Follow-up on all group members throughout the week. This article originally appeared on CareyNieuwhof.com and is reposted here by permission. I was shocked to hear just how selective Citylight is when they are selecting group leaders.

From our founder's dining room table to serving teams nationwide with a greater purpose. How To Create Engaging 3 Point Sermon Outlines That Inspire Growth, The 3 Components Of Healthy Church Culture That Help People Thrive, Christian Friendship Inspires Christian Living, Extends the Pastoral Reach of Leaders & Churches, Connection Leaves Little Reason for Leaving. Share the vision for small groups (with a passion)! mx ` pe endstream endobj 2 0 obj <>stream If you dont disciple people well in groups, focus on doing discipleship another way. In a City Group, the group isnt the mission, their mission field is.

Describe how you see small groups being a vital part of your church. A guide outlining the difference between a huddle (two to three people focused on discipleship) and a city group (15 to 40 people who are living out the gospel where they live, work, and play). It can be a time of sharing, prayer, and Bible study. A lack of opportunity for deeper friendship and spiritual growth could be costing your church already. A smaller setting helps shrink down a large congregation to smaller, more intimate gatherings where members can establish deeper roots. And while most small groups focus on knowledge and friendship, City Groups go beyond and focus on mission and discipleship. ", The ABCs To Leading An Effective #KidMin Small Group, 3 Reasons Every Church Needs a Solid Communications Department, How To Connect New Online Attendees To Your Church Small Groups. Talk to the key opinion leaders in your churchand if you dont know who they are, ask around!

You have to share your passion for small group ministry with the people you talk to. Scheduling time around families, jobs, and various life circumstances can be difficult. Pray regularly for everyone in your group. This page is outstanding. Small groups vary in size, interest, place of meeting, type, etc.

In these times you must do a few things: Leadership is not for the faint of heart. Write CSS OR LESS and hit save.

I wrote this eBook to help you lead your group in the most effective way possible.

When you consider a believer, a follower of Christ in your church, what is it you want them to look like and act like? Take a look at this article to make sure your game plan is set. 6. Talk to people. Defining what is important (What is the win?). )BnE# 3. To build a great team you need to know who you need on your team. What if your website was a place for equipping, and not just attracting people? For some, you may need to align their Kingdom work for greater Kingdom efforts. Life.Church, Connexus, Citylight and Elevation are all examples of what happens when a church gets this right. If people are connected to others in your church it will make them less likely to leave the church.

Small groups expand the reach of care for the church beyond the senior pastor and staff.

Give it the attention it deserves!

Understanding Why Small Groups Matter2. (Here are 10 things to think about before you start a small group ministry). Be mindful that groups do have a lifespan, Groups tend to do the best in seasons of new beginnings (New Year, Spring, Fall). If youll follow these steps you can expect to have a successful, exciting small group launch that your church will be ready for! The key is to make it easy for people to get information about the groups at your church. No matter how each group is formed, there are some practical elements to consider when launching a brand-new group. Allow some time for everyone to get comfortable sharing and adjusting to the various personalities. Check out company news and the press that has featured our work over the years. They interview you, learn about your family and hunt down references in the searching process. If theyre a City Group located in a specific neighborhood or near a school, theyll be focused on reaching that neighborhood or school. Hes also a church leader and has served as the Omaha Concert Chaplain, working with Lauren Daigle, John Crist, Michael W. Smith, Newsboys and other performers. In those 10 weeks, they resource their leaders with everything they will need to lead a missional community that multiplies disciples. The book is based upon the questions and conversations that arose from real small group experiences and ministry. @`$>t`8p8g :@BR'"A8G4Q, C@s@)@;PFoad$*h$RH$$ Ie"S9y.kv |$omM;yPj ,ce &/~~;m:5 c~Y&@^/$hgill2*|}{^*FYav`o}^7|;5SI~ S6=#,Dv@]`6]!wzv{LG{wE9ZLg99@n{g8g3=4!B;Mj {JpQN2:e74Mr"8SP2&0IrxRmV"qwiT]6)JLpQeN{'9%xL"O9a\a00hK7B It is healthy practice to set expectations. Were so grateful to the Citylight team for making the time to share what theyre learning with us. Establish a clear vision for every meeting. When sharing vision share more than needs, share why it matters. Since they launched nine years ago, theyve grown from a small group praying in a living room into a family of 13 churches, have thousands of weekly attendees, and are reaching a huge number of young people. Invite and welcome new people into a group and encourage group members to invite people who are inside and outside of the church. 50+ free eBooks to help you build your best team. Every person needs: Group leaders will engage more when they have the freedom to offer small groups according to their interests and passions. If they do, it wont be long before they slip out of a chair and out the back door. Citylight actually has much more of an acoustic, chill vibe that could be replicated by a church with almost any budget and some high-quality musicians. Scripture like this makes it clear that believers should make an intentional effort to encourage growth in each other.

