From the beginning we have looked for ways to coax, bribe, bait, and equip everybody from kindergarten up to engage in some kind of private devotional exercise. I’m constantly telling people during the weekend services to go home and read their Bibles. The practical application for many of our messages is to go home and [...]
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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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Practically, how do we equip the saints?
We have not found a better way to “equip the saints” than Sunday School. We have not found a better way to do “the work of the ministry” than Sunday School. We have not found a better way to “edify the body of Christ” than Sunday School! Sunday School disciples people in the Word of [...]
Searcy: big days are God’s plan
Before we go any further, let’s define what a big day is: A big day is an all-out push toward a single Sunday for the purpose of breaking the next growth barrier and setting an attendance record in order to reach as many people as possible for Jesus. Some of you may get stuck on [...]
The Beauty of the Church
In the early seventies I had an experience so powerful that it divided my life into before and after. I was a college student taking a required course in New Testament Studies to complete my major. To my way of thinking this class was guaranteed to be brain-numbingly boring. A required Bible class? It had [...]
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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