Posts by Mark Howell
Relaunching a Small Group Ministry
I had a great question from a reader last week about relaunching a small group ministry…and had I ever written about my own experiences in it. I’ve actually had several chances to relaunch small group ministries. In some ways it’s been the basis for most of the consulting work that I do. You can pick…
Read MoreIntroducing: Mac Lake and MacLakeOnline
Mac Lake is one of the leading sources for leadership development. If you’re developing a small group ministry…you need what he’s producing. Actually, no matter what ministry you’re developing, you need what’s being produced at MacLakeOnline. Very good stuff, all the time. As the Leadership Development Pastor at Seacoast Church, a multi-site church with 13…
Read MoreTaking Advantage of Special Days to Launch Groups
As I’ve mentioned previously, there are several key seasons when launching groups makes the most sense. End of September, first of October is a great time to help new arrivals connect using the HOST strategy. End of January, first part of February is a great time to help New Year’s resolution and turn-over-a-new-leaf people take…
Read MoreHow To Use Web-Based Survey Tools To Enhance GroupLife
In the last couple weeks we’ve been talking about using technology to enhance grouplife in your church. Blogs, Facebook and Twitter and eNewsletters all can make communication with your leaders easier. Using a web-based survey tool can help you understand needs and next steps. Here’s a little bit on why it makes sense, which tools…
Read MoreIntroducing: Heather Zempel and HeatherZempel.com
One of the grouplife thought leaders I read regularly is Wineskins for Discipleship
Read MoreHow To Use An eNewsletter to Enhance GroupLife
How are you communicating with your small group leaders, co-leaders, hosts, facilitators, etc.? Are you able to go straight to all of them? Are you mailing a newsletter? Are you limited to the ones you can personally call? Or are you relying on a “pick up a flyer next time you’re in the lobby” strategy?…
Read MoreUsing Facebook and Twitter to Enhance GroupLife
One of the most important cultural trends right now is the widespread use of social media. And before you think it’s only for teens, a February 2009 report showed that the fastest growing segment on Facebook was women over 55. A March 2009 report showed that the biggest growth by segment was users over 35…
Read MoreBoost Your Blog Participation Savvy with 3 Free Tools
Once you’ve built your blog you need to take advantage of three services that will really boost your awareness of who is reading what you’re writing. Best of all…they’re all free! Clicky Clicky is a free service that allows you to easily track blog usage during the day. It’s not hard to set up and…
Read MoreHow To Get Started Using a Blog To Resource Leaders
What’s the easiest way to make information available to the leaders in your system? I think you’ll find that a blog is an easy to start resource that’s always-available, makes it easy to share, and offers some huge advantages over almost every other method. Easy-to-Start It’s easy to get started. Just follow the outline below…
Read MoreQuestion: Why Not Gather Leaders Monthly for Leadership Community?
In yesterday’s article on How To Build An Annual GroupLife Calendar I made the statement that “although the idea of a monthly leadership community has been the model for some churches, I’ve rarely found that to be a workable idea.” This statement prompted a reader to ask, “Why isn’t a monthly gathering workable?” First, that’s…
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