Ive talked about this a lot already, but the more I dig into their website, the more impressed I am. They are also vital to spiritual growth and discipleship. What skills are already present within your team or congregation that could help build or enhance a small group ministry? If you dont know where you are going with your groups both in strategy and vision, you are dead before you start. 3. They always have two lead pastors sharing the role. (Eph. hmo0g[lE4 &Uhb`UTq(53/p`-H-@

What is it you want them to be? Healthy, Christian friendships and accountability flourish in small group settings.

A clear guide on how to lead someone to Christ, share their testimony, and use the SOAP method.

Creating a culture of ownership is crucial to the success of your small group ministry!

It takes a clear path to follow, and intentionality from the entire group. Use your answers to formulate a vision. Theyre a church here in Omaha that Ive never regularly attended, but have watched grow from the outside. [] Whats the end in mind?If you dont know where you are going with your groups both in strategy and vision, you are dead before you start. What makes them tick? It is common to refer to this approach as free-market or interest-based small groups. They are an opportunity for a deeper level of friendship and connection. If you dont, take the time to get to know the people that need to hear these questions. A smaller setting helps shrink down a large congregation to smaller, more intimate gatherings where members can establish deeper roots. Whats the heartbeat of your Lead Pastor? As a result of this, they dont have a very high turnover rate for leaders, and are even able to tell what kind of people would be best to send to which group. They exist to gather (on Sunday) and scatter (in Citygroups).

The models below are suggestions to help you determine how you should structure the small group ministry team at your church. Then, ask them to join you.

Who has the passion to build a delivery system that can handle the people God will send your way? Water down the gospel to attract more people. I couldnt possibly outline everything that they cover in this post, but you can download their City Group Leadership Guide here to get a better idea. 133 0 obj <>stream 2. Those have become the price of admission to being a growing church. Who has what Psalms 78:72 describes in David? ]n/zFMb>!-%1*9 Gl2t5MlcJ=wIBYAQw{q5s0 d}sp]&+vU}{j`ny=At3TnNFHx6/taL54KMK oGnxt'`5Z "%i_8!Wg!Ekm?D+$D.V/Pxu!BZV&gg$uB.v^GI/l!2- / H*HDMkE**fZMB*/bFb=}3julLQ?3dj)o67]oDAa`KCF(qW{&V!4GDr3q](8h!&qe\X+4Ltm+Nt,A, oy|keV;QK^IqO`^rH* Remind yourself why you are building a small group ministry. The people of your church will experience community and spiritual growth when small group members share Life, God, and Prayer.

Preparing Opportunity For Spiritual Growth. A healthy small group ministry will primarily accomplish two things: Christian community and spiritual growth. By prioritizing the development and discipleship of their people, they have created an army of individual Christians that are living out their Christian lives online.

I went in and asked their team some deeper questions. This post was written by Dillon Smith, a Gen-Z team member at CareyNieuwhof.com who lives in Omaha, Nebraska. 2.

To decide what efforts your church prioritizes you must filter every effort with these two questions: After deciding on the few areas that are the most important for your church to focus on its time to start taking steps to implement a small group into your church. Start praying for people who want to see the same thing you want to see and who have different gift sets than you. They also have a City Group Resources page on their website that those leaders can return to again and again to stay sharp on things like: The 12 month City Group pathway (Ill talk about this more in Point 5). Once you know what you want, then you can back up and decide what will get you there. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one anotherand all the more as you see the Day approaching. Building A Small Group Ministry Team5. What if the small group leaders talk about things I dont approve of? That is spiritual health for us. Incredible small group ministry does not just happen. Designate and empower a Small Group Ministry Leader! A few years ago I was wrestling with how to start a small group ministry. Below is a brief explanation of why I believe these four areas are the key places to focus on. Decide which elements are most important for your small group in order to best reach every member resulting in an effective ministry. As a result, Ive had to ask, In a time where most churches are losing people (especially young adults) to atheism, agnosticism, or just being a none, how is Citylight having so much success? Small groups also provide an opportunity for Christians to minister to one another and others (Gal. Meet the people behind our in-house team. Which values does your church already have that small groups could help reinforce? 1. Sharing a vision is like painting a picture. And, of course, you can also direct them to the small group section of this blog.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'dailychristianhelp_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_3',119,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-dailychristianhelp_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0')}; If you sat down with a few of the key leaders in your church could you all agree on what is most important to your church? Community is vital for believers. If you were to start a business you would get your C team togetherCEO, COO, CIO, CSO, CTO, and so on. Below are a variety of ways you can encourage and equip your team: There are several ways to strengthen your team. All Rights Reserved. How you structure your small group ministry team can vary depending on the size of your church and the number of groups that you have. Think for a second about all of the demands they have too. There is no way to accommodate or anticipate the schedule of the entire group, but it is a healthy practice to set expectations. Find the history of the church and the passion that made your church what it is today. It might not be the best idea to immediately launch into a full book study when launching a new group. So dont try, let your leaders lead based on their interests.

