3 Reasons to Highly Anticipate Steve Gladen’s New Book
With almost 20 years of leading small groups at Saddleback, when Steve Gladen (the founder of the Small Group Network) speaks or writes, we are wise to listen. Many of us have greatly benefitted from his wisdom whether through his previous books, through the Small Group Network, or through the conference he and his team […]
5 Benefits of Using the Small Group Network App
As a small group point person, you’re always looking for another resource. Typically, we are the only one at our church that does what we do. It’s our responsibility to find out best practices, and identify the new trends to get people connected using groups. From huddles to podcast, the Small Group Network has the […]
3 Ideas to Help you Care for your Leaders
My husband and I recently travelled from Australia to New York, while we were there we visited the 9/11 Memorial Site. It was a very moving experience for us, however amidst the sadness I heard this story; “A Callery pear tree became known as the “Survivor Tree” after enduring the September 11, 2001 terror attacks […]
3 Things Stopping People from Joining Your Groups
We’re all dying for a place to belong. But for many of the people we serve, it’s hard to believe that authentic and safe community actually exists. The radically inclusive and welcoming nature of Jesus’ life and ministry was confusing, , challenging and frustrating for the religious people around Him. How strange to see this man […]
3 Steps to Prepare Small Groups for Growth
My wife loves to garden. She gains a deep sense of accomplishment every time our house is surrounded by beautiful flowers. On the other hand, I abhor gardening; because it is usually associated with hours and hours on my hands and knees working the soil. I would rather save myself the time and pain by just […]
Spiritual Rhythms
One of my favorite classes in my under-grad was Ministry Observation, which I took my freshman year. I know, it doesn’t sound super exciting or life changing by any means, but man…I loved this class! We would, as a class, visit various different churches in Southern California; write critiques and analysis papers about our experience […]
5 Transferrable Principles You Can Learn from International Small Group Ministries
With 37 Small Group Network huddles in countries outside the US and Canada, what can you gain from the lessons of small group ministries all around the world? Check out these five transferrable principles: Never let a previous experience with groups deter you from trying new groups-based strategies. Many churches in Eastern Europe and other areas tried different […]
Creating Group Clarity
Imagine these people are attending a new small group, they do not really know each other or have any significant background about one another. Paul -his group experience has been one where the leader did everything Karen and Joe – have never been in a small group Sue – in her last group, leadership was […]
Mark Zuckerberg on Small Groups and Facebook’s Future
In a recent interview with WIRED*, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and co-founder of Facebook, shared that small group ministry is a model he considers when he looks to the future of his social media website. It’s an intriguing comment from the marketplace and it’s loaded with transferable insights for disciple makers. I think it’s important for me to note […]
Four Helpful Lists that Make Evaluation Clear and Effective
Our primary role as leaders is to look forward, to see the future that CAN be, so that we can help people get there. But without looking back and evaluating, we never know if we are making real progress. And even when it feels like we are moving forward and getting better, evaluation helps us […]
