Give Your Group a Great Start in 2008

Ready to think about helping your small group have a better experience in 2008? It’s that time again! Time for all good groups to get going! And get going on the right foot. There are several important keys to getting off to a great start in the new year. First, if you didn’t already set…

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The Power of a Small Group Agreement

Ever play on a winning team? Participate in a group that really came together and was somehow better together than any sum of the individuals ought to have been? There’s something about that, isn’t there? The whole concept of stacking hands and agreeing that in order to be the best we’re going to have to…

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Creating Community

Looking for a way to think about how to design your small group ministry?  That might be the most helpful thing about Creating Community: Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture. Although it’s a short book (190 pages), it contains some very important keys to building a small group culture in your church.  Most…

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Choosing Small Group Bible Study Material

You’re ready to get your group going…or you’re finishing the study you’re in right now…and you’re trying to figure out what to do next. We’re all here eventually.  Now what?  Let me give you a few suggestions. First, don’t take a vote!  Especially when your group is new (within the first 6 months) taking a…

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Essential Ingredients

In today’s post, Craig Groeschel points us to the fact that people stay at small churches for two reasons: they feel needed and known.  Also, people leave large churches (in spite of all the reasons that attract them) for two reasons: they don’t feel needed or known. Hmmmmm. Here’s a drawing I often use to…

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Exponential Outreach

Does who you invite to host a small group make a difference? Clearly. I’ve included a diagram that I hope will help you think through the question. Take a look: Here’s how to read it: First, the circle represents your Easter or Christmas Eve attendance. Most places that is the best attended service all year.…

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How Often Should We Meet?

I get asked this question a lot.  And it’s a good question.  People ask it out of a genuine interest in doing the right thing.  Mostly it’s asked by leaders or hosts of newer groups.  But it’s also sometimes asked by group members who are hoping for a particular answer. My answer is always the…

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Organic Community

Organic Community: Creating a Place Where People Naturally Connect Looking for help in designing an environment that encourages authentic, lasting connections?  Organic Community by Joseph R. Myers could be just the ticket to help your congregation move in that direction.  In the same way I found Myers’ previous book, The Search to Belong, both intriguing…

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Developing a Home-Grown Campaign

Is your church ready for another all-church campaign?  Maybe you saw the power of the 40 Days of Purpose or Community and you’d like to recapture that momentum.  Or maybe you’ve only heard about the advantage of a church-wide campaign and you’d like your own congregation to experience that kind of unity.  Maybe the closest…

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