Save the Date! “Community U” Coming to You!

 

Small Group Conference dates have been set for 2010 and Steve Gladen and the Small Groups Team are hitting the road again! 

A new conference, Community U: Connecting Your People to Your Church and Your Community will show you how to take community to a deeper and wider level. You will experience two intense days of teaching, learning, and growing in an innovative format that will help you to create powerful plans that you can integrate into your church.

The first day, Friday, is aimed at Small Group Point People

Two courses are available:

FOUNDATION TRACK

This is for those of you who are in the initial stages. You are thinking about adding small groups, you have recently added small groups, or your small group ministry isn’t producing the results you had hoped for. Join Saddleback Pastor Steve Gladen as he teaches the “undergrad” course in Community U.

• Learn the strategy behind Saddleback small groups and how we intentionally integrate the five purposes of fellowship, discipleship, ministry, evangelism, and worship into every small group.
• Learn how small groups can:

1. Revolutionize your church’s overall strategy and vision by reinforcing your teaching while building up the body.
2. Better connect every person in your church into the body
3. Disciple people
4. Mobilize people to service
5. Help reach your community
6. Expand your church’s worship experience

ADVANCED LEADERSHIP TRACK

This is the “graduate” level course. You have attended previous Saddleback Small Group Conferences. You’ve learned, you’ve implemented, and you’ve grown – now it’s time to kick it into a higher gear. Seasoned small group pastors will lead informative discussions on how to get from where you are to where God wants your ministry to grow. The Advanced Leadership Track session tackles subjects like:

• How to grow from a plateau
• Spiking new life in a tired relationship team
• Aligning the ministries of your church for small group growth
• Rebuilding infrastructure that works
• Think Tank sessions with other Small Group Point People and PDSG Network leaders for direct exchange of encouragement, information, and resources

This is a highly interactive iron-on-iron sharpening. You’ll go back to your church having worked on the toughest issues with others who are in the trenches. No theory, no concept, just straight forward breakthrough thinking with other Small Group Point Leaders from around the country.

The second day, Saturday, is aimed at both Small Group Point People and their Small Group Leaders. Bring all of your Small Group Leaders for inspiration and instruction. Make it a time of connecting with one another. You could even make this your Small Group Gathering for the year!

Saturday brings more top teaching in two tracks – Advanced and Small Group Leading. This will be accomplished through:

• General Sessions. All attendees meet together for great opening and closing sessions of worship, teaching, and inspiration.
• Workshop Sessions. Small Group Point People will participate in innovative sessions that add additional teaching to prepare you for returning to your churches ready to roll! Small Group Leaders will get the benefit of the wit, wisdom, and amazing teach of Lyman Coleman, the foremost trainer of small group community in the world. Your leaders will leave with great new skills for forming and bonding their groups into vital, biblical, purposeful community.

COMMUNITY U AVAILABLE IN EIGHT LOCATIONS IN 2010!  In addition to seven two-day conferences (see below), we will also be at the Purpose Driven Conference at Lake Forest – a unique “ten in one” conference experience. 

PURPOSE DRIVEN CONFERENCE         Feb 9-12    Lake Forest, Saddleback Campus  [click here for info]

For the first time ever, this year’s Purpose Driven Conference is really ten conferences in one! Now you can bring your entire church team for individual learning experiences. This is a unique hands-on conference that will build and inspire each member of your team. Rick Warren, the Saddleback Team, and leading national pastors will challenge, develop, and expand your vision to be a moving force for God, not only in your church, but also in your community.

• Purpose Driven Church & The P E A C E Plan
• Preaching for Life Change
• Purpose Driven Youth Ministries
• Purpose Driven Children’s Ministries
• Purpose Driven Small Groups
• Worship
• Leading Through Change
• Developing Emotionally Healthy Leadership
• HIV/AIDS/Orphan Care
• Celebrate Recovery
• Also a featured conference: Life as a Pastor’s Wife

TWO DAY “COMMUNITY U” CONFERENCES: [click here for info]

Nashville, TN            April 16/17    Life Point (Smyrna)

Milwaukee, WI         May 21/22    Parkway Church (Oak Creek)

Los Angeles, CA       July 16/17     Mariners Church (Irvine)

St. Louis, MO           Aug. 20/21   Calvary Church (St. Peters)

Seattle, WA             Sept. 24/25   Washington Cathedral (Redmond)

Washington, D.C.    Oct. 15/16     Grace Community Church (Fulton)

Miami, FL                Nov. 4/5       Christ Fellowship Church (W. Palm Beach)

We have created a low-cost high impact conference, and we are bringing it to a location near you. Hope to see you there!

