SG² Steve Gladen on Small Groups

From the Lobby Gathering in 2019, Pastor Rick Warren shares his heart on Small Groups and what is to come. ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek and special guest Christina Dawson (Life Groups Director at the Woodlands Church in Texas to talk about 7 ways data can help you and your small group ministry. In this episode we discuss:How accurate data is criticalHow the number one rule with data is use it yourself How do diligence with data isn’t enoughSales commission structure & how it worksHow setting achievable exceptions is a mustHow group health & corporate training are essentialWhat to do before you meet your peopleChristina Dawson Bio:Christina loves to serve people and has been doing so professionally for 19 years. Aftergraduating from high school she took on numerous sales roles in both restaurant andretail settings. It was here that she learned the necessities of user experience andcustomer engagement.In 2012, while working in a furniture store, one of her customers, who happened to bethe CEO of a Canadian manufacturing company, was so impressed with her service, hehired her as as his Executive Assistant. While taking on numerous roles within thecompany, Christina discovered a strong passion for workforce development.In the spring of 2014, she was selected to manage and develop a two-year pilotworkforce program by the Bowling Green Kentucky Area Chamber of Commerce.After completing her contract, she continued her mission for economic development bystarting her own workforce communications and marketing firm, Southern Kentucky Jobs.Worldly success in entrepreneurship left her exhausted and disappointed.In early 2020, the Lord miraculously gave Christina the opportunity to serve overseas.She sold everything she had and traveled across the globe where she would contributeto the growth and development of a children's hospital. After living, working, and sharingJesus with orphans in rural Africa, Christina has new eyes and a grateful heart.A Kentucky native, Christina currently resides in Houston, Texas, where she is serving theLife Groups Team at Woodlands Church. She continues to work as a company cultureconsultant in the manufacturing industry.CRM & UX Outline ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen and James Browning look at the history of the small group network and what things that are currently happening that could make a big difference for you or your ministry. ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead more effective small group ministry. In this episode, you will hear an audio recording of Rick Warren talking to the Saddleback church staff about his 10 Principles of Exponential Thinking. Steve Gladen will then breakdown how you can apply these 10 principles to your small group ministry. The following is what will specifically be covered in this show:First – exponential growth is possible.Second – exponential growth is the New Testament model.Third – exponential growth brings honor to God.Fourth – exponential growth captures the attention of the unbelieving world.Fifth – exponential growth is caused by God.Sixth – exponential growth is the result of God’s blessing on your life.Seventh – exponential growth makes God smile…in fact, He rewards it.Eighth – the only barrier to exponential growth is our own unbelief.Ninth – the secret of exponential growth is believing God for big things.Finally, Tenth – exponential growth begins with exponential thinking.Choosing Growth over ControlThe Book of Acts is one of the best resources we have to understand the growth of the church during its formative years. A brief read through of this section of Scripture can quickly show us that the church preferred growth over control as they would preach to thousands and then baptize them shortly afterward. As witnessed throughout Acts, explosive growth was a good problem to have, for it established a foundation upon which its teachings could stand upon. Similarly, we too must be okay with the mess that new small groups may create. Instead of focusing primarily on if a new small group leader is maintaining sound theological discourse within their very first meeting, we are challenged to celebrate the fact that Jesus is being discussed at all and that members are coming together to form community. But doesn’t bad theology and misinformed teaching create more complication for the kingdom of God? Yes, however just as we see in the Bible, doctrine and teaching was provided shortly after Acts through the writings of the Epistles. Just as how Paul conducted “on-the-job” training via letters to the churches he was mentoring, we too can choose growth first and then later practice the approach of surgically addressing any theological concerns through a consistent roll-out of bite-size trainings.A Culture of GroupsWhile we all wish our congregants would be fully devoted followers of Christ who are consistently serving, attending a small group, and in-the-know of the church calendar at all times, the reality is that many of our churchgoers only step foot onto church grounds for Sunday service (or online for virtual Sunday service). In other words, Sunday morning may in fact be the only shot we have to help promote small groups and/or explain the benefits of small groups. If our churches only mention small groups twice a year at the times when there are coordinated group launches, then this means that the typical church attendee only will hear about small groups 4% of the year (even less if they miss one or both of those two services!). If the church’s leadership agrees that small groups are one of the most important ministries within the community, then we become challenged to display the fact that small groups are indeed a part of our church’s DNA. To help execute this, some strategies can include: (1) head pastor buy-in (where the senior pastor becomes one of the most vocal proponents of small group ministry and even attends a group themselves); (2) Church calendar events that strategically funnel individuals into newly created groups (and/or church events that don’t interfere with the weekdays on which small groups typically meet); or (3) Consistent small group promotion from the pulpit (Not every message needs to be a small group sermon, but every message can contain a shout-out or a 30 second tie-in to small groups).Lowering the BarriersIn a post-Covid world, small group ministries have found themselves challenged to embrace new methods in facilitating and nurturing community. While meeting in-person will always be the ideal method of meeting in groups, what we do know is that the concept of virtual groups is here to stay. During this time that we find ourselves in, what type of group is easy to duplicate, is able to meet both online and in-person, is easily sustainable, and also is easy to lead? As we arrive on the other side of the widespread disruption that Covid-19 had brought with it, sermon discussion groups may very well be the perfect type of “growth over control” group to launch within our church’s small group ministry. A sermon discussion guide is not only able to empower anyone to host a group and facilitate engaging conversation, but it also allows what Steve and Dave encouraged us all to practice during last year’s Lobby: rather than simply telling our groups what to do, we instead provide for our groups the destination we want them to reach while utilizing the values we want them to use in order to arrive there. Even though a model of sermon discussion groups chooses growth over control, it does so within a framework that provides its groups a set of guardrails within which to operate. In other words, groups are not grown without oversight, but instead are grown within a model that becomes quite appealing to a post-Covid world where both in-person and online groups are meeting on a regular basis. ★ Support this podcast ★

 Spiritual Health Assessment ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek to answer the question "should small groups gather during the summer?" ★ Support this podcast ★