Sam Neal has posted a great article called “When Is a Small Group ‘Just Another Meeting’?†on BuildingChurchLeaders.com. In it, he tells the story of Randy Frazee, who hand selected a model small group to lead, and then learned that the most exciting event of the evening was happening right next door in his neighborhood. […]

Yesterday we looked at a vision statement for a large urban church. Today we’ll consider the other end of the spectrum.
Example 2:
You’re the solo pastor of a struggling 50-member church in the Midwest. Your members are mostly long-time residents in a small town that is struggling to stay alive in these tough times. You have […]

We’ve been studying how to develop an effective vision statement for a small group ministry. Let’s look at some examples to help you create your own.
Example 1:
Let’s say you’re the small groups pastor of an urban church of 1,000 members. Your church has a good socio-economic cross section of the community as a whole. Your […]

Yesterday we introduced the need for vision. So what is vision? George Barna in his classic book The Power of Vision: How You Can Capture and Apply God’s Vision for Your Ministry says, “Vision for ministry is a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants and is […]

I spoke with a small group pastor the other day. He was frustrated that his leaders seemed to be all over the place in terms of skills, interests, and direction. He’s tried to conduct training sessions, but gets a less than 20% turnout. In his frustration, he’s beginning to demand participation in leadership events. What […]

Are you ever been asked tough questions by small group members? Maybe it’s a theological question or a “why†question—“Why does evil exist?†Those can be challenging for most lay leaders, and it’s good to think about your principles for answering before you’re in the middle of the situation. Do you need to have the […]