 “Small groups are the most effective way of closing the back door of your church. We never worry about losing people who are connected to a small group” Rick Warren

Ask the Network – How do you encourage male participation in small groups?

 

Last month, Dafnette Jones of Silver Spring, Maryland asked: How do encourage male participation and retention in small groups? Do you plan fellowship outings, etc.? How can we equip male leaders to facilitate community among men?

We have an answer from Craig Mattes, the Director of Small Group Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lisle, Illinois.   craig.mattes@trinitylisle.org

First question–”How do you encourage male participation and retention in small groups?” 

God has been truly blessing our men’s groups at Trinity.  We started with one group last year with about 4 guys.  Right from the start, we shared the vision of multiplying with the dream of having a men’s group on every day of the week.  This group grew to 18 guys by May and we multiplied the group in June.  Starting this October we will have groups meeting on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  Each group meets at 6:35 am on our church’s campus and goes for little over an hour.  Each group follows the same curriculum (which is generally studies which correspond to our sermon series).  The early hour is a great time which does not conflict with family or work.  Because of occasional early meetings or travel, we permit men to attend another of the week’s meetings if they are unable to attend their regular group meeting.  This is offering much flexibility and keeping guys always in the loop and in synch with things. 

Second question–”Do you plan fellowship outings, etc.?” 

We are just at the beginning of planning outings.  We are currently doing a study called “Fit-2-Serve” (www.fit-2-serve.net) and wrapping up the study by participating together in a local walk/run 5k.  We are also in the midst of planning a men’s breakfast in November (details here – www.trinitylisle.org/mensgroups).  Otherwise, on a regular basis we do skip our normal weekly meeting on campus and hit the local Starbucks during the first meeting day of the month.  This is a time to enhance fellowship allowing us to get to know each other better with no agenda.   

Third question–”How can we equip male leaders to facilitate community among men?” 

At Trinity, we follow the same 5 purposes as Saddleback and organize our small group meeting agendas as such.  Along with this we assign a different “champion” to lead that particular component.  So we have one person who would lead our prayer time.  One person would lead the Bibly study time.  One person would lead the ice-breaker and so on.  This gives everyone in the group an opportunity to faciliate “something” on a smaller scale.  More and more practice on championing helps equip our men to one day lead a group.  Our studies (which can be found at www.trinitylisle.org/bigideastudies) make it pretty easy for anyone to faciliate a particular meeting component.

Thanks for your great answers, Craig!

Next months question is from Terri Parker of Largo, Maryland – How do you find coaches? Send your answers to this question, or your own question for future newsletters, to cheryls@saddlebackchurch.net

Resources for You – October 2009

 

This month we will be looking at two books, one is brand new and the other is a classic must read: Sticky Church by Larry Osborne and Sharing the Journey: Support Groups and America’s New Quest for Community by Robert Wuthnow.

Sticky Church by Larry Osborne.

Larry Osborne shares proven strategies that he has used for closing the back door of your church through using sermon-based small groups. Sticky Church tells the story of North Coast’s word-of-mouth growth and offers tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry.

This is a good book for church leaders who are looking to start or reorganize their small group ministry. It includes samples of sermon notes, study questions, and leadership training materials.

 

Sharing the Journey: Support Groups and America’s New Quest for Community by Robert Wuthnow

This isn’t a new book, but it is a must read for anyone interested in the topic of community. Through extensive research, Wuthnow attempts to answer the following questions:

How many people are involved in small supportive groups?

What motivates them to become active in these groups?

What kinds of groups do they join?

How do these groups actually function?

What do their members like most?

What do they like least?

How are members spirituality influenced, if at all, by these groups?

Is the wider society being influenced by them as well?

How do people in small groups reconcile the strong individualistic tendencies that exist in American culture with the demands of being a responsible group member?

