3 Things You Can Do This Week to Connect More People After Easter

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There are three ideal times to connect unconnected people every year. In most churches, late September/early October has the most potential followed by late January/early February.

A couple weeks after Easter presents a third very promising option to connect unconnected people. It’s not problem-free, but the reality is every season comes with its own set of problems. Even with the problems that come with launching new groups in late April/early May, it is still a very promising window of opportunity.

All that to say, here are 3 things you can do right now to connect more unconnected people after Easter.

Note: You can do AND of the three strategies and see a big uptick in the number of new groups launched and unconnected people connected.

Schedule a small group connection on May 1st

If you begin promoting the small group connection THIS Sunday, you can collect sign-ups on 4/10, 4/17, and 4/24 and then hold it on 5/1.

Holding the small group connection on May 1st allows your new groups to begin meeting and finish a six-week study in mid June (a couple weeks later than ideal, but it is what it is).

Choose a starter study on a topic that matters to unconnected people (and ideally goes along with your message series, which has also been selected to draw back infrequent attenders).

Plan to help your new groups continue by pre-selecting a follow-up study and providing them a strategy for surviving the summer.

Need help putting on a small group connection? See also, How to Launch New Groups with a Small Group Connection  and Here’s How I Lead a Small Group Connection.

Plan a set of short-term on-campus studies (that lead to off-campus studies) the week of May 1st

For example, scheduling a study like Laugh Your Way to a Better Marriage will attract unconnected couples. Examples of other study options might be Comparison Trap for women, Authentic Manhood for men, and The New Rules of Love, Sex and Dating for singles.

Facilitated around tables, this strategy allows attendees to experience the benefits of a group with the safety of an on-campus first step. Providing them a natural follow-up study to be done off-campus will encourage many groups to continue.

One key is to choose study topics that appeal to unconnected people. Another key is to choose studies that are DVD-driven and naturally prompt (or provoke) a good discussion. DVD-driven (as opposed to something that involves live teaching) allows participants to easier imagine continuing to meet without the live teacher.

A final key to leveraging this strategy for all it’s worth is to be sure and segregate those already in a group from those who are not yet in a group. When you come to the end of the six weeks you don’t want anyone at any table offering the excuse, “I’d like to continue with you, but I’m already in a group.”

A good facilitator/emcee can get each session off to a good start, set up the DVD segment, and then help discussion begin around the tables. Typically, de facto table leaders will emerge by the second session.

Plan to begin mentioning the possibility of continuing to meet after the six-week study concludes in about week four. A table displaying a well-chosen follow-up study with the DVD playing and sample study guides set out for examination before and after week five will further encourage many table groups to consider continuing to meet.

See also, Breaking: North Point Increases GroupLife Participation by Adding an Easier Next Step and Take Advantage of This Short-Term On-Campus Strategy.

Plan a church-wide campaign that begins the week after Easter

The right series will provide an excellent comeback incentive for unconnected people. Making it easy for unconnected people to join a new group or even invite a couple friends to join them in doing the study will give many the first step into community they need.

Again, it is critical to choose a series that will actually appeal to unconnected people, but there are a number of very good options. See also, Top 5 Church-Wide Campaigns for 2022.

If you pull the trigger quickly, you can begin recruiting HOSTs before Easter and then recruit unconnected people to sign up for and attend a small group connection two weeks after Easter.

Next Steps:

Clearly, any of these three strategies will require immediate action if you want to pull them off so quickly. At the same time, I've seen many churches rally their staff and key volunteers and turn quickly to seize the opportunity.

Need help? Maybe a coaching call would help you ramp up quickly. Click here to find out how to schedule a call.