LifeGroup & LifeMission Pastor Blog

I’ve really be enjoying our conversations about LG health and I’d like to address a common theme that seems to come out in our thinking.

In short, the comments that we are making show that we have a tendency to think LG Health takes place in the third leg of our stool (keeping).  Our thought process goes something like this:  “If a leader is trained, growing, etc. then the group will be healthy and a healthy group will last”.  While this makes a certain amount of sense ultimately I believe this line of thinking is wrong.  Hear me out.

Real LG Health happens not with just one leg (keeping) but with the entire stool!  A deeply spiritual person does not necessarily guarantee group success or health.  Group success and health requires a comprehensive approach and support system beginning with the staff.  As we head up the LG ministry on our campuses we must have a comprehensive and balanced approach to all three legs (starting, filling, keeping) or the stool will collapse.  As we provide solid leadership in all three critical areas (starting, filling and keeping) we create an environment of ministry-wide health that will directly contribute to the individual health of every group.

We frequently say things like “everything rises and falls on leadership” and to a great extent that’s true.  We, the staff, lead the ministry.  We can’t blame the lack of group health on LifeGroup leaders, we have to own our part.  Ultimately we are responsible for the health of EVERY LifeGroup, and we can lead them to individual health ONLY as we focus our efforts on all three legs of the stool which will create ministry health.

Which area(s) are you strong in?  In which areas do you struggle the most?  How do these things contribute to the ministry-wide health (or lack thereof) on your campus?

So this fall we’re all focusing on starting plenty of LifeGroups…with that we’re thinking about finding the right people to lead the groups.  We’re going to create a card that you, your coaches and your leaders can hand out to the people you think have what it takes to lead.  THESE CARDS ARE NOT FOR EVERYONE…they are only for those you (or a key volunteer) truly know and believe in.  You can see the first draft of the card here: leader-recruiting-card-01; share your thoughts. 

Also, something we need to do is identify the Characteristics that might make someone a great leader.  I’ll prime the pump with a few characteristics, then you chime in.

Teachability, Likeability, Passion…

Just thought I’d share a staggering number with you.  On the LG curriculum video this week we talk about the number of people who die every day without knowing Jesus.  That number is in the neighborhood of 13.9 million.

That’s roughly the entire population of New York City, Los Angeles, and Houston combined.  Every day the entire population of three of the largest cities in the U.S. dies without Jesus!  That’s exactly why we do what we do.  It’s also why LifeReach is so important to our LifeGroup ministry as well.

Just a reminder that getting people out of the living room is a battlefield we should all be willing to die on!  Pick up your water pistols…there are the gates of Hell…let’s storm them!!!!!!

David Foster wrote a blog post about a great group hot button.  You can read it by clicking here.

Essentially what he says is that group ministry is failing in many churches because our purpose for groups is wrong.  In his estimation healthy groups serve the church (serving teams).

I think that he’s right to a certain extent.  Serving is the most important thing groups do, but I don’t think it’s serving the church…it’s serving the world.  (Can anyone say “LifeReach”?)

Here’s what I posted as a response on his site.  Tell me what you think.

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Thanks for pushing this hot button David. On one hand I agree with you: Groups should serve. On the other hand I disagree. If I’m hearing you correctly, a win for small groups is serving the church (greeting, driving carts, etc.). I believe that a good group serves the community not just the church. God created us to change the world so like David said, “Rethink your small groups”. I’d like to encourage all of us take things a step further and
get our groups off the couch and into the community. That’s where our groups should be found…after all that’s where Jesus led his Group.

The exception for Jesus and his group was to meet in a house or an “upper room” (living room in our culture). It was also not the norm for his group to meet in the Temple. Jesus’ group was most readily found on the street touching the untouchable and loving the unlovable.

Serving the Body of Christ is a start, and a good one. Serving the world is where we all need to wind up!

Love Ya David!

Alan Danielson,
LifeGroups Team Leader
LifeChurch.tv

In a meeting with a bunch of the LGM staff at LifeChurch.tv yesterday we talked about our group ministry being like a three legged stool.  In order for it to stand, all three legs have to be of equal length and strength.

Identifying the first leg was simple:  without groups there’s no group ministry so “Starting” LifeGroup is leg one.  The next two legs address the fact that groups tend to die for two reasons:  not enough people and/or not enough training.  So the second leg is “Filling” groups and the third is “Keeping” groups.

The idea is this:  Every campus LifeGroup/Missions pastor must own the fact that the stool will stand only if the campus is effectively building each leg consistently.

What are your ideas about Starting, Filling, and Keeping?  In which of these areas have we been successful?  In which one’s have we failed?  How can you successfully build these legs on your campus?

Now’s your time to give input.  Your ideas will shape our ongoing strategy!