Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past 2 weeks as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. (Last week I taught a one-week “intensive” Small Group Ministry and Discipleship seminary class at Cincinnati Christian University, and the week before that I was buried in preparing for it, so I’m catching up now!) *     *     …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 12/28: Make God, not yourselves, the main character as you study his Word. #BibleStudy Tuesday, 12/29: Bible study = connecting God’s story to your stories. Don’t settle for either-or. #both-and …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 12/21: Encourage every person in your group to pray every day for every other person in your group. #power Tuesday, 12/22: Call group members, especially those struggling thru this season. …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 12/14: Pay attn and respond to ppl’s body language as well as verbal language. Study #kinesics. #facilitate Tuesday, 12/15: Use your own body language to get ppl involved. Lean fwd, …

Here are 24 icebreaker questions and activities I’ve written over the years that you can choose from. (Tip: save or print this for future use!) How are you “lighting up” your home for Christmas? Who is in charge of the lights and other decorations? Any special traditions? ❄   ❄   ❄ What are your expectations this Christmas? What are …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 12/7: Use this season strategically to make a difference in the environment in which God has placed you. Tuesday, 12/8: Remember that nothing that happens in the world surprises God. …

For years I’ve been following Jim Egli. His books, blogs, and brotherly love have influenced my own views toward groups, discipleship, and ministry in general. I recently read a post Jim wrote that I believe could have a profound effect on churches, if it gets into the right hands. With Jim’s permission, I’m sharing here his “4 Reasons Why Every …

I’m a big fan of today’s guest blogger. I’ve known his dad, Kent Odor, who we affectionately call Small Group “Yoda,” for years, and he’s been a great encourager, mentor, friend, and coworker. His son Micah has the same kind of traits. Micah has made it a regular practice to sit in on workshops I’ve led at various events, and …

Small Group Leadership TIPS of the past week as Tweeted, posted on the Small Group Leadership Facebook page, and posted on LinkedIn. *     *     *     *     *     *     * Monday, 11/30: Be (way) more concerned about how much people change than how much they know. Prepare accordingly. Tuesday, 12/1:  If you’re hosting, facilitating, shepherding, emailing, + discipling… you’re not sharing …

It was about this time 20 years ago—the fall of 1995—that I started a new ministry from my basement in Cincinnati, Ohio. For a couple of years I had considered developing a national magazine for small group leaders, and I even had an offer from the preeminent small group ministry of that time to publish it—in due time. As I …