Between now and August 31, you can take advantage of discount prices when you purchase World’s Greatest Small Group for your small group leaders. 25% off when you buy 1-19 copies. 40% off when you buy 20+ copies. Go here for more details. Michael Keaton – Small Groups Pastor, Crossroads Church, Newnan, Georgia – is using World’s Greatest Small Group …

The 12-step strategy can be summarized in 4 words: Focus short-term, plan long-term. Many people are reluctant to join a long-term group, especially with people they don’t already know. Perhaps this is why so many small group events and campaigns fail. But people will try a short-term group (four to six weeks, maximum) that meets a specific felt need. Once …

As I coach and consult with small group point leaders and churches, I’m finding that coaching leaders is (still) a struggle for many. At the same time, I partner with several organizations that deal with coaching business leaders, and I’m applying what I’m learning in that environment to small group and church ministry. Over the next several posts, I’ll share …

GUEST BLOG by Kathy Stahlhut,  Director of Small Groups at Greenwood (Indiana) Christian Church. _______   At Greenwood Christian, we are constantly striving to improve our small group leader training. We know that with good coaching, leaders function at their highest capacity. As directors or ministers of small groups, we can only do so much. For a boost, at least …

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 …

GUEST POST by Jay Daniell, Small Group Network, jay@smallgroupnetwork.com; @jaydaniell *     *     *     *     *     * As the small group point person in your church, there is no need to stand alone. Around the turn of the century, God moved in me as a volunteer to launch small groups in …

What Giving up Control Taught Me about Effective Group Ministry GUEST POST by Allen White: http://allenwhite.org *     *     *     *     * I hear a lot of pastors debate the need for a quality experience at the expense of connecting and growing the vast majority of their congregations and their communities into their group system. I also hear the reverse of …

Yesterday I wrote about what leaders really need from us as leaders of leaders. Today, let’s get more practical. What do leaders really need? I developed a simple acrostic to help me and other leaders of leaders remember what is really important. It’s the responsibility of every leader of leaders—whether that’s a pastor, other ministry staff person, or volunteer coach—to …

I’ve made it a regular, ongoing practice in my ministry to ask the leaders under my care, “What do you need? How can we help you most in your ministry?” If I were to sum up their typical response in one line, it would sound something like an old Carpenter’s song: “What a leader needs now … is love, sweet …

Through my assessment of small groups as well as my experience leading groups and coaching other leaders, I’ve observed a direct correlation between leaders who hog leadership and groups that do not grow or multiply. Leaders who lead healthy, growing groups share leadership with two to three others … but not just any two or three others. I’ve seen leaders …