Small Group Ministry with Peter Bowden

Covenant Groups video from Emerson Unitarian Church

2009-07-09T22:59:00.001-04:00

Groups are the key to building a Lifespan UU Ministry

2009-06-15T11:59:00.005-04:00

Friends, this is an article I wrote in 2004. Given that we are electing a new president of the Unitarian Universalist Association and we are still working on re-structuring our youth and young adult ministry it seemed like a good time to share it.

We've been working on restructuring our youth and young adult ministries. We can take everything we have learned about adult SGM and everything we know, love and value about youth & YA ministry and share across the age-spans.

Anyone interested in this topic, feel free to contact me - peter@uuplanet.com

Toward a True Lifespan UU Ministry
Solving the problems of retaining born UUs via a lifepan group ministry model.
(c) 2004 Peter Bowden

In our Unitarian Universalist congregations, we retain only 10% of the children we raise as UU’s. Why do we lose 90% of our born UU’s? I believe it is because they are not integrated into our community early enough and that ministry to children and youth is perceived as being significantly different from our adult offerings. Though our culture is starting to change, historically we have maintained a system that is designed to encourage them to leave.
Ministry with children has a tradition of strong small groups (classes) and worship (chapel). After coming of age, ministry for our youth has focused on a single strong group (the youth group) lead by adult advisors, with little worship outside of the group and minimal connection to the larger church. Our adult ministry has been centered on Sunday worship.

In the context of small group ministry the problem of retaining born UU’s makes sense. We start children off with strong small groups and dynamic participatory worship, move them to a nearly 100% small group experience, and then ask them to move to attending adult church services.
For the majority of born UU’s, pew-based church isn’t going to cut it. Once you give them intimate and meaningful small groups you can never take that away. If you do, you lose them. It doesn’t matter how old they are. As an adult who has participated in a small group ministry would you attend a church without a small group ministry?

Where does this leave us today?
To retain them we have to create small groups for adults of all ages – youth, young adults, and adults. In doing so we can create continuity in the ministry we offer and move youth into our adult community efficiently, preferably before they have the chance to graduate from high school.

How to keep them
It is my opinion that we need to focus our attention and resources on cultivating an explicit culture of small group ministry in our congregations for people of all ages. Just as we talk about integrating small group ministry into the life of the church (the adult church), so too must we integrate it into our children and youth ministries. This involves using similar meeting formats and language with people of all ages and starting formal small group ministry at an earlier age.
Small Groups: Instead of talking about classes, talk about small groups. This alone will create a connection with “small group” ministry and further serve to distinguish church groups from school classes.

Common Format:
Right now a huge percentage of all groups in our congregations have adopted a basic format for their gatherings. This includes an opening ritual, check-in, core topic or activity, likes/wishes (a group process check) and closing ritual. Regardless of what core content is covered, this basic format can be used with children of all ages.

Empowerment with a goal:
When our children “come of age” we start to shift from teaching to empowering and advising. In many congregations the meaning of empowerment is not clear. Leadership development is very clear in the small group ministry model. We empower individuals to lead small groups of 8-10 people, ask them to mentor less experienced group members helping them step into leadership roles, and expect new leaders to share our faith with others by leading new groups. Can we do this with youth? Absolutely! Go ahead and ask them…

Creating Continuity:
In our youth small group ministries we can share a Lifespan vision of small groups, give all youth experience both participating in and leading small groups, show them how to mentor their peers as leaders and equip all outgoing youth with the resources they need to start small groups wherever they go.

Closing the Gap:
The best place to create leaders for our young adult and campus groups is in our youth small group ministries. When our youth leave youth group as seasoned small group leaders they will start ministries wherever they go. We need to equip them to do this important work.
Adult Ministry: An important step in creating a continuous lifespan shared ministry model is to see that our youth and young adult ministries are adult ministries. Instead of being the end of our children’s ministry, these should be intentional starts to participation in adult ministry. When we use a more intentional small group ministry model with youth leaders and advisors, they may be included in the support structure of the adult small group ministry system.

Age Affinity Groups:
There is no question that many youth and young adults desire to be in groups with their peers. When we support these age affinity groups but include them in a larger adult small group ministry system, youth will no longer be looking to get away from children. Instead, they will feel valued and respected as participants and leaders within the adult community. They will know they belong with us.

Interview with Rev. Glenn Turner on UU Small Group Ministry

2009-02-07T22:40:00.001-05:00

Over on my main blog, Live from UU Planet, I just republished the audio from an interview I did with the Rev. Glenn Turner. The interview discusses the history, challenges and future of our small group ministry movement. Check it out.

Video - Wanted: UU Small Group Ministry Questions

2009-01-30T01:49:00.006-05:00

Friends, this video explains how to submit questions and topic requests for discussion in my you tube small group ministry video series. You may also leave questions through the comments on this blog. Let the conversation begin!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S7KrxSZtFk

Small Group Facilitator Training

2008-12-24T15:47:00.003-05:00

This is a repeat of the posting from my Unitarian Universalist consulting site. The following event is designed for Unitarian Universalists working with small group ministry - see event flier for details on the model. If you are a Unitarian Universalist working with small group ministry I invite you to sign up for my free e-newsletter at uuplanet.com to receive timely event updates. Here is the event info:

Saturday, January 10, 2008 PLANO, TX
Program 9:00 am - 3:00pm, doors open at 8am. Hosted
by the Community Unitarian Universalist Church of Plano

Download Flier & Registration Form

The Community UU Church of Plano, TX is proud to offer a day long facilitator training with Peter Bowden, UU Small Group Ministry Consultant and co-founder of the Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network.

This training has been designed for congregations launching or re-launching an intentional congregation-wide small group ministry with synchronized session-based groups. That is, a network of ministry groups coordinated by the minister(s) and a steering committee with all groups using the same session-based content.

The training will include:

The vision and purpose of small group ministry
Presentation of the congregation-wide session based model
Essential skills and practices for small group facilitators
Group dynamics and life cycle of small group ministries
Approaches to common group challenges
The role of ongoing coaching and training
The transformational role of service and action in group life
Question and answer sessions

Peter Bowden is a Unitarian Universalist consultant specializing in small group ministry and UU outreach and evangelism. Peter is one of the founders of the UU Small Group Ministry Network, a national organization and non-profit dedicated to supporting small group ministries within our movement.

Through this network and independently Peter has led workshops on small group ministry throughout New England, at General Assemblies, Ferry Beach and Star Island.

Cost: $ 30.00 per person, or $ 25.00 per person for congregational teams of three (3) or more. Lunch provided.

Registration: Registration limited to 60 participants.

Download Flier & Registration Form

New Womens Circle resource from Margaret Starbird and Joan Norton

2008-10-25T08:11:00.007-04:00

14 Steps to Awaken the Sacred Feminine: Women in the Circle of Mary Magdalene available soon.

Last week I attended a fabulous lecture by Margaret Starbird in Newport, RI. Author of many books exploring the role of Mary Magdalene in Christianity and the sacred feminine, Starbird's work is among those sources inspiring Dan Brown's popular book and movie The DaVinci Code.

Margaret shared news of an upcoming small group resource by her and co-author Joan Norton on leading womens groups called "Magdalene Circles".

You can click here to sign up to be notified when this title is released or purchase it after the release date.

Related Sites
www.blog.MaryMagdaleneWithin.com
www.margaretstarbird.net

Here is the product description from Amazon.com:

A practical guide for inviting the wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life

• Provides a unique workbook for use in the spiritual pathwork of Magdalene Circles

• Includes wisdom stories, guided meditations, journaling questions, and essays by Margaret Starbird, author of The Woman with the Alabaster Jar

• Designed for those involved in Magdalene Circles and those interested in applying the sacred feminine wisdom of the Goddess to their lives

Women’s circles have been called a “revolutionary-evolutionary movement hidden in plain sight” by Jean Shinoda Bolen and have been hailed as capable of affecting global change. Magdalene Circles are groups of women who focus their shared energies on the wisdom of Mary Magdalene to gain insight into the role of the sacred feminine in their own lives and to help them advance on their spiritual paths.