Are small groups in any way altering the character of American religion?

What do they tell us about the balance between private life and public commitments in our society?

If you haven’t read this one yet, buy it, grab your highlighter, and dig in. It represents more than three years of research by fifteen scholars and is the result of a survey of more than a thousand small group members. It is a must read.

Small Group Studies: October 2009

 

Formation: Building a Reliable Foundation

The first release in the new Small Group Life series from LifeWay Small Groups, Formation: Building a Reliable Foundation, is now available! 

From General Editor, Steve Gladen, Formation draws from the best small-group principles and practices in leading group members in a study of pillars of formation—mystery, purpose, the efforts of the enemy, atonement, community, and redemption. Participants will realize that because we are spiritual beings, we are always being spiritually formed. Employing a discovery Bible study approach, each episode of Small Group Life includes 6 topics, 6 missional challenges, free enrichment video downloads, and free children’s Bible study ideas that address the same topics as the adult experiences. There is a “2^nd Take” written for each topic for groups wanting more than a 6-week study. 

Small Group Life will incorporate the new Connect-Grow-Serve-Go designations into each small-group experience. Groups will participate in a warm-up, called CONNECT, designed to get members talking, involved in the conversation, and engaged in specific topics. CONNECT is followed by GROW, the heart of each Small Group Life experience. GROW is the primary vehicle for Bible study and includes basic doctrines, discussion questions, and embedded leader notes to help with facilitation. Each topic also includes a SERVE/GO missional challenge. 

As a response to the expressed needs in the small-group community, Small Group Life series is affordably priced and streamlined for ease-of-use and minimum preparation for both the group facilitator and group member. The SERVE/GO challenges get groups out into the communities  for ministry, leadership, and service opportunities. Small Group Life also has a 3-year continuity plan to help those small-group churches looking for an alternative to the “a-la-carte” approach to small-group curriculum and Bible study.  

• Affordable – Introductory $3.50 through direct channels, $5.95 retail
• Continuity – 3-year plan allows leaders to ensure groups are engaging Scripture
• Streamlined – Easy preparation and discovery Bible study method
• Customizable – Available by download ($30 per group/unlimited copies). Content may be modified or customized to include church logo or make content more suitable for church or group culture.
• Flexible – SGL utilizes a 6-lesson study that has a going deeper section at the end of each lesson enabling weekly groups to have a 12-week resource.
• Kid Friendly – Children’s Bible study activities available as free downloads to Small Group Life users.
• Host Driven – Conversation driven with leader notes embedded in each study so groups need only a host or facilitator for the study as opposed to an expert leader.
• Missional – Challenging groups to engage their culture through missional activities is part of the Small Group Life DNA. 

Order by visiting www.lifeway.com/sgl or by calling 800-458-2772. 

Future releases:

Formation: Building a Reliable Foundation

Mission: Invitation to the Adventure of Life

Freedom: Freedom Was Enough

Barbarians: A Call Into Unchartered Faith

Leadership Lifter: The Temptations of Leadership

by Rick Warren

The Pain and Pleasure Test

God never asks you to do anything that He doesn’t give you the ability and the power to do. The same is true of leadership. God doesn’t ask you to be a leader unless He gives you the abilities to lead, the opportunities to lead, the resources to lead and the people to lead. He won’t ask you to be a leader without giving you the gifts of leadership. That’s what those things are – opportunities, abilities, resources, and people. 

That’s the upside of leadership. God gives you those gifts to do it. 

The downside is Satan always tries to pervert anything that God gives you. Satan has never created anything original in his life. All he can do is pervert the gifts that God gives us. God gave us sex – Satan tries to pervert it. God gave us marriage – Satan tries to pervert it. God gave us the ability to make money – Satan tries to pervert it. God gave us all the things we have in life; every good gift came from God. Satan tries to abuse and misuse whatever God gives us.

God will give you these gifts, these abilities, to lead other people and influence others. But Satan will try to tempt you to use them for selfish purposes.

Of course the papers are full of stories right now of very talented people using their abilities for the wrong reasons and in selfish ways.

