How do you feel about the Bible Study Lesson you are using? I have asked this question a number of times when teaching Bible Study leaders: How many times has your life been changed by Bible Study Curriculum? More than once, groups have spontaneously laughed out loud. Bible Study Leaders don’t seem too fired up about the Bible Study [...]
Platt: where there is a command, there is a way
Jesus would never give us an impossible command. Whenever he allows temptation, he provides a way of escape. Whenever he gives us a task, he provides us with the power to accomplish it.4 Giving us a command without also giving us the power to obey would make life frustrating, not abundant. Completing tasks with excellence [...]
Chan: What is a disciple?
What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus Christ? As you will discover, the answer is fairly simple, but it changes your life completely. The word disciple refers to a student or apprentice. Disciples in Jesus’s day would follow their rabbi (which means teacher) wherever he went, learning from the rabbi’s teaching and [...]
Turning intentions into reality
Good intentions alone are no better than no intentions unless we get intentional about our good intentions! Most of us do not suffer from a lack of knowledge, but from a lack of will. Churches are full of good intentions. Churches have good intentions to win the lost, assimilate new people, disciple the saved, minister [...]
Expect people to change like Jesus
There has been a good deal of research around the idea that a teacher’s expectation of the student has a lot to do with the student’s performance. Teachers who think their students are smart tend to produce smart students. The converse is also true. Here is how one researcher put it: [1] Simply put, when [...]
Searcy: big days reach new people
As we just discussed, the biggest reason to do a big day is to cooperate with God in reaching the most people possible for the kingdom while we still can. That’s the big picture. But let’s bring that down to where we live every day. Stop for a minute and think about the city or [...]
What do all effective churches have in common?
Nothing comes close . . . if the church is working right. But that’s a big if. In the mid-eighties, when I began to travel more, I couldn’t ignore the gap that existed between churches that were living out their purposes and flourishing — reaching seekers, growing up strong believers, putting their arms around the [...]
Saddleback: DVD curriculum can help you find leaders
People often are reluctant to become a leader because they have limited biblical knowledge and/or limited time to prepare for group meetings. One of the things we learned through our campaign strategy was that providing an easy-to-use, DVD-based curriculum takes a huge load of responsibility off the shoulders of the small group leaders. Providing a [...]
Andy Stanley: the secret side of growing as a disciple
The secret side of the Christian experience is a really big deal to me. I’m not sure I would be doing what I’m doing today if it weren’t for something God whispered to me during a quiet time in college. I’ve shared this story in a prior book. So I’ll spare you the details. Bottom [...]
Call me!
From time to time people will call to talk about their Sunday School or church. Nearly always they will say, “I know you are busy, but, could we talk for just a few minutes?” They are usually shocked when I say I am not that busy. I know it sounds un-American. For some, it might [...]
Nelson Searcy: how to grow without splitting groups
Conventional Wisdom: The best way to increase the number of small groups in a church is to split existing groups. Reality: Through the semester-based system and the practice of apprenticing, you can multiply groups naturally by multiplying leaders. What kind of images does the word “split” conjure up for you? Chopping up wood, maybe? Bad [...]
Bill Donahue: 4 qualities of small group pastors
Traits are inborn characteristics or capabilities. No longer the province of social scientists alone, systematic research into these internal wiring patterns has provided breakthrough insights about how effective leaders function. Researchers have identified several “core competencies” and have explained how they’re developed. We used Leadership Competency Inventory (LCI), developed by the Hay Group. The LCI, [...]
Platt: every day a mission trip
Have you ever been on a short-term mission trip? Wasn’t it fascinating? For a few days you explored a foreign country with a group of believers and were focused on ministry. You laughed together as you ate strange foods and tried to speak the language. You wept as you witnessed extreme poverty. Maybe you even [...]
Chan: What is the goal?
Being a disciple of Jesus Christ means that we learn from Him, fellowship with Him, and obey everything He commands us. We study the Bible to learn about who God is, who we are, and what God is doing in our world. The Bible compels us to join God in what He is doing in [...]
How to develop leaders in your church
As we have just seen, Sunday School develops many for the work of Sunday School, but she also equips people for the work of other ministries in the church. If you were to eliminate Sunday School, you would see a gradual decline in workers being produced in other ministries as well. Sunday School is the [...]
Rick Warren: think exponential
During a management meeting in the summer of 2002, Pastor Rick spoke to us about exponential thinking. In the past we usually launched around 300 groups per year, but that year he challenged us to launch 3,000 groups. In that moment, the campaign strategy was born—a strategy that now has been used successfully by thousands [...]
The local church: the hope of the world
Ten days after the attacks on the World Trade Center Towers, I stood in the rubble at Ground Zero, overwhelmed by the aftermath of one of the most horrific events in history. On that world-changing morning of September 11, 2001, Manhattan, New York, became a war zone. The terrorists took no prisoners, held no hostages. [...]
Saddleback: how to find leaders
One of the questions we are always asked is, where do you find leaders? We have discovered tomorrow’s leaders are today’s group members. As we begin to share ownership and rotate leadership through the natural flow of group life, we find our best potential leaders in this setting. This is also contrary to traditional group [...]
No one looked at their watches when Jesus taught
They loved him or the hated him. The wanted to crown him king. They wanted to (and did) crucify him. No one looked at their watches. Jesus’ teaching was exciting. It was intriguing. It captured their attention and imagination. They got mad. They loved. They were confused. They argued. Jesus teaching caused an uproar. Jesus [...]
Andy Stanley: what causes people to grow?
A second theme that surfaces when people tell their faith stories revolves around the development of a private devotional life. Somewhere along the way, Christians begin to pray. Alone. They begin exploring the Bible on their own. They memorize their first Scripture verse. It’s not uncommon to hear people speak of getting up a little [...]
Josh Hunt believes in the power of the small group ministry in your church. And, his belief is contagious. In his new book, Make Your Group Grow, Josh presents sound application to easy to understand research that will benefit every size and style of church. Your groups and leadership will benefit from this book.
Ed Stetzer,
President of
LifeWay Research, www.edstetzer.com
Teach Like Jesus — 10 Pack
Teach Like Jesus — 25 Pack
Good Questions Have Groups Talking — 25 Pack
Ten Marks of Incredible Small Group Leaders — 10 Pack
Christian Hospitality — 25 Pack
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