This book offers 14 lessons to help understand the wisdom offered by Mary Magdalene’s story and mythos. Among the lessons are prophecies of the bride, why we need the bride, Magdalene’s archetypal pattern of descent, and how modern women carry the Grail. Well-suited for the individual reader as well as a group, each lesson includes an introduction, guided meditation, questions for journaling, and an essay by Margaret Starbird as well as suggestions for group sharing. Placing Mary Magdalene within the pattern of “cyclic renewal” of earth-based religions, this book offers the chance to incorporate the sacred feminine wisdom of Mary Magdalene into everyday life for Christians and spiritual feminists alike.

Amazon.com Widgets

What small groups are NOT

2008-10-18T07:20:00.001-04:00

Fun video from SoutheastChrisitian.

Explore models at SmallGroups.Com

2008-10-18T07:08:00.003-04:00

If you haven't seen SmallGroups.Com lately, check it out. They've had a huge redesign of their site which looks great.

They offer some great introductory material including an overview of various small group ministry models. For each they list a congregation advocating for their use, a brief description, advantages and disadvantages.

Their list includes the following:

Open Small Groups
Closed Small Groups
Cell Groups
Free-Market Groups
Neighborhood Groups
Purpose-Driven Groups
Sermon-Based Groups
Organic Small Groups
House Churches
Host Groups

You can also download some free resource samples. For access to the full site you need a membership.

UU SGM Network acheives charitable org status

2008-10-08T09:55:00.003-04:00

As one of the three original co-founders of the Unitarian Universalist Small Group Ministry Network -- UU's like long names and acronyms! -- I'm delighted to announce that the UU SGM Network has achieved charitable tax-exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

For those of you who are UU's this means easier fundraising for the network (easier, not easy) and through this more resources and support.

For other readers, UU small group ministry resources are, in many ways, like generic small group resources. Yes, the theology matters. But when it comes to making groups work, we're working hard on that. The way I see it we have a harder time as our membership is far more diverse theologically than the average church small group. If we can make groups thrive we must be on to something.

That something is the fundamentals of healthy human groups. Hence, great generic sgm resources!

You can visit the UU SGM Network online at
http://www.smallgroupministry.net

Small Groups in Retirement Communities

2008-10-04T21:46:00.003-04:00

I was very happy to get an email from a staff member of an assisted living facility inquiring about starting secular small groups for elders using learning from small group ministry. "Do you think there is a way for us to use groups to enhance our communities?"

No question. YES and you should get to it fast!!! When my grandmother moved into an assisted living community there were few opportunities to talk, share and explore ideas at a level worth of her intellect. Together we started a group that had structure, sharing and room for discussing issues of the day.

It was the best thing happening. I wish more organizations/companies serving our elders would learn from our small group ministries. I know of some chaplains versed in small group ministry who have done some consulting in this area. Unfortunately the groups they worked with were looking for a quick fix.

Uh, think again. Worthwhile, but not easy.

Small Group vs. Big Church

2008-10-01T12:25:00.002-04:00

This video goes into the benefits of small group participation. Funny...

Sticky Church = Sermon Based Small Groups

2008-10-01T08:24:00.006-04:00

I just received the book Sticky Church in the mail. I ordered it when reading Made to Stick and a Andy Stanley's Making Vision Stick. Not knowing quite what to expect, I started reading. Front doors, back doors, closing back door, focus on formation of those who have arrived vs. mighty marketing efforts then POW! Right around page 40, section II and beyond -- Small Groups. This book is about sermon based small groups and closing the back door.

So far, pretty good. The author, Larry Osborne, admits that this isn't a "hey, check out this new thing!" kind of book. It is built on years of experience and long term growth. I'm enjoying Larry's explanation of how small groups make our faith communities more sticky. Nothing revolutionary, just a different way of talking about why small groups can make a huge difference.

If you aren't looking for a book on small groups, this one won't stick. Need to communicate the value of small groups to people interested in church growth. Read it.

Read more at stickychurch.com
Purchase Sticky Church at Amazon.com

Dusting off the small group blog

2008-09-27T12:12:00.003-04:00

Friends,

After spending the majority of the last year on TV projects and related new media efforts, I'm dusting off this blog.

What prompts this? A great read.... Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups by Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas. This book got me thinking, well, entirely differently about the best life cycle of groups, focusing too much on "intimacy" versus real friendships, and a few other key issues.

I'd go into more detail but I loaned the book to my mother. Yes, it is that good. More when I get the book back.

SEEKING: I'm looking for some great resources on leading small groups for families. Unitarian Universalists haven't done too much with this that I'm aware of. Any resource suggestions?

New Covenant Group News blog

2007-01-04T14:22:00.000-05:00

I'm establishing a "blog version" of the popular Covenant Group News e-newsletter. This blog will be a place for me and other UU Small Group Ministry collaborators to post news as we find it. The edited contents of this blog will be shared via the CGNews e-newsletter.

You can subscribe to the blog feed here
http://feeds.feedburner.com/CovenantGroupNews

You can view the CGNews blog on the UU SGM Network Site at
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/cgnews

Subscribe to the email form of CGNews
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/cgnews/about.html

Evensong for Families

2006-11-25T11:36:00.000-05:00

Written by Barbara Hamilton-Holway, Evensong for Families is an eight-week series of gatherings for families using the format of the very popular "Evensong" gatherings.

For those of you interested in small group ministry with families or intergenerational groups, this is a great place to start!

Purchase from UUA Bookstore

This new addition to the Evensong series offers weekly worship gatherings to foster communication within families and church communities. Ninety minutes long, the 8 gatherings are ideal for 5 families, depending on size, or groups of 20. The orders of service, which can be photocopied for participants, include singing, readings and discussion suggestions. (Skinner House) 2006. 80 pp.

Gatherings: small group ministry for men

2006-11-25T11:30:00.000-05:00

Written by Tony Bushman and Bill Hamilton-Holway, Gatherings is an eight session small group ministry series for men.

Purchase from UUA Bookstore

Following the Evensong model of worship for small groups, this program provides a supportive group setting for men. The 8 worship gatherings are 120 minutes long and include singing, reading and discussion suggestions. The 64-page booklet is designed to be used by leaders and participants. Bushman has led men's groups for over 25 years and Hamilton-Holway is co-minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Berkeley, CA. (Skinner House) 2006. 64 pp.

The UU SGM Network is Evolving

2006-11-25T11:27:00.000-05:00

At the November 15, 2006 meeting of the UU SGM Network board it was determined that we will no longer restrict online access to the SGM Quarterly, our member journal. Until this time only members have been able to access electronic copies of the Quarterly.

We feel that our movement needs the resources we are developing and that keeping our best articles locked in a member area isn't serving our movement. We believe that as we make our resources more readily available more of you will join our network, make donations to support our work and ministry, and get involved with our efforts. Members of our network will continue to receive The SGM Quarterly in the mail.

In addition to seeking more members, we will be inviting congregations presently giving their Sunday collection away monthly or seasonally -- a growing practice -- to selecting our network as a recipient once each year.

Please note that while the formation of our network was initially funded by Unitarian Universalist Funding Program, we receive no other support from the UUA. We rely on the generosity of you and your congregation. As the fastest growing ministry in our movement, there is much to be done to support Small Group Ministry. Thank you for your continued support.

Not a member yet? Support small group ministry, join the UU SGM Network!

An Interview with the Rev. Glenn Turner -- SGM history, what we're missing, outreach, diversity, healing and more...

2006-11-18T01:10:00.000-05:00

Purchase the CD / Learn More

Unlike the recordings you get from workshops at GA, I've broken this one down into tracks by topic. One great coversation, 15 relevant tracks. ENJOY!

You can listen to clips of each track here.

Know a UU lay leader or minister you'd like me to interview?
Let me know.

The first disc in my small group ministry audio series is now available. On November 15th I interviewed the Rev. Glenn Turner. Glenn is one of the pioneers of small group ministry in the Unitarian Universalist Association. He is the one who introduced both Calvin Dame and Bob Hill to the concept. He has also spent years teaching congregations how to design and launch small group ministries.

During this interview we cover everything from how he came to be an advocate for this ministry, to outreach, growth and diversity issues, and why it is that we might need to heal more as a faith before we can tackle some of the big issues on our plate.

