When I was called to take over the small groups ministry at Bay Area Fellowship, the church had 15 small groups. In the first week, I did something radical: I shut down half of them because they were unhealthy.
But in the past three-and-a-half years, the number of groups has grown dramatically to 177.
How did this happen? We dug down deep to adjust the very nature of the groups: their DNA.
Make a Better First Impression
The first time you get together with leaders will be the most important meeting with them. You must cast the vision for what the role of leader is and isn’t, and the responsibilities that come with it.
If you don’t do this, each leader will do whatever he wants to do. When that happens, you may have a ministry that is heading in different directions, and that isn’t healthy.
Have every leader sign a covenant agreeing to follow the church leadership. A covenant protects everyone involved, but especially the church.
It must give the church the right to remove any leader who is not abiding by the covenant.
Tongue-Tie Gossip
Every small group leader must understand their group is an extension of the church. Gossip is not acceptable; small groups are not a place to criticize the church, leaders, or other people.
Train leaders to deal with these situations in the same way. If a member has a problem with a church leader, encourage them to discuss it with the person.
Group leaders need to be prepared to deal with people who are selfishly in the group. Train them to confront selfish people in a loving way so one person doesn’t destroy the group. The person should be taken aside and told that they are hurting the group. The person will respond positively and grow from the experience, or reject it, giving grounds for removal.
Focus on Growth
Make multiplication part of small groups. It will not happen automatically; employ a plan.
If a group stays together too long, they talk about things they wouldn’t with new people. In closed groups, no one new shows up, and if they do, they feel like an outsider. Open groups are healthy and leaders should welcome newcomers.
Prepare leaders to talk about multiplication from day one. If you talk about it regularly, when time comes to multiply, no one is surprised.
John Atkinson Corpus Christi, Texas
Copyright © 2006 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information onLeadership Journal.
