Is THIS What’s Keeping You from Your Goals?

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goalsIs THIS What’s Keeping You from Your Goals?

If I know you, you’ve worked very hard to start the small groups you’ve started. You’ve recruited leaders that worked out for the most part and you’ve made announcements, and run blurbs in weekend bulletins, and sent out emails, and even got your pastor to mention small groups a few times. And still you’re having trouble getting unconnected people to sign up for a group.

You’ve tried several times to connect people in waves using a small group connection or GroupLink. You’ve run two or three different church-wide campaigns. You’ve tried small group fairs and tried updating your online finder.

And still, at the end of the day, are right about where you have been all along in terms of percentage connected.

When Pete Wilson published What’s Keeping You Up at Night? you already knew what was keeping you up at night.

But do you? Do you know why you’re stuck? Why you’re not reaching your goals? Why you keep trying and keep falling way short?

Of course, there could be a number of reasons. I’d love to talk with you one on one about it.

But could there be a simple explanation?

What if there was a really simple explanation?

Think about this

It turns out that we are most often kept from our goals “not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.”

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” Robert Brault

Ouch! Could it be that obvious?

What if the reason your percentage connected remains stuck at 32% is that too many other steps are easy to take and more obvious? That is, it’s not easy for unconnected people to choose the small group option because there are too many other options. See also, A “Plated Meal” Leads to a Church OF Groups, Think Steps, Not Programs, and Making GroupLife On-Ramps Easy, Obvious and Strategic.

What if the reason your attendance at your small group connection is way less than you hoped is that there were too many other easier selections to make when it came right down to it (i.e., you also offered sign-ups for everything under the sun during the same weeks leading up to the connection).

If you want to connect unconnected people you have to make it way easier to do than anything else, way more obvious than anything else, and way more strategic than anything else.

Not kind of easier or kind of obvious or kind of strategic.

Way.

What do you think?  Have a question?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.

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Image by Resad Kurtanovic