It is my hope that this CD will preserve some of our history and encourage some of our congregations (maybe even the UUA Board/Staff) to use this ministry to take our movement to the next level. We're only scratching the surface of what we can do with this ministry.

Purchase the CD / Learn More

All profits fund my efforts as a freelance UU change agent and the further development of my UU media studio.

October 3rd - Teleseminars on Small Group Ministry

2006-09-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

On October 3rd I will be leading the first set of Fall teleseminars. This series is on topics related to Small Group Ministry, UU Evangelism, Leadership Development, and growing our movement. Why offer teleseminars? So Unitarian Universalists across the US to have access the trainings I offer locally, have access to affordable consulting/ministry support in these areas, and so visionary UU's can take a bold step together.

Each seminar is limited to a small group of participants (ten max) and may be paid for by PayPal or via check.
Read more about this series and the schedule for October 3rd.http://www.uuplanet.com/teleseminar.html

CLICK HERE to sign up for future teleseminar announcements. This will take you to the UU PLANET E-newsletter sign-up page. If you would like to receive information on teleseminars ONLY please check that box.

Have an idea for a seminar? Let me know.
http://www.uuplanet.com/contact.html

Hope you'll join me on one of these calls.
Peter

Peter Freedman Bowden
UU PLANET Ministry and Media
http://www.uuplanet.com

Teleseminar: Models for Coaching UU Small Group Ministry Leaders

2006-09-26T17:26:00.000-04:00

Details on 1 of 3 teleseminars I am offering on October 3rd. More to come.

Title: Models for Coaching UU Small Group Ministry Leaders

Call time:
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
11 AM Eastern
10 AM Central
9 AM Mountain
8 AM Pacific
Call will run 1 hour

Registration: Open to UU ministers, lay coaches and small-group ministry program coordinators.

The most common model for supporting small-group ministry and covenant group facilitators is a minister meeting with facilitators monthly. This is only part of a more comprehensive model for supporting groups and leaders. The full "facilitator support" picture is often lost in UU translation.

This seminar will present those models which initially inspired our small-group revolution, including the role of ministers, lay coaches and mentoring relationships.
Understanding the role of coaching is essential to successfully cultivating leadership, building a culture of mutual ministry and growing a larger group system.

Seminar Cost: $30

# Participants: Maximum of 10

Registration Code:
103A (October, 3, Call A)
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THIS CALL

Registration process: Clicking the link above will open your email program and format an email with the date, call time and subject. Simply send this message. Upon receipt of your message I will verify that a space is available and then send you a PayPal invoice for your registration fee via email. Your registration will be complete upon payment. If you would like to pay by check simply notify me following receipt of your invoice. If you have trouble with the link above simply email the registration code to me at Peter@uuplanet.com.

Tele-Seminars on Small Group Ministry.

2006-08-11T13:36:00.000-04:00

I am preparing a series of conference call based seminars for the Fall. These will be an opportunity for a handful of ministers (or lay leaders) to explore and discuss a highly focused topic related to Small Group Ministry.

Each call will look something like this -- I'll introduce the participants (based on registration), introduce the topic, offer a brief presentation on this topic (or have a guest presenter), facilitate a discussion and then end with a Q&A session.

Features will include
Toll-Free Dial-in Number
Participant access to downloadable recording of call

I'm starting to map out the seminar topics for the early Fall and times that will work for people in all time zones.

So topics include
Models for Coaching UU Small Group Ministry Leaders
The Role of vision casting and the minister in keeping groups healthy, open, and growing
Small groups and UU evangelism/a relational growth strategy
Advanced Small Group Ministry trouble shooting

I would love suggestions on topics and your ideal call time. Ministers, what works for you? 9am Central? I want to know. What about lay leaders? A lunch call? Late night? 10PM?

Interested in hosting a tele-seminar? If you work with me to identify a topic of interest to you and help fill it, I'll waive your registration free.

Let me know your ideas.
Your partner in Small Group Ministry,

Peter Freedman Bowden
UU PLANET Ministry & Media
www.uuplanet.com
Office (401) 855-0037
peter@uuplanet.com

Ready to Get Dangerous with Small Group Ministry?

2006-07-14T07:56:00.000-04:00

UU Small Group Ministry leaders,

This August the UU Small Group Ministry Network is offering a weeklong Small Group Ministry conference at Ferry Beach. We offered this last year and it was a huge success. This is an opportunity for visionary and passionate UU's of the Small Group kind (SGM leaders, coordinators, ministers, lay coaches, etc...) to celebrate this ministry, learn new techniques, explore new dimensions in small group ministry and covenant groups, for us all to review the essentials for SGM health, growth and transformation and much more. Sounds fun, doesn't it?

Register on-line at www.ferrybeach.org

Whether your group ministry is just getting started or well under way, I'd like to personally invite you to join us for this exiting week. Come and share your passion, learning, questions and vision for our faith and this powerful ministry.

Why am I so excited for this week?

For me, its about us working together to figure out how to realize our potential, both individually, as congregations, and a religious movement. I'm looking forward to talking to you about taking our movement to the next level. My passion is sharing our faith, doing faith development and spiritual growth via ministry in groups, and turning our small group ministries into leadership (and ministry) development machines.

Have you noticed the buzz around growth?

Our congregations, the UUA Board of Trustees, UUA Staff -- seems like they are all talking growth these days. And remember the call a while back for us to "GET DANGEROUS" -- you know, the story about a top Mormon leader saying if we knew how to retain newcomers as well as they do we'd be the most dangerous church in America? For me, Small Group Ministry is the means by which we can accomplish this.

Take a look at this. The following is the Rev. Bill Sinkford's conclusion from his "The most dangerous church in America" UU World column:

How can we become the most dangerous church in America? We can stand up in
the public square and consistently and clearly voice our commitment to the
inherent worth and dignity of every person and our commitment to a world
community with peace, justice, and liberty for all. We can take action inspired
by these commitments. We can offer visitors to our congregations a liberal
religious home, a sanctuary from the uncertainty and isolation that may have
brought them to our doors, a community that will help them develop spiritually
and grow emotionally—and as we do, they will stay with us...

If you look at faith communities that are THRIVING, they know how to do their ministry via small groups. You can't retain masses of people without doing church in groups. SO, in my opinion the only way we’re going to thrive long term as a movement and realize our potential is if we MASTER accomplishing our work and ministry via intentional group ministries.

I hope you'll seriously consider mobilizing someone from your congregation to join us for this very special week.

In faith,

Peter Freedman Bowden

====================
Ferry Beach Small Group Ministry Week
A.K.A. the UU SGM Network Summer Institute
August 12 - August 18, 2006Ferry Beach, UU Conference CenterSaco, Maine

Register on-line at www.ferrybeach.org
====================

Additional facilitators needed for GA Covenant Groups

2006-06-14T14:36:00.000-04:00

This year there will once again be covenant groups at our General Assembly conference. Even better, this time there is a designated time slot for them. No more nomadic groups in search of free hotel lounge space!

Anyhow, the GA Covenant Group program needs some additional facilitators. The following comes from the GA Covenant Group Coordinator, the Rev. Connie Grant.

-Peter

GROUP FACILITATORS NEEDED

Are you willing to help enhance the General Assembly experience for six to eight other attendees (as well as for yourself)? Facilitators are still needed for Covenant Groups at General Assembly. If you have facilitated a Covenant Group (or Small Group Ministry by whatever name) for one year or more in your home congregation, you are eligible.

Facilitator training will be held on Wednesday, June 21, 1:30 – 2:30 pm.

Covenant Groups will meet in assigned rooms at these four times:

Thursday, June 22 11:15 am – 12:45 pm
Friday, June 23 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Saturday, June 24 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
Sunday, June 25 8:00 am – 9:15 am

There will also be a debriefing and celebration for facilitators (with hors d’oeuvres) on Sunday, June 25, 6:15 – 7:45 pm (attendance at this event is encouraged, but not required).

Please email GACovenantGroups@aol.com with the following information:

Name:
Email address:
Home Phone:
Cell Phone:
Congregation:

Please include the name and email of minister or primary organizer of the Covenant Groups in your congregation.