For the next three issues, we are going to look at the Temptations of Leadership. We are going to start by looking at Matthew 4:1:“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.(all verses quoted NIV unless otherwise noted”. What happened before the “then”? We need to look at the previous verses to understand the context of these temptations. The Bible says this in Matthew 3:16-4:1 “As soon as Jesus was baptized He went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is My Son whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”

This is very important. Notice the timing of temptation. After every mountaintop there’s a valley. After every spiritual high there’s a spiritual low. This is going to happen in your life. You can count on it. After a time of success with God you’re going to have a time of tempting with the devil.

And actually this is right after a spiritual experience. He’s had this momentous baptism. It’s Jesus’ coming out party. It says, “After He came up out of the water…” He was baptized and the heavens open up. The Holy Spirit comes down like a dove. A voice from heaven. This is pretty spectacular stuff. What an affirmation! Jesus has to feel good. “This is My Son,” God says.

What happens? Right after that He goes into a desert experience, lonely, by Himself, to be tempted by the devil. That’s going to happen in your life. The temptation often comes after an affirmation. 

But it also comes right before you begin leadership. As it did in this example before Jesus began His leadership. The first thing He does after the temptation is He starts His ministry. He starts serving. He starts leading. God is going to call you to lead, and then you will be tested.

There are three basic temptations. You’re going to fight all three of them the rest of your life. The first one tests your maturity, the second one tests your integrity, and the third one tests your priorities.

The first temptation of leadership, and the one that we are going to deal with this month, is what I call the Pain and Pleasure Test.

If you’re going to be a leader you’re going to have your pain and pleasure tested. This reveals your maturity. Why? Let me give you a definition of maturity. Maturity is the ability to endure pain and to delay pleasure. That’s the mark of maturity. Emotional maturity is the ability to endure pain and to delay pleasure. In other words you do the hard stuff before you get to do the easy stuff. Immature people just want to do the easy stuff. They have no patience. They’re impatient. They’re impulsive. They don’t know how to wait, how to delay gratification. They’ve got to have it now. They’re impatient and impulsive.

The best example of this is a baby. A baby doesn’t know how to wait. A baby cries instantly. It’s frustrated. It’s unhappy. It is thwarted. It’s not having its needs met. It doesn’t know how to endure pain and it doesn’t know how to delay pleasure. It’s immature. That’s why one of the goals of parenting is to teach your kinds the difference between “no” and “not yet.”

We live in a very immature culture today. We want everything and we want it all now. We don’t know how to delay gratification. Why should I have to wait until marriage to have sex? Why should I have to wait to buy something when I can just use my credit card? Why should I deny myself any pleasure if I can have it now? That is immaturity.

Let’s look at this temptation in Matthew 4:2-4. Jesus has just been fasting for forty days. He’s tired. He’s hungry. He’s lonely. At that moment, Satan comes to him and tempts Jesus by telling his to turn stones into loaves of bread to eat. Jesus resists this temptation and tells Satan that man needs more than bread for life, that he needs to feed on the Word of God.

What’s going on here in this temptation? Was it wrong for Jesus to be hungry? No. Was it wrong for Him to want something to eat? No. Did He have the ability to turn stones into bread? Yes. So what’s the big deal?

There are two major problems.

First, He’s being tempted to use His abilities for selfish reasons. God didn’t give Jesus the power to perform miracles so that He could serve Himself and be comfortable.

The same is true with you. God has given you abilities and talents. But God didn’t give them to you for your benefit. God wired the universe in such a way that we need each other. My talents and my abilities are for your benefit, not for me to have big ego about or to serve myself. And your talents and abilities are not for you. They are to serve other people.

1 Peter 4:10 tells us,“God has given each of you a gift from His great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another (NLT).” Why does the Bible tell us to use our gift well? Because God knew that we would be tempted by Satan to use it selfishly. Satan doesn’t just tempt you in your weaknesses, he tempts you in your strengths as well. The devil doesn’t mind you being good at things as long as you just don’t do it for God. You don’t even have to do it for the devil. He just says do it for yourself; to make yourself famous, to make yourself rich, to make yourself important, to make yourself comfortable.

