We often get asked questions about where Small Groups should meet, what’s most effective and how important location is in planning for groups.

I’ve asked Adam Bishop, our Small Groups Pastor at The Journey, to share some thoughts on where groups meet:

Thanks Nelson — This is actually one of the most important topics that Kerrick and I address in the Small Groups Tele-Coaching Network that we lead. We have found through surveys of our Group Members that location is the first feature people look at when deciding what Group they will sign up for.

So at The Journey we make sure that each Group has a location listed in its description both on our website and in our catalog.

However, the location is for a general area, not a specific address.

In Manhattan we will list the location as Midtown, Upper West Side, or Upper East Side, but depending on your church’s setting it may be helpful to list by neighborhood or Elementary school zone.

We list general areas for safety reasons because we don’t want to publish our Group Leaders home addresses on our website or in the catalog.

We also do this so that our Group Leaders can supply the specific meeting place and detailed directions as a part of their follow-up after people sign up.

Now, as for where the Groups meet…  Some of our Groups meet in homes and some meet in public places like parks, restaurants, or public buildings.

We rent space for our services on Sunday so we don’t have a permanent church location for Groups to meet in, which even if we did, we would still have our Groups meet in the community in homes or public places.

Now, we do ask our leaders to choose a location and stick with it for the full 8-12 week semester as opposed to rotating week to week like some groups encourage. There are a lot of reasons for this, one of which is consistency for people who may not be able to attend every weekly meeting.

This one of the many topics that Kerrick and I go in much further detailing discussing in the upcoming Small Groups Pastor Tele-Coaching Network, which begins in November.

This new Tele-Coaching Network has proven to be helpful and encouraging, as you will interact with other Small Groups Pastors and Directors who are striving to maximize the spiritual growth in their church through small groups.

Click here for more information or to download your application now for Small Groups Pastor Tele-Coaching!

Here’s a recent small groups question that I received.  I asked Adam Bishop, Small Groups Pastor at The Journey, to share his answer here:

Q: Hey, our church has decided to move to the semester-based small groups system that you guys use.

It really has us excited about small groups again and we’re trying to get ahead on our planning right now. That’s why I’m writing, because I have a question.  Based on the Activate idea of small and large attendance numbers, we’re hoping for about 200 people to sign up for groups.

So, how do I determine how many groups I need each semester?

A: Thanks for your question.  Setting your Groups Goal each semester is a responsibility that must be thought through with plenty of prayer and planning!

I want you to know that Kerrick Thomas and I spend time each month in our Small Group Tele-Coaching Network addressing questions like this along with other strategies for implementing and leading the Activate Small Groups System at the local church level.

Our next 8 month network kicks off in November! Just let me know if you are interested and I will send you the link for the application.

In response to your question… Here is the flow that we follow at The Journey:

1) Make sure your Sign Ups Goal surpasses your average Sunday attendance goal.

This is because the number of people who will attend your church over the course of your Small Group Semester will be much larger than the number of people who attend your church on any given Sunday.

You want everyone who comes through the doors during your promotion or sign-up month to sign up for a group.

2) Calculate the range for the number of Groups needed for the semester

We choose 12-15 to calculate the range of how many groups we need because we believe that 12 to 15 people is the ideal size for a Group.

So to your example…

Sign-up Goal: 200

Range of Groups Needed: 13 to 17

Median Goal: 15 Groups

3) Allow 20 sign-ups per Group.

This is vitally important to the health of your Groups. Remember, not everyone who signs up for the group will be able to attend due to changes in schedules and unforeseen circumstances. Allowing 20 sign-ups per group will ensure that 12 to 15 show up each week for the Group.

Allowing 20 sign-ups per group also fits well with your Groups Goal in 3 ways:

· First, it keeps you from committing the cardinal sin of groups which is to never have too few groups!

So if you confirm 13 groups on the low end of your range you will still have enough room to meet your Sign-up Goal of 200.

13 x 20 = 260

· Second, it allows you to be prepared if God moves and brings more people to your church and your groups than you had anticipated

Let’s say you confirm 17 groups on the high end of your range and God moves and brings more people to your church than you had anticipated. Your range has allowed you to be prepared for this!

17 x 20 = 340

· Third, knowing that you are covered on the low end and high end, most of the time the middle number of the range is where you will need to be.

15 x 20 = 300

Rarely does it work out where all of your groups will receive the same sign-ups so with 15 Groups that cover a good range of days and topics your sign-ups should break down evenly anywhere from 15 to 20 sign-ups per group which will allow you to meet your Sign-Ups Goal of 200!

4) Minimum Sign-Ups per Group

Once the semester begins, if a group has less than 5 sign-ups it is best to combine this group with another one. You must exhibit care and encouragement when you do this. If this happens remind the leader that people sign up for location, topic, and day….not the leader. Encourage them so they will want to lead again.

