02.18.10
The Summit, Bill Donahue and starting a small groups ministry
Ben Reed is a guest blogger here at the Lifeway Small Groups blog. He regularly blogs for Life and Theology. You can also find him on Twitter HERE.
The Summit started out with a series of questions asked to each of the 9 guys who presented (10 experts were there, but Rick Howerton moderated).
Up next, Bill Donahue. Here's the question he had:
How do you start a small groups ministry?
I'll start off by affirming that clarity is more important than certainty. (HT: Andy Stanley)
1. What will happen if we do this?
- Why do you want to have groups?
- What role do they play in growing a person's faith in the life of our church?
- Is this going to be a core value of our church? Or will this just be a program for a season?
- Be clear about the "Why?"
2. Focus on the "point leader" (small groups pastor) position
- Who is going to help guide this whole process?
- It doesn't have to be a paid staff. But whoever it is, they need to understand their role and how they are to relate to the rest of the church staff.
- They need to be clear on the question, "What do you want me to do?"
3. Be clear on leadership development.
4. Don't be afraid to pilot some groups.
- There are two main ways to start a small groups stystem:
- By "emancipation proclamation" - launch lots of groups at once
- Pilot method - start 4 or 5 new groups, test them out, see what works and what doesn't, and be ready and willing to make changes if needed.
Have you launched a small groups ministry at your church? If not, are you ready to?
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