Feel like you’re spinning your wheels? Can’t ever seem to make real progress in building your small group ministry? It may be you’ve fallen for one or more small group ministry urban legends.
I owe it to my leaders to reinforce the weakest link: You know them. They’re the group leaders who repeatedly need “a few new members.” They come to you for reinforcements. You give them the names from your most recent “requests to join a group.” Bingo. Problem solved. Not! Far better to help your leaders learn to add new members on their own. Just as important is the reality that starting new groups is much more important than reinforcing existing groups. See Top 10 Ways to Find New Group Members and Top 5 Advantages of New Small Groups.
Handcrafted matchmaking ensures good connections: Still trying to play the middleman or matchmaker between group leaders and prospective members? This ideal is at the root of so much frustration! Taking sign-up forms is most effective when signing up to attend a connecting event. Make it easy to connect with existing groups by creating an online group finder (like ChurchTeams) or providing a catalog at the small group kiosk with group leader’s contact info. Eliminating middleman opportunities goes a long way toward making connecting easier. See What’s the Best Way for People to Sign Up and Commit to a Group.
Elders make good coaches: I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard people say they solved their coaching problem by asking their elders to serve as coaches. Could they make good coaches? It’s a definite maybe. Is it a no-brainer? Absolutely not. See Who Makes the Best Coach.
Required leader training courses ensure healthy member experience: Actually, completing the required leader training course only ensures the candidate wants to lead bad enough to endure the course. Completing the course rarely uncovers unhealthy underlying motivations. What’s the solution? The small group connection leader selection process and requiring small group HOSTs to fill their own group both do one critical thing. They ensure group members are willing to follow the group leader for the test drive period. See How to Launch Groups Using a Small Group Connection and HOST: What Does It Mean?
What do you think? Have a question? Want to argue? You can click here to jump into the conversation.
