It Takes Two: why every leader needs a co-leader

One of the biggest challenges life group leaders face is the task of finding a co-leader or helper who will join them as they form, fill, and facilitate their small group. Some leaders fail to recruit a co-leader or helper because they do not want to inconvenience anyone.  Others go-it-alone because they simply do not feel there there is much that a co-leader or helper can do for them.

Whatever the case, here are a few reasons why it takes two to make a thing go right in the world of small groups.

Power Planning: Two heads are better than one when it comes to thinking through and planning out your group sessions.  A co-leader can help you with things like; mapping out your group sessions according to your book or curriculum.  Together, you can innovate icebreakers and quality questions for group conversation.

Two to Teach: A co leader may also be someone you can share the teaching or facilitation load with.  Only the naive small group leader believes he will make it to every single one of the group sessions.  Life happens! Sickness, unexpected tragedy, and opportunities come our way that may knock us off course and out of leadership.  A co-leader can be there to cover you when you are unable to lead or facilitate your group.  Leaders who fail to have a co-leader often find themselves having to cancel their group.  This is disappointing to group members and there is always a loss of momentum for the group in terms of the study and among group members relationally.

Double-Talk Marketing and Inviting: One of the greatest benefits in having a co-leader is that there will be at least two people excitedly talking with others about your new group.  Personal invitation is such an important key toward filling your group.  Having two excited people working in their circles of influence means you will more quickly find group members.

Co-mmunication:  A co-leader or helper can also help you with tasks like taking reporting attendance, and communicating with the group via email, phone calls, and social media communication.

Dual traction prayer & pastoral care:  Because small groups are the way many churches accomplish basic pastoral care for their members, it is important to have more than one person serving the members of your group in the way of personal care, prayer and encouragement.

Choosing a co-leader:
Life Group leaders often ask if their spouse can serve as their co-leader.  Most of the time they are simply looking for an easy way to fill the co-leader / helper slot.  Your spouse can certainly be a part of your planning and facilitating but they should not be your co-leader due to the fact that what affects you will directly affect your spouse as well.  Difficulties like sickness, being snowed in, and family matters all have the same affect on your spouse as they have on you.  It is wise to choose a co-leader / helper who is not a family member.  A second value in choosing someone other than your spouse is the value of including and building other leaders.  Life Group leaders should always be looking to build others up in leadership so that new groups can launch with well trained / field tested leadership.  Be sure to choose someone who is willing to serve in all the ways described above.  Work hard at communication with your co-leader / helper.  They will serve you and the group best when they have been included in all the phases of group development, planning, filling and facilitating.

Choose a person who fits The Three C's of leadership:

Character:  They are a person who reflects a love for God and a love for others.  They are helpful, positive and encouraging.  They are faithful and loyal toward you as leader.

Competency:  They have some skill in the area of leadership you are needing them to serve.  They understand the purpose of your group and they have the ability to serve the group functionally and relationally

Chemistry:  Choose a co-leader / helper that you enjoy working with!  Working with others in ministry can and should be fun.  Invite people you like to to be on your team.

Be sure to choose people who have ALL THREE C's.  Compromise on even one of them and you'll have less than satisfactory results.  Find a person with all three and you'll have great success.

It Takes All Kinds: interest based small groups

There are many ways to structure a life group ministry within a local church.  Of course, there is no one" right way" to do it and there are pros and cons to every group structure choice.  So, in your endeavor to build a small group ministry structure we recommend you do as the one Alaskan highway road sign wisely states, "Choose your rut carefully, you'll be in it for the next 200 miles."  This is certainly true for establishing a culture of small groups in a church.  Ministry leaders should carefully consider their structure choice as it will be difficult to change it and should be part of your strategic ministry strategy for a long time.

Small group structure choices:
Some churches host home groups as their overall structure for small groups.  Other churches have small groups within classes (often referred to as Adult Bible Fellowship or ABFs).  Many churches offer sermon based small groups or church wide series based small groups.  At our church we have an interest based small group structure which includes all of of these types of groups and more.

Common interest as a starting point:

One of the main pro's to the interest based group structure it that people begin their point of connection through "common interest." For instance, it is easy for a person to join a small group that has basketball as the interest base if they are a person who already enjoys watching and playing basketball.  The same is true for people who enjoy reading books, writing songs, painting pictures, or even studying the Bible.

It takes all kinds:
We have embraced the interest based group structure because we believe hosting many groups of different kinds will help us reach many people who are at various points of connection to the church and faith in Jesus.  Therefore, within our interest based small group structure you will find groups associated with sports, hobbies, fitness, topical studies, book clubs, life situation groups, gender-based groups, ministry / serving-based groups, bible studies, games and more.  Groups form around almost any interest or activity.

4 Elements to consider including:

Because our life groups can form around almost any kind of topic, activity, or interest, we ask that our group leaders plan to include at least one of the four following elements into each of their group gatherings; prayer, scripture, testimonies, worship.

There is a lot of freedom as to how each of these elements will be included and expressed within each interest based life group.  For instance, prayer is included prior to each match at our volleyball life group.  People often share prayer requests or share testimonies of answered prayer from a previous week.  A group may include a time of worship by singing together, while another group simply listens and reads the lyrics to an inspiring song on CD.  There are many ways to include prayer, scripture, testimonies and worship within an interest / activity based group gathering.  The key to blending these elements and activities well is proper planning.  Effective leaders will map out each session and thoughtfully decide when and how to incorporate these important spiritual elements.

If you are a Life Group leader, take some time to map out all of the weeks that you plan on hosting your interest based group.  Create a calendar of weekly gatherings that includes moments for prayer, sharing scripture and testimonies, and worship.  Keep it simple but be creative!