Minister/Coordinator Name:
Minister/Coordinator Email address:

Please contact the Rev. Connie Grant at (216) 751-2320 ext 29 or GACovenantGroups@aol.com with any questions.

Thanks for your help in sharing the Small Group Ministry experience.

Join me this Summer! TWO CHOICES

2006-05-25T14:05:00.000-04:00

Friends,

Are you one of the lucky people with time off over the summer? Vacation, Study Leave, Retirement? If so, join me this summer at one of the two conferences I will be attending.

This Summer I will be one of the leaders at

1. The UU Small Group Ministry Network Summer Institute at Ferry Beach
At the SGM week I'll be one of a handful of conference leaders. This is a great time to take your small group minsitry to the next level (or learn how to start one right).

and

2. The Star Island Religious Education week
I will be leading (provided registration is sufficient) a workshop for young adults and leaders working with YA's. It is called "SUPERSIZE THIS! A Young Adult workshop on engaged spirituality, leadership and community." Note that THANDEKA, popular theologian, speaker on "Affect Theology" and president of the Center For Community Values (CCV) will be the theme speaker. My workshop will meet each morning of the week. Casual porch time with me to follow!

Here is the "SUPERSIZE THIS" workshop in a nutshell:

Everything our faith has to offer, young adults are ready for more of it.
Aren't you? During this week we're going to take Unitarian Universalism to the
next level. We'll start with an honest UU reality check, looking at the
assumptions, structures, language/terms that congregations have been using to
operate. After identifying what we think has been, we’re going to challenge the
status quo! Drawing on wisdom from small group ministry, life coaching and other
sources we will look at new ways of doing spiritual growth, leadership
development and community building.Topics will include spiritual leadership in
group ministries, covenants and group health, peer spiritual direction and
coaching, weaving spiritual disciplines into group life, cultivating
relationships that matter, and techniques for sharing our faiths with those who
are hungry for it.

As for the Small Group Ministry week, check out the Ferry Beach website for more information. www.ferrybeach.org and the Ferry Beach page of the UU SGM NETWORK.

If you know of anyone with time off over the Summer who might have interest in either of these, please forward this to them. I'm trying to help get PR out for both of these events.

UU BLOGGERS: Cross-Blog-Pollination of these events much appreciated!

Thanks,
Peter

PS-- Questions about either event? Email me at peter@uuplanet.com

Peter Freedman Bowden
Director, UU PLANET Ministries
Online at www.uuplanet.com

Evaluating Small Group Ministries & Covenant Groups

2006-05-22T18:56:00.000-04:00

Earlier this month I asked Covenant Group News readers to share how they evaluate their small group ministries. I have compiled the responses on our website. Note that my question was in response to a visitor to our website asking if we had any evaluation forms. At that time we did not. Thanks to all of you, we now have over a dozen evaluation forms! A special thanks to Ray for asking the question and to all who responded.

The URL of the compilation is:
http://smallgroupministry.net/public/evaluation.html

Here are a few thoughts on evaluations from my conversation with readers who wrote in.

Facilitator Meetings Many congregations have group leaders meet with lay coaches and/or their minister(s) for ongoing training and support. This is a great way to keep groups focused, to share feedback, and do skill training. One reader asked if they needed to have formal evaluations in addition to these meetings.

Facilitator meetings are great for giving facilitators a chance to share their sense of how things are going. But a facilitator’s perception may not always be accurate. If you want to know what group members think about their group, ask them. Chances are they will appreciate it.

Exit Interviews?
Considering the work congregations put into getting people INTO groups, I’ve been amazed at how few congregations follow up when people leave. When there is a problem with a group, if it is left unidentified and unresolved, it is common for people to drop out.

It is worth noting that many people leave groups because they think the group they were in was the only kind there is. “I tried Small Group Ministry and I didn’t like it.” If you have a program with multiple groups meeting with the same purpose (homogenous groups) a participant might think they are all the same. Every single group in your church is different.

Once when I was guest preaching I spoke with a man during coffee hour. He tried a group and didn’t like it. I followed up. “What didn’t you like about it?” I don’t know what was scarier, his group experience or the fact that he thought this was what small group ministry was meant to be like! After a five minute chat he was ready to give it another try.

Feedback in Groups
Many groups have a time for "Likes and Wishes" at the end of each session. This is a form of group process check. Some groups do this each session, others periodically, some never. If you give participants an opportunity to evaluate the group DURING the group time, consider the following from sales and marketing expert Harry Beckwith:

A basic principle in life applies to surveying… Even your best friends
won’t tell you, but they will talk behind your back.

Could this possibly be true for Unitarian Universalists? Shocking! You better believe it.

Keep in mind that asking for feedback is also a sign of respect and shows that we care. Beckwith notes that when we ask for an opinion it shows that we value that person’s opinion. We should all feel that our church values our opinion.

Other Feedback
While evaluations can identify problems or challenges, they can also highlight what you are doing well. Except for a handful of congregations, Small Group Ministry is NEW FOR ALL OF US. We should be learning what works, what doesn't, and strive to develop this ministry to the best of our ability. The only way to do this is to communicate with group leaders, participants, and even those who have yet to join a group.

Years Later…
When you evaluate your program consider checking in with your larger community. What's the understanding of small group ministry among those who are not in groups? Three years after your initial SGM launch do people still get it? Many congregations allow their Small Group Ministries to slowly fade into the background year by year. It is not easy keeping SGM front and center. When you ask non-participants what they know about this ministry it communicates to them that it is something important. It also lets you know how well you are educating members about your groups.

Excerpted from CGNews #84 (PDF)

PS: SGM = HARD WORK
It takes HARD WORK to maintain a healthy and growing Small Group Ministry. I've talked to some religious professionals who haven't evaluated their SGM formally because they know it isn't where it should be or it has lost focus or hasn't received their attention. If this is the case for you consider evaluating your SGM and use the feedback as an opportunity to work with your board and committee on ministry to prioritze what your congregation is doing. The large churches in other denominations that grow as a result of SGM prioritize it above other "programs." If you don't have time for SGM maybe you can work with the congregation to remove things from the ENTIRE CONGREGATION'S plate.

For SGM consulting and training contact me at UU PLANET.

Talking with Family and Friends - HOME BASE SESSIONS

2006-02-20T15:21:00.000-05:00

UU Faithworks: Worship, Winter/Spring 2006

Dear Friends,

There is so much happening in the world! Is your head spinning? Is your heart heavy? Are you sad or angry? With all that is happening and all the debates being brought to our attention, it is time to talk.

We all need to talk about the issues facing our planet, global community, our country, our town, our families, our friends and neighbors, and those suffering outside of the media spotlights.

Everyone needs a safe place to explore issues, a home base. Many people in our Unitarian Universalist congregations have found small groups through our formal Small Group Ministries, Covenant Groups, and adult programs. They are serving many of us, but not all.

I believe that people of all ages are desperate for a place to talk, to share, to explore. For the most recent issue of the UUA's FAITH WORKS resource I wrote a brief resource on how we might use a basic small group ministry format for bringing family, friends, colleagues, or students together to talk about things that really matter. The sessions offer a simple structure to create room for reflection, sharing, and exploration. They do not contain any content other than our lives and our world.

Talking to some UU kids and teenagers I know about what to call such a session they said it should be "HOME BASE" sessions because that's were you should go when you want to be safe. When we call a “Home Base” session, we are simply pulling people together to discuss what is already on our hearts and minds.

My Home Base resource contains the following:
A general template for a “Home Base” session
A “Home Base” session entitled “After Natural Disaster”
A blank session outline you may use for developing your own “Home Base” sessions

I invite you to try to bring your family and/or friends together for a “Home Base” session. You need not call it that, though I believe having a name for what you are doing is helpful. You may find that once you do, the people you meet with want more!

In faith,
Peter Freedman Bowden
UU PLANET Ministries
(401) 855-0037
www.uuplanet.com

UU Faithworks: Worship, Winter/Spring 2006

Table Topics - A great resource & ice-breaker

2006-01-25T12:23:00.000-05:00

What do you get your mother for a present when she's as passionate about small group ministry as you are? Well, this year I gave my mother a Table Topics set. It is a set of AMAZING QUESTIONS, each printed on an indiviudal card. The cards come in a slick clear cube.