10 Keys for Making Your Small Groups Ministry Thrive, 12 Signs That Your Heart Has Become Hardened in Ministry, 4 Crucial Lessons for the Post-COVID Church, The Value of Wise Counsel Through Coaching, 5 Ways to Boost Your Evangelism This Year, 5 Ways to Train Your Welcome Team During the Summer, Raising Up Young Leaders: Riverview Church, Sharon Hodde Miller: Letting Go of Control, Chris Sonksen: Healthy Team, Healthy Church, Yudha Thianto: An Explorers Guide to John Calvin, Calvins Lasting Impact in the Global Church, Richard Vance Goodwin: Seeing Is Believing, What It Means to Tell the Truth About God, Get Your Small Groups Talking (and Growing). As far as I can tell, they have a similar amount of transfer growth as the average growing church here in the City. I believe in small groups. And I would add this: A lot of the transfer growth I have seen to Citylight has resulted in those Christians becoming much more engaged and healthy followers of Jesus.

Find the best form for communication for your group and stick to it. Groups Have Been Just As Important As Sunday Services Since Launch Day. You have to model a commitment to the ministry. A couple of their volunteers were actually the first people who explained to me what a Calvinist/Arminian or a TULIP was, and I wasnt even attending. At Saddleback Church, we want followers of Christ to balance the Great Commission and Great Commandment in their hearts.

If you or your leaders lead a small grouparound a common interest, share a bible study, meet with other married couples, have a prayer group, or gather in a home or a coffee shop the principles in this guide will equip you and provide effective small group leader training. Allow grace, but also make sure meeting times are prioritized.

HlKnf *dF:9\0l(H+]%_uy\~x_{4%={SAfzxt?~7_rS7Y;7KSZX"~#v%rR7~+wzge[Sk x{[ Simply put, small groups can provide an opportunity to grow, laugh, serve, and connect with others for Gods glory. We could put people in serve groups instead. Not all transfer growth is bad. Below are brief definitions of what I mean by Sharing Life, God, and Prayer: Lets take a closer look at how these three elements within a small group environment will spur spiritual growth within your church.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'dailychristianhelp_com-leader-2','ezslot_5',123,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-dailychristianhelp_com-leader-2-0')}; Spiritual Growth is a dynamic process that is highly personal and relational at the same time. How Citylight Church in Omaha has created an environment where small groups have exploded. Every leader needs a team. A Ministry of Virginia Theological Seminary Design by Blue+Pine Creative, Inc. about A Prayer Book Centered Childrens Chapel, about Building Faiths Top Picks for Intergenerational Curriculum, about Entering a Ministry Context Well: Preparing the Space, Staff, & Congregation, Building Faiths Top Picks for Intergenerational Curriculum, Entering a Ministry Context Well: Preparing the Space, Staff, & Congregation. Utilize a proven step-by-step process for how to start a small group ministry at your church. Honestly, without buy-in from the senior pastor down, small groups will never be what could and should be. What do you want? If you are pioneering or already leading a small group ministry at your church theres no doubt there will be times when it is tough.

Ive been there. What if they take away from the weekend service? How would your church be different if you decided to build more friendships and connections? In our interview, the Citylight team told me about their 10-week-long City Group launch training that they take every City Group leader through. Obviously, they have great preaching, great culture, a rock-star team, real devotion to serving Jesus, and full acknowledgment that God is the one that deserves the glory for their growth.

This framework ensures that doesnt happen.

The point is there will always be ministries, announcements, and demands that will pull for your attention.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[336,280],'dailychristianhelp_com-leader-3','ezslot_6',120,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-dailychristianhelp_com-leader-3-0')}; To resolve this, you and your team must focus your efforts on the specific ministries that you most want your people to participate in. Without buy-in from the team, especially senior leadership, small groups will only be a fraction of what they could be. A new small group needs time to develop friendships and connections. As a Gen-Z outsider who asks a lot of questions, Ive noticed a constant flow of everyday young Christians telling me how much they love their City Groups, and have heard a lot stories of people I know coming to Jesus in City Groups. Its a weekly shot in the arm of wisdom that will help you develop and deepen your passion for ministry and ability to serve others. ']bl+_N FXE=c2N +(2T/_h Taking the time to learn how to start a small group ministry will ensure small groups at your church successfully launch and thrive. (Here are10 things to think about before you start a small group ministry). So is the lets have a fun bible study model of small groups. But there was one problem with my theory: To help you understand my struggle with groups, let me share my experience with Citylight.