If the Group is between 6-9 sign-ups I will contact the leaders and ask how the group is going. Most of the time the leaders will want to continue and feel that they can get at least 5 more people to join the group through the invites of those who are attending. This usually happens and the group goes well.

We also continue to run sign-ups 2 to 3 weeks into the semester. We will only list the groups online and in our catalog that are lower in sign-ups to help them fill up within the first 2 to 3 weeks of the semester.

Great job with your groups and continue to plan ahead!

Thanks,

Adam

P.S. For more information or to Apply Now for Small Groups Pastor Tele-Coaching, CLICK HERE.

This is Kerrick Thomas – I’m the Executive Pastor at The Journey Church and the co-author of “Activate” with Nelson. Just a while back, Nelson asked me to answer the following question and then to share my answer with you:

Q: Our leadership team has asked me to have a “pastor’s small group” with new people.

We are seeing new people at church every week now and we’re really trying to do a better job of connecting them.

Any suggestions on what to do or how many to have? We think that after this, I may be able to direct them into other small groups.

A: Thanks for your question. Let me first say this: having new people attending your church is a good “problem” to have.

As far as having a “Pastor’s Small Group” for new people, of course you can do that – and you might have some success with early sign-ups. But that has not been our strategy or philosophy at The Journey.

Our goal is to get new people into a small group where they can develop relationships within the church as quickly as possible.

We really believe that a regular small group with regular people from your church has the potential to connect a new person to your church just as effectively if not more effectively than a group led by the lead pastor.

We have faith that our Sunday service is the front door of the church and that our small groups close the back door.

If there is a reason why a regular small group wouldn’t be effective in connecting a new person to the church, introducing them to the church culture and assimilating them, that might be an indication that something is not quite right in your current small groups system.

The only advantage I can think of to the lead pastor leading such a group is that it might draw a crowd of people to it. But that purpose is served just as effectively by having a monthly or every two month Newcomers Reception for those new to the church hosted by the lead pastor after a Sunday service. Then you can encourage the newcomers at that event to sign up for a small group.

Another question to consider is this – is that where your energies are best served? As lead pastor are there other groups that you could lead that no one else could lead? Is this really where you want to spend your energies every semester? And is it really a scalable model as your church grows if it’s built on you leading it?

Yes – you could lead the small group for newcomers – and it might work. But we believe that it’s better to get newcomers integrated into our regular small groups immediately with our members and regular attenders so that they can naturally get involved in the life of the church.

Those are just my initial thoughts – I hope they are helpful!

God bless…

Kerrick

P.S. For an all-inclusive look at how to implement an effective Small Groups System at your church, check out The Small Groups Intensive.

This is Kerrick Thomas (Executive Pastor at The Journey and co-author of Activate). I recently received these questions and Nelson asked me to share my responses with all of you.

Q: We’re in the process of creating and launching a new small groups system at our church and I’ve found the Activate system to have great potential for us. Our church is 150+ years old and we’ve hit a critical point in our history where we need some significant change if we want to be relevant for people in this current/future culture.

We have had small groups in our church for some 20 years (some that have been together almost that long) and we have no formal, regular system for creating new groups; they have just formed when a person said they’d like to start one.

With that in mind, here are my questions:

1) How do we transition from being a church “with” small groups to a church “of” small groups?

We have many “ministries” (as you can imagine with a church that’s been around this long) and I strongly agree with the idea in Activate that these ministries are actually competing with each other and therefore diluting our church’s impact.

I know we need to start making some tough calls, but is there a general strategy for transitioning from a church “with” to a church “of”?

2) How do we handle all the groups that have been together for years?

Any insight you could provide here would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

A: First of all – know of my prayers for you this morning as you guys make this big transition in your church. It’s not easy I know – but I pray that it will bear much fruit.

1) To transition to a church “of” small groups I recommend patience. Many of the ministries you have right now will probably transition quite smoothly into a semester-based small groups system.

For instance, you can run women’s and men’s ministries as well as community service through groups by offering those types of small groups specifically. If there are ministries that don’t fit in – you might have to gradually phase them out by not advertising or pushing new people toward them.

I have a book recommendation for you. It isn’t perfect for what you are doing – but it’s called “Transitioning” and talks about steps you take people through as you transition them from one system to another.

http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/0310242681/thejouchu-20

2) As far as moving from the old system to the new semester-based system with your old groups – remember, the key is “leader multiplication” not “group multiplication.” So, I would pull all of your group leaders together and share the new vision in a compelling way. Then I’d follow-up with each individually and ask them to lead a new semester-based small group for the upcoming semester.

