A Simple Change You Can Make with Huge Implications
Sometimes the simplest changes have the biggest impact.
I'm frequently asked questions like, "What's the best small group strategy?" or "When's the best time to launch new groups?" Right on the heels of those two questions I'm asked, "How to work around my senior pastor's lack of passion for grouplife?" and "How can we find enough leaders?"
And while those are great questions and they are part of the equation and getting it right will make a difference in your small group ministry, they're not really focused on the part of the equation that will have the biggest impact.
What's the part of the equation that will have the biggest impact? It might not be what you think it is.
The Most Powerful Part of the Equation
The part of the equation that will have the biggest impact is the part that has to do with learning to understand the needs of the people you are trying to connect.
You can develop the perfect small group system...but if it isn't designed to capture the imagination and interest of the unconnected people in your congregation (or better still, the unconnected people in your crowd or community), it will fall flat.
You can offer your connecting events at the perfect time...but if they're not designed to meet the needs of the unconnected people in your congregation (or, even better, the crowd or community)...you'll find yourself connecting the usual suspects over and over again.
You can figure out a way to identify an endless supply of great leaders...but if the way you're doing what you're doing doesn't grab the attention of unconnected people, what you're doing will turn out to be fruitless.
What's the Simple Change You Can Make?
Want to connect unconnected people? Learn to think like the unconnected members of your congregation. Become a student of the kinds of people who never sign up for a group. Pay attention to their concerns, their needs, and their interests.
Want to connect unconnected people? Learn to think like the unconnected members of your congregation. Become a student of the kinds of people who never sign up for a group. Pay attention to their concerns, their needs, and their… Share on X
IDEO, one of the world's greatest design firms, includes a human-factors expert on every team. The human-factors expert "provides insight into the desirability of a new product or service from the user's perspective (p. 188, The Innovator's DNA)."
Got one of those? Is there anyone on your team who really sees life from the perspective of an unconnected person?
The simplest and most powerful change you can make is to add a human-factors expert to your team.
What do you think? Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.
Image by Robert Couse-Baker
