A. Vision: Loving God, Loving People!
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B. Strategy: Connect, Mentor, & Send!
1. Connect: Services & Small Groups
2. Mentor: 101 & 201 Classes
3. Send: Evangelism
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C. Goal: 100,000 disciples with 50 churches in Chicago and 500 churches around the world!
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D. Small Group Positions: (1) Leader (2) Apprentice (3) Host (4) LITs
1. Leader: the person who leads the group and is accountable for all that goes on in the small group.
2. Apprentice: a 201 student in training to start their own small group.
3. Host: the person who hosts the small group in their home.
4. Leaders in Training (LITs): students 201 class that are helping the small group grow and one day will be apprentices.
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E. Small Group Structure: (1) Witness (2) Welcome (3) Worship (3) Word (4) Prayer (5) Works
1. Witness: Start each small group with evangelism around the neighborhood, door-to-door, parks, etc.
2. Welcome: Have a time of fellowship with snacks, greet visitors, and get numbers and facebook contacts.
3. Worship: Sing 2-3 songs that are easy to sing and lead people into the presence of God, make time for the Holy Spirit to move.
4. Word: Teach a simple lesson with:
- Passage: A key passage
- Illustration: A simple illustration
- Discussion: A great discussion with effective questions
- Application: A powerful application
- Prayer: Make a time to pray for the members needs, this can be in breakout groups with men and women or by need.
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F. Fourteen Qualities of a Discipleship Small Group:
1. Trained Leadership: Leaders need to be 201 grads or 201 students with high standing and kept accountable.
a. Reports: Every three months leaders need to mail Joe a “quarterly report”
b. Conference: Every year all leaders are required to come to the “Metro Praise Small Group Conference,” will be held on a Saturday.
2. Sound Doctrine/Materials: Joe will provide the materials for the first 3 months of small groups. During this time the small group leaders are responsible to buy, read, and give a 100 report on the following books. Then the leaders are to make four lessons and present them to Joe for review. After lessons are approved, leaders can start making their own lessons.
a. “Seven Steps to Spiritual Growth,” Joe Wyrostek
b. “Leading a Small Group,” Dave Early & Rod Dempsey
c. “Now that’s a Good Question,” Terry Powell
d. “The Big Book on Small Groups,” Jeffrey Arnold
e. “The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry,” Bill Donahue & Russ Robinson
3. Worship: The meeting should have a time of worship and adoration to God. This can be done by tape, just singing, or with instruments.
4. Word: The leader must be able to pray, seek God, receive a fresh Word, organize the lesson, and present it with power and clarity. The lesson should teach Biblical principles in a life changing way.
5. Prayer: Making requests known to God and giving Him praises for what He has already done is always present in a true discipleship small group.
6. Fellowship: The group should be open to sharing life together in a family-like environment. Talking, hanging out, eating, and expressing true emotions must be available before and after the group meetings.
7. Accountability: The small group leader should begin to start the 101 book with members one-on-one, if members are not willing to start the class the leaders should find out what things in their lives are hindering their growth and help them remove the obstacles.
a. Coffee meetings: take out the member for coffee and spend time getting to know them more intimately.
b. Phone calls: make time to call them and spend time talking about their life and what makes them “tick.”
c. Email letters: write a letter from the heart and ask for a response so they can feel free to open their heart and share who they really are on the inside.
8. Evangelism: Preaching the Gospel to the lost is Jesus’ way of keeping the group focused on the “big picture” and growing the group. Here are some ideas for reaching the lost:
a. Witnessing: Go witnessing before every small group meeting
b. Events: Make special times to go to the local parks, schools, and stores where the potential members may be and do creative outreach
- Give-a-aways: Free bottles of water, fruit, and snacks
- Carry grocery bags to car
- Begin an “empty chair” contest, see who can fill the empty every week and give a prize to someone who does it either “3x” in a row or brings “5 visitors,” gifts can be a $10 Starbucks gift card or $20 gift card to Barnes and Nobles.
- Do free yard work, rake leaves, shovel snow, etc.
- Give free gifts door-to-door, light bulbs (environment friendly), micro-popcorn, etc.
- Backyard bbq
- Holiday dinners
- Christmas Caroling
- Questionnaires
- Special events at the small group, movie night, game night, etc.
10. Leadership Training: Every small group should have the following leaders in training (LIT’s)
a. Apprentice: a person helping the group grow and looking to start a new group soon.
b. 201 Students: members in the 201 classes who are hoping to be apprentices one day.
11. Multiplication: The group’s goal should be to multiply every 6 months. Here is the method to multiply:
a. Grow: When the group has over 18 members for 3 weeks in a row
b. Training: The apprentice has gone to small group training and is approved to a start small group
c. Plan: The current small group leader speaks to the group and gets a clear way to multiply the group
d. Bless: Pastor approves the new small group and strategy
12. Big Vision and Goals: The vision of “Loving God, Loving People” and the goal to make “100,000 disciples in Chicago” should be presented every week.
13. Meeting Time and Place: Most discipleship groups meet once a week in a person’s home. Thus, the meeting time should be easy for people to attend and on a day that is convenient for the majority of the members.
