The most effective way to help church members who aren’t yet part of a small group is through focused, personal communication designed just for them, rather than a general announcement.
Here’s a simple approach:
- Identify and map members who aren’t currently in a group,
- Organize them into “Coming Soon” groups based on their location,
- Connect with potential leaders,
- Personally invite this group of members to a special gathering at the church to learn more, and
- Launch a short, six-week pilot group to help them get started.
I'm not suggesting doing away with announcements, Groupfinder on your website, or a Connect Card option for more info about groups. Those are all important tools for connecting people.
However, people appreciate knowing that you’ve considered their unique place in your church family and taken steps to create something with them in mind. Tools like the ones in Churchteams make it possible to reach out in ways that feel personal, showing each member how much they matter and inviting them into deeper community.
Here is a deeper dive into how I am helping our church use Churchteams to make small group formation personal.
Step 1. Identify and map members who aren't currently in a group. In Churchteams, this is a "Map of Individuals" report filtered by church members or regular attenders that are NOT in the Small Group Ministry. When you run the report, you get a map that looks similar to this one.
Step 2. Click on the pins to see people's names and in another window put them in a "Coming Soon" group that you created just for people in that area. We used this map and put everyone represented in one of three groups averaging 15-25 people per group including spouses.
Step 3. Go to each "Coming Soon" group and review the people in that group. You can customize the layout of the group to see current involvement and any other information you need to help you discern a couple of people who might be potential leaders of the group. If no one is discovered, consider someone in another group who lives in this area that might want to lead. Or, have a staff person or experienced leader meet with the group initially to help them discover a leader as they launch the group.
Step 4. Once you have a plan for leadership, invite everyone in the group to an exploratory group meeting. Let them know they were personally selected along with others in the area and have the pastor or a key leader extend the invitation and lead the meeting. A familiar place like the church is helpful before moving into a home.
Step 5. Make it easier for people to "discover" group life by launching the group for a short test-period like six weeks. We use a launch curriculum from one of our favorite churches for this. It helps the leader facilitate a discussion for the group that sets expectations and a healthy pattern for discipleship as well as connection. I see it as training to help a group know how to function as a healthy group.
The work of helping church members find a place where they can learn the Bible and process life with others in a personal way is not easy. Details can be challenging. Relationships can be challenging.
Working through these is the face to face work of ministry. Effective use of software tools like Churchteams can help you create, organize, get feedback from, and pray for your church's small group ministry. Please let us know how we can help you.
