Mix and Match Leads to Missed Opportunity

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Mix and match.  There are things you can mix and match.  You can mix and match fashion.  You can mix and match cuisine.  Nothing better than fusion.  It can be fun to combine things.

The problem?  It doesn’t work every time.  Sometimes it makes for a comical development.  Like when Johnny Cash mixed and matched parts to make a cadillac  one piece at a time.

And sometimes it can be downright disastrous.  Like when Igor handed Dr. Frankenstein the brain from Abby Normal.

In a small group ministry?  Better make sure you’re using a mix and match strategy and expecting exponential results.  Just doesn’t work that way.  And far too often, when you look closely and know what you’re looking for…that’s what you see.  A mix and match strategy.

Need an example?  How about this.  Using North Point’s GroupLink strategy with its closed group philosophy and anticipating that small groups will be the growth engine that is the fully implemented Saddleback model.

It doesn’t work that way.  Does that make one model superior to the other?  Not if you understand what they’ve each clarified as a win.

For example, Andy Stanley makes a series of interesting statements in Deep and Wide:

  • Noting that providential relationships are one of the five most important faith catalysts, the team that launched North Point determined that while you can’t program for that, you can “create environments that are conducive to the development of these types of relationships (p. 133).”
  • The value placed on providential relationships “drove us to build a model around closed rather than open groups.”
  • “We decided not to leverage adult groups as a growth engine, but rather to do everything in our power to create authentic community (p. 134).”
Fascinating.  Those three statements explain so much.  They’ve built a come and see environment in their Sunday services, relying on their invest and invite strategy for a growth engine.  They’ve designed the small group environment to ooze authentic community.  It all fits together.  They’re not surprised or disappointed by the outcome.
How about you?  When you step back to examine the results you’re getting…are you disappointed?  Are you surprised?  Maybe it’s because you’ve got a mix and match strategy.

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

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