The report back is that this is a great ice-breaker for gatherings at home, for small group sessions AND a great inspiration for session ideas. There is also a Family Edition and Teen Edition.

Though I wouldn't recommend scrapping prepared sessions for a cube of cards, it sure is nice having a stockpile of questions on hand!

Preaching on Small Groups/Covenant Groups AGAIN?!

2006-01-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Dear Peter

What do I preach on now that we're into our 5th year of covenant
groups? Half our members are in groups, the other half are
not. How do you make it relevant for those who are in, might join and those
who couldn't care less?
Thanks for any advice you have.

Thanks for your question.

First I would suggestion weaving the promotion of small groups into what you do on regular sunday. Don't try and promote it on one Sunday a year. Make your small groups a regular and visible part of congregational life. After doing this your special group sunday can be a celebration of this ministry's accomplishments and an examination of one particular aspect of how groups accomplish the work of the church.

We don't preach on all the principles once per year. They are referenced all the time. We need to treat group ministries the same way.

I have enjoyed seeing celebratory services highlighting a particular aspect of small group ministry, say service or caring for each other or leadership development, using our gifts, wrestling with big questions... There are certain things we are called on to do as a community, as people of faith, many of which are easier in groups.

Instead of tackling ALL of what CGroups are/do narrow your focus. Just remember to explain what covenant groups are (briefly) and to invite people to join a group.

As for weaving it in the rest of the year, consider the following:

-- Add "and we have a fabulous small group ministry program" or something along those lines to your Sunday morning announcements.

- Any sermon that touches on community building, caring for each other, service, spiritual growth and on and on is just ripe for a small group plug. Just do a quick aside "and that's why we have our small group ministry program..." I'd challenge every minister to reference their groups at least once per month in this way.

BONUS.
Since you reached me while I'm working on another SGM sermon I'll share with you what I'm doing differently this time. Given the amount I guest preach on SGM I do like to keep things fresh, try new approaches.

This time, instead of focusing on our need for community and referencing research stating that American's are some of the loneliest people on earth, I'm exploring how important it is (spiritually) to be known. Kind of coming at it from the other side. However, what makes it really different is that I'm starting from the horror many people experience in coffee hour not knowing peoples names.

A discussion of needing to know each other, to be truly known, is relevant for ALL PEOPLE. And it is a perfect segway into small group ministry. I have a number of props I use when I do my services. People respond to visuals.

In the exloration of names I talk about name tags and using them as a spiritual discipline. I mention that every person w/out a name tag is essentially walking around with a big BLANK on their chests to accompany their blank/fearful expressions. I have a big name tag I print onto cardstock which I use to accentuate this. Good for a laugh and it drives the point home.

You can print this off of my website. Just go to the resource page on UU PLANET and go to the RESOURCE PAGE. There is a PROPS section where I've posted this for you and everyone else in the world to use. You're very welcome world!

I hope that helps. If you have success with this I'd love to hear about it.

Moving Our Movement,
Peter Freedman Bowden

Editor, Covenant Group News
Co-coordinator, UU SGM Network
Director, UU PLANET MINISTRIES

Sharing Our Faith VS. Serving Existing Members

2006-01-16T10:15:00.000-05:00

I just looked at the UUA's updated Congregational Handbook online. Small Group Ministry is nicely featured in the SHARING OUR FAITH section.

Here's my question. How well is your small group ministry sharing our faith. Here I don't mean each of us sharing our faith with eachother. I'm talking sharing it with people who have not yet discovered it?

I've spoken with many congregations who have NOT been successful in cultivating this focus. I would love to hear your success story.

SGM key to removing the GAP

2005-11-10T14:37:00.000-05:00

A number of years ago I worked on the UUA's Youth and Young Adult Sunday campaign. The slogan Alison Miller and I developed was "MIND THE GAP!" It was a reference to the gap in our ministry between our ministry with children and adults. Our Youth and Young Adult ministries have come so far over the past five years, but there is much to do.

I think SMALL GROUP MINISTRY is going to be an essential part of our movement moving forward and addressing the deficiencies in our ministry with UU's of all ages. Personally, I have worked with children, youth, young adults, adults and elders. I've seen small groups and intentional leadership development save lives.

One youth I worked with took two years to open up. One day he shared that our group -- which was structured like a small group ministry session -- was where he felt most himself. He told us and later his parents that his mission in life was to BE like he was in our small group EVERYWHERE in his life. Small groups are the foundation of the relational congregations that our members young and old are hungry for.

THIS YEAR our association is trying to figure out how to strengthen our youth ministry. I think we should use our learnings from our small group ministry movement and apply them to our youth, campus, young adult and adult ministries. When these all come into alignment we will no longer have to worry about MINDING the GAP, we'll have eliminated it all together. There is only a gap when we do different things with each age group. Why not small group ministry with all who have come of age in our congregations.

Obviously I've got a strong opinion. Here's a question for you. DO YOU EVEN CARE?

If you do then we've got a great opportunity and a great future ahead of us. This year ALL of our congregations have been asked to hold a meeting to explore our youth ministry. There are resources being developed to help you do this.

I'd like you to print out the following resource and MAKE SURE that someone in your congregation takes responsibility for planning a your conversation. YOU DO NOT have to do this. Just make sure that someone else does.

PRINT THIS:
http://www.uua.org/TRUS/youth/newsletter0511.pdf

It is the November issue of the Consultation on Youth Ministry newsletter.
It contains the basic info you need to HAND OFF to someone.

THANK YOU in advance for passing this 1 sheet of paper on to a caring and responsible member of your congregation.

In faith,
Peter

For even more info on this visit the following
http://www.uua.org/TRUS/youth

Must read - Creating Community from North Point Resources

2005-11-08T12:28:00.000-05:00

Working with small group ministry?

You NEED to read Creating Community : Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture and Seven Practices of Effective Ministry from North Point Ministries. It doesn't matter what kind of church you have --- all ministers, religious professionals, and lay leaders will benefit from these two quick reads.

Creating Community : Five Keys to Building a Small Group Culture is a great description of how North Point Community Church builds their culture around small groups. Some SGM books are not easy to apply to other denominations/UU's. THIS ONE IS.

Seven Practices of Effective Ministry is not a model for programs or ministries, but powerful practices for DOING CHURCH. If your fighting at all in your ministry, don't feel focused, feel like your not changing lives as much as you want to, GET THIS BOOK.

UU MINISTERS: How would you like to discuss these books? If there is sufficient interest I'll look into scheduling a group conference call. I'd love to discuss these books with a small group of ministers.

Why ministers? Because my interest is primarily on how this book impacts how UU ministers view their work and ministry. Not a minister - read the book! Tell me what you think. Get copies for your SGM steering committee and read it together.

SGM Coaching Resource Update

2005-10-18T12:21:00.000-04:00

Dear Small Group Ministry leaders,

I've received some inquiries about the coaching resource I was working on late last Spring.

In June my computer fried and I lost a massive amount of data/writing, including the nearly completed draft of this resource. Since I did not have the resource ready for GA the UU SGM Network, with my blessing, directed the funds for that project to other efforts. There is no question that the network will receive other grants and fund the development of more resources.

I am now considering the most efficient (and helpful) way to reconstruct this resource.

If you are interested in coaching resources, I'd love to hear what you are looking for. You can use the comment form on this blog or email me via UU PLANET.

Bob Hill's Blog: TheFarFarSouthwest

2005-09-12T14:47:00.000-04:00

Those of you who are fans of the Rev. Bob Hill, author of The Complete Guide to Small Group Ministry and founder of Covenant Group News, can now access his new blog.

Having moved from the South West District of the UUA to Australia, Bob's blog is appropriately titled The Far Far Southwest!

Enjoy.

Commission on Appraisal -- Small Group Ministry Focus?

2005-08-30T18:56:00.000-04:00

A brief email exchange with a visionary UU out there led to the idea of using the UUA's commission on appraisal to study the proliferation, successes, challenges and future of SMALL GROUP MINISTRY and COVENANT GROUPS.

