Thinking Like a Consumer from the Near Future
If you’re here and reading this…good for you. You’re a learner and as Louis Pasteur said “Chance favors only the prepared mind.” If you’ve been along for much of this ride, you know that I spend a lot of time thinking about how to connect unconnected people. And you also know that I’m certain that “if you…
Read More6 Essential Components of a Small Group Launch
There are six essential components of a successful small group launch. This is a transferable concept whether you’re using a church-wide campaign, a small group connection or the semester approach. Every launching strategy depends on these same components. Detailed planning plays an important role in a small group launch. So much rides on what you’re…
Read MoreTop 10 Posts of February, 2012
Here are my top 10 posts of February, 2012. I don’t know if you’ll find this as interesting as I do, but only one of my ten most popular posts for February was written in February of 2012. Everything else is from a previous month. Some from as far back as 2008! New from Beth…
Read MoreDesign Is Almost Everything
Like most discussions, there’s more than one way to look at things. In my experience though, when you’re talking about a small group ministry that succeeds, it’s almost always about design. You might want to argue already, but before you do…let me give you a few things to think about. First of all, I love…
Read MoreCorrected Links for Reality Check: First Day in a New Place
Note: If you tried a link earlier and it was broken…it should be fixed now. Hate it when that happens, and always want you to be able to see what I’m talking about. Here’s today’s post: Reality Check: First Day in a New Place: __________________________________ You may not be starting at a new place today,…
Read MoreReality Check: First Day in a New Place
You may not be starting at a new place today, but you might still want to run your situation through the grid I’ll be using. There are two screens. First, there are the questions wrapped up in my series, If I Starting Today. The whole idea in the series is that if I started over…
Read MoreCan You Handle the Truth?
I love this line from Steven Levitt, author of Freakonomics: Forget about what you believe may be true. Forget about what you hope may be true. Instead, just look at what’s actually happening.” He used that line while discussing some of the misinformation surrounding global warming. I love it because he’s focusing on what is…
Read MoreBut Does It Scale? A Coaching Question
I had an interesting comment via Twitter in response to my article on How Do You Assign Coaches? Life-Stage? Geographic? Random? The reader said, “Our leaders coach who they raise up and multiply out.” See where they’re going? A group grows and then births a new group, led by an apprentice leader. A classic example…
Read MoreGroup Insights Leader Kit: An Interesting New Tool for Small Groups
Looking for a way to help group members really understand each other? You’ll want to take a look at the Group Insights Leader Kit. Developed to help groups maximize the experience and leverage the benefits of the Small Group Insights Profile (based on an assessment developed by Dr. Les Parrott), the Leader Kit is designed to…
Read MoreNext Steps for the Howell Family
I very rarely update you on the goings on for the Howell family, but wanted to bring you up to speed on a big move for us. We landed at Parkview Christian Church in February of 2010. Joined a great team on a really great mission. Led by Senior Pastor Tim Harlow, Parkview has been…
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