Sexuality and Small Group Membership

Recently I had a great question from a reader who wanted some feedback on establishing a policy on a very sensitive matter.  I’ve edited to provide some clarity, but here’s the question: We discovered that we have some unmarried couples (who live together) in couples’ groups and at least one lesbian couple attending a women’s…

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Working On vs Working In…Your Ministry

What have you done this week that’s had the most impact?  Was it meeting a small group leader for coffee?  Writing this week’s sermon-based study for the groups following the message?  How about the conversation you had with the new couple looking for a group right after the 11:00 a.m. service? What have you done…

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Will You Reach Far Enough in 2011?

Who will you connect in 2011?  Will you focus your efforts on the usual suspects?  Those still unconnected folks that already attend your weekend services a couple times a month but have been resisting commitment since before there was Sunday School? Who will you connect in 2011?  Will you take a shot at connecting the…

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Top 10 Posts for November 2010

In case you missed them, here are my 10 most popular articles for November, 2010.  As is often the case, not all of them were written in November.  There was one from 2008 and two from 2009. This Road Doesn’t Go “There” Where Do You Want to Go with Your Small Group Ministry? How to…

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Accelerate GroupLife in 2011: T – 5 Weeks

Are you ready for a year that might double the number of people connected?  How about triple it?  There really are things you can do that will exponentially impact grouplife at your church (and in your community), but they’re only rarely accidental. Most of the big system-wide moves in small group ministry are the result…

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Important Keys to GroupLife at Crowd’s Edge

Kathy asked a great question yesterday about GroupLife Is Different at Crowd’s Edge (a post I wrote recently).  Here’s her question: Working the edge sounds very exciting.  I am interested in the practical approach you take to capture these folks.  How do you recruit?  How do you train?  How do you monitor?  Can you point…

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Accelerate GroupLife in 2011: 6 Weeks

Ready for all 2011 could be?  I’m putting a kind of countdown series together over the next 6 weeks to give you some ideas about how to make 2011 a grouplife year to remember.  If you’re just getting started…here’s what I’d be thinking about.  If you’re already firing on all cylinders…here are a few ideas…

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Where Do You Want To Go with Your Small Group Ministry?

Have you ever actually thought through where you want to go with your small group ministry?  Have you ever looked further ahead than this year and dreamed about what things will look like in 10 years?  I mean really took some pains to describe the preferred future of your small group ministry? Tom Peters described…

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Discovering What’s Next in Small Group Ministry

I am a huge fan of innovation.  I always want to try out the newest gadget.  I love seeing what the new thing can do.  I even love trying new foods.  Although I have my favorites, if I see what I think will be a great new combination of tastes on the menu, I’ll pick…

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“You Are Here” and Getting To There

Have you ever been completely turned around in a mall or an amusement park, desperately looking for a directory?  One of those big maps with a large red star that says “You Are Here?”  Sometimes that red star simply helps you see where you are.  Sometimes it is an essential ingredient in getting to where…

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