I think that's a great idea. Wouldn't it be nice to have a well funded study of this transforming ministry? OF COURSE!

If you think it would be a good idea you can either 1) submit a formal idea using the format on the COA website or 2) send an email with any ideas,thoughts or comments to coa@uua.org

Please be sure to include your name, contact information, and UUA congregational affiliation to your email.

NOTE: Sorry to say the deadline is September 1st! Best to just send a quick email to coa@uua.org.

Check out the Commission's website.

Carl George on Coaching Leaders

2005-08-25T11:46:00.000-04:00

Many of you know I believe coaching in small group ministries determines what happens inside and outside of groups. In my quest for coaching resources online I just discovered a 10 page resource on coaching by Carl George who's writing inspired our Rev. Glenn Turner to introduce UU's to metachurch.

Anyhow, this is a 10pg FREE pdf file.
You can find it on Carl George's metachurch website.

Do Heretical Preachers need Small Group Ministry?

2005-08-24T09:50:00.000-04:00

Back from weeks of conferences, trainings and retreats I am presently slogging through an absurd amount of email. One of the emails in the mountain was a link to an op-ed by the Rev. Davidson Loehr which appeared in the Austin American-Statesman on Saturday, August 6, 2005.

In it he explores the question whether people want the full TRUTH from American preachers. From our economy to issues related to Iraq -- if preachers used the full freedom of the pulpit many would probably cut their pledge or go somewhere less challenging.

Are our pulpits and our preachers lescourageousus than years passed? I wouldn't be surprised. I've seeworshipip committees crucify ministers for wanting to limit joys and sorrows.

If you are a preacher who is experiencing pressure to be a little more tame, here is a suggestion for you. USE small group ministry as a vehicle for exploring the "TRUTH" which was once readily available in thpulpitit.

By using SGM sessions you can convey your heretical ideas, quote others, ask people to reflect on heresy in their lives, and through their reflection consider the ideas you have offered with more attention than a sermon ever receives. If you are a heretical preacher you don't so much NEED small group ministry as you would be a FOOL to not deliver your heretical ideas through it.

Don't give up on being heretical in the pulpit or upholding the freedom of thpulpitit. But I also urge you not to miss out on the opportunity for heretical reflection inherent in Small Group Ministry.

Davidson Loehr is author of the book America, Fascism, and God: Sermons from a Heretical Preacher which is being released this September by Chelsea Green.

Read Loehr's op-ed Religion and Politics Are Sensitive Subjects, Even in the Pulpit

Watch video stream of BEYOND THE BASICS workshop

2005-06-29T13:02:00.000-04:00

Those of you who were not able to attend our UU Small Group Ministry Network's BEYOND THE BASICS workshop at General Assembly -- you may watch an online video of this workshop.

This workshop was presented by me, the Rev. Calvin Dame and Mellen Kennedy.

Video Link:
http://uua.org/realaudio/ga05/3071.ram

SGM and Public Television

2005-06-20T13:22:00.000-04:00

What do Small Group Ministry and PBS have in common?

ME.

Besides my work with UU congregations (see www.uuplanet.com) I also work with children's television. Yes, I am a classic gemini with split lives --- half UU evangelist/trainer, the other half children's television producer.

As a reader of my blog I'd like to ask you a personal favor. Will you sign the petition to save PBS if you have not done so already. It doesn't matter if you love Big Bird or me, our world is a better place with public television.

There is a push to get 1000000 signatures by the end of the day. We're up to 800K. Thanks for helping me save PBS.

SIGN THE PETITION
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting

PS -- I hesitated to post this until I realized that without pulbic television and NPR our world would most likely be plunged into a scary corporate controlled media nightmare with fundamentalist agendas driving global politics. Wait, maybe we're there already... Hmmmmmm... Well, whatever good PBS and NPR are doing I hate to think of how much worse things would be without them! I figure that in a sense this post is directly related to liberal religion.

Whatever.... Sign the petition -- I'll credit you 423 Karmic Units.

SIGN THE PETITION
http://www.moveon.org/publicbroadcasting

Connecting at GA

2005-06-20T12:05:00.000-04:00

If you're going to GA and want to talk small group ministry please visit me at the UU Small Group Ministry Network booth (#718). I'm coordinating the booth and will be in the exhibit hall at least 50% of the time it is open.

See you at GA.

Live from UU PLANET

2005-05-31T15:52:00.000-04:00

UU? Board at work? I'd love some feedback on my new site www.uuplanet.com . This is the new home for my UU consulting & training work. This includes all my Small Group Ministry guest speaking, direct consultations, etc..

But there is MUCH MUCH MORE than small group ministry on this site.

Chek out our Fall 2005 Programs

CRAP! Small Group Ministry works...

2005-05-25T17:57:00.000-04:00

I betcha never thought you'd hear me say that!

Peter? How could you.

I'm excited and perplexed. You see, we've created a problem. Small Group Ministry, this wonderful grassroots movement of ours, is working. It is growing. More congregations are working with it all the time. Many of our leaders are psyched because it is a growth producing ministry that they have not had to push for.

It pushes itself, driven UU passion for connection, meaning, and engagement in the world.

I love that it is a grassroots movement. Just like real GRASS, it spreads on its own.

Do you have a lawn? Same deal.

Just because a movement takes off on its own doesn't mean it takes care of itself. It needs help. And the GRASS is coming to me and our network looking for it. Our highly visible network is getting more and more and more consultation calls and emails. Where is this heading? At this rate we could work full time helping our congregations with small group ministry in no time at all.

So, the more successfully we are at our work, the greater the demand on our underfunded network. That's the CRAP part.

Ah! But the gras is greener on the other side. There is hope!

At GA I am going to use my mental powers to will a big donor into existence. I will visualize it and she / he will come to our booth. In case this fails I will also buy a lottery ticket this Saturday. ALL OF YOU can visualize my winning the $180 Million. I'll give all of it to UU charities focusing on Small Group Ministry -- LESS the cost of my divinity school and expenses while attending divinity school.

In case that doesn't work I've started a page that is designed to convince you to make a minor donation to fund our work. NOW, many of you don't care. That's fine. If that is you, please go to the page, check it out, then use the form mid-page to suggest techniques for convincing everyone ELSE to help out. You might not be loaded, you might not be UU, but you're smart and understand small group ministry.

GO LOOK AT THE GRASS -- CLICK HERE.

Going to GA? Facilitators need for 50 Covenant Groups

2005-05-18T12:12:00.000-04:00

Friends,

If you are going to GA and are an experienced small group ministry/covenant group facilitator PLEASE consider leading on of the many groups being offered this year. The following is from Connie Grant , the GA Covenant Group registrar.

GA Covenant Group Facilitators Needed

Volunteer facilitators are needed for Covenant Groups at General Assembly in Fort Worth. We anticipate filling 50 groups, which will meet four times in hour-and-a-quarter sessions. If you have facilitated a group in your home congregation for one year or more, you are invited to apply to facilitate a group at General Assembly. For an application form or for more information, please contact the Rev. Connie Grant at GAcovenantgroups@aol.com.

Free copy of our Small Group Ministry journal

2005-05-11T17:00:00.000-04:00

In honor of its one year anniversary I am pleased to share a complimentary copy of the SGM Quarterly, the journal of the UU Small Group Ministry Network. With this issue we complete our first full year of publication! The SGM Quarterly contains articles by denominational small group ministry leaders, tips and tools for leaders, and information on our many upcoming regional events. It is mailed to our members seasonally.

The theme of this is SERVICE.

Download a copy of the SPRING QUARTERLY (216 KB):
http://www.smallgroupministry.net/pdf/SGMQuarterly_Spring05.pdf

Best,
Peter

Small Group Ministry and BEYOND

2005-03-29T16:29:00.000-05:00

Though you might know me best via this blog, I do much more with churhces than small group ministry. SGM has led to all sorts of consulting and training work. With a passion for our faith, I find that my work keeps branching out.

For those of you Unitarian Universalists interested in seeing our liberal religious movement MOVE, I have launched a newsletter related to my work -- training, research, resource development, and all the goodies I uncover throughout my work/travels. If you are interested in leading an AMAZING congregation, this e-newsletter is for you. If you are not a UU with a passion for our faith, subscribe at your own risk.