Have you ever been tempted to turn stones into bread? No. Why? Because you don’t have that ability. But you’ve got some other abilities that the devil’s tried to use. For instance, if you’re really good at speaking, then he’s going to tempt you to dominate other people with your words. If you’re really persuasive, he’s going to tempt you to manipulate and use other people with your persuasiveness. If you are intelligent, he’s going to tempt you to look down on people who are not. If you are good at athletics, he’s going to tempt you to use your athletic ability to boost your ego. He says I don’t mind you using your talents, but don’t waste them on God, use them for yourself.

Not only was this a temptation for Jesus to use his abilities for selfish purposes, it was also a temptation toward self-reliance. Here’s the first test: when you are empty, hurting, or confused, will you trust God to meet your needs or will you rush to satisfy them your way?

Satan comes to Jesus and says, Jesus, You’re hungry. You need some food. You haven’t eaten for forty days. But God’s not going to take care of you. God’s not going to bring food to you. You’ve got to do this yourself. You’ve got to take matters into your own hands. It’s up to you. Satan says to Jesus, “As the Bible says, ‘God helps those who help themselves.’” Friends! The Bible doesn’t say that. Ben Franklin said that. And he was wrong. God doesn’t help those who help themselves. God helps those who trust Him. 

I wonder what stones you’ve been trying to turn into bread in your life. You’ve got some unmet needs. You’ve got some unmet sexual needs. You’ve got some unmet financial needs. You’ve got some unmet relational needs and emotional needs. You’ve got some unmet needs in your career or your education, your job. Where are you trying to turn stones to bread and meet your own needs your way rather than God’s? 

Jeremiah 2:13 says this, “My people have committed two sins: they have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” In a poor country, a cistern is a hole dug in the ground that they fill up with rainwater. It’s not a well. It’s just a hole in the ground to hold water and it gets all dank and putrid and it’s not fresh water at all. God says, I’m the source of living water, all the water you could want. But instead of accepting that, you turn your back on Me and go over here and dig a hole in the ground and drink stagnate water. 

Some of you are in the dark right now. You’re confused. You have needs in your life that are unmet. Maybe you have lost your job and you don’t see how you will ever find one. Maybe you are wondering how you are going to get out of debt. How will you ever fix your marriage? You are confused and weary. You may be thinking that God has forgotten about you. In your darkness, you can be sure that Satan will come to tempt you to turn some stones into bread.

The Bible says, “Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on God Isaiah 50:10b).” When you are tempted to turn stones into bread and take matters in your hands, the answer is as simple as two words: trust God.

Matthew 6:32b tells us, “…your heavenly Father already knows all your needs”. God knows your emotional needs, your financial needs, your sexual needs, your physical needs, and your health needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need” Matthew 6:33 (NLT). Here’s the challenge. God says, If you will make Me number one in your life and you will make My kingdom, My purposes for your life the number one concern of your life, I guarantee I will meet all your needs.

Trust God. Use your gifts and abilities to serve Him and others. As a leader, you are a huge target, but you also have God’s protection on your side. Don’t forget that. And when things get tough, and the world seems dark and cold, let His promises wrap around you to warm and light your way.

 Join me next month when I discuss the temptation of popularity and praise.

 

Rick Warren is the founding pastor of Saddleback Church and the author of the best-selling The Purpose Driven Life.

Soul Searchin: 2 a.m. Friends

 

by Jay Daniell

A few years ago I had coffee with Tony and Burt, Small Group Ministry Leaders from towns over one hundred miles from my home. We had each been leading the Small Group Ministry at our churches for a number of years. We had each read lots of books and each of us had even attended a Small Group Conference, but that was the first time we had ever sat down face to face with another Small Group Ministry Leader just to talk groups. 

Each of us was desperate to connect with someone who was in a similar ministry, with the same battles and victories. It was encouraging for each of us to know that we shared the same passion for small groups and passion for building the Body of Christ. 

God had already blessed me with a network of people to call when I was having a rough day in ministry. Tony had few. What if I had not been there for Tony?  Would Burt’s church still be pursuing community with a skilled ministry leader? Would I still be in the ministry today? I may never know the answer to those questions, but this I do know, Tony, Burt and I have developed a relationship where we are able to build each other up for ministry. I need these kind of relationships. So do you. 

