Saturday, October 19, 2013

"Fix My Small Groups!" 6 Church-Tested Solutions


Many small groups suffer from uncommitted members, poor leadership and other serious dysfunctions. Read on to discover cures.

It was a great small group. Members shared from the heart, learned from the Word and genuinely cared for each other.

When they showed up, that is.

One couple in particular seemed to find any reason to miss a meeting, offering excuses about being too tired or needing to run errands. When the couple did show up, the leaders noticed a change in the group dynamic—some people became more cautious and reserved about sharing, leaving the other members feeling disengaged and frustrated.

“When group members consistently don’t show, it can really drain a leader and the group,” says Bill Donahue, author of Leading Life-Changing Small Groups (Zondervan), who oversaw this particular group during his time at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill.

If your church has a small groups ministry, chances are you’ve faced this same problem of commitment, as well as a host of other common small group issues such as poor structure and untrained leadership. In fact, most churches struggle to keep their small groups healthy, but with the right strategies and the right values, you can strengthen your groups and your church’s ability to reach more people in a meaningful way.

Outreach presented the most prevalent small group dilemmas to several trusted leaders in small group innovation. Read on to gain their meaningful insights and sensible solutions to these six common problems your small groups might be facing. Keep reading

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