By Allen White 
At this point, you’re launch is either starting, midway, or completed. Regardless of the timeline, you’re not done yet. These four small shifts can help you connect more people this Fall.
Shift 1: Launch a Few Groups on the Spot
Even if your Fall series has started, inevitably there is someone who hasn’t paid attention over the last month or so and didn’t manage to get into a group. They still want to, but they feel like that window has closed. Don’t leave any possible groups on the table, if you will.
Set up a table in your church lobby this coming weekend for those who procrastinated or just started coming to your church. Even if you’re already a week into your series, they can still get started. But, here’s the deal, no one wants to jump into a group that has already started. Give them the opportunity to gather a few friends and start their own group. Some readers just got excited by that idea. Others just lost their lunch!
Take the risk out of it. Don’t advertise the groups. They gather their friends. You support them. You don’t send anyone to the group unless you know the leader very, very well. Oh, and don’t call them a “leader.”
Shift 2: Plan Your Groups’ Next Step
You may object: “We’ve just launched or haven’t launched! Why do we need a next step now?” Here’s the deal: You shouldn’t have launched groups this fall if you didn’t already have a next step in place. But, it’s not too late.
Whether your church is doing an alignment series in January, offering a sermon-based discussion guide, or just recommending a “How to be a Group at Your Church” kind of study, have one (repeat: one) next step in place for all of your new groups. Don’t give them choices. New groups will get lost in choices. Offer the next step in the middle of the current series, then ask the group to make their decision before the current study ends.
Shift 3: Form Your Small Group Team
You might already have a team in place to help you manage the small group ministry. Overall leadership ministry is important, but without a team, the management of the ministry will eat your lunch. If you currently have a team, think about how to expand your team. If you don’t have a team, then make a wish list of your small group dream team.
Your goal is to develop a team to the point that your job is to meet with the team and set the overall direction of the small group ministry. The only way to start more groups and connect more people into groups is to multiply yourself. If you are training, coaching, planning, supervising, and managing your groups all by yourself, you will personally burnout and your groups will suffer for it. Your most important role is to equip others to serve with you. To lead by yourself is, well, selfish.
Shift 4: Make Two Lists.
The first list is for all of the things you learned during this fall launch and all of the things you did well. You want to repeat these things.
The second list is for all of the things that didn’t work so well or things you would do different next time. If your fall launch was just like your spring 2018 launch, then don’t be surprised if you get the same results. Learn from your experiences and move forward.
I just talked to a small group pastor from my 2018 coaching group today. A year ago he had less than half of his adults in groups. Right now, 99.9% of their congregation is in groups. Just a few shifts can radically change your result.
For more information on my 2019 Coaching Groups, click here.