14. Unity: The group should be unified with the church, promoting the same vision, and supporting the church’s ministries and services. Rebellion is easy to occur in a small group because of the leader’s power and influence over the people, but they must always remember that they are apart of the bigger vision of the church and under the leadership of the church (Philippians 2).
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G. Seven Sins to Avoid in a Small Group:
1. Unclear Ministry Objectives: The small group leader must always keep the following objectives before the people:
a. Soul-winning: The goal to win souls and bring visitors
b. Multiply: make a new small group every 6 months
c. Goal: The goal of 100,000 disciples in Chicago
2. Lack of Point Leadership: Leaders need to stay holy and bold in their leadership, “Follow me, as I follow Jesus!”
3. Poor Coaching Structures: The small group leader needs to find potential leaders and begin to do 101 classes with them and promote the 201 classes to all his 101ers. Also, looking for key members to be apprentices without favoritism is very important.
4. Neglect of Ongoing Leadership Development: The small group leader needs to stay under the tutoring of the church, attend small group conferences, and continue learning through book reading.
5. Closed Group Minds-Set: The discipleship group must always be open to new members to remain a healthy and growing group. The leadership can teach the older more mature members to be welcoming, humble, kind, and understanding to the newer less mature members.
6. Narrow Definition of a Small Group: “One size fit all” does not work well in the long run for discipleship based groups because it limits the creativity of God. The leadership should allow for changes and varieties within the small groups so each leader and team can express their passions and given abilities. There should be creativity in format, location, outreach ideas, and teaching styles.
7. Neglect of Assimilation Process: Visitors are the greatest assets to the group, after God, because they are the source for new disciples. Remember, Jesus said the “Good Shepherd” left the ninety-nine sheep in the fold for the one that was lost (Luke 15:4). Assimilation is making sure all visitors are properly pursued and given attention after they visit the group. Such things as calls, emails, and home visits give the visitor more of an expression of the group’s love for them.
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H. Sample Small Group Lesson
1. Title: Watch Your Words
2. Ice Breaker: What was the most embarrassing thing you ever said to someone?
3. Passage: Matthew 12:36-38, “36But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
4. Illustration: Story, If I took a feather filled pillow outside on a windy day and opened it up over the expressway, what would happen? All the feathers would fly away. Could I get back all those feathers? No, even if I tried really hard, it would be impossible to find all those lost feathers. The Bible says that God collects all are words, even though we cannot take them back, He remembers every word we speak. Therefore, what kind of words are you speaking?
5. Lesson:
a. Words can be evil and impure: Ephesians 4:29
b. Words can be holy and good: Proverbs 16:24
c. Bad words can be forgiven: 1 John 1:9
6. Application:
a. Learn the wisdom of the Bible
b. Repent for the words you say that are sinful
c. Think before you speak, “Would Jesus say this?”
7. Prayer: Group prayer, Is there anyone hear who wants to repent for sinful things you said, if so, just pray and confess to God what you have done and we will pray with you, trust me, your not alone!
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I. Quarterly Review: Every Three Months, Joe will give you due dates.
1. Average Attendance: Add the attendance from every week and then divide it by the number of weeks:
a. Weekly Attendance:
- Week 1, Aug 6: 10
- Week 2, Aug 13: 12
- Week 3, Aug 20: 14
- Week 4, Aug 27: 12
- Week 5, Sep 3: 16
- Week 6, Sep 10: 15
- Week 7, Sep 17: 17
- Week 8, Sep 24: 18
- Week 9, Oct 1: 18
- Week 10, Oct 8: 15
- Week 11, Oct 15: 16
- Week 12, Oct 22: 18
- Week 13, Oct 29: 19
c. Average Weekly Attendance for Aug-Oct 2010: 200/13=15.3 or 16.
2. Number of visitors:
- Week 1, Aug 6: 1
- Week 2, Aug 13: 1
- Week 3, Aug 20: 2
- Week 4, Aug 27: 1
- Week 5, Sep 3: 4
- Week 6, Sep 10: 1
- Week 7, Sep 17: 0
- Week 8, Sep 24: 1
- Week 9, Oct 1: 2
- Week 10, Oct 8: 4
- Week 11, Oct 15: 1
- Week 12, Oct 22: 0
- Week 13, Oct 29: 2
b. Average Visitors: 20/13=1.5 or 2
3. Special Events & Testimonies: Write a short 100 paper on some of the great things you have experienced in the small group
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J. Extras
a. Youth Small Groups: Develop a name and a color
b. Updating Information: Email Joe and give 2 weeks for announcement/website update
c. Voicemail: Have a good welcoming cell phone voicemail
d. Rides: Vans are available to “first-come-first-serve,” just be sure to leave van full of gas and give receipts to Nancy, wait week for reimbursements.
e. Budget: monies for snacks, parking, etc all will come from the leaders personal finances, “whatever you can afford is what you can do.” In low-income small groups, budgets can be submitted and will be reviewed, but not guaranteed.
f. Church Office: Requests can be made with church administrator to come in and use the office to make and print off flyers.
g. Childcare: Each small group can decide if childcare is available, if it is, it is the responsibility of the “LITs” to rotate in taking care of the children.
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