The Future...

Change is coming! The Care Groups ministry is about 2 and 1/2 years old now, and we've learned a lot along the way. Part of that learning includes hearing wisdom from others who are more experienced with this kind of ministry, and that is exactly what I went to do last week in Oceanside.

I had the pleasure of attending a 'Custom Small Groups Ministry Workshop' at North Coast Church for two days, and enjoyed hearing about their sermon-based approach to small groups ministry, their strategies for growing the church through groups and the ways they work to make both leadership of and participation in groups as easy as possible for everyone. North Coast has been at this for over 20 years now, and with a congregation of over 7,000 people, they have over 80% participation in groups, year after year, so it's safe to say that I was very attentive!

I share all of this because we will soon be rolling out some wonderful changes to our existing ministry which I believe will begin a new season for us and for Desert Springs. I'll be sharing more about this in the weeks to come, but for now I'll leave you with this: Care Groups will now be called 'Life Groups' at Desert Springs. Why? Well, the best way to explain it is that with these changes, a new way to identify the groups ministry is called for, and as our purpose as a ministry is to help people find a sense of belonging through significant relationships, the word 'Life' fits really well. We are about helping people share life together, and in doing so, grow closer to God!

Now Reading: Sticky Church

Part of my ongoing effort to grow and learn more about leading a ministry of small groups is, (drumroll, please) -- READING! Yes, I can read! I'm not much for reading anything but science fiction normally, but a subject like ministry is too crucial not to educate myself on, so I am committed to digging in and hitting the books.

Currently, I'm midway through Larry Osborne's 'Sticky Church' (yes, Larry is our own Steve Osborne's uncle). Sticky Church puts forth the idea that every church has a problem - the back door tends to be open. This means that while we might do great at attracting newcomers and visitors, we tend to struggle with retaining these fine folks for any length of time. Larry's theory is that through small groups, people can find community and belonging in church, and will tend less often to exit out the back door after a while.

So far it's a great read, and while I don't agree 100% with every single thought Larry writes here (I never do), there is quite a bit worth considering. I encourage you to pick up a copy of Sticky Church today (or ask to borrow it from me when I'm finished)!

Resources, Resources, Resources!

As I've been thinking about and praying over this coming year of Care Groups ministry, I've made a commitment to spend more time reading books and articles on groups and community. My desire is to constantly be learning and growing in my own understanding of how this ministry can work and what God would have us do at Desert Springs in particular.

One great tool that I am just now discovering is a website at www.smallgroups.com. This online resource is packed full of valuable information and tools, from articles to training materials, and I would encourage you to go there now and register for a free account!

You can definitely look forward to future posts from me about articles I've read on this website, and I hope to hear from you as well!

Here we go!

So, I've been a voice here at Desert Springs about moving into the 21st Century with things like blogs and websites, etc. but I realized today that I'm a HYPOCRITE! Though I've pushed and pushed for this stuff, I had yet to start a blog of my own, about Care Groups or anything else!

As of right now, this is remedied. I will be posting here no less than weekly, and I hope you all will check my posts, make comments and pass this stuff on just as often! I will include links to articles and books I am reading about groups, as well as my own thoughts on what we do as a ministry of Desert Springs.

It's going to be exciting! Thanks for reading...