Then I would find 2-3 people in each of the existing groups and just go directly to them to ask them to lead a group. Don’t try to split up the groups. Just tell them you are starting a new groups system and describe all of the benefits and tell them you want them to be the first leaders. The current groups will be wrapping up but everyone in them can sign up for a new group.

You might even have the one on one meetings before the big meeting and get as much buy in as possible. Maybe even get a few key leaders committed ahead of time to lead a new group.

If a few groups insist on staying together – and the group isn’t poisonous (if the group is poisonous and is hurting the church you have to shut it down) that’s okay. Let them meet – but just stop moving people toward them and let them exist isolated.

In the meantime, go ahead and identify individuals within those groups who you would like to lead and go and ask them individually if they would leave the group and lead a semester-based group. I really don’t think those groups will last too long when you get the semester-based groups up and running well.

The last thing to think about is that we might be starting a Small Groups Coaching Network in the fall. We have one going on right now with about 20 small group leaders from around the country that will be wrapping up in September. Keep your eyes open – if we kick off another one this fall we’d love for you to join us.

Also – keep your eyes on this blog – we often have helpful posts related to small groups.

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/category/small-groups/

Hope this helps!

God bless…

Kerrick

P.S.  Looking to learn everything about the Activate small groups system? Check out The Small Groups Intensive.

Q: I read in Activate how you should be a church OF small groups, not a church WITH small groups. And I agree. Here’s my question. Don’t classes 101-401 create drag on your small groups system? Or are your classes offered AS small groups?

A: Great question! We do, indeed, use the Purpose Driven C.L.A.S.S. series (101, 201, 301 & 401) to help our members grow and take next steps on their spiritual journey.

However, The Journey remains solidly a church OF small groups by strategically incorporating these classes and coordinating the timing of it into our overall calendar.

Here’s how: We offer CLASS 101 – 401 between group semesters. Since you only attend each class one time, it doesn’t compete with our semester-based growth groups. We offer each class from 1-4 on Sunday afternoon.

This allows us to be very intentional about helping people take specific next steps through the C.L.A.S.S. series AND to avoid creating drag on our two main activities (Weekend Services and Small Groups).

Hope that helps!

Nelson

P.S. Do your church members know the benefits of membership? Do your church members know exactly what is expected of them? Do you have an effective, realistic plan to hold your members accountable for their commitments?

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It’s Kerrick Thomas here again, Executive Pastor at The Journey and co-author of Activate with Nelson. He asked me to share my answer to this Small Groups question for you today:

Q:Thanks for taking the time to put your process on paper. Much appreciated. Quick question: How do your support and recovery groups look within the semester system. We too operate on the semester system, but many of our recovery groups have a look and feel of their own due to the nature of the group.

Your thoughts?

A: Thanks for your question. I’m glad that our small groups system has been beneficial to you. That’s the entire reason we wrote Activate in the first place.

To answer your question we do and have had support/recovery groups at The Journey in our semester-based small groups system. However – we run these groups through our semester based small groups system and not separately (not outside the system on an on-going basis as many other churches do).

This can work in two ways:

1) You have a group that meets for 10-12 weeks to support those dealing with a difficult topic that just ends after that semester. An example that we have seen in the past is a group that met for women with eating disorders. We had a couple of leaders who wanted to lead a group on that topic and found a great study. So, they led the group. It filled up. And though they didn’t lead on that topic every semester – those who attended that group were helped and some great life-long friendships and accountability relationships were formed out of the group.

2) You could also have leaders who really feel called to lead groups on specific support/recovery issues. And they lead on that topic semester after semester (with different studies/books). Some people might sign up for that group for muliple semesters. Some might just attend once and not again. But the mix in the group is different from semester to semester. An example of that might be a men’s group meeting on purity/lust issues or a group for those who have struggled with alcohol.

Again – we do have these kinds of groups – but we haven’t formed a separate ministry out of them – but instead operate them within the context of our semester-based small group ministry.

I hope that helps!

God bless…

Kerrick

P.S. For answers to all of your small groups questions, check out The Small Groups Intensive:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p285&navicat=39

Q: I had a question regarding small group stuff. We observed that most of the subject matter of your small groups were book studies. There were a few actual studies on books of the Bible. What was it that guided your decision to lean in this direction?

A: We always use a book for our growth groups – you can do a Bible book but you need a book to help you approach the Bible and control the interpretation.

With the rate at which our small groups system raises up new group leaders, this provides a way to insure sound doctrine and helps to lighten the preparation load for the leader.

In case you missed it, I gave away our approved curriculum list a few months ago here on the blog:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/blog/2008/11/19/small-group-curriculum-free-download/

P.S. For everything that we know about small groups, check out The Small Groups Intensive, for the CD Set click here:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p159&navicat=39

or you can save $50.00 on the downloadable version:
https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p285&navicat=39

This is Kerrick Thomas once again – Executive Pastor at The Journey and co-author of Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups with Nelson.  Nelson asked me to follow-up on the following question regarding the semester-based small groups that we use and recommend:

We have been using one type of model for small groups (ongoing) and one type for some on-campus studies (semester based).  We have definitely seen the most growth in the semester based system and have decided to merge the 2 models under one umbrella.  Your book has been a great resource as we are processing through how that would look.

