We had the privilege of hosting Josh Hunt for our mid winter Sunday Morning Bible Study leadership conference. The emphasis on investing and building relationships is the key to reaching our society today. If you have not had the opportunity to have Josh Hunt in your church or attend one of his conferences, make plans to involve your leadership. His concepts will make a difference in your thinking about how simple it really is to reach out to people.
Josh Hunt believes in the power of the small group ministry in your church. And, his belief is contagious. In his new book, Make My 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.
Josh Hunt’s book should be read by all who are looking for new ways to reach people.
How to Get Everyone to Read Their Lesson Every Week
If you’ve ever led a Bible study, small group, or Sunday school class, you know the frustration. You assign the lesson, send reminders, maybe even offer incentives—and still, week after week, a large portion of the group shows up unprepared. It’s tempting to sigh,...
Discussion-based Lessons
Discussion-based lessons have groups talking and changing. We are changed more by what we say than what we hear. "Instead SPEAKING the truth (not just hearing the truth) we will grow." Ephesians 4.15 https://www.youtube.com/embed/lduldVUA8-4
Why Honesty Is Essential in a Healthy Small Group
Most groups are pretty good at talking about the Bible. We can discuss what Paul meant, debate a difficult passage, talk about prayer, and share our opinions about what is happening in the church and the world. What we are sometimes not very good at is telling the...
When You Don’t Know What to Do, Take the Next Logical Step by Faith
What do you do when you don’t know what to do? Most of us would like God to give us a detailed map. We want to know where we are going, how we are going to get there, what problems we will encounter along the way, and how everything will eventually turn out. Then,...
How to Live in God’s Presence During Difficult Times
How can I experience God's presence during suffering? Where is God when life hurts? Is it possible to walk closely with God during a spiritual night season? The Bible answers each of those questions with a resounding "yes." Few desires are more deeply rooted in the...
Pray It Through: What to Do When Life Gets Worse After You Trust God
One of the most difficult parts of faith is what happens when we obey God and life gets harder anyway. That is exactly what happens in 1 Kings 17. The widow of Zarephath has already taken an enormous step of faith. She had almost no food left, yet she trusted Elijah’s...
Something Is Changing in the American Church
Something is changing in the American church. That was the opening line of the first chapter of Change Your Church or Die when I wrote it years ago. At the time, I pointed to declining Southern Baptist membership and baptisms, aging congregations, and churches...
10 Marks of Great Bible Teaching
What makes someone a great Bible teacher? It isn't necessarily a seminary degree, a booming voice, a brilliant personality, or the ability to explain Greek verbs. Some people know an enormous amount about the Bible and aren't particularly good teachers. Others have...
The Friendship That Changed a Kingdom
What David and Jonathan Teach Us About Loyal Friendship We live in an age of thousands of "friends" and very few deep friendships. Social media has made it easier than ever to stay connected, yet many people quietly admit they have no one they can call in the middle...
Learning to Listen During Prayer
How do you listen to God during prayer? Does God still speak today? How can you recognize God's voice without falling into subjectivism or simply following your own feelings? Learning to listen to God is one of the most important—and often misunderstood—aspects of the...
One Scoop Away from Empty: Trusting God When There Isn’t Enough
There are seasons when we look at what we have and conclude that it is not enough. Not enough money. Not enough strength. Not enough time. Not enough help. Not enough energy to keep going. Sometimes the problem is not that we have nothing. The problem is that we have...
A Promise That Changed History
What God's Covenant with David Means for Us Today Every one of us builds our lives on promises. We promise faithfulness in marriage. Employers promise wages. Parents promise to care for their children. Nations are held together by constitutions, contracts, and...
Sometimes the Most Spiritual Thing You Can Do Is Calm Down
Some problems require immediate action. Others require us to stop trying to fix everything and give God time to work. Knowing the difference is one of the great challenges of the Christian life. At the Red Sea, the Israelites were understandably terrified. Pharaoh’s...
Cut Off and Cut Down: What God Does in the Hidden Places
Sometimes God’s next step for us feels like a step backward. Elijah had just walked into the presence of King Ahab and delivered one of the boldest messages in Scripture. He had announced that there would be no rain except at his word. It was a dramatic beginning to a...
The Importance of Good Bible Teaching in Growing a Small Group
What makes a group grow? We could make a long list. Friendships matter. Outreach matters. Invitations matter. Fellowship matters. A warm and welcoming atmosphere matters. All of these things can help get people into the room. But once they are there, somebody needs to...
When You Don’t Know What to Do, Pray
There are times when we know exactly what to do. Then there are Red Sea moments. You have thought about the problem from every angle. You have talked with people you trust. You have made your list of options, and none of them seems particularly good. You have reached...
How Paul Handled Suffering Without Losing Joy
Most of us assume that joy depends on circumstances. If life is going well, we're joyful. If life falls apart, our joy disappears. The apostle Paul challenges that way of thinking. No follower of Christ experienced more hardship than Paul, yet few people in history...
Sunday School Growth: Why Quality Is More Important Than Quantity
If you have read much of what I have written about Sunday School and small-group ministry, you know I believe in growth. I believe teachers should invite people, reach people, assimilate people, and work toward doubling their classes every two years or less. But there...
The More You Look at Your Problem, the Bigger It Gets
Have you ever noticed that problems grow when you stare at them? You can wake up at two in the morning thinking about something that seemed manageable at two in the afternoon, and suddenly it feels enormous. You rehearse everything that could go wrong. You imagine...
Facing Giants
Why David's Greatest Weapon Was Not His Sling Even people who know very little about the Bible know the story of David and Goliath. The names have become part of our language. We speak of a "David versus Goliath" contest whenever a small company challenges a giant...
Outnumbered: When It Feels Like You’re Standing Alone
There are moments when following God can make you feel hopelessly outnumbered. Maybe you are the only Christian in your workplace who takes your faith seriously. Maybe everyone in your family seems to be moving in one direction while you are trying to move in another....
When Life Hurts, Ask a Better Question: How Can God Be Glorified in This?
When trouble comes, most of us instinctively ask the same question: “How can I get out of this?” It is a perfectly understandable question. If you are sick, you want to get well. If you are struggling financially, you want enough money to pay the bills. If there is...
What Job Can Teach Us About Suffering
Why do good people suffer? Why doesn't God answer every question? What can we learn from the life of Job when life simply doesn't make sense? Few books of the Bible speak more honestly to our deepest struggles than the book of Job. Most of us assume that if we live...
God Uses Ordinary People to Do Extraordinary Things
Have you ever looked at someone God was using in a remarkable way and thought, “I could never do that”? Perhaps you have watched a gifted Bible teacher and wished you could communicate like that. You have seen a Sunday School leader whose class is growing and wondered...
Looking for the Right Leader
Why God Chose David Instead of Saul Every election season reminds us how difficult it is to choose a leader. We look at résumés, experience, personality, communication skills, and accomplishments. Companies do the same thing when hiring executives. Churches do it when...
Build Your Church’s Change Bank Account
Every pastor has a change bank account. You won’t find it on the church’s financial statement, and the treasurer can’t tell you the balance. But it may be one of the most important accounts you have. It is the amount of trust and goodwill you have accumulated with...
Sample Good Questions
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