Often times churches start small group ministries to aid in the discipleship process. However, as pastors and ministry leaders we have to expand how we view the role of small group ministry in our congregations.
A couple of weeks ago I met a couple that visited our church as a result of one of our summer outreach events. This year was the first time we did three different events, one for children, one for pre-teens, and one for high school. As a result, they decided to visit the church on Sunday and came back a second time!
This past Sunday was their third visit and I ran into them at our guest central tent outside. I was so thrilled to see them again. What was interesting to me was the how our conversation began. Of course they thanked me for organizing our teen summer outreach for their family but immediately after that they were thrilled to tell me how they found our Motorcycle Group on our website. They went on their first ride over the weekend and had a blast.
This particular couple wasn't browsing our website digging for a place to grow and deepen spiritually. They were visitors looking for a connection and trying to figure out if our church was the place for their family. We have had numerous types of social groups at CCV. Here are a few I can think of quick that we have tried or currently have: Volleyball Scrapbooking Softball Motorcycle Riding Bike Riding Tennis Playgroup Knitting Bowling
What kind of social groups have you tried at your church?
Dave Treat, from Willow Creek, recently posted that he is interested in reading your stories and making them a part of the Group Life Conference this year. Here is what Dave posted:
What's the funniest, most embarrassing, or (in retrospect) dumbest thing you've done in Group Life? From the small group that wanted to study the "Dead Sea Squirrels" or the toddler in the laundry chute, to the most ill-conceived icebreaker of all time ("Tell the group the worst sin you ever committed"), these true (we think) stories will have you in stitches.
Call for entries. We need your story on video to add to our library. We know you've got a great one... we can hear the wheels turning from here. Watch this true story... mine... for an idea of what we're looking for:
You'll be able to review these videos and vote for your favorite online in the "GLTV" section of this blog, and on the big screen in the Group Life Conference 2008Film Festival. Finalists will be played during Main Session Five: Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time. Ready to submit your own Best, Worst story? Read the Submission Rules to learn how.
New small groups start in a few different ways. Some start as a result of a campaign that the entire church participates in, some are birthed from existing groups in your church, and others start in a more organic way as new friendships develop.
Eric Metcalf at Community Christian Church recent shared his thoughts on the topic and how they handle it at their church:
Remember multiplication in school? Yeah, I didn't enjoy that either. But when it comes to multiplication in small groups, I love it!
What's the best way to multiply the number of small groups in your church?
There are lots of ways to multiply small groups - we do it through apprenticeship with an existing leader, coach, staff person, turbo group, or church campaign. After someone goes through that experience then we lead them towards multiplication. So let's take each scenario listed above:
An existing leader/small group: We multiply this group based upon leader readiness vs. group readiness. Why? Because a small group rarely ever ready.
A coach: An apprentice leader would meet with a coach one on one to prepare him or her for leadership and then launch a new small group.
A staff person: An apprentice leader would meet with a staff person one on one to prepare him or her for leadership.
A turbo group: This is a six week experience we provide for small group apprentices that equips them to launch new small groups. Not everyone will step into leadership after this experience, but it's a great way to discern who is ready. Small group coaches, staff or leaders can lead these groups.
A church campaign: We utilize our Big Idea curriculum and a DVD message to launch these groups. Ask people to host a group, play the DVD and discuss the curriculum. Recruit coaches who will meet hosts and see if the group would like to continue after the allotted time (usually 6 weeks). If they'd like to continue have the coach identify an apprentice and then start a turbo group for those apprentices or do one on ones to develop them.
All of these methods are quite effective in multiplying small groups. Some will give you massive results others will help you build towards results. We prefer to do all 5 methods throughout the year, because we believe all are effective. Essentially everyone apprentices, and its through our apprenticeship that we prepare our leaders for 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation reproduction.
Often times churches start small group ministries to aid in the discipleship process. However, as pastors and ministry leaders we have to expand how we view the role of small group ministry in our congregations.