Dec

9

Keeping Your Small Group Small

December 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Jamie commented on my last post. I thought her question was worth bringing up and answering on a main post. She said,
Curious: how do you count “people” in a couples group? Six would be way too small, because if one couple misses, you’ve lost a third of the group. But we currently have better than […]

Dec

4

To Cell or Not to Cell—That is the Question

December 4, 2007 | 1 Comment

It seems that most of what I read about small groups these days focuses on cell groups—that is, groups with a focus on “the empty chair,” on multiplication. While such groups are wonderful they aren’t the only type of effective group.
Cell groups focused on multiplication are an excellent evangelism tool. They’re essential if your focus […]

Nov

27

A Small Group Must be SMALL

November 27, 2007 | 7 Comments

In my last post, I mentioned a list of questions I sent to a pastor who had inquired about the lessening level of interest in small groups among his church members. If you’re having problems keeping people interested in your groups, there are several factors to consider.
The first of thing I look at is group […]

Nov

15

Missing: Human Affection

November 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I just received a fascinating article, which almost appeared to be real. Turns out that it was from The Onion, which is a parody newspaper. They write in a style that is so close to real that it makes you look deeper, think twice. I did that with this article, and was struck by how […]

Nov

4

Starting a New Small Group

November 4, 2007 | 2 Comments

Nate Conrad at Naperville Presbyterian Church in the Chicago area lists five common misconceptions about leading a small group. These include:
We need to have a really healthy home life before we can welcome anyone into our home. We need to finish the basement, clean up that unruly closet, add some landscaping, get our own […]

Oct

19

Getting to Know You

October 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Pastor Paul Irwin writes in The ZoneGathering that building relationships is the best way to deal with challenging group members. He discusses ways to care for group members, especially in developing openness and closeness through a variety of types of questions, including:
Discovery Questions
In-Depth Story-Telling
Current Updates
Weekly Reports
Affirming Each Other
Great article, Paul. Challenging people are usually relationship […]

Oct

17

What Growing Christians Need

October 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment

My friend, Mary Schaller of SeekerMinistries and I were talking last week about what makes small groups successful. She mentioned a new market research study done by Willow Creek Community church that has found some fascinating information about how people grow. The study is called Reveal and is described in their online magazine and in […]

Sep

20

Character of a Good Appretice

September 20, 2007 | 1 Comment

Greg has a great article on developing apprentices for small groups at Dying of Thirst. He uses the acronym FAITH, which I like a lot better than the FAT I used in my original list in my first book, Small Group Bible Studies: How to Lead Them (Standard Publishing, 1991).
He suggests that a leaders need […]

Sep

4

#1 Best Thing You Can Do for Your Health

September 4, 2007 | 3 Comments

I received this article from Fran Goodrich, Editor of the Neighborhood bible Studies e-helps. Makes a lot of sense to me!
I was waiting in line at the grocery store, vacantly perusing the magazines to my right when the above title jerked me to attention. My first thought was, “Is it diet or exercise?” […]

Sep

2

Dealing with Small Group Challenges

September 2, 2007 | 2 Comments

CTs Outreach site has an interesting article called Fix My Small Group! by Keri Wyatt Kent. She addresses six problems that are common to small groups, including lack of authentic fellowship, lack of structure, lack of solid leadership, lack of commitment, lack of outreach, and lack of open groups. She offers some good pointers to […]

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