Posts by Mark Howell
Where Will I Be?
I'm excited about my upcoming schedule! I've got some breakouts planned on topics that I love talking about (including GettingToThere). Really looking forward to seeing a lot of my friends around the country over the next few months! Will you be there? Be sure and let me know! Here's where I'll be: January 27-28, Dallas,…
Read MoreLeveraging Communication Tools
How are you communicating with your small group leaders and hosts? How hard (or easy) is it for you to get the word out about upcoming events, recommended curriculum, and leader development? How do you do it? Still using a print newsletter? Sending an email out to a list? Smiling and dialing? In this post…
Read MoreSmall Group Myths
Note: This post originally referred to an article on a friend’s blog that no longer exists. Here’s a link to my series by a similar title: 5 Small Group Ministry Myths that Need Busting.
Read MoreHow Serious Are You…About Connecting 150%?
You say you want to be a church of small groups. You say you want to be a church where nobody stands alone. You say you want to connect 150% of your weekend adult worship attendance. All good, pithy, mantras. But what are you really doing to make that happen? How serious are you about…
Read MoreMerry Christmas!
Hey everybody! Just a quick note to say Merry Christmas! This is a busy time for all of us, but really hope you and yours have a Christmas you’ll long remember. Simple or extravagant…praying it is full of the real peace and joy that can only come from a life in Christ! Also, hope for…
Read MoreWeb Cams, Headsets, Tokbox, and More!
Have you begun testing the waters of video conferencing yet? Maybe you’re light years into it and have it all figured out…but if you don’t, can I steer you toward a couple things? Maybe three? In my consulting work, I’m beginning to use video chat to make it better than a conference call. To do…
Read MoreWhat To Do Right Now? (to get where you want to go in 2012)
Note: I’ve updated this article to apply to 2011-12. What do you do when you take a trip? Are you one that takes out a piece of paper and begins jotting down all the things you need to do and then puts all the things in a kind of checklist? Or…do you just jump in…
Read MoreHow To Make the Small Group Ask
Regardless of the strategy you use to invite unconnected people to join a small group or to consider hosting a group in their home, learning how to effectively ask people to take a next step is essential. Done poorly, you’ll get a weak response. Done well, you’ll get a great response. Here are the four…
Read MoreEssential Ingredients for a Meaningful Small Group
I recently got an email from Peter that asked, “What are the essential ingredients to making a great life group and how do I get them?” That is a great question! Let’s take an initial stab…and then open up shop for comments (or further questions) that you might have. The essential ingredients to making a…
Read MoreGetting To There…Personally
Most of us have been on the way somewhere and suddenly had doubts that we were going the right way. You know the feeling. You're driving and the Google map directions don't make sense so you keep going even though you don't come across the street you're looking for. And then the street dead ends. …
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