Small Group Leadership Training Session #5 Question: What are the Logistics of the Small Groups? Small Groups are small groups. The organizational structure (see Small Group Ministry Design Chart) starts at the bottom of the chart. Individuals enjoy community in small groups of approximately ten people, in a home or other local venue, lead by an ever increasingly skillful leader. The leader of the small group is himself within a group of five other leaders under the care of a coach. The coach who oversees five groups is under the care of a member of the pastoral staff who has ten coaches under his care. This span of care of ten, means that no one is overwhelmed, and everyone is cared for. The concept that there should be leaders over ten, fifty and so on comes from Jethro, Moses father in law who in Exodus 18:21-23 said, But select capable men from all the people--men who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain--and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied." There doesn t seem to be any reason to change any of those numbers. It is biblical! The reporting apparatus involves forms that need to be conveyed from each leader to his coach on a monthly basis. It includes numerical data that is helpful to the coaches who compile it and pass it up to their pastoral staff leader. The coaches also become aware of any problems or unique situations that the leaders might have in their group and either give advice or communicate to their pastoral staff leader for assistance in dealing with the issue. The pastoral staff coach tracks the data and communicates it to the Board of Elders. If each leader had a group of ten, a coach oversaw five leaders and a pastoral staff member oversaw ten coaches, our entire congregation would be within a small group and cared for within the span of four years. It is the responsibility of the coach to communicate to his leaders and/or to meet with each leader on a monthly basis. Each coach will huddle with his leaders once every other month (bi-monthly) to talk about how each group is going and what is anticipated to be Page 1 of 5
coming up within the next month. The huddle will be a small group in itself, in that all of the things that a small group does is both modeled and practiced in the coaches huddle. Each coach will meet with one of the groups on a rotating basis so that he is personally aware of the composition of each group. Each coach will also meet with his Pastoral staff leader once every quarter to review the past, deal with the present and plan for the future. 1 The plan for 2016 is, in a nutshell, to create Connect Groups. These small groups will last for the entire year and meet on a biweekly basis. They do not have to meet during the months of June, July and August but will meet twice a month in every other month. The suggested day and time for meeting is Sunday evening starting at 6:00 pm. This was only a suggested time as each group has the authority to meet when and where it decides. But before these groups begin, the following logistics will have taken place: 1. Church wide teaching on small group ministry will take place during the month of January. It is important that the whole congregation hear about the benefits and functionality of Connect Groups. From the pulpit and via other modes of communication the recognition that Connect Groups would begin early in February will be presented. 2. The beginning of the Connect Groups will be the second Sunday in February with the leaders who are ready. The number of Connect Groups will be contingent upon the leaders who were trained and are willing to lead a Connect Group. The leader of each group is to find several people from within their geographic area or sphere of influence to join him, but must leave room in the group for others to join should they desire to do so. Ideally, he should personally two other couples, and then leave it open for others to join. 3. Some of the logistical details for administrating the small groups include: (1) An attendance report (Connect Group Meeting Attendance Form) that includes the date of the meeting, the leaders name, the location and has a list of those who attended the Connect Group meeting. This report is given to the leader s coach at the bi-monthly meeting when the coach meets with his Connect Group leaders. 1 For more information on coaching, see: Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson, Building a Church of Small Groups, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2001), p. 146. Page 2 of 5
(2) A response form (Connect Group Leaders Response Form) that the leader fills out after each meeting. On it is the data necessary to identify the small group and the meeting, but in addition, has room for the leader to reflect upon the small group meeting and honestly record what went right, what went wrong, what issues were brought up that may or may not have been expected, etc. This form accompanies the Connect Group Meeting Attendance Form and is given to the coach at the monthly meeting. (3) A monthly report (Connect Group Meeting Monthly Report) that indicates the dates of meeting, attendance at each function, whether there is room for any potential newcomers to join the group, the amount of time spent on the individual aspects of the meeting (how much time was spent on the opening, Bible study, praying/sharing, and fellowship), any group outreach project, any kinds of issues that the group is working through, concerns or prayer requests for the group, and an indication of the spiritual progress of the group. This form will be conveyed to the coach who will record it and pass it on to the pastoral staff member who is in charge of small group ministry. The staff pastor in charge of small group ministry will compile this information gathered from the coaches and will report to the Board of Elders on a quarterly basis concerning the status of the small group ministry. 4. Assimilating new people into Small Groups will be a challenge during 2016. Once the leaders have recruited some people to join their group and have indicated that they still have room for growth, their location will be announced to the congregation. Those who would like to join a group will be encouraged to go to the location nearest their home. Since 2016 will be the first year, there is an expectation that there might be more people who would like to join a group than those who could actually become a member. When the next round of leaders are trained as a result of apprentices trained within each group, there will be more groups available for people to join. The locations of the small groups will be available on- Page 3 of 5
line at the church website (www.calvarybfc.org) and will be printed and available on the information table in the narthex of the worship center. 5. Additional training of existing leaders will take place once every other month. This is conducted along with a meeting with each leader s coach. Further teaching on areas of Connect Group leadership will be the theme of these teaching sessions. These sessions will expand themes already mentioned in the turbo group, but have the advantage of leaders leading while learning and learning while leading. The topics suggested follow the Willow Creek Small Group Leader s Developmental Framework: 2 Modeling: Growing in Christlikeness 1 Corinthians 11:1 Guiding: Shepherding people intentionally Ephesians 4:12-13 Facilitating: Building authentic relationships Proverbs 27:17 Reconciling: Engaging in and resolving conflict in a healthy manner Psalm 34:14 Caring: Cultivating a servant s heart 1 John 4:20-21 Connecting: Becoming an inclusive community Matthew 25:35 Reaching: Initiating spiritual conversations Mark 16:18 Reproducing: Developing future group leaders 2 Timothy 2:2 6. Specific training of coaches will occur during January, 2016. Since the number of leaders may exceed the desired number of five leaders per coach, the development, training, and supporting of coaches is the responsibility of a pastoral staff member. The materials for this training will come from the books already cited and/or from materials developed by the Willow Creek Association or other small group leadership training providers. It is expected that these coaches will come from members of the Board of Elders. They should be qualified to be an elder as described in both First Timothy and Titus and should possess the skills necessary to truly shepherd a group of fifty individuals. 2 Willow Creek Small Group Leader s Developmental Framework brochure. (Used without permission, with the hope that permission will be granted!) Page 4 of 5
The responsibilities of the coaches include: (1) The coach will each meet with their group of five small group leaders on a bi-monthly basis. At that meeting they will receive the Small Group Meeting Attendance Forms, the Small Group Leaders Response Forms, and the Small Group Meeting Monthly Report from each of their small group leaders. The coach will review these forms with the leaders and make notations on the Small Group Coaches Response Form. (2) The coach will visit each of the five groups under their care at least twice a year. He (and his wife, if married) will act as a participant(s) in the group and will observe the interaction between the leader and the members. After the meeting the coach will encourage the leader and could make suggestions that might enhance the meeting. The coach will be better able to pray for and with leader knowing the people who are involved in each group. (3) The coach will meet with the small group pastor at least bi-monthly to discuss the interaction of the coach with his small group leaders. He will hand in the Small Group Coaches Response Form and discuss any issues that may need further discussion. (4) The coach will be responsible to touch base with his leaders on a regular basis and pray for them constantly. It is truly our desire to facilitate the growth of Connect Groups within the church. In as much as this is still the beginning of doing this here at Calvary, there will be changes that need to be made. We ll be flexible. We ll all learn together! In doing so, we want to make sure that we accomplish our mission and give all the glory to our Lord! Page 5 of 5