How To Start A Small Group

HOW TO START A SMALL GROUP - the non-threatening start up strategy

The easiest group to get together and maintain are men who are already friends and have an existing affinity. This additional ‘glue’ will help keep a group together in any rough patches. Look for guys you already know, who are in your church, are at a similar age and life stage [no children, young children, adult children] and interests. Going for greater diversity is a higher risk strategy that requires a bit more confidence and leadership.

Men like to get in on the ground floor. Being invited to join a group that has been going for years is more intimidating. Being asked to join a group that started six months ago makes a guy wonder why he wasn’t invited in the first place. Therefore, a successful way to invite men in is to get your core guy, then together, ask the next guy. For example “Dean and I are thinking of forming a men’s small group. We thought of you as someone who could be interested in being part of it. We think you would add a lot to the group.”

Inviting a man in at the ground floor means that he contributes to the decision-making. He helps decide when you will meet. He is part of the decision-making process about what material you use as a study. He is part of the discussion about where you meet. And most importantly, he helps decide how long the group exists for.

Having a finish date is important to men who take their commitments seriously. A fixed term commitment is less intimidating to those of us who are not sure if they want to be part of a small group or have doubts about how they will get along with others in the group. Agree on which study to do.

The end of the study should define a potential exit point. At the exit point, one man may leave or the group may disband totally. It gives men the opportunity to find a group that works for them. Because the exit point is agreed to from the outset, there is no loss of honour if men leave. Agree on the goals you want to achieve, evaluate how you are going as a group and move on.