Seven Advantages of Sermon-Based Small Groups

The lecture/lab model is great for both small groups and Sunday mornings. by Larry Osborne Note: This article has been excerpted from the SmallGroups.com training tool called Sermon-Based Small Groups. At North Coast Church, where I serve as senior pastor, we've had a long and interesting journey with small groups. We had no groups when we first started out. But after a while, I began to realize that our congregation was more of a crowd than a living, breathing community. So we launched small groups, and things began to change immediately. For a number of years we hunted down the best curriculum available and provided it to our groups. They grew, and people's lives did change. But when I put together a sermon series called "The Company of the Committed"—in which I wanted to paint the picture of what a committed Christian lifestyle would look like on a day-to-day basis—we experimented with our first sermon-based groups. The response was off the charts. It was so positive that we never looked back. Over the years, I've noticed that tying the study guide to the sermon has several advantages over a curriculum-based model. Here are seven of the most powerful advantages. They Increase the Educational Impact A number of years ago, I heard about a study that Harvard conducted for one of the military branches. Apparently the military was sending people to different conferences and training sessions, and they wanted to maximize the educational impact of those sessions by figuring out what helps people learn—and most importantly, retain and apply—the information they receive. Some of the best minds at Harvard tackled this study, and they uncovered three ways to maximize the benefit of any training experience. The first was maintaining a high sense of expectation. The study showed that if people went into a training experience with high expectations, they generally learned and retained a lot more. Obviously, this one is common sense when it comes to churches. If people are coming to your church thinking, Oh, this is going to be boring, then you can probably understand why they're not retaining what you say. But here's the second ingredient. The Harvard researchers also discovered that if people took good notes during the training experience, the educational impact and the life-change upon returning home would accelerate measurably. The third key had to do with discussing the material with others. If they got together and discussed the notes—and the broader training experience as a whole—their education impact and subsequent life-change was significantly increased. . Strangely enough, those last two things are exactly what using a sermon-based small group model forces people to do. They Pull in the Marginally Interested The second advantage of sermon-based small groups is the way they can pull in the marginally interested. All churches have marginally interested people—people who come in late on a Sunday morning and slump onto a chair in the back of the sanctuary, waiting to see if a funny story or a good joke can pull them into a higher level of interest. But it's a different story when a marginally interested person enters a sanctuary full of people who will be discussing the sermon later in the week with their small group. That's because a much higher percentage of the people will be taking notes and paying close attention in order to be prepared for their small group. There's a different feeling in the air. And so that marginally interested person—who doesn't want to stand out—tends to sit up a bit straighter and pay more attention simply to fit in. I see it at North Coast all the time. And since everyone else seems to be taking notes, they start doing that, as well. They Reach More People Sermon-based small groups also help churches reach more people in another very simple way, and it has to do with weekly attendance. Everyone misses church at one point or another. But how often do those people come clamoring to the church office to get a tape or CD of the sermon they missed? It may happen sometimes, but not often. But what if those people attend a small group later in the week and have to discuss that sermon they missed? They will almost always listen online or come by and pick up a CD. And when those CDs are picked up, they are often passed on to others, shared, or given away. And so the end result is that more people end up hearing the message. They Sharpen the Church-Wide Focus In most churches, everyone listens to the same message, which does create a sense of unity. But when a church uses sermon-based small groups, everyone interacts with the same message, which really sharpens the focus. I grew up in a very different style of church. We went to church on Sunday morning and heard one subject. Then we went to Sunday school and heard another subject. Then we went back on Sunday night and heard a third subject. And then we came back for the midweek service and studied a fourth subject! I never had a clue what series we were in or what it was all about. It was just a mishmash of subjects. At North Coast, we cover less material with sermon-based groups, but our people know what we're covering. Our focus is sharper. They Mainstream New Believers In the small-groups world, it's kind of an unwritten rule that you don't put new believers in with a group of long-time Christians. The new believers get intimidated. They get swallowed up—especially by those overachievers who can pronounce all the big words and places properly. New believers often can't figure out if it's "Job" or "job." So we have to keep them away from the long-time Christians and start new-believer groups instead. But does that really make sense? Is it really the best idea to get the nursery full of little kids and then make sure no adults show up? I don't think so. And it's certainly not the best way to make sure people stick with the church and grow. But sermon-based groups give us another option. I don't watch a lot of movies, so when I come across a group of people critiquing a certain film, I generally try to stay out of their way. I get intimidated by my ignorance. But if those people are talking about a movie that I've actually taken the time to see, I'm in on the discussion. I stand my ground because I saw the film, and I have an opinion that's based on my own experience. And in our culture, everyone thinks they are an expert on what they've experienced. The same is true of new believers who participate in a sermon-based small group. When Larry Long-Timer begins to pronounce all of the difficult words and throw out quotes from John Calvin or Chuck Swindoll, the new believer is more likely to stand his ground and offer his own opinion, because he's experienced the sermon himself. He'll feel like an expert based on his own experience, even if he feels lost when it comes to the genre of the Bible. They Eliminate Idiot Questions Every small-group curriculum I have ever seen has had at least one idiot question. For instance, if we're doing a study based on 1 Timothy, and the opening verse says, " … from Paul to Timothy," and then question number one in the curriculum guide is, "Who wrote 1 Timothy?" I call that an idiot question. It bores people to death. But there's a good reason those idiot questions are in every curriculum study guide. Because without the idiot questions, you can't set the context. But when small groups are sermon-based, the context is set in the message. The sermon gets everyone on the same page. So group leaders are free to get right into the parallel passages and personal application. They Help with Leadership Recruitment If you're going to lead a group Bible study on Colossians, you need a pretty good grasp on the entire book. Otherwise you'll find yourself saying things in chapter one that don't fit with what's said in chapters two through four. You also need to understand the difference between a good question and a bad question. In addition, you'll need to bring some of your own research and ideas to the study; otherwise, you're going to be answering a lot of questions with, "I don't know." That's a pretty high bar to get over. But if you lead a sermon-based small group, all you need to be is growing spiritually, excited about God's Word, and have the ability to draw group members together and keep them together. Unlike skilled Bible teachers, I've found that these kinds of people grow on trees! In my experience with recruiting group leaders, there are not many people who can lead an inductive Bible study, but there are lots of people who can facilitate a discussion of a sermon everyone has heard. Few people can teach well, especially in our culture of mass media and heightened expectation. But God has always made sure there are enough shepherds for his flock. At North Coast, they are called small-group leaders. And when they aren't asked to do too much, they aren't too hard to find. Excerpted from the Small-Groups Starter Kit, copyright © 2008 by North Coast Church. Discuss: Which of these advantages is most appealing to our church and ministry? What weaknesses exist in our ministry that might be bolstered through sermon-based small groups? Can we identify a couple of steps we need to take in order to start a sermon-based small groups ministry (or a sermon-based option to our current ministry)? Source: http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2008/seven-advantages-of-sermon-based-small-groups.html?paging=off