Lead a group:
If you would like to lead an interest based small group at First Assembly Community Ministries, please indicate your interest by writing to Pastor Todd E. Hair or call the Life Groups office at 765-474-1432.


Questions to ask when choosing a small group structure for your church?

1. What is the primary purpose of our small group structure?
2. How long do we expect people to stay in one particular small group?
3. What type of person can lead the small groups we hope to offer?
4. Make a list of the pro's and con's of each small group structure as it relates to the culture of your church and community.

What are some of your thoughts on the different types of small groups?  Which type of group do you enjoy attending or leading?

A Cancellation Situation: "weather" or not to cancel your small group?

A Cancellation Situation?

The one thing that I enjoy least about Winter Life Groups is the fact that they happen in the winter!  So far this year, we have had near record amounts of snow and below zero temperatures.  2 hour school delays have become the new normal and all of the programs on television now include ticker-tape of cancellations at the bottom of the screen.  Among the cancellations have been a number of churches, but somehow we have been able to navigate the winter wallop and host our services.  Our Pastor has adopted the philosophy "If Walmart is open, we are open!"

Although we are reluctant to cancel, we have encouraged people to use good judgment.  Yesterday's church-wide facebook post read:  "We are still having our services today at 9am and 11am. Please use caution when driving in. Our concern is your safety. If you feel like you need to stay home today than please join us for Church Online! http://firstassemblychurch.churchonline.org/"  Unless your group meets online, you will likely face the decision at one point or another to proceed with caution, postpone, or cancel.  Here are a few things to consider when cancellation is on your radar.

1.  Postponing as a alternative to canceling.  Canceling your group may create a loss of relational momentum and curriculum confusion. Talk with your group ahead of time about alternate times and days that you might be able to meet together when your date and time is snuffed out by snow.  Going with plan "B" will keep you on track relationally and with your curriculum plan.

2.  Corporate cancellation: If your group is meeting at the church on a night that other groups and ministries are meeting, you are not the authority in calling for a cancellation.  On corporate ministry nights, the church leadership will determine whether or not cancellation is necessary.  Life Group leaders should communicate concerns related to cancellation with the church leaders only.  Church leadership will work to determine the necessity of cancellation and make that decision early enough in the day for good communication to go out about the cancellation.

3.  Communicating cancellation: When your group gathers, share that you're intentions are to consistently host your group each week but agree on a way that you will communicate with your group members about the need for postponing or canceling your group gatherings.  Ideas for consideration:  A phone tree (members calling members), facebook (general posts or group messages), Group e-mail.

4. Mainstream media mess:  Please do NOT put your small group cancellation on public radio, TV or websites.  Your group name associated with the church may cause confusion in the church and community about which groups are meeting and which are not.  In our church, our executive pastor is the only one with authority to publish our church name and cancellation information through mainstream media.

5. Inform us immediately:  If you decide to postpone or cancel your group gathering, please be sure to notify the life groups office at the church.  We can help you communicate your message through social media, e-blasts and twitter posts.  Your communication also keeps us from unnecessary work such has scraping sidewalks, unlocking exterior and interior doors and setting up classrooms.

It is important that Life Group leaders think about and prepare for cancellation situations.  What are some of the ideas you have related to handling bad weather days?

 If you are a Life Group leader and you have further questions or concerns about "weather" or not to cancel your group gatherings, please feel free to contact the First Assembly Community Ministries Life Group office at 765-474-1432 or write to Pastor Todd Hair.

Failing to Prepare is like Preparing to Fail

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." - Benjamin Franklin

When it comes to small group leadership, preparation is key.  I've met countless leaders who believe small group leadership is a simple thing. In some ways they are right.  It's not crazy complicated, but I've seen a lot of leaders end up disappointed and disillusioned at the end of their group's season and most often it can be traced back to this one thing...they failed to prepare.

Planning Pitfalls:

Playing it by ear.   Many small group leaders impede their success because they choose to "play it by ear."  For instance, I've seen many leaders pick a book to read and discuss.  They simply title their group by the book's title and then pick a day, a time, and  a room at the church and just go for it!  More often than not, the group gets bogged down with discussion and the leader allows the group to spend too much time or even too many weeks in one area of the content.  This forces the group to speed up in order to wrap up or even tack on more gatherings.

Partial Planning.  I have also seen many leaders fail their group by only partially planning their group gatherings.  They often plan the first couple of sessions in order to have a good launch but make the mistake of thinking they'll have time to plan the rest later.  Take the time to fully review your material and create a well designed plan before you begin. 

3 Keys to Preparing a Plan.

Create a calendar.  Map out the dates and number of small group gatherings you intend to host.  Be mindful of other national holidays, school and other local events that may pull people from involvement in your group gathering. (click here to download winter weekday Life Group planning sheets)

Create Consistency.  Be sure to pick the same day and time.  People seem to attend gatherings and events that have a consistent "rhythm" as to when the group meets.  Along with a consistent day of the week, you should also consider where and what time the group will meet.  Consistent places and time of day are important factors for keeping the group alive.

Create Content.  Decide what your group will study, learn, and experience together. From there, determine what  part of the study will take place each session.  Consider "titling" each session and writing a short description of what the goal of the study will be.  Next, place the title of the session on the your calendar.  From there you can begin fashioning a session outline for each session you intend to host.  Consider including the following elements: food, and relational time, icebreaker questions, content, activity, discussion, prayer, testimonies, and worship.

The bottom line... if you will take the time to plan your gatherings you will reap the rewards.  Your clearly communicated plan will result another key to success as a leader:  CONFIDENCE.