When I was first launching Men’s Small Groups, I often used the phrase “2:00 a.m. Friends”. You know who they are.  They are the people who you can call at 2:00 a.m., while you are in the midst of a crisis… and they will answer the phone.  I would ask the same question today of any Small Group Ministry Leader, “Who do you know that would answer the phone at 2:00 a.m.”? You may not call at literally 2:00 a.m., but your “2:00 a.m.” may be when you find your ministry in a crisis situation. Do you have someone to call? 

For me the PDSG Network is here to connect 2:00 a.m. friends. My experience is that most Small Group Ministries have more in common than one may think. Case in point: Last November I was blessed to travel to a planning retreat for the PDSG Network. It was about midnight as the guys in my cabin were settling in for the night. Three of us were still too wired to sleep and we ended up in the kitchen “networking”, or in plain terms, talking about small groups. It amazed me that each of us shared the same priority concern for our ministries. And the funny thing was, one of us oversees forty groups. Another oversees four hundred groups. And the third oversees four thousand groups. But we shared the same ministry concerns. We had the same problems and had shared many of the same joys. 

Why do I do what I do? That’s easy. My ministry matters in the Kingdom. Your ministry matters in the Kingdom. Why wouldn’t we want to walk together? Why wouldn’t we want to build each other up? 

If you don’t have a 2:00 a.m. friend, get one. Better yet, if you aren’t a 2:00 a.m. friend, be one. 

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” Philippians 1:3-6 (NIV).

Jay Daniell is the PDSG Network Database Manager and the North Central Area Point Leader.  He is also the Small Group Ministry Director at Our Savior Lutheran in Norfolk, Nebraska.   smallgroup@oursav.org

Multiply or Divide? How to Start New Groups

 

by Steve Gladen

When I was in Seminary taking classes on World Missions, one thing my professors stressed was if we wanted to bring the Gospel to other cultures, we needed to be sensitive to those other cultures. We had to focus on principles that would be cross cultural and never bring American idioms into foreign cultures. The principles were biblical, so they would be true in both cultures, but the methodologies must always be flexible and sensitive to the culture. American methodologies don’t necessarily work in other countries, and vice versa.

In my early years of leading a Small Group Ministry, somehow I forgot what I learned in Seminary. When I began small group ministry, I read all the books on Cell Groups, Meta Groups, Small groups, and anything about community in general. All those books from churches around the world and in the United States, taught generally the same methodology—start a group, go a certain amount of time and then birth or split into multiple groups. The phrasing might have varied, but the focus was the same –divide the groups and multiply into new ones. In essence, the books all advocated building community for a short period of time, and then disrupting that community so more groups, and thus evangelism, could happen.

For years I tried to teach that, push that, beg for that to happen; all with the same results – a very small percentage would heed my leading. My goal was for the groups to multiply, but all they did was divide – against me! Now, it could have been an issue with my leadership; but when I talked with the people in other churches, they were having the same problem. Even when I talked with the people in the trenches of the churches writing the books on small groups, I would hear about the same type of problems I was experiencing. What sounded good on paper, wasn’t working out in the day-to-day life of small groups.

Even knowing all this, I continued to try to make it work, because that’s what books said to do. But then, an old tape that was in my head from Seminary kicked in. What was the principle and what was the methodology being used? Where were these methodologies coming from? I started doing some research and realized most of the American small group influence was coming from Korea, China and Columbia. In those areas, their methodology was working and working well. But bringing what worked in their culture into an American culture wasn’t cross-cultural; just as I had learned (and forgotten) in Seminary. The principle wasn’t wrong, but what I learned the hard way was (at least for me in a Southern California culture) the methodology was. The principle was evangelism. They birthed groups in order to see evangelism happen. There is nothing wrong with that! Who doesn’t want to see evangelism happen? What I found to be true was “how” to do that makes a big difference. I want the same principle to happen here at Saddleback Church—evangelism and aggressive evangelism at that! But that methodology just was not working for me. Why was this such a struggle for my church, and the American church in general?

In order to answer that question, I needed to look at what I had been learning about my culture. In doing thousands of Spiritual Health Assessments, I learned the majority of people scored low on the purpose of evangelism. It just wasn’t a strength in comparison to the other four biblical purposes (fellowship, discipleship, worship, and ministry) found in the Great Commission and Great Commandment. Consistently, most people scored the lowest on evangelism.

