My Top 3 Ninja Ideas for Recruiting Small Group Leaders

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Summer is almost here.  And right on its heels comes the fall.  Ready?  Recruited the small group leaders you’ll need to connect all the unconnected people in your congregation?

It really is an annual dilemma, isn’t it?

Can I tell you something?  It’s only a dilemma for the churches that haven’t figured out how to recruit an unlimited number of small group leaders.  When I tripped across these ideas a few years ago, I thought someone was pulling my leg.  Turns out…they worked!  Even better…they worked better than anything I’d ever tried before.

Here are the three best ways I know to recruit small group leaders:

  1. The very best way to recruit small group leaders is to do a church-wide campaign on a great topic and ask your senior pastor to recruit people to host a group.  I’ve written extensively on this topic.  It is not hard, but it does require the cooperation of your senior pastor.  Trust me.  If you select the right campaign, it becomes easy to recruit hosts.  See How to Make the HOST Ask: The 2012 Version and 10 Simple Steps to a Great Church-Wide Campaign.
  2. Another great way to identify new small group leaders is to hold an event and let the design of the event itself do the heavy lifting.  When I discovered the Small Group Connection event back in 2000, I was very skeptical.  VERY skeptical.  I became a believer after my very first event.  I’ve written a very detailed 5 part article on How to Launch New Small Groups Using a Small Group Connection.  It will really tell you everything you need to know.  The key to this idea is that the event is designed to identify leaders in a way that nothing I’ve ever tried can beat.
  3. Can’t see yourself pulling off idea #1 or 2?  Asking your existing groups to consider taking a small group vacation is another great way to identify some fantastic new leaders.   The plan is really very simple.  Choose a great small group study.  Ask your existing small groups to consider not meeting together as a group for the 6 weeks of the study you choose.  Instead, ask group members to pair up with another couple or 2 or 3 others and help launch a new group.  When the study is over…they can go back to their original group if they’d like.  Their commitment is only for the 6 weeks.  Time after time I’ve found that once group members experience what it’s like to be used by God to help connect a few more…they often choose not to go back to their original group.  See also, Take a Small Group Vacation.

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

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