8 Texting Rules You Should Know – Better Yet, Do!
By Chet Gladkowski There are many common misconceptions, things that people think or assume are true. Here are four familiar ones. Fortune Cookies come from China. Microwaves cook from the inside out. The Polka is a Polish style of music and dance. There are no rules for texting. All four are wrong. Fortune Cookies were […]
How to Recruit Volunteers
I would be willing to volunteer. In fact, I would be happy to volunteer—maybe even honored—but I haven’t volunteered. And, there might be a lesson here about how to recruit volunteers. I started hiking a couple of years back. I hike mostly on National Park Service land—specifically the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument. I didn’t […]
5 Tips to Creating Energized Emails
Your number one way of communicating with your small group leadership and members is email. Invented at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1965, email has exploded in use and distribution. Everyone has it, can navigate it, and they use it. And texting is just an arbitrarily shortened form of email. Whenever you first started […]
A 3-Step Plan for Mobilizing Your Small Group Outreach
If you want your small group to be healthy, contribute to God’s mission in the world, and inspire your group members grow closer to Jesus and help others to do the same – then voice the need to reach others with the Gospel! Get your small group thinking about others and sharing their faith. If […]
The 1st 5 Minutes of your Small Group are Critical. Are you Doing This?
The first five minutes of your small group are the most important. It is a good idea to start with some kind of icebreaker—a get-to-know-you question. Ideally, this will tie in to the lesson itself. For example, if you are teaching the story of the Prodigal Son, you might ask everyone where they fit in […]
The Mountain/Bottom Experience
You go up the mountain to receive something: a beautiful and inspiring view. Moses went up the mountain to receive the 10 Commandments. Or you go up to achieve something. But when you come down the mountain, all the excitement is over. You’ve learned or received the revelation, insight, wisdom, knowledge. Now, you’re returning to […]
3 Simple Ideas to Help People Connect
In many ways, the pandemic has made it harder for people to get connected. Maybe they have been attending church online; or maybe there just haven’t been a whole lot of events and/or new groups to promote. Whatever the case, there’s no doubt that people are craving connections — and being connected into a small […]
Tips to Reading the Bible Together in Small Groups
My dad used to say: “You gotta know what the Bible says before you can understand what it means.” We have to get the text itself in front of them. People are shockingly ignorant about the Word of God. We have to get the text in front of them. People are transformed by the renewing […]
Treating Small Group Infections
By Chet Gladkowski There is lots of talk and opinions being bandied around the virtual water cooler, i.e., Zoom calls, social media, and the internet, about vaccines. While many have taken advantage of the COVID-19 vaccine, one in four Americans said they would refuse a coronavirus vaccine outright if offered. Another 5% are “undecided” about […]
6 Summer Strategies to Invigorate Your Small Group
By the end of spring, It’s not uncommon for small groups to want to change things up for the summer instead of starting a new Bible study. This comes from a common felt-need to take a break and get refreshed before school, ministries, and so many other things restart in the fall. However, if you […]
