas.  Additionally, it is an advantage that it features Gary Smalley, a very recognizable name in many circles.  Also, it was developed by a very impressive team including several of the key players in the 40 Days of Purpose team.  You won’t find experience like this very often.  On the flipside, there will be churches that have less familiarity with Smalley and are not fans of country music.  All in all, I highly recommend this church-wide campaign.

What if you had one month to live?  Think you’d make any changes in the way you spent your time?  Would you spend more time with family?  Would you tell friends what they really mean to you?  Would you take steps to seek or give forgiveness?  What would you do differently if you found out that you had only one month to live?

One Month To Live is a church-wide campaign designed to engage the people in your church with one central question: If you knew you only had one month to live, what would you do to make what’s left of your life really matter?  Developed by Kerry and Chris Shook and based on their New York Times bestseller by the same name, One Month is available as a campaign in a box.  Much like 40 Days of Purpose, everything you need to pull off a church-wide campaign has already been developed to assist your congregation.  You can find out how to preview and order materials right here.

I’ve found there are a few key factors to determining whether a given church-wide campaign is a good fit for your congregation.  Production quality, presentation style, full featured, customer service, and topic are 5 distinctives that must be evaluated for fit.

1. Production Quality: One Month to Live is a professionally produced suite of materials.  DVD, study guide, available marketing materials, hardback book, extras…all have a high-quality look and feel.
2. Presentation Style: The DVD has a magazine feel to it.  Each session features Kerry and Chris Shook speaking from a well designed set.  In addition, rather than a “talking head” presentation, instead of telling a story to make a point the DVD cuts to a video testimonial.
3. Full Featured: Everything you need is available in the kit.  I refer to it as a “just-add-water” campaign.  You can take a look at the kit contents right here.
4. Customer Service: You’ll appreciate the fact that customer service is an inside job with OMTL.  Rather than using a fulfillment center, you’ll be working with service representatives who are very familiar with the product and believe in its purpose.
5. Topic: This church-wide study features a topic and presentation style that are cleanly on the easy end of the easy/hard continuum.  If you’re looking for a study that your members can invite friends and neighbors to attend…this study will be a great fit.

Final Word: I found this study to be really easy to promote and super easy to encourage members to invite friends to join.  We had some complaints from a very closed-minded few who wanted a “deeper” Bible study.  On the flip side, the vast majority of our groups loved the study and were very enthused about the depth of conversation and challenge that developed.  If you’re looking for a church-wide campaign that is easy to invite friends and neighbors to attend, I heartily recommend One Month to Live.

When NASA prepares for a shuttle launch, there are certain steps that are a given.  There is a sequence to what they do.  When anything unexpected happens during the launch preparation (mechanical issues, weather change, etc.) it isn’t unusual for NASA to restart the sequence.

In much the same way, when you’re preparing for a small group launch (for example, a church-wide campaign) you need to pay close attention to the sequence.  There are a number of critical steps that determine success.  Each step, each part of the sequence is important.  And a missed step can seriously damage the impact of the launch.  Here are a few that require special attention:

• HOST recruitment
• Series promotion
• HOST orientation
• HOSTs filling their own groups
• Promotion of the next curriculum

In my next few posts I’ll be taking a look at each of these critical parts of the sequence.  To begin, here’s my article on Host Recruitment and the Launch Sequence.

Do your members even know their neighbors?  Do you know your neighbors?  Why not take the first step this summer and begin or deepen relationships with the folks on your street?  It’s not hard, they rarely bite, it honors God, and exponential outreach depends on connections beyond the circle.

Here are our 10 best ideas.  Is there a great one we missed?  Use the comments to add it to the list!

1. Host a block party on Labor Day.
2. Invite your neighbors over for theme night dinner (Mexican, Italian, Low Carb…not really)
3. Game night (Bunko, Poker, Pictionary, etc.)
4. Build Your Own Ice Cream Sundae (build your own pizza)
5. John’s Incredible Pizza
6. Picnic at the neighborhood park
7. Meat and Greet (pull out your grills, B.Y.O. meat)
8. Movie Night outside (or in)
9. Garage Sale in the neighborhood
10. Progressive Dinner on the block

Top 5 Family Friendly “Invite the Block” Activities

1. Redneck Pool Party (line your pickup truck, fill with water, invite the kids)
2. Water balloon war
3. Tailgate Party
4. Kickball Tournament (challenge the next street over)
5. Slip-n-slide your cares away

Have you heard about Life’s Healing Choices, Saddleback’s newest campaign?  Looks like a great new resource on a topic that’s been a home run for many churches and is clearly on the easy end of the easy/hard continuum.

An 8 week church-wide study based on The Beatitudes, Life’s Healing Choices features

• DVD-driven small group curriculum
• sermon transcripts for the weekend messages
• a complete campaign kit
• and leverages John Baker’s book by the same name as a companion resource.