Click here to visit my website and subscribe.

Don't Think of an Elephant

2005-03-02T16:16:00.000-05:00

Not too long ago one of you suggested the book Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives. The woman who emailed me suggested that it is useful to know about the concept of framing in both writing session plans and facilitating groups.

This book is described as "the definitive handbook for understanding and communicating effectively about key issues in the 2004 election, and beyond. Read it, take action—and help take America back."

After reading a few pages of this book I was hooked. Though suggested as a resource for facilitators, I would say that this book is worth reading if you care about where America is going. Knowing that politics comes up in small groups and that our congregations play an essential role in shaping dialogue in our communities, please check this one out.

If you don't get the book, visit the website of the Rockridge Institute. They have great resources explaining what framing is all about.

More books by George Lakoff

Closing ritual/reading for small group gatherings

2005-02-24T10:07:00.000-05:00

The following reading is shared by the Rev. Amy Freedman. She is the senior minister of Channing Memorial Church in Newport, RI. The Rev. Freedman and the people at Channing have a wonderful small group ministry which I have been fortunate to see grow over the past few years. I just so happen to be married to the Rev. Amy Freedman!

This is a wonderful reading to keep on hand. I have a copy of this in the binder I take to group and facilitator sessions. I encourage all small group leaders to collect great "all purpose" readings and meditations.

I hope you enjoy this one.

Hands by the Rev. Amy Freedman
Become aware of the hands that you are holding.
Their warmth, texture, and weight.
As an infant these same hands reached outfor the nourishment of milk.
As a child these hands shakily wrote a name on paper for the first time.
These hands have wiped away tears, clenched in anger,waved hello and good-bye countless timesand embraced loved ones.
And now these hands are the tangible link that connect us to one another.
These are hands that have worked, are working, and will work to make the world a better place.
I invite you to look around and see those around you who have experienced so much that is life.
May the circle be open but never broken.
Go in peace.
Go in love.
Work for justice.
Go forth and bless the world.

Reading in a Word Doc

Hotel Earth small group session

2005-02-24T09:46:00.000-05:00

"Hotel Earth" and Global Warming Session.

If you are meeting with a small group in one of our congregations, please try this session. As part of our association's larger social action process we are ALL called to consider this issue.

On a personal note, I live in Newport, RI (East Coast) . It would be nice if I could take my grandchildren on a tour of my old neighborhood without scuba gear. I'd appreciate it if you'd give this session a try.

To help people connect with this issue I developed this session with the UUA's Washington Office. It looks at the underlying spiritual /conceptual issues relating to how we view and care for the Earth.

So far, good reports on the session. Give it a go and send me your feedback.

Please share the following session with members of your church, small groups, etc... I welcome feedback. Also, sessions submissions to are always welcome.

What's our certainty and making a UU-Turn

2005-02-24T09:26:00.000-05:00

During the UUA's Large Church Conference someone asked Don Cohen, the keynote speaker, if he could imagine a UU mega church. He replied that a UU mega church is hard to imagine because certainty draws more people than ambiguity. An Evangelical Christians do certainty better than we do. Not an exact quote, but fairly close.

Personally, I can imagine a UU mega church. I think we have great "certainty" which we can offer people. The trick, I think, is for us to "contain" all of the questions we hold so dear and the "self guided" spiritual development in a stronger culture of certainty and higher expectation.

It is true that what you "have to" believe is not certain. In fact its pretty open, within reason. But how we live in this world, our responsibility to it and each other, and our path toward making a this world a more just, compassionate and caring place is as clear cut and defined as a major interstate highway.

Can't you see it? A big giant highway with a UU-Turn sign. A giant call to turn around and head our world in another direction. I think we can help the world make a turn for the better. But we need to offer what we have in terms of certainty and precise pathways and processes.

All you need to do to find our certainty is look to the hurts and hopes of our world.

As you work on your elevator speeches about what Unitarian Universalism is, make sure you frame it in terms of what we know and what we are called to do in this world. There are plenty of absolutes we can offer people. Think of our faith as having a hard, one pointed side, and soft and malleable side. When you try and hand it off to someone you need to give them the harder side first otherwise they won't be able to grasp it -- literally. Their neurons will not know how to tie it to their existing knowledge.

Social Capital and Small Group Ministry

2005-02-24T08:58:00.000-05:00

Recently the UUA held a conference for our large congregations, those over 550 members. Held in Boston, MA, this event's featured speaker was Don Cohen, co-author of In good Comapany: How Social Capital Makes Organizations Work.

Attending this event on behalf of our UU SGM Network was... what shall I call it... affirming. In his presentation Cohen upheld small groups as one of the two most important factors in generating social capital, or an organizations wealth or resources in terms of human connections, trust, social/personal networks, and sense of community. The other was have a shared higher or larger purpose.

We are just scratching the surface of our potential to use small group ministry to multiply our ministry and effectiveness in bringing about social change and justice.

Even ministers of our largest churches told me over this four day event that their small group ministries are still just at the stage of being another pogram, far from being the primary social architecture that serves as the foundation for larger and mega sized churches in other denominations.

Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, & Multi-Culturalism and Small Group Ministry

2005-02-03T19:43:00.000-05:00

If you are a Unitarian Universalist, grab a copy of Soul Work (Skinner House). This book contains...

Papers and discussion transcripts from the UUA Consultation on Theology and
Racism held in Boston in January 2001. Addresses such questions as: What theological or philosophical beliefs bind us together in our shared struggle against racism? What are the costs of racism, both for the oppressors and the oppressed?

In the introduction the editors discuss how UU leaders have realized we need to do more with to engage in the spiritual work of anti-racism. In the conclusion there are recommendations including one suggesting the appropriateness of small group ministries to engage in this work.

I am starting to explore this idea and would love to hear from you if you have done any work with these issues either in your small groups and with your facilitators.

IMAGINE if our ministers and facilitators engaged in a series of sessions equivalent to some of the weekend UUA AR/AO/MC trainings. IMAGINE if every group had a facilitator who could, in the course of discussing the general topics, bring up, as appropriate issues of race, power, oppression, and so on.

In suspect that doing this work at teh small group level will result in significant cultural changes in our faith, and in time, our larger world.

Note: I'm specifically thinking of SGM's that are congregation wide small group / cell group systems, not explicitly anti-racism focused groups using a covenant group model. Plenty of people are using covenant groups in their AR, transformation team, identity groups, and other meetings, etc...

I'd love to see more SGM sessions on issues related to race and power. If you have developed material like this please submit it to our network.

UUA Social Justice resources for congregations

Religion as a tool

2005-02-03T19:16:00.000-05:00

Have you read Lisa Earl McLoud's November 2004 article Did religion steal our spirituality?

In it she states that "purpose of religion is to provide people with a language, a process and a community that supports them in deepening their spirituality." Thinking of religion as a tool, or set of tools, to facilitate a process of awakening to our own inner spirituality, the proliferation of small group ministry makes sense to me. We've suffered without some essential tools for far too long.

In our UU congregations we have not done enough to create in our communities structures that assist in spiritual growth at all levels, from beginner to advanced. I have known many people to leave my church to go to do more advanced work at zen and yoga centers and other organizations offering more rigorous programs.

We will become irrelevent if we can't figure out how to offer, as some have called it, graduate level church.

How would you use a small group ministry system to offer various levels and areas of study?

A Continuum of ministry

2005-02-03T16:38:00.000-05:00

The following is a quick core dumping of my thoughts after reading a brief chapter of Discontinuity and Hope, by Lyle E. Schaller. So, please don't sweat any typos. Just enjoy the rough content...

In Discontinuity and Hope, Schaller shares four primary reasons for our congregations' paradigm shift from minister centered to ministry centered.

One of these is the professionalism of a large segment of the population. Years ago the minister in a community was one of the most educated people in terms of years of schooling.

Just consider how much access people have to information these days, including information on religion, spirituality, ethics, morality, spiritual disciplines and more. We can access more than the contents of a seminary library at will with just a few clicks on the computer and a credit card.

