As I mentioned yesterday, last week, Linda Stanley, Dave Travis and I hosted 60 leaders from churches that have been participants in either the Next Generation Leadership Community or the Multi-site Churches Leadership Community. The participants were Executive Pastors, the Small Groups Pastors and Worship/Arts Pastors. I hung out with the Small Groups Pastors.
Today's comments are about launching new small groups. Following is a list of the ways that the leaders gathered indicated that they started small groups. Most indicated that they used many (in some cases all) of these to launch new groups in their contexts.
1. Sermon Series Campaigns - New groups are launched that accompany a sermon series that is a good fit for building new communities. This concept is built off the the "40 Days of Purpose" campaigns of a few years ago.
2. Apprentice Leaders - New groups are formed as apprentice leaders "graduate" from a season of walking alongside a seasoned leader.
3. Turbo Groups - These groups are, as the name suggests, groups designed to identify, equip and launch new leaders and the groups they lead in a short time frame. Most of the leaders that participate in this program are seasoned leaders in other areas of church life but new to leading small groups.
4. Connection Events - These events, held as frequently as monthly, are designed to match leaders and participants over a meeting, often including a meal. This strategy is used most to introduce new attenders to small group life.
5. Membership - Churches with a formal membership include introduction of small groups into their process, demonstrating the high value and clear expectations of participation in group life.
6. Dinner Groups - These groups are often originally organized geographically or based on an affinity. In most cases they are intended primarily as a connection point and a "feeder system" into the fuller small group ministry of the church.
7. Reproducing Groups - New groups start when the existing group reaching an agreed upon size and leadership within the existing group surfaces to launch a new group.
How do you launch new groups?
Comments