Another thing I learned in looking at our culture was “community” (community as in Biblical fellowship) was in a fractured state. Family social foundations have seen two major cracks happen. One is the reality that adult siblings are now living greater and greater distances from each other, making family gatherings much more difficult, if not non-existent. Take me for an example; I have three brothers and a sister. Each one of us lives in a different state. Getting together as a family takes a lot of planning and traveling for everyone. As a result, it doesn’t happen as frequently as we would all like.

Another issue attacking the family foundation is divorce. Like it or not, divorce has lasting impressions on the children. We are in our third generation of this rippling effect, sending people looking for “community” that the family system lacks. When you look at these three factors, it is no surprise that very few of the people in my ministry were willing to give up the sense of community they had found within their small groups. And yet, all across America, Small Group Point Leaders are dying on the hill of believing in a principle, but totally missing the correct methodology for their culture.

Let’s all agree, we want to do evangelism in our small groups. Let’s also agree that if birthing groups out of groups is working in your culture, that’s awesome! Let’s also agree, that if it’s not; we need to figure out how to accomplish evangelism in the context of small group life in a way that’s a cultural fit.

At Saddleback Church, we have adopted a methodology that has helped us take our small group ministry from 280 adult small groups to over 3,500 adult small groups over the last twelve years. Since 2004, we have had more people in our small groups than in our weekend attendance. How has this happened? What is our methodology for ensuring evangelism still takes place?

We have found two things to be true. One, it is far easier to start a new group than to get an existing group to multiply. I learned to avoid division by stopping talk of multiplication. Now we add. Two, it is also easier to empower a new person to start a new group with a couple of friends they already have than place them in an existing group of people they may or may not know (or like). We call this the Two Friend’s Rule—if you have two friends you can start the journey and begin a group! If you don’t have two friends…well, uh…there might be another issue.

Our primary strategy, and we have many sub strategies, is our Campaign Strategy. See http://www.saddlebackresources.com/en-US/campaigns for more information. This Campaign Strategy is something we do once a year, usually in the fall. We align the five learning modes around a central compelling question and implement it throughout the church, from the children to the adults. Everyone is on the same page, with a similarly themed sermon series, and delivery of additional materials through the small group system. Roll these factors together and the result is exponential growth and alignment in your small groups. If you don’t have small groups, this strategy is the perfect way to begin them. If you do have small groups, but they all seem to be going in different directions, this is the perfect way to align them.

So, how long do we allow our groups to continue meeting? We let our groups go for life, if they like. We don’t tell them that ahead of time, we let them discover that! Letting our groups focus on building community helps instill some natural by-products. First, it helps them see that you care about their spiritual health and the community needs they have. It also builds trust and opens communication for you to teach evangelism in a safe way that won’t disrupt community in the process.

A common question I get asked at almost all of our conferences, is if you don’t encourage groups to multiply, won’t they become “Us Four and No More” or “Us Seven till We Get to Heaven”?  Again, just because we don’t birth groups, it doesn’t mean we don’t have the people in the groups do personal evangelism—we do! So if they don’t add people to their group, but still effectively do personal evangelism; then it is a win/win. Also, my experience has been, even when you don’t plan to add people to the group—you do. People move, schedules change, life stage changes happen. There are many factors that influence the dynamics of the group. Whatever the factors, however, a group has two options: either it will dwindle to nothing or organically grow.

A key component to launching Groups For Life is to use the yearly Campaign to give people a reason to leave their group. The pastor needs to challenge the people in the group to leave annually. Why? Because leaving a group is hard when you launch it for life. People need a reason to leave, and the pastor asking them to is a great reason. It may be that they just aren’t gelling with their current group, or it may be that God as plans for them to step it up and begin leading another group. Whatever the reason, you need to provide them with an easy out. Over the years three couples have left my small group and started new groups during a Campaign…never to come back. Is that bad? No. Is that strategic? You bet!

Steve Gladen is the founder of the Purpose Driven Small Group Network and Pastor of Small Group Community at Saddleback Church.

 

Steve’s Tips – October 2009

by Steve Gladen

The key to health in a small group is balance of the biblical purposes. Here are some suggestions to pass along to your Small Group Leaders.

