Three Little GroupLife Secrets No One Ever Tells You

I don’t know if you’ve picked up on these already.  But there are three little grouplife secrets no one ever tells you.

1. There’s a reason unconnected people haven’t joined a group.  And I think I know what you’re thinking.  “They’re not in a group because they’re not spiritual enough, they’re too busy or they have young children.”  But guess what?  They’re not connected because the offer isn’t appealing to them.  It’s like everything else.  Everything else.  The right offer is irresistible.  See also, Which Customer Is Your Ministry Designed to Connect?, GroupLife Philosophy: Who Is Your Customer? and GroupLife Philosophy: Defining Your Customer.
2.  There’s a reason you aren’t finding enough leaders.  It’s not because your church is the black hole of leadership.  It’s also not because your church only attracts the diet coke of leaders.  And it’s not because your church repels leaders.  You aren’t finding enough leaders because you haven’t imagined an attractive toe-in-the-water opportunity.  Trust me.  Your church is not a leader free zone.  You just haven’t created the right entry level opportunity.  See also, Qualifications, Hoops, and Lowering the Leader Bar and Design a System That Identifies Potential Leaders.
3. There’s a reason you aren’t finding enough coaches.  Again, it’s not because coaches are an endangered species in your neck of the woods.  It’s not because you’ve driven all of the viable candidates away.  And it’s not because you’ve fostered an environment where coaching “just doesn’t work.”  It’s almost always the case that you’re trying to retroactively assign coaches to pre-existing groups.  That almost never works.  It’s also very likely that you’ve fallen for the myth that coaching is about technique (i.e., “How do I get that one guy to open up?” or “How do I get that one guy to shut up?”  See also, Where Can I Find New Coaches? and How to Implement Coaching for Existing Groups.

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

Image by Kevin Shorter