What Do You Need To Fix?

I have a friend who recently announced that it was time for changes in their small group ministry.  They went on to say, everything except the semester system and free market model are “up in the air.” Continuing, “I think it’s healthy to re-examine everything you do regularly, but it didn’t take us long to acknowledge…

Read More

Better Group Life Through Technology

What technologies are you using in your small group ministry?  Website page?  Blog?   Facebook?  Twitter?  Data management system (like Churchteams or GroupsInteractive)? Or are you doing the things according the the KJV?  You know…the old fashioned way.  Printed catalogs?  Phone trees?  Sign up forms? The times are achangin’ you know.  Today your leaders can…

Read More

What Part Does Your Senior Pastor Play?

If you want to become a church of groups…what part does your senior pastor play? More to the point, does your pastor need to lead a group in order for group life to become a deeply held value in your church? [quote]Although I’ve written a 4 part series on The Role of the Senior Pastor,…

Read More

Top 10 Axiomatic Beliefs of Group Life

When you think of group life, of small group ministry, what are your axiomatic beliefs?  Remember that an axiom is an established rule or principle or self-evident truth.  We all have them stored away in our brains.  The key is that not all of them are true…and not all of them are the kind that…

Read More

Debug Your Thinking

When you think about your discipleship strategy or your connection strategy…how is it working?  Have you ever slowed down long enough to really examine your results?  To see if what you are trying to do is really happening? On the wall in my office you’ll find a quote that is constantly on my mind as…

Read More

Debug Your Thinking – a Group Life Webinar

Thursday, September 3rd, 12:00 to 12:45 pm CDT Click here to register Trying to figure out why your small group ministry isn’t really delivering the results you’re looking for?  Resigned to the fact that in your church it just doesn’t work?  I want to suggest that there are probably some underlying assumptions that are keeping…

Read More

The Exponential Power of a Church-Wide Campaign

What is the most powerful way to impact your entire congregation?  Many believe that a church-wide campaign, what Rick Warren refers to as a spiritual growth emphasis,  is the most important spiritual innovation in the last 50 years…maybe the last century.  Why?  Read on. Although there are very basic church-wide campaigns that simply offer a…

Read More

Designing Your Small Group System

We had a great call today with my good friend Kent Odor, this week’s guest on the Small Group Fraternity. Definitely in the small group pioneer category, Kent has a long small group history and has had many great experiences along the way.  In today’s call there were a number of important insights.  Just wanted…

Read More

Learning How to Pray Together

Praying together at the end of a small group meeting is one of the real challenges for almost every small group.  The very common fear of public speaking (number #1 fear for many) is compounded by the unspoken belief held by many that it’s important to speak an unfamiliar dialect when praying (a thee and…

Read More

What’s the Best Way to Close a Meeting in Prayer?

What’s the Best Way to Close a Meeting in Prayer? I get a lot of questions. Some from readers and some from attendees at a workshop I’m giving. Here’s a very common question, especially when I’m talking with new leaders. “What is the best way to close a group meeting in prayer?” Great question! But…

Read More