RE-ENGAGING THE DECHURCHED: LESSONS FROM BURNING MAN

By Rick Richardson • December 14, 2015 (from Outreach,com) With as many as two-thirds of emerging adults (those ages 19 to 29) turning from their Christian upbringing, we are at a critical moment to understand why this is the case and to begin to reach out to these dechurched individuals in such a way as to recapture their image of the true God. A team from the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism (BGCE) journeyed to Burning Man earlier this year to learn more about this community, research the dechurched and share God’s love. Many of the 70,000 people who attend Burning Man attend the event in order to express their creativity, find community and seek spiritual encounters. Ninety percent of the people the BGCE team interviewed were from mainline Protestant and Catholic backgrounds. They are, at this point, very dechurched. Most attended church in high school and earlier, but were never captured by the church. They are not hostile, just disinterested. They are spiritual, but not religious. Here are three themes that emerged as we interviewed “Burners.” We believe these can help us better reach out to the younger, dechurched, spiritually seeking generation. 1. Many Burners are looking for the opportunity to express, in a context of radical acceptance, sides of themselves they have ignored, repressed or discounted. The church is not often perceived as a place of radical acceptance (or radical grace) toward people as they are. The church for Burners will have to practice a radical grace and acceptance that will be surprising for people who long to express “new” selves. 2. For many Burners, the good news they are longing to discover relates to achieving wholeness and expanded consciousness. They long to feel whole, connected to others and to the world. The church for Burners will have to bring the healing and transformed consciousness (mind) that Jesus so often modeled in his ministry and community. 3. Many Burners are looking for a faith that is integrated with their bodies, sexuality, minds, hearts, creativity, imaginative sides and larger social and cosmic environments. For many, the church seems more focused on managing behavior and controlling thinking through dogma. The church for Burners will have to express a positive vision for the arts, imagination, sexuality, intuition, the cosmos and the interconnectedness of all humanity. Dr. Rick Richardson is evangelism fellow at the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism and director of and professor in the M.A. in Evangelism and Leadership and the M.A. in Missional Church Movements programs at Wheaton College.

