The Small Group Journey

GROW Coaching Model

Groups Ablaze! has adapted a coaching model from “Coaching for Performance” by John Whitmore titled the “GROW Model.”  One reason Groups Ablaze! coaching is built around the GROW model is because it is highly reproducible. You can be up and running in no time.

GROW stands for:

Goal — what’s our goal?
Realities — what’s your reality?
Options — let’s explore some options
Will — what will you do?

A simple, but powerful tool for coaching small group leaders. 

Bill Donahue on Coaching

Bill Donahue is interviewed on small group coaching … what it is and what it is not.  Coaching is ultimately about relationships, not about the small group strategy in your church.

When the Numbers are Small

Group members start calling you an hour or so before the meeting. You anticipated 10 of your closest friends hanging out in your living room, but only four or so show up.  What do you do when the attendance in your small group is really low??

• Don’t cancel the meeting.
• Don’t apologize for the number of people who are in attendance.
• Don’t speak negatively of those who aren’t there.
• Don’t make statements that negatively impact the conversation like, “I sure wish John was here. He would really have some important input right now.” or “If Sue was here she could speak to this issue.”
• Don’t allow the enemy to lead you to believe group members didn’t show up due to your leadership or because they don’t appreciate the group.
• Don’t feel a obligation to fill the entire meeting time. If you finish early due to the fact that fewer people are involved in the conversation, that’s okay. Spend the rest of the time just enjoying one another’s company. This will pay off in the long run.
• Do start on time (don’t wait to see if more people are going to show up).
• Do go ahead with every aspect of the small group meeting.
• Do give your whole heart to those who are in attendance. In fact, realize that the smaller number of attendees gives you the opportunity to connect with these group members at a much more intimate level.
• Do pray for the needs of those who aren’t at the meeting. Be careful that you don’t pray that they’ll show up next week.

From The Gypsy Road - Small Group Blog of Serendipity

Sermon Based Small Groups

In a recent post, Mark Howell discussed the pluses and minuses of sermon based small groups. Although sermon based small groups is an idea that’s been around for many years, it was recently brought back into the limelight by Larry Osborne’s book, Sticky Church. “Mark Howell is the founder of SmallGroupResources.net, helping churches across North America launch, build and sustain healthy small group ministries.”  Here’s a summary of what he said.

Advantages of Sermon-Based:

• The key advantage is probably that they do allow further discussion of the pastor’s message.  
• Another very powerful advantage is that it narrows the focus down to one conversation (in the small group and in the church).  Rather than group members hearing one concept on Sunday and another in their group meeting, they are allowed to focus on one thing at a time.
• Because groups are using a curriculum that takes the pastor’s message another step, it provides a great incentive to mention what members will be talking about in the week ahead (i.e., “in your groups this week you’ll be focusing on how to take this next step.”).  Where some pastors find it difficult to actively integrate references to small groups into every message, sermon-based can make it easier to connect the dots.
• Every Sunday focus on the importance of being in a group where “you’ll have the opportunity to dig deeper  into this topic” often encourages many to at least try out the idea of being part of a group.

Disadvantages:

Every strategy has both advantages and disadvantages.  Here are a few disadvantages you should be aware of:

• A church-wide application of the strategy can limit additional hooks in the water.  That is, when all the groups are using the same material it doesn’t give as many opportunities (topics) for an unconnected person to consider.
• There is an art to writing good sermon-based discussion guides.  Without the right person on the team, the discussion will simply be a closer examination of the information…without true application.
• It can be more difficult for an outsider (a friend, neighbor or co-worker)  to jump into a group that is discussing something that everyone else has already started thinking about.

Some interesting points to consider.  Our Grace Group moves back and forth.  At times we follow the sermons and use the “big idea” studies that are provided and at other times we focus on other areas of study.

What about your group …

• Are you primarily a sermon based group??
• What are you currently studying?
• Are any of your groups sermon based??