My question is this…In listening to your online seminar you mentioned that some experts have said that when you reach the 4,000 to 5,000 range of participants that your model will begin to break down.  Have you given any thought to the adjustments you will have to make?

We currently have about 1500 people in groups, but an average weekly attendance of about 4500 adults and students (another 1000 kids).  I expect we could bump that upper “limit” in the next year to year  and a half.  Any thoughts?

This is a great question.  However, we don’t see why there would be any problems with the Activate semester-based small group system past 5,000 people.  It just hasn’t been attempted yet.  The people who said they weren’t sure if the system would work at a larger church were not using the system (they were doing on-going small groups).  And honestly I think they said that as an excuse not to put in the work to give it a shot.

If a college can effectively enroll 30,000 students for a semester of classes – I don’t see why a church couldn’t get 5,000-10,000 people in small groups each semester.

The key is to have a scalable structure in two areas:

1) You must have total staff involvement.  You aren’t just hiring people to do groups – but every staff person has a small group responsibility (that’s only a small part of their job description).  So, as your staff grows to reflect the size of the church – the number of staff who are helping run the system grows as well.  And each staff can effectively manage and help set up 15-25 small groups each semester each.

2) You must be constantly raising up new small group leaders.  And that’s the best part of the semester-based system.  With every new group you add the potential for raising up new future leaders is multiplied.

These are two issues we are going to cover in-depth in the upcoming Small Groups Tele-Coaching Network that Nelson and I will be leading. I would encourage you to consider being a part of it if you guys are implementing this model – I think it will be helpful.

You can read more about the Coaching Network and get an application at this link:

http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/coaching/smallgroupstelecoaching.php

It is just about to begin and consists of one 2-hour phone call each month for 8 months – please fill out an application if you are interested.

God bless…

Kerrick

P.S. For another great resource to give you an in-depth look at what’s involved in implementing semester-based small groups at your church, purchase a copy of the The Small Groups Intensive.

This is Kerrick Thomas – I co-wrote “Activate” with Nelson and he asked me to share this recent question and answer about transitioning small groups in a church with a more traditional structure:

Q: Hello!  I am currently reading your book Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.  I am the associate pastor at a Christian Church.  We average a little over 200 in two worship services.

We have “tried” small groups in the past and I am very interested in your method.  My question has to do with getting the rest of the work of the church done.  You mention how people can’t be going to worship and a committee and a women’s group AND a small group.

So what do we do with our Worship Ministry Team, and Property, etc?  Would that become a small group?  We have three full time staff, the senior, me and a youth/children’s minister.  We are a traditional structure with committees meeting monthly, Christian Women’s Fellowship meetings, elders, etc…

How do we focus on small groups but still keep the church “running”?

A: To begin with, The Journey is a staff led church and have the benefit of not having to ask our church attenders and members serve on committees.  Instead, we try to get them more actively involved in front-line ministry.  With your current structure, you would probably still have to have your committee meetings on top of your small groups.

However, our women’s and men’s ministries are operated through small groups.  We don’t have other weekly or monthly meetings.  We have women’s and men’s small groups.  And then at times the small groups will sponsor retreats/events, etc.

We also do community service through our small groups.  And though our Worship Arts Team works separately from small groups, we do ask our vocal team and musicians to be in  Worship Arts Small Groups.

The goal is to have as many of your areas of ministry as possible running through the small groups system so that you don’t have competing ministries.

I hope that helps!

God bless…

Kerrick

P.S. For all the answers to your small groups questions, check out The Small Groups Intensive: https://nelsonsearcy.infusionsoft.com/cart/store.jsp?view=4&i=p285&navicat=39

I have been humbled by how many of you have purchased my book, Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.  It has proven to be a useful resource to churches of all shapes and sizes in building a small groups system with 100% participation.  I want to thank all of you who have already read and recommended it.

Many have settled for 30-40% small group participation and have even made that a worthy goal, but our experience here at The Journey tells us otherwise.  In writing Activate, Kerrick and I really wanted to help people re-think a lot of the conventional wisdom we have been taught about small groups over the years.

I believe so strongly in helping people re-think how small groups should be done that I’d like to give you a free gift.

For those of you who haven’t yet read the book, follow this link to get a:

FREE COPY OF CHAPTER 1 OF ACTIVATE

If you’ve already read the book and are interested in going deeper into the nuts and bolts of the Small Groups System, you may want to purchase the Small Groups Intensive (now downloadable).