Finding the right material for a group is easier once you know the personality of the group. A small group leader can plant and water within their group by: Group leaders can cultivate, encourage and prepare for growth by: A small group ministry will provide the opportunity to meet three basic needs that every person has. What Should A Small Group Ministry Accomplish. When Citylight launched, they put just as much importance on being in a City Group as attending Sunday morning services.

Put on a flashy show every weekend. What is their strategy to number one? This is the opposite of what Im seeing from most churches. This pathway gives every City Group a development path to follow to grow into a healthy, missional community that is multiplying disciples. Who is willing to do whatever (John 10:10) with the right attitude (1 Peter 5:2-4)? Read about The Vanderbloemen Difference, our 12 pillars that allow us to serve our clients better than anyone else. And I almost gave in to that thinking. Apply the vision-building framework to your churchs messaging. Consistency is key for a flourishing small group.

Why are small groups worth peoples time? City Groups werent an afterthought, they were a primary focus of the church since day one. It can become taxing when small group meetings exceed a certain point. Whats most important is that you have the right people in the right places with clear expectations and goals. j9rF0^?YKBb sc|&S.Fun7#@}gU6ST|iD9k=.n}AB fI3kFT#cZBeDlJ&8#T6I-SQ7<66\xbS_%9GpxQS oUAh+-3sws_T:/0-muC#[=4SBs9r;t")%aqHw9v6,."[7\v>laX2s\9i> ']p/osWJ'tP_ grd+G"t. Here are four steps every small group should take in the beginning. City Groups go beyond community and are intentionally creating missional communities that multiply disciples. 5. Receive a ministry structure guideline based upon the size of your church so that you know exactly how to delegate small group ministry-related responsibilities.

Building Healthy Small Groupswill help you to create compelling messaging to inspire your leaders and church family to be involved. 6:2; Col. 3:16; Heb. Thats why I wrote Intentional Small Groups. 4:11-16). Small Groups can play an important role in fulfilling the Great Commission to lead people to Jesus and a deeper relationship with God. NhH$)D)bg*U&AFA!\\yCG^=}uy dX endstream endobj 134 0 obj <>stream Citylight doesnt have any massive online presence like Elevation or Life.Church, but, there are two things that I see working really well for them online: 1.

2. But, the final 20% that sets them apart is how their missional City Groups have been prioritized and organized since they launched. build community and help new church members feel more connected to the local church. 13:4-7). Those different roles are: Up Leaders, In Leaders, and Out Leaders. There is also a great podcast with one of their lead pastors here. Establish a respectable time cap to prevent each meeting from turning into a two-hour long session. You can do this by providing cards, posting them on your website, building an app however you do it, make it easy! Take a look at this article to make sure your game plan is set. Who has the passion for the people to be the healthiest followers of Christ in your church? In the first few weeks, let each member share their testimony or go out and share a meal together. A small group ministry will take time to build.

Once a firm foundation has been established, you can open the discussion to a book or Bible study. Encourage them to focus their efforts where they are the strongest and to empower others where they are weak. And you need to always do what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it.

No small group accidentally gets more effective at reaching people over time. Who has the humility of knowing its not them but God (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)? The church does not just exist within the four walls of a building but inside our homes, neighborhoods, and communities. This post is a comprehensive, hold-you-by-the-hand, step-by-step resource available for learning how to start a small group ministry.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[468,60],'dailychristianhelp_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_18',129,'0','0'])};if(typeof __ez_fad_position!='undefined'){__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-dailychristianhelp_com-medrectangle-4-0')}; Follow this powerful framework at your own pace for free Each step will guide you toward exactly what to do next and is outlined below. Too many churches start up a small-groups ministry because its the thing to do. But it may not be the thing to do. ", 4. Focus church efforts toward the launch.

You find these people by sharing your heart. Our answer came from Acts 5:42, and it involved a combination of weekend services and small groups. Praying and supporting each layer of leadership.

No matter how each group is formed, there are some practical elements to consider when launching a brand-new group. Community and small groups are often the entryway for church members to feel a sense of ownership. Has the point person, or someone on the leadership team personally met with the potential leader?