The New Year is a prime time for churches to launch 40 Days of Purpose campaigns. And, of course, small groups play a key role in this. Much could be said from the trenches of these campaigns, but after listening to some of the most successful small group champions, we've boiled down their wisdom to five thoughts on what really works.
1. Do it again! "40 Days of Purpose is and was one of the most successful campaigns we have ever had in our church," says Scott Mawdesley from Christ Fellowship Church in Florida. Even if you've already done the campaign, why not do it again? Click here to check out this new teaching series.
2. Do a survey. This allows for a "check in" and a "check up" on the health and strength of your leaders and their groups. There are several surveys from Lifetogether you can use to benchmark your small group leaders, groups and even an entire ministry's health:
a. Lifetogether Health Assessment
b. Small Group Host/Leader Survey
c. Small Group Stories Survey
3. Do sermon alignment again in the New Year. Aligning the small group studies with the weekend teaching series is one of the most powerful ways to assimilate people into groups. It takes at least two or three series to get 100 percent of your average weekend attendance plugged in, but you can do it.
4. Do a plan for what's next. Most senior pastors soon realize that providing resources for their small group ministry and leadership development is vital to the long-term success of the 40 Day effort. Otherwise, your effort will simply be a 40 Day flash in the pan.
With this in mind, Saddleback is recommending the James series from Rick Warren, which is a great study, or the foundations material, which reviews the doctrines of the faith. If these two don't meet your needs, the six week discipleship series "Growing to Be Like Christ" is a good New Year's resolution series after the holidays.
5. Do story telling. Every weekend in illustrations, bulletin announcements, e-newsletters, and testimonies have the stories of how God is transforming lives within the context of small groups. This will show your people that small groups aren't just another program. Then you can naturally challenge the congregation to "get connected" or more importantly "open your home" to host a new six week series.
