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There is a tension when it comes to communicating with your Small Group leaders and with Small Group members. Too much communication becomes noise and is ineffective, too little communication results in people being uniformed.
For many retailers this means a large campaign your business. In the US there are Black Friday sales, Cyber Monday sales, End of the Year sales, etc. And my mailbox has been overloaded with catalogs and sale announcements all asking for my business.
So, you may be asking, what does this have to do with small groups? Well, as Small Group Point People sometimes we communicate with our Small Groups just like these businesses do.
For example, some businesses only communicate with me to announce a sale, or to tell me it is time to renew my business with them, or to let me know they have special pricing just for me. None of that information is bad, however, I very rarely act on any of the information. Why? Because I know they are not interested in me as a person, they only want my money.
Many small groups only hear from their Small Group Point Person when the church wants them to volunteer, or to invite friends to church or to announce a new sermon series. None of this information is bad, but if the only time small groups hear from you is when you want something, you may be communicating their only value is what they can do for the church.
“Many small groups only hear from their Small Group Point Person when the church wants them to volunteer “
There are also businesses that communicate with me too often. It seems I am getting an email or mail from them every day. I rarely engage with these businesses either. Why? Because I have too much else going on in my life. And if I see their name every day in my inbox, I quickly start deleting without ever opening the email.
Many small groups hear from the Small Group Point Person too often. This maybe something like a daily devotional, or a weekly check in. This type of communication can become frustrating, because the small group never knows when things are important or urgent. And when they see the Small Group Point Person’s name they may quickly delete without reading.
The third example are businesses who are genuinely interested in serving me, not my business. This comes across in how they communicate. They may send me helpful communication that does not require me to buy anything from them. For example, my realtor sends me helpful updates seasonally to keep my house in good condition. And they provide every former client with a free pie for the holidays. (Yum). This reminds me that they think about my life and my needs, not just their own.
Hopefully, as a Small Group Point Person, you can maintain that mindset. Being more interested in your small group leaders lives than you are in them leading a group. This will come across in how you communicate. The majority of your communication with your small groups should be designed to help them. Helping them as leaders is important, but helping them as individuals is the ultimate goal.
” Be more interested in your small group leaders lives than you are in them leading a group. “
As you think about sending your next email to your small group ask yourself if you are communicating to help or because you need something? There are times you may need something from them, and that is okay, because if you care about them as people first, they will be happy to help.
