Small Group Ministry Part 2

In episode 33, Pastor Trent and Pastor Greg continue their discussion on small groups at Foothills Church with the Pastor of Development, Heath Bennett.

Show Notes

What does the Pastor of Development do?

Oversees the spiritual development of all aspects of the church including Next-Gen and Adult Small Groups.

Current Small Group Nature

We have 53 small groups. Just under 600 partners are involved.
Just over 100 small group leaders at Foothills.
There are married groups, men’s groups, and women’s groups that meet every week.
They meet in homes throughout the week at various times for about two hours.
We use sermon-based content to create and connect in relational environments.
The goal is to develop mature disciples and through discussion-based guides, groups can open up and apply it to their lives.
People congregate on Sunday night because it is fresh on their minds.

Why do we do sermon-based content?

This adds a second layer of growth when we talk about the same passage as what was preached.
This allows people to be accountable to attend or watch the sermon online.

What does it look like to lead a small group?

We provide a guide to leaders before the sermon with questions to help lead the discussion among the group.
It is more conversational and not directional teaching.
A member normally takes down and is in charge of prayer requests throughout the group.
We encourage our small groups to partner together for tasks, for example, hosting, food and cleaning.
Rotating homes is something we encourage in our groups.
We take a break during the summer to offer more relational outings.

What about childcare?

We have groups that offer childcare.
If they can’t offer it, we pay for childcare for their groups.
If we want people to meet in groups, we must be committed to helping groups meet.

Who writes the small group curriculum?

Our small group pastors normally write our curriculum a couple of days before the sermon is preached.
We want to make sure that the guide works in conjunction with the sermon.
We encourage leaders to take notes and use them to guide the discussion.

What if someone wants to join a small group?

We open and close the groups at a certain date each semester, this is called Small Group Connect.
Once a group begins, because of the aspect of relationship building and trust, we do not allow people to join groups mid-semester.
If someone misses that period, we offer Small Group Experience which is a short-term small group designed to experience a small group setting. When they complete the three-week group, they get the first choice of small groups next semester.

Quotes

Sermon based content adds a second layer of growth when we talk about the same passage as what was preached (Pastor Trent)
If we want people to meet in groups, we must be committed to helping groups meet. (Pastor Trent)
We want to make sure that the guide works in conjunction with the sermon. (Pastor Heath)