Posts by Mark Howell
What Do Small Group Leaders Need to Know How to Do?
Have you ever spent much time thinking about the set of things small group leaders need to know how to do? I’ve probably talked through this hundreds of times over the years but I don’t think I’ve ever really made an actual list. I’ve written a series of skill training articles that describe individual things…
Read MoreCould This Strategic Misstep Be Limiting Your Ministry Impact?
I’ve written about this strategic misstep in the past, but have never identified it quite this way. I’ve been reading Greg McKeown’s Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less and caught an idea, a way of pointing to what I believe is one of the most serious missteps in many of our ministries. See also, Growth’s Counterintuitive First…
Read More5 Moves that Will Help Your Small Group Ministry Get Unstuck
We are just stuck! We’ve been at this level for over 2 years (or 5 years). We can’t seem to break out of this rut. We add 10 new groups and lose 12. We finally recruit enough coaches to care for new leaders only to have them drop out after one semester. Our small group…
Read MoreDo Not Miss “From This Day Forward” by Craig and Amy Groeschel
Had an opportunity this week to spend some time with a great new study from Craig and Amy Groeschel. From This Day Forward: Five Commitments to Fail-Proof Your Marriage is based on a message series delivered at LifeChurch in 2012 and is a very powerful experience. The core idea? “Your key to a joyful, life-giving marriage…
Read MoreFAQ: I Need Some Help with Small Group Strategy!
I get a lot of questions. A LOT of questions. And I love it! Sometimes I can just point to a blog post. Other times I’ll answer with an email. Here’s an email from a reader with some questions I thought you might be helped by my answer: I read several books before starting and…
Read MoreLeaders Are Learners: What Are You Learning?
Leaders are learners. You know this right? Years ago I heard someone say that you could tell when someone stopped learning by the copyright dates on their bookshelves. I’m not sure that is the only way you can tell, but it’s close. What are you learning? Here are the things on my learning list right…
Read MoreCould My 2015 Coaching Network Be What You Need?
Albert Einstein famously pointed out that the definition of insanity is “doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results.” If your small group ministry is stuck and you need to break out of a rut, you ought to ask yourself if my 2015 Small Group Ministry Coaching Network is what you need![quote]…
Read MoreHow to Build a Thriving Small Group Ministry
I’ve written about the powerful benefits of a thriving small group ministry and the five easily overlooked secrets to building a thriving small group ministry. But it turns out I’ve never written a how to guide. Thoughtfully (and honestly) diagnose the current state of your church. Ask yourself the questions I ask when evaluating a small…
Read MoreTop 10 Posts for October, 2014
Miss a day? Here are my top 10 posts for October, 2014. I don’t know whether these are lagging or leading indicators, but I had visitors from 101 countries (thanks for coming by!) and my blog was read in 49 languages! Another interesting factoid is that 8 of the 10 most popular posts were not…
Read MoreNew from Priscilla Shirer: Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath
Spent some time with a new study from Priscilla Shirer this week. Breathe: Making Room for Sabbath is a 5 session DVD-driven study that will help you discover Sabbath margin–“the boundary God enables us to put around things we enjoy so that we never become slaves again.” This is a timely study and could be…
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