My Recent Appearance on GroupTalk

My Recent Appearance on GroupTalk

by | Jun 5, 2012 | Small Group Strategy, Small Groups

By Allen White 
Last week I had the privilege of sharing a few thoughts with Jay Daniell, host of GroupTalk for the Small Group Network. We talked
about recruiting new small group leaders. I had the chance of sharing about five different ways and possibly at the same time. You can listen HERE.
Here are my notes from the call:
What is a group leader?

  1. An “Official” Group Leader representing the church
  2. A Group Host for one series
  3. Someone who gathers their friends for a study – 700 new launched at HPC this month.
  4. Will they have the title of “leader”?
  5. Will their names be on the church website?
  6. Will they participate in a connection event?

Who should you recruit?

  1. Influencers, existing group members, anyone willing.
  2. The type of group will determine the starting point re: qualifications.
  3. Official group – church member, training, interview.
  4. Host home – member or not, briefing, interview/application.
  5. “Go and Grow” – breathing and briefing

What should you recruit them to?

  1. DVD-based curriculum – easy to use.
  2. Just-in-time training – on the DVD, Youtube, blog.
  3. Trial Run – 6 weeks – Are they actually good at gathering and leading?
  4. A job description and a rigorous process don’t guarantee “problem free” groups. According to Mark Howell, there is no “problem free.”

How should you recruit them?

  1. Small Group Pastor/Director – You shouldn’t.
  2. Leverage your senior pastor and the pulpit.
  3. Align the weekend service and the group study, if you can. If not, leverage the senior pastor and the pulpit anyway for a non-aligned DVD-based series.

What if my senior pastor isn’t interested?

  1. Get your senior pastor interested.
  2. Create your own curriculum.
  3. Give your pastor great stories from small groups.
  4. Begin to think: “How can we launch small groups on that?” – Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparents Day, Columbus Day (singles)… Church events, church initiatives, major strategic moves in coming year.
  5. Intersect groups with your pastor’s interests.
  • If your pastor wants to engage men, the answer is groups.
  • If your pastor wants to improve stewardship, answer = groups.
  • If your pastor wants to build a building…
  • If your pastor wants to disciple new believers…
  • Emphasize missions…
  • Wherever God is leading your senior pastor to go, head right into that direction and become a broken record.