Posts by Mark Howell
The Monvee Visual Experience
You may have been hearing about Monvee, probably the current leader in an emerging field of online assessment and build your own spiritual pathway concepts. Although there’s a lot to talk about (when you poke around amidst the discovery assessment, the discovery summary, the roadmap creator, and the dashboard that allows you to track your…
Read MoreBill Search on Southeast’s Online Leader Training Resource
One of the most helpful small group leader training tools to come out in the last several years is Bill Search’s book, Simple Small Groups. I wrote a review on it right here and included it in my 5 Essential GroupLife Reads. Hadn’t talked with Bill in a while and was excited when I got…
Read MoreReview: To Transform a City
One of the most important developments on the grouplife scene* is the idea that the group exists to do something beyond itself. More and more churches are designing their small group philosophy of ministry to be externally focused or to have a missional mindset. Maybe you’re working through the implications right now…and you’re looking for…
Read MoreCurrent GroupLife Trends
“What are the latest trends in small group ministry?” That was the question my friend asked recently. Makes sense to think about it. After all, as we’ve talked about many times, we’ve all got just one opportunity have “the greatest impact on the largest number of people for the longest period of time.” So it…
Read MoreJoin Me at Radicalis? (2/22 – 2/25)
I’m looking forward to some great interaction at Radicalis in just a little over a month! Hope you’re planning to check it out. In case you aren’t aware, Radicalis is a great conference. 4 days with a super wide variety of speakers (this year the list includes Matt Carter, Steven Furtick, Dave Gibbons, Pete Wilson,…
Read MoreWorking 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…
Read MoreThe Prodigal God | A New Church-Wide Campaign
The story of the Prodigal Son is one of Jesus’ best known parables. Almost anyone you ask can give you at least a little bit of an overview. But do they really get what’s going on? One of the best-selling books of 2008 was Tim Keller’s The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian…
Read MoreMore from Steve Gladen on Saddleback’s Small Group Coaching Strategy
Yesterday, Steve Gladen began talking about how Saddleback provides coaching and care for over 4500 small group leaders. If you missed part one, you can read it right here. In today’s continuation he’ll be talking about providing coaching and care for the group I sometimes call…well, I think I’ll let you fill in your own…
Read MoreSteve Gladen on Saddleback’s Coaching Strategy
In last week’s series of articles on small group coaching I shared an idea that I got from Steve Gladen and my friends at Saddleback. Wanting you to get the info straight from the source…I’m really honored to have Steve’s responses to some questions I emailed him last week. Here’s how it went: Mark: Saddleback…
Read MoreImagine If Your Coaching Structure Was Like This
In yesterday’s post I described what I think are some key aspects of the end in mind when you’re developing a coaching structure. Today I want to help you imagine your coaching structure as a finished–but steadily developing–product. Sounds like a contradiction in terms, I know, but I just follow me for a moment. I…
Read More