Two types of churches

One in which the clergy and staff dispenses grace to feed a hungry congregation. The second, all resources are applied to prepare a congregation to dispense grace to feed a hungry world. The Rev. Fr. Chuck Collins

Communication: The Seven Touch Points

Craig Groeschel Senior Pastor, Life.Church Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church. Meeting in multiple locations around the United States, and globally at Church Online, Life.Church is known for the innovative use of technology to spread the Gospel. Sometimes people ask about our communication strategy for attracting new people to Life.Church and retaining current attenders. Because people are more distracted than ever and going to church less frequently, we want to get them excited about upcoming content so they’ll come (and bring a friend). So, at Life.Church, we decided to promote our message series with exciting trailers, just like the previews you see when you go to the movies. We also do what I call “The Seven Touches.” These are small, constant communication touch points that help people get excited about coming to church. Pastor: I always promote the next series three or four weeks before it even starts. I do this on the weekends and for multiple weeks since most people are not at church every week. Campus Pastor: I want the campus pastors to talk about the next series. In our multi-campus model, attenders hear from me as I'm teaching, and they hear from campus pastors. I want our communication about upcoming series to be in sync. Video: I want the audience to see a promotional video that creates interest and intrigue. A visual link to the series also makes it easier to remember. Invitation Cards: We give our attenders invitation cards or door hangers so they can invite other people by simply handing them a card with our information on it. Banner: We want everyone to see a banner in the parking lot to remind them again of what to expect when they come into the church. Mailer: We want people to receive a mailer reminding them about the series a week before it starts. Rather than sending mailers to the general public, we send them to attenders since they’ll be the ones most likely to invite others. A cold invitation in a mailbox isn’t nearly as effective as a warm personal invitation. Social Media: We want to use social media to share it everywhere.We post about new series on official Life.Church social media channels, but we also encourage our staff, volunteers, and attenders to post on their personal accounts too. We can't always control who will come to church or how the church will grow, but these touch points are seven consistent things we can do that will contribute to the desired outcome—leading people to become fully devoted followers of Christ. Open Idea: The more people are familiar with something coming up, the more they'll care about it. We want Life.Church attenders to care about what happens at their church, so we're intentional about creating opportunities for them to hear and see what's next and what God is doing through them.

