Hear How Rich Doubled His Small Groups in One Month (2 min vid)
3 Ways To Recruit People to Your Group
Have you ever planned something so delicately and put so much into it and nobody shows up for the event? Imagine this for a second. Your best friend is turning 40 years old. You want to surprise him/her with a big birthday party. You call the bakery and get them to bake a nice cake. You line up a local restaurant to cater a delicious meal. You plan the perfect way for your friend to think they are doing something different than the actual plan. You get all the way to the actual day and it hits you…you haven’t invited or told anyone about the party. While you have planned everything to make a great party, nobody will show up because nobody knows about it.
Maybe you haven’t experienced that particular situation before but we have all experienced something like it. You have a great idea on a small group that you want to start or help lead. You buy the leader guide or watch the videos that are associated with a specific study. You get permission from your spouse to have people over and then realize…nobody knows to come.
Have you been there before? Have you ever wondered why nobody signed up for your group on launch day? Let me encourage you with this, don’t take it personal. Sometimes we might have just forgotten or just didn’t know how or where to start when recruiting people for your group. Here are a few ways that can help you find a place to start.
- Pray for God to show you people who would benefit from your group.
- It’s pretty amazing the people God will lead you to or put on your heart when we just engage Him through our prayers. Let the Holy Spirit do the job of the Holy Spirit; guide and direct you. It’s an essential step that often gets overlooked when recruiting people to your group.
- Start with people you already know (co-workers, friends, neighbors).
- For most people, it’s hard to invite someone you don’t know to a small group. So start simple. Just invite people that you know and get your foundation of people there. Let the snowball go from there.
- Initiate conversations with people at church (specifically people you don’t know).
- This is the hardest of all, for most. But you know that 80% of people will come to something if only they were invited personally by someone. That person that invited could be you and that thing could be your small group. Just take that step of faith and invite.
Remember this truth found in the Gospel of Matthew. Matthew 18:20 (NIV) says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Don’t worry about the number of people. If you put all your focus and attention on a number and you don’t “meet” it, it might discourage you and distract you from the actual people that are there. Do your due diligence up front by praying and inviting people to be a part and let God do the rest.
Whoever shows up, love them and lead them well. Where two or three are gathered in Jesus name, God is there. Be present and obedient.
