Approaches to starting groups

As January comes at us full speed at Embrace, I've been working on getting a few new groups up and running and giving more thought to the dynamics involved in starting new groups. When I came on staff in August, our fall kickoff prep was already well underway and I was left having to react more to the things already set in motion instead of being able to strategically plan for the start of a few new groups.

Because of that, we started three new groups with leaders that expressed an interest, but without giving much thought to how to promote these new groups other than just trying to match people up with a group that fit their time preferences and might have some other people that they might hit it off with. We tried to select materials that would be good "getting to know you" materials, but didn't really put the material center stage. One of the groups took off right away and the other two have taken a little time but seem to finally be gaining momentum.

This time around, the main group that we're launching is really very centered on the material. Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is kicking off on January 12th and has demanded a very different approach to starting a group. Obviously, it's a topic that people are interested in, put together by an organization that is well known, so the material definitely drives this group. The way we promote the group winds up being significantly different as well with more of a buckshot advertising approach that we hope will attract the attention of folks interested in the study. My unstated goal with this group (until now) is to see a small group form after the study is over made up, primarily, of people from Financial Peace.

This has started me thinking about how different it is to start a group based on the materials than it is to start through the "matchmaking" process. The first may be more motivated by the desire to engage the topic where the latter may be more motivated by a desire to connect with other people on the journey. The first seems set up more for the short term while the second is designed more for the long haul.

I think there are elements to both approaches that have value and one of the things that I'm beginning to realize is that I have a lot to learn about the dynamics of small group ministry since it's still a fairly new area for me as a leader. I'm looking forward to seeing how FPU takes off and seeing how the promotion of a new study, even in an existing group, might generate more interest and get some folks involved that are not currently involved in a group.