Gospel and Groups
When writing Christians living in Corinth, the apostle Paul emphasized the gospel as of “chief importance” and “what believers have taken their stand on.” They did not receive and believe the good news of Jesus and then move on to something else. We don’t “move on” from the gospel because there is nothing else of “chief […]
3 Things You Miss When Your Groups Aren’t Aligned
The following post is by Brandon Hiltibidal, and it originally appeared on LifeWay’s Church Leaders blog. Brandon is a former church planter and multi-site pastor. He is part of the Groups Ministry team at LifeWay Christian Resources. He and his wife have two little girls. You can read about his groups ministry and his girls on Twitter: @bmhiltibidal. […]
2 Unintended Consequences of the Idea That “Anyone Can Lead a Group”
Over a decade ago, many small group pastors began to communicate messages such as “Anyone can lead a small group” and “If you can press play and make coffee, you can lead a small group.” For some of these churches, these messages were a way to help change the perception of what it takes to […]
3 Benefits of Launching New Groups
Every Fall churches across the country gear up to kick off a new season of small groups (or Sunday school classes, life groups, etc.). While many agree that these groups and classes are an important part of their church’s ministry, we often fail to realize the importance of new groups in light of a church’s […]
Managing the Downside of Your Groups Approach
There has been ample debate on the approach a church takes to their small groups. Should the groups be “open” or “closed”? Should the groups meet on-campus or off-campus? I rejoice that the discussions take place because this means pastors and ministry leaders are wrestling with how to help people live in biblical community. At […]
Trade-Offs on Where Your Groups Meet
Michael Porter has famously said that strategy is about making choices, about making trade-off decisions. As an example, IKEA is known for making the trade-off decision of offering great prices over offering great service. It is not that they de-value service, but they have chosen to value “low cost” more. This strategic choice impacts organizational […]
The Trade-Off Discussion: On-Campus and Off-Campus Groups
Michael Porter is a well-known expert on strategy. Porter has articulated “strategy is about making choices, trade-offs.” An effective strategist thus understands the landscape and deliberately chooses a path with awareness and understanding of the trade-offs. A leadership team that is strategic is able to say, “Here are the potential benefits and the potential pitfalls […]
Group Leaders Want Direction
In recent research, which Ed Stetzer and I will be sharing in an upcoming book on groups, we discovered that the majority of small group leaders in churches are not given any direction as to what their groups should study. Not only are these leaders not given Bible studies that fit the overarching discipleship plan […]