Ok, how many of you complete those evaluation forms that restaurants or hotels ask you to complete from time to time? There have been times when I have received one of those via email or snail mail and just tossed it. My thought was, "I had a good experience there. I do not need to fill this out." Later I ask myself, "Why is it that I only complete these when I want to communicate a bad experience?" Yes, that place of business needs to hear what they need to correct, but what about telling people when they do get it right. Positive and developmental feedback is necessary in order for any organization to achieve success.
ASSESSING
One of the critical skills of an effective coach or small group pastor is to be able to assess the effectiveness of the group ministry and make the necessary adjustments to accomplish the objectives for the ministry. Every small group is different as they should be. We should be a reflection of our church culture and local community. But are there some overarching benchmarks that all of us should measure our small group "success" by? Hopefully, all who lead such ministries have some process by which they evaluate their ministry. When assessing my ministry, I ask myself and my team members the following questions:
Are WE …
- Modeling "Authentic Community" in our own lives?
- Focusing on the making of disciple-makers as our bottom line?
- Maintaining a "Whatever it takes" attitude?
- Casting the vision for small groups as a pastoral team?
- Strategizing the best methods and resources to reach the goal?
- Valuing community as the place where real life change happens?
- Creating safe places for people to take off their mask and be real?
- Championing worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry and fellowship through the group ministry?
- Developing leaders who multiply other leaders?
- Starting groups that rebirth and start new groups?
- Targeting people within all age groups and various areas of life need?
- Establishing and adjusting our benchmarks to measure our progress?
ADJUSTING
We cannot be afraid to make adjustments. Everything that is alive grows and changes. We cannot make adjustments if we are more committed to our methods than our principles. For example, I am committed to the value of leader training in small group ministry, but it does not matter to me when that happens. We have made several adjustments in that area to fit the changes in people's lives and schedules.
Here are some key thoughts to keep in mind when making adjustments:
Get People Started Right by …
- Sharing a singular purpose and vision.
- Explaining the goals.
- Defining the expectations clearly.
Help Leaders Succeed by …
- Giving positive recognition for incremental changes.
- Coaching the basics.
- Practicing regular feedback.
- Divide every large undertaking into manageable pieces.
These steps come from my good friend Hal Mayer, (Executive Pastor, Flamingo Road Church, and Ft. Lauderdale). To order Hal's book, "Step by Step" from Serendipity House Publishers, try this link www.serendipityhouse.com/prdctsstrain
