5 Keys to Finding More Leaders
“I can’t find enough leaders!” Have you ever said that? If you have, you’re in good company. It’s one of the most common complaints of small group ministry point people. Here are the five most common reasons you can’t find enough small group leaders: You’re asking for the wrong thing. I think this is one…
Read More10 Essential Small Group Leader Skills
My purpose at MarkHowellLive is to help pastors and small group champions build stronger small group ministries. Most of the articles here are about strategies that will help build what I call boundary-free small group ministries. Within the knowledge base there are some important articles designed to help train small group leaders in key areas.…
Read MoreIntroducing: Randall Neighbour and The Naked Truth About Small Groups
One of the names you need to know in small group ministry is Randall Neighbour. If it sounds familiar, it may be because you recognize the last name. Randall is the son of Ralph Neighbour who, along with Lyman Coleman and Carl George, are really the patriarchs of small group ministry in North America. Randall…
Read MoreSoul-Shaping Small Groups
Working my way through Soul-Shaping Small Groups: A Refreshing Approach for Exasperated Leaders by Kim V. Engelmann. New from IVP, the subtitle sounded hopeful and honestly, the book doesn’t disappoint. The concept for the book comes from Engelmann’s own experience while serving as the head of the Care Ministries Department at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. …
Read MoreBreaking the “Mythical” 150% Participation Barrier
Certain barriers are legendary when they’re broken. The four minute mile immediately comes to mind. When Roger Bannister became the first person to record a sub-four minute mile on May 6, 1954 it changed everyone’s mind about what was possible. 46 days later another runner broke Bannister’s record with an even faster time. Since that…
Read MoreTake Action: Find Stories That Connect
Nothing helps convince unconnected people see the value of connecting like a great personal story. You can make all the announcements you want about how to get connected to a small group. You can preach all the sermons you want about how being in a small group is biblical and God’s plan for all of…
Read MoreAbide: Practicing Kingdom Rhythms in a Consumer Culture
Looking for a way to help your small groups begin to experience and practice the spiritual disciplines? Abide: Practicing Kingdom Rhythms in a Consumer Culture is a new 5 session study from Threads Media; designed to help group members “subvert the rhythms of suburban culture.” Abide, by Jared C. Wilson, takes a look at 5…
Read MoreReview: Triple-Threat Leadership E-Book
Do you know your leadership style? Do you know what your default leadership style is? That is, do you know yourself well enough to know what you do best without really working at it? Got that figured out? Alan Danielson’s Triple-Threat Leadership E-Book posits that there are three essential skills in the leadership realm: the…
Read MoreDon’t Miss the Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen Webinar
Don’t miss the upcoming FREE 60 minute webinar with Bill Donahue and Steve Gladen! It’s a rare opportunity anytime you get a chance to hear both of these guys at the same event. If you had fun watching The Summit: A Convergence of Small Group Experts, this will be a can’t miss event. “Leveraging Mid-Size…
Read MoreTop 10 Things To Do This Summer To Maximize Your Fall
Churches that are praying for and expecting a high-impact fall ministry season do more than take a break in the summer. They do take a break…but they also realize that summer is an essential time to do some simple but very important things that make a huge difference in September. Here are my top 10…
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