FELLOWSHIP – Never cancel a meeting due to the number of people who might be absent. Remember that every single meeting is a divinely arranged appointment for you to minister God’s grace and love to whomever He brings. If just a few people show up for your meeting, be sensitive to their needs. Don’t hesitate to tailor your lesson and/or group time to the few who show up. Appreciate the opportunity that this smaller group gives you to get to know each other better.

DISCIPLESHIP – Plan a weekend group walk though a park or along a nature trail. Decide on a time and location. Encourage group members to take along a Bible and even a lawn chair or blanket. When everyone arrives, instruct each person to go off separately and be alone with the Lord for an hour. When everyone returns to the meeting place, ask for volunteers to talk about their experiences. What did they realize about the value of this time? What did they sense God was saying to them? How hard was it to be quiet, and to focus on the Lord? How might this experience help you develop a regular time?

MINISTRY – Which group member has a neighbor with a need? Perhaps the yard could use work, some baby-sitting would be helpful, or the car could be washed and waxed. Meet that need, whatever it is – and be sure to take along some cookies or brownies when you put your love into action.

EVANGELISM – We human beings have a God-given responsibility to take care of the earth (Genesis 1-2). Spend some time talking about what that stewardship assignment means. Then, to put into practice what you’ve learned, be good stewards of the planet by doing one of the following:

• pick up litter along a highway or in a park
• plant a group garden and share in the work as well as in the produce
• start compost by recycling vegatable wastes (rinds, peels, pulp, and seeds)
• recycle newspapers, plastic, paper and aluminum and use the cash for a mission project

WORSHIP – Ask group members to bring a favorite worship CD to a meeting. Take turns sharing a much-loved song. Encourage group members to either sing along or to enjoy a quiet time of worship as they follow along with the words. Never be afraid to include music or singing in your group time.

For more ideas like these, read 250 Big Ideas for Purpose Driven Small Groups by Steve Gladen. More ideas next month!

 

Steve Gladen is the founder of the Purpose Driven Small Group Network and Pastor of Small Group Community at Saddleback Church.

Steve’s Tips – November 2009

By Steve Gladen

Pass these suggestions along to your Small Group Leaders to promote health and balance in your small group.

FELLOWSHIP – Give each person a list of all of the group members. Ask them to take the list home, spend some time in prayer, and then finish the sentence: “What you bring to the group is…” for each person listed. Remind the group members to bring the list with them to the next meeting. At that meeting, go around the circle and have each of the group members read what they wrote about a particular person. Then go around the circle again for the next person listed. Repeat until everyone has been read to. It will be a great encouragement for each person to hear what a blessing he or she is to the other group members.

DISCIPLESHIP – Hebrews 3:13 (NIV) tells us, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by deceitfulness.” Read this verse to your group, emphasizing the phrase “encourage one another daily”. Then challenge the people in your group to find a day in the coming week when they can encourage twenty different people. Talk about the experience at your next meeting.

MINISTRY – Use connections in your small group or the larger church family to find the name and address of someone serving in the military. Then be creative as you put together a care package to send to that person. Be sure to include a note letting that person know that you are praying for him or her. Also, if that person is separated from family, consider serving the family in some way as well.

EVANGELISM – The football season is a great time to start a men’s seeker group. Enjoy the games together and then, when the season is over, keep meeting, but for a different purpose (In the aftermath of the season, depending on your team, you may find yourself leading a grief recovery group!). Build on the bonds formed during football games and continue to meet and nurture these relationships. Even before the football season is over, you might invite the wives to join the meetings. If they join during the season, they may want to watch the game, or they may want to do something else with the other wives until after the play-offs. This might be a chance for the women to get together to do some Christmas shopping.  After the season the women could form a group that meets at the same time as the men’s group.

WORSHIP – Before moving into your prayer time, set the mood of the room by dimming the lights or softly playing some instrumental music in the background. These small acts can help the people in your small group quiet their hearts and focus on the Lord.

For more ideas like these, read 250 Big Ideas for Purpose Driven Small Groups by Steve Gladen. More next month!

Steve Gladen is the founder of the Purpose Driven Small Group Network and the Pastor of Small Group Community at Saddleback Church.