Monday Musings

Some things I’m thinking
about this Monday …

• On October 24th I attended the Group Life Conference at Prince of Peace, Palatine.  Nearly 200 people were in attendance as we watched the satellite broadcasts along with over 8,000 people from across the country.  We had a chance to hear some of the "big names" in small group ministry.
• The new mission in Winnebago, IL, was the site of my experience on October 31.  Risen Savior Lutheran Church hosted a small group training event which involved a dozen people from three congregations.  It was great morning as we experienced a small group and then talked about the things we learned through the experience.
• Last Monday & Tuesday eight folks from around the district participated in the NID Initial Coach Certification Training.  Four of the folks will specifically target congregational small group point leaders for one-on-one coaching.  Watch for more information on this exciting new adventure.
• I had wonderful evening visiting Brian Zielke at Lord of Life, LaFox,  I’m coaching Brian as he completes a DCE internship at Lord of Life.  What an exciting place!
• Immanuel, Des Plaines, is at a unique crossroads in their history. I met with a few key leaders to help them think through the next steps. Pastor Richard Mau always has a unique phrase to capture the moment.  I call them “Mauisms.”
• I invested some significant time on the Phase I report (430 pages worth) for the DCE Career Path Project.  More details to come!
• Guitar lesson update … still working on Silent Night.  It’s a very cool arrangement by my teacher, Lee Murdock, in drop D tuning. 

Until next Monday … (“Forever” by Chris Tomlin.  Our praise team is playing this song Nov 14-15)

Give thanks to the Lord our God and King;
His love endures forever
For He is good He is above all things;
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise

Congregation Based Training

One of the ways the Northern Illinois District supports small group ministry is by providing congregation based training events.  Saturday I spent the morning at the Winnebago mission, Risen Savior. The training event involved a dozen people from three congregations. We worked through some key training for growing and multiplying small groups in support of their mission effort.  Some of the topics included …

• What does a healthy group look like?
• Group Health & The GRACE Agenda
• Who will you take with you? Recruiting your apprentice and your group.
• How to keep your group missional? Lessons from Groups Ablaze!
• How to keep your group growing?

Here are a couple pictures from the training.

 

 

Group Life Conference

On October 24 I attended the Group Life Conference at Prince of Peace, Palatine.  Nearly 200 people were in attendance as we watched the satellite broadcasts along with over 8,000 people from across the country.  We had chance to hear some of the "big names" in small group ministry.

Diana Vander Pas, Director of Small Groups at Prince of Peace, did a wonderful job hosting the group. Here she’s welcoming the group to the day’s activities. 

During lunch we held a special networking opportunity for small group leaders from the NID.  Here are a couple leaders from St. John, Algonquin.

The Gospel Gone Viral

Paul Krentz, Texas District Mission and Ministry Facilitator, writes about the church planting movement in Texas. 

We have been praying for God to begin a Church Planting Movement among the churches, pastors, leaders and lay folks here in the Texas District. One thing I have been learning through my experiences and through my personal reading of leaders like Bob Roberts, author of The Multiplying Church is that a Church Planting Movement (CPM) looks more like a virus than a strategic plan.  In fact, the term Church Planting Movement (CPM) came about as more of a description than a prescription.

Read More

Share the Scoop

Women from St. Paul Lutheran Church in Tracy, CA, used the annual “Share the Scoop” event to witness to their community about the many ‘flavors’ of God’s love.

“In support of the Ablaze! movement to reach 100 million people worldwide with the Gospel by 2017, more than 300 women attended an outreach event in Tracy, CA, on August 22, 2009. The second annual ‘Share the Scoop’ gathering was held at the renovated Grand Theatre in downtown Tracy. (The first annual ‘Share the Scoop’ in 2008 shared stories of hope, faith, and love with 265 women in attendance).

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How do you Encourage Male Participation in Small Groups?

Craig Mattes, Director of Small Group Ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lisle, IL, was recently featured in the monthly Purpose Driven Small Group Network newsletter. 

The question???  How do you 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.   

Read Craig’s Response!