How to Recognize Spiritually Receptive People In Your Community

October 21, 2015 By Rick Warren Pastor, you’re surrounded by dirt. To be more precise, you’re surrounded by soil – all kinds of soil. In your community, you have people who are ready to respond to the Gospel and people who aren’t. Your job is to isolate the good soil and plant your seed there. Jesus clearly taught this notion of spiritual receptivity in the Parable of the Sower and the Soils (Matt. 13:3-23). Like different kinds of soil, people respond differently to the Good News. Everyone is not equally ready to receive Christ. Some people are very open to hearing the Gospel and others are very closed. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus explained that there are hard hearts, shallow hearts, distracted hearts, and receptive hearts. If you want your ministry to maximize its evangelism effectiveness, you need to focus your energy on the right soil. That’s the soil that will produce a hundred-fold harvest. Take a cue from those who work with actual dirt. No farmer in his right mind would waste seed, a precious commodity, on infertile ground that won’t produce a crop. In the same way, I believe careless, unplanned broadcasting of the Gospel is poor stewardship. The message of Christ is too important to waste time, money, and energy on non-productive methods and soil. We need to be strategic in reaching the world. We should focus our efforts where they will make the greatest difference. Spiritual receptivity comes and goes in people’s lives like an ocean tide. People are more open to spiritual truth at certain times than at others. Many factors determine spiritual receptivity. God uses a variety of tools to soften hearts and prepare people to be saved. So who are the most receptive people? I believe there are two broad categories: people in transition and people under tension. That’s because God uses both change and pain to get people’s attention and make them receptive to the Gospel. People in transition: Any time people experience major change, whether positive or negative, they develop a hunger for spiritual stability. This has occurred in America during the last several years. The massive changes in our world have left us frightened and unsettled and has produced an enormous interest in spiritual matters. Alvin Toffler says that people look for “islands of stability” when change becomes overwhelming. This is a wave the Church needs to ride. People are also more receptive to the Gospel when they face changes like a new marriage, a new baby, a new home, a new job, or a new school. That’s why churches can generally grow faster in newer communities where new residents are continually moving in than in stable, older communities where people have lived for 40 years. People under tension: God uses all kinds of emotional pain to get people’s attention: the pain of divorce, death of a loved one, unemployment, financial problems, marriage and family difficulties, loneliness, resentment, guilt, and other stresses. When people are fearful or anxious, they often look for something greater than themselves to ease the pain and fill the void they feel. I claim no immaculate perception on the list I want to share with you. This is not a scientific study. But based on my many years of pastoring, I offer the following list of what I believe have been the 10 most receptive groups of people that we’ve reached out to at Saddleback: Second-time visitors to your church (unbelievers who come, regardless of the reason) Close friends and relatives of new converts People going through a divorce Those who feel their need for a recovery program (any type: alcohol, drugs, sexual, etc.) First-time parents Terminal illness of self or family member Couples with major marriage problems Parents with problem children Recently unemployed/major financial problem New residents in the community A great benefit of focusing on receptive people is that you don’t have to pressure them to receive Christ. I tell my staff: “If the fruit is ripe, you don’t have to yank it!” I believe God has called pastors to catch fish and feed sheep – not corral goats! It usually takes about five times more energy to reactivate a disgruntled or carnal member than it does to win a receptive unbeliever. The truth is that some of your inactive members probably need to join somewhere else for a number of reasons. Growing churches focus on reaching receptive people. Non-growing churches focus on re-enlisting inactive people. Once you know who your target is, who you are most likely to reach, and who are the most receptive people in your target group, then you’re ready to establish an evangelism strategy for your church. So my suggestion to you is this: start checking the soil.

20 Reasons Your Church Isn’t Growing

From churchfuel.com: APR 29 2015 This post could come with all kinds of disclaimers. But we’ll save those for another post and get right to the reasons your church might not be growing. 1. You’re not growing. The number one growth barrier in a church is not service times or seating capacity, it’s leadership. If you want your church to grow, invest in your own leadership. With all the books, blogs, conferences, coaching networks and online courses, it’s never been easier for you to work on yourself. 2. You are not developing other leaders. The Senior Pastor is not a superhero Christian. For the church to grow, you need to develop leaders at all levels. Many churches adopt the genius with a thousand helpers model and never reach their full potential. 3. You’re not leading spiritually. The church is not just an organization, it’s a spiritual endeavor. Faith, prayer, holiness and a host of other spiritual attributes are key to both growth and health. You can have a great team, brilliant ministries and all the strategy in the world, but without the spiritual engine, your church will not have God’s full blessing. 4. You’re competing with other churches. The spirit of competition will kill any attitude of thankfulness. Stop trying to outdo the church down the street or the churches you follow online. God wants to do something unique in your life and in your church. 5. You don’t have a clear vision. The mission of the church is God-given, but you also must paint a clear and compelling vision of the future. A lot of churches don’t grow because they lack a vision to do so. 6. You don’t set goals. Goals will keep you focused on what’s next and prevent you from simply responding to every problem and opportunity. For goals to be effective, they need to be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. You also need to talk about them on a regular basis. 7. You think preaching solves all problems. Preaching is one of the primary ways you communicate doctrine, instruction and even pastoral care. But preaching won’t solve all of the problems in your church. That’s why many great preachers struggle to lead. 8. You are only thinking short term. Your church might not be in a growth season now, and if you can’t see past that, you might miss what God wants to teach you. If you’re in a wilderness period or waiting time, keep trusting God and waiting on the Lord. We often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in ten. 9. You’re afraid to change. Many pastors are comfortable with the status quo, but growth requires change. If you aren’t afraid to stop doing what’s good in order to pursue something that’s great, you might not grow. 10. You’re too busy. It’s likely you have too many ministries and programs on your calendar. Which means everything is mediocre and nothing is great. The pull you feel on your calendar and task lists extends all the way throughout the church. Being busy has a lot of dangerous consequences. 11. You are micromanaging. Leaders who micromanage their staff and volunteers in the name of excellence inhibit growth and rob others of their God-given potential. If your team can’t hang with you, it’s on you for not developing them. 12. You’re afraid of people. Leaders who are afraid to lovingly confront or call people to change won’t break through the roadblocks of growth. 13. You’re not spending money on outreach. If you want to reach more people, spend more money on outreach, community service and advertising. Start building a growth fund and leverage resources for growth, not just maintenance. If you want to reach people, put your money where your mouth is. If you’re looking for a fresh way to engage people and invite them to church, try this. 14. Your services are not consistent.Like it or not, church in the Western world centers around the church service. If those services are not engaging and excellent, people will struggle to attend. Rather than bemoan the state of American Christianity, work hard on to make your church services great. Study and pray so your sermon is good. Make sure the musicians practice. Think about the environment. 15. God has something else in mind. Who can really know the mind of God? Maybe you’re doing everything right but God still isn’t allowing your church to grow like you want. It can be frustrating, but maybe God has a different plan. 16. You’re blaming others. God is bigger than your deacons, elders, staff, building, location, bi-vocational status, or budget. Limitations are a cause for creativity, not excuses. An attitude of blame will never lead to church growth. 17. You keep listening to the same people. It’s easy to get stuck in a rut, particularly those of you who are a part of a network or denomination. But God is doing things all over the world and you would be wise to listen to people who think different. 18. Your structure inhibits growth. Some churches just aren’t set up for growth, with structures that slow down decision making and leadership. If that’s the case, you’ve got to work on the structure before you change programs and ministries. 19. You don’t have healthy systems. Many of the problems you face in church are systems problems disguised as people problems. And you can’t solve systems problems with better preaching or more vision. Anytime you do something more than once, you need a system. This will help. 20. You are not focused on young people. If you want your church to grow, focus on children and young families. Shift your programming, staff and budget to serve the next generation.

