No matter the size of your ministry, a little structure behind the scenes can go a long way in helping your ministry be successful. Whether it’s having a clear strategy for your groups, forming a coaching structure, building a team to help you, or keeping track of vital metrics, you as a small-group director are responsible for a million little things that most people don’t even think about when they think about small groups.
This Small Group Essentials Training Tool will give you everything you need to navigate all the behind-the-scenes work of small-group ministry. Whether you want to figure out a strategy or structure that fits your ministry, or determine what and how to track metrics, this resource is for you. You’ll learn exactly what your role is as small-group director, and you’ll get a full overview of all the things that make small-group ministries successful—even though most people don’t see them! Plus, we’ve included a Get Started Guide to help you make the most of this tool as you train yourself or a team.
Small-Group Director Orientation Guide
Whether you're called the small-group director, pastor, champion, or coordinator, you're the one leading the small-group ministry. And if that's you, you know what an amazing and challenging adventure it can be. From organizing the structure of the ministry to meeting with coaches to talking about small groups from the pulpit, the small-group director makes sure that small groups have what they need to be successful. It's no small task, and yet many small-group directors find they're given a small-group ministry with little to no instruction.
That's why we've created the Small-Group Director Orientation Guide. This guide will help lay a solid foundation for small-group point people. With a refresher course on the purpose of small groups, directions on how to choose the right structure for your ministry, and realistic ideas for training leaders, this resource will help small-group directors start, restart, or reexamine their small-group ministries. Plus, if you've inherited your ministry, there's a great article on how to take charge without losing leaders who were loyal to the previous director.
Recent research from LifeWay reveals that less than 50 percent of churches have a well-defined strategy for small-group ministry. Yikes! But we understand—it's really hard to find a structure that fits your context well.
Often our first instinct is simply to cut and paste what's working at another church. But then when it fails, we realize it never fit our church to begin with. We'd like to show you a better way. This resource will give you the tools to create a customized strategy for your context. Learn from the experts what it takes to have a thriving ministry and how to get there from your current reality. With their tips, you'll create a structure that not only fits your context, but also meets your goals for group life.
Most leaders involved in small-group ministry consider themselves relational. We like connecting with people and encouraging them to grow. Because our focus is on relationships, many of us let organization slide. We figure our time is better spent on investing in people rather than organizing the ministry.
But the truth is that an organized ministry allows us to shepherd and care for people more effectively. That's what Will Johnston has learned in his years leading a thriving small-group ministry, and he shares his hard-won wisdom with us in this training tool. You'll learn critical skills to help you organize, structure, and support your small-group ministry regardless of size, model, or context.
One of the questions that plagues small-group directors and pastors is this: How will we know if we’re successful? In other words, how will we know that we’re accomplishing our vision for small groups? The easy—and difficult—answer is that we must track certain metrics to see trends in our ministries. At the same time, we can’t live and die by the numbers. This resource will help you determine the kind of data that would be useful to measure in your ministry and also give you practical ideas on how to collect and analyze that data. It’s perfect for small-group directors to use on their own, or you can use this in a team of key ministry leaders.
You have permission to make up to 1,000 copies of this resource for use within your local church.
