There are lots of tools out there to help you manage a growing small group ministry but few combine two essential components - affordable and effective. I recently connected with Matt Harrell over at MemberHub and it seems they have a solution that group leaders and pastors should consider. They even have a free 30 day trial for you to testdrive, but I wanted to ask him two key questions to help us understand what they do:
1. How does your product help the group leader and why will they love using it?
The key to MemberHub it empowers the group to connect online in a safe, private environment and it supplements the face-to-face time. The group leader is empowering the rest of the group to continue conversation, share ideas and encourage each other throughout the week. Many times only the group leader has everyones email. Now each member will have access to the hub's mailing list and can reach everyone in the group by just knowing one email address. Likewise they can see each other's profile so they can share contact info. So it makes the group leader's job easier because they don't spend time doing admin stuff like updating a spreadsheet or sending out reminders manually. The can just set up calendar events to send out emails and text messages automatically. We have a church in Florida that uses MemberHub for all their small groups as a form of digital discipleship. They actually create a new discussion in each hub and embed a video into the discussion with a list of 5 questions. Then the group members watch the video and all reply. Then they discuss. So in this case MemberHub is being used as a small group entirely online.
2. How does you product help the group ministry point person (groups pastor) and why will they love using it?
As far as the groups pastor, the benefits are similar but just on a higher level. With MemberHub for Organizations, a groups pastor can create a hub for each small group. So the groups pastor is empowering the group leaders and members to manage themselves. But he's also able to reach multiple groups at once with emails and text messaing, move people in and out of groups, and manage custom information about the members in those groups; for example, spiritual gifts. It centralizes the groups pastor efforts in managing the groups and keep him from having to use multiple tools (spreadsheets, mailing lists and word docs). Logistics, planning, member information AND communication is all in one, central place; thereby saving time and preventing the feeling being unconnected and/or unorganized.
Sounds like MemberHub has some great solutions for your group ministry - and it is worth checking out since they have a 30 day free trial.
If Jesus was invited to start (or join) a small group, and refused, it probably have a lot more to do with the way we run and lead our churches than how we manage our small group ministries. A small group ministry can reflect Jesus if it's leadership models Christ like behavior. I have seen it time and again in our groups at CCV:
•We have small group leaders passionate about reaching children and families so they start inter-generational small groups that invite their neighborhood.
•Leaders excited about helping the poor organize our entire group ministry which puts together hundreds of gift bags with winter clothing and non-perishables.
•Entire men's groups volunteer to strip, mop, and wax the floors of a local soup kitchen.
•Some small groups feed the hungry and volunteer to distribute food once per month at a local food pantry.
•We have a woman's group that feeds needy single moms dinner for an entire week as they learn parenting skills to aid them as new mothers.
•Other groups are passionate are about reaching their friends and host "fight nights" where they invite their neighborhood friends to meet their church friends and watch boxing or UFC fights.
All of these things are dependent upon how much your church will limit or restrict it's leaders. In the great commission Jesus told us to reach the world, but he also instructed us to teach disciples to obey everything he had commanded. Teach them the bible, show them how to evangelize and turn them loose. If you do that, along with directing and encouraging them in their areas of passion, then you set your church and the kingdom up for a win.
Posted by: Frank Chiapperino in resources on
Mar 02, 2009
Eric Metcalf recently posted a S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of group life in the US. CLICK HERE to take a look, it is worth checking out.
