Growing Small Group Leaders

My copy of Growing Small Group Leaders arrived over the weekend.   If you’re trying to build a coaching structure that works, I’m thinking you’re probably going to want to pick up a copy.  Developed by Seacoast’s leadership development expert Mac Lake, this tool is packed with some very good plug and play training ideas, tips…

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John Ortberg on “Doing Life Together”

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…

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Life’s Healing Choices

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…

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Mirror Image

If you’re looking for a DVD-driven study that is provocative, easy to use, and generates great discussion, you’ll love Mirror Image.  From the Liquid series, this is a study of five of Jesus’ best known parables (including The Prodigal Son and The Good Samaritan) and it is a must-have in our suggested curriculum list. What…

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Build Crowd to Core Flow in Advance

Many effective strategies are multi-component strategies.  That is, there are multiple essential components to the strategy and effectiveness and impact are a result of these components working together.  HOST, often used in conjunction with launching a church-wide campaign, is an example of a multi-component strategy. Remember that in the HOST strategy, the “T” stands for…

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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…

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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…

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Clarifying the Win In Your Small Group Ministry

How do you know you’re succeeding at what you do?  If we were baseball players…it’d be easy.  At the end of the game we’d see who had the most runs on the scoreboard.  Would hits matter?  Yes.  Would RBIs matter?  Yes.  What about our pitcher’s ERA?  Yes.  But would they themselves be a win?  No. …

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Problem-Free Leader Identification and Recruitment

As we’ve discussed previously, there is no problem-free.  Every solution comes with a set of problems.  Knowing that, wise people simply choose the problems they’d rather have and select the solution they like based on that. Is there a problem-free way to identify and recruit small group leaders?  No.  Every method of identifying and recruiting…

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