My posting has really slowed down, I know.  It's been incredibly busy this year, but this one is great from The Rocket Company:

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12 Ways to Use Social Media to Connect with Your Congregation this Christmas

December 19, 2012 by Michael Lukaszewski

We’ve put together twelve easy and practical ways for you to engage with people through Facebook and Twitter. These done-for-you activities will help you start faith conversations and build up folks.  Pick one or two of them and connect with your congregation this Christ.as

1. Copy and paste the lyrics of your favorite Christmas song on Facebook and ask others which is their favorite song of the season.
2. Tweet and Facebook a picture of a wrapped present with the copy: “Guess what’s inside? Whoever guesses it (or comes close), wins!” Ship it to the winner. Here’s some ideas for the present: a nativity set, tree topper, ornament, Starbucks gift certificate.
3. Invite people on Twitter and Facebook to volunteer with you this month to help people in your community. Share what you are going to do and ask them to share what they are going to do. You could sign up at a soup kitchen, ring a Salvation Army bell, serve meals in a homeless shelter, buy gifts for those in need or pay someone’s electrical bill.
4. Post a photo of you celebrating Christmas as a child and share a holiday memory you have from that time in your life. Ask others to post a photo and share a memory.
5. The Christmas season can be stressful. Tweet and Facebook an invite to send you a private message if they want prayer. Reply with a private typed out prayer from your heart for them.
6. Challenge your followers on Twitter and fans on Facebook to find and take a picture of the ugliest Christmas sweater they’ve ever seen and post it.
7. Tweet and Facebook the following question: “Do you remember what you asked Santa to bring you for Christmas as a child?” Share what you asked for with them.
8. Briefly share why God’s gift of Jesus Christ changed your life. Ask your friends and followers to share an event that changed their lives forever.
9. Post a picture of something that is symbolic within your church. It could be the cross, your baptistery, the piano, the pews or the front door. Explain why it’s significant. Ask your friends and followers to post items that are special to them this time of year.
10. Tweet and Facebook the following question: “What is the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?” Be sure to share your answer.
11. Pick an annual event in your city. Perhaps, it’s the local Christmas parade or a celebration of the season. Tweet and Facebook that you’ll be there and would love to meet as a group to enjoy the event together.
12. Share the following video on Twitter and Facebook: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKk9rv2hUfA. Few explain the meaning of Christmas better than Linus.