An ongoing topic in my conversations with lay leaders and ministers is our concept of what being a "minister" and "doing ministry" is. Many of us -- ministers and laity alike -- are still using a ministry concept from this era when the minister had all the information, at least education wise. There are many things that complicate this issue, including issues of safety & trust, language and more. I tend to gravitate to how our language around ministry relates to what we feel "lay people" are capable of doing.

I believe that as our congregations continue to adopt shared ministry models, particularly small group ministry, how we talk about ministry and ministers and how we develop ministry become increasingly important. These can either facilitate or impede the process of empowering and equipping the people in our congregations to do ministry.

Though there is growing talk of sharing ministry, I see very few people, ministers included, who uphold lay members as ministers. We applaud their work, but do not as readily fully acknowledge it as ministry and hardly ever, in UU congregations at least, share a "minister" designation. We have lay leaders, people on lay ministry committees, ministry and worship associates, but very few lay ministers. I have heard many ministers, Ministerial Fellowship Committee members and UUA staffers discuss that in terms of ministry training and development we don't have many options -- you are either a lay person or you go to divinity school.

I think we need to radically reform our language and conception of ministry. These days I am thinking in terms of what I call a "continuum of ministry."

When we talk in terms of a continuum of ministry we look at the role of the minister and the church in different ways. With the continuum the function of the church shifts from seeing that the ministry needs of the congregation is fulfilled by the minister to empowering all people to minister to one another, with each only doing those functions which they are called, empowered, trained and authorized to do by their own gifts, the church, and the universe with all pain and wonder.

In small group ministry we have group participants who are encouraged to minister to each other, facilitators or group leaders who are responsible for the overall ministry of the group, and lay coaches who's ministry is to care for the group leaders. Instead of having a binary system where one is either a lay person or THE MINISTER, small group ministry creates multiple ministry roles, each involving more mentoring and responsibility for larger and larger numbers groups. In a congregation with a small group ministry we have people who are not in groups, participants, group leaders, coaches, and the minister -- already five distinct layers of ministry. And this is in smaller congregations (under 500). Imagine how many layers you'd have when we empower lay people and have faith communities of thousands...

It isn't easy lay people and ministers to let go of the binary ministry system.

When congregations give all the ministry to their called professional minister and she or he takes it on, something horrible happens. No, I am not talking about burnout, though that is common. When the minister takes the ministry away from the congregation (or they refuse to take it) the majority of the opportunities for spiritual and personal growth go with it. Did you catch what I just said? Doing ministry is how we stretch, learn and grow spiritually. Give away the ministry and you give away the very reason for church. Well, there are many people who do like pew oriented religious experience where the minister is called upon to do all the ministry, grow spiritually, and preach on related learning to the congregation, challenging all to reflect on the lesson in their own lives. This is backwards.

Our professional ministers need to walk from their end of the ministry position as the most highly trained and experienced person ministering within the congregation and come to the "lay" end and start pushing everyone along. Remember when we just had secretaries? Today we have executive assistants, associates and many kinds of administrators.

We are all called to minister. We are all ministers. Period. There's no getting around the fact. Especially if you're a church leader or religious professional in the "business" of help every bit of love and ministry surface in your community and our world.

I think adopting a new way to talk about ministry might change how we go about doing church. Ultimately, what I think we need to do is to mentor, train, support and encourage our members to be ministers -- title or no title -- we must think of each as a minister in the rough, waiting to be given permission to serve the community. This isn't about ordaining people, its about respecting them and their gifts.

Growth and Reasonable Spans of Care

2005-01-29T11:00:00.000-05:00

Recently I’ve started leading more workshops for leaders of existing small group ministries. One of the topics I discuss regularly is "span of care". Almost every time I use this term I get the following:

"Span of what?"

Span of care is one of those topics people gloss over when reading about small group ministry for the first time. Until you’ve done it, span of care issues tend to go in one ear and out the other.

The principle is quite simple. We have a finite amount of time, energy and attention. The more people we are given the responsibility of caring for, supporting, and connecting with, the less of our time and attention they receive. Having a reasonable span of care means that we limit the number of people each person is responsible for. If we violate what Carl George calls a "workable" span of care leaders let things drop, get burned out, and the overall quality of care is
diminished.

Your small group ministry’s established span of care will impact not only the quality of your ministry, but the growth of your groups. Every group is made up of a set of relationships. Imagine that each person has at most ten quality relationships they can nurture. If you have a single leader responsible for the ministry of an entire group all of his or her relational and care capacity will be depleted. The last thing this leader will want is to do is get involved in outreach, service projects, adding members, or anything else that might be seen as optional, ministry tasks included.

Many of the top small group authors (Carl George, Willow Creek, Donahue & Robinson) advocate for a span of care of ten for group leaders which is then shared with apprentices or co-leaders.

What does this look like?

Imagine that I am the leader of the group. Before our group meets for the first time I have a co-leader in place. From day one we each take responsibility for half of our group. These are the people we focus on building relationships with. Within our sub-group of up to four people we "do church" and maybe even some of life outside of church together. Within this core of four we identify at least one person to mentor as a leader.. Add this up and you end up with four people intentionally caring for the other four to six. In reality span of care is much less than ten. It is closer to four. At this level everyone has additional relational energy to spare.

What do you do with this extra relational energy?

Build up leaders and reach out to more people!

When a group has leaders working on building relationships with half the group outside of the group time, including building up a new co-leader, something happens. Over time two communities form outside of the primary group. While this group remains cohesive and has meaningful sessions, there are two distinct communities growing, each with a larger circle of friends, family and colleagues. It is the growth of these two communities that gives rise to new groups. This is far different from adding people in groups until the group swells and then attempting to divide it. The energy in this ministry is focused between sessions, on two distinct community groups.

When you have strong relationships forming outside of the group in two clusters, group members know that the growth and division of their primary small group will not hurt their strongest relationships. I like to call this "organic small group ministry". Groups grow apart in an organic way over time as authentic relationships are formed, new leaders are mentored and the
sub communities discover new friends they would like to share the group experience with.

Actually, the groups do not grow apart, they are loved apart as two sets of leaders work on building community outside of the group time within the larger church / community setting.

To see this in action (or not) you must look at the relationships of the participants both in and outside of the group session. Too often we focus on the time when groups gather every other week or so. If you look at a small group ministry system as an organic system of relationships and connections between living beings, any attempt to cut these relationships will be seen as
a threat. The only way I’ve found to successfully divide groups, as opposed to forming new groups from scratch, is to love them apart. This takes two leaders and a clear vision for sharing both our faith and our lives.

Can this be done? Yes, but only with a very clear and well articulated vision for small group ministry. This is no simple add on program. At this level we are talking about an intentional system for doing ministry in a congregation, with Unitarian Universalists being in relationship with each other outside of group time and Sunday mornings. This is not about making new best friends, though that may happen. It is about being in strong relationship with other Unitarian
Universalists and newcomers and being a people of faith together.

Take a moment and think about the people you spend quality time with outside of church. Who do you "do life" with? Are any of them in your small group? The small group ministries I know of that are thriving have, to a certain extent, crossed this line. The participants do more than just group sessions together. For some this is an exciting prospect, for others it is a gross violation of boundaries!

You can learn more about span of care in the following books. Review the material and discuss the span of care used, by accident or design, in your small group ministry.

Carl George, The Coming Church Revolution
Chapter 3 – Workable Spans of Care

Donahue & Robinson, Building a Church of Small Groups
Pages 45-49, 145-146, 180

Willow Creek, Leading Life Changing Small Groups
Pages 23, 30, 72, 153, 168

Download this as a PDF

Congregation need an energy boost?

2005-01-20T16:55:00.000-05:00

Does your small group ministry needs an energy boost or revitalization, plan a retreat. A retreat for your congregation, group participants or leadership can -- with the RIGHT person leading the retreat -- do wonders. It is easy to lose sight of what is important, resist change, or settle for mediocrity when faced with a never ending to do list. Real easy. But we can't settle. Too much is at stake. Lives...

If you are the leader of your congregation (or its small group minsitry) you have an amazing task before you. If your small group ministry is not thriving, do something about it. Get help. Get training.

Energizing Congregations.
Its what I do.

To schedule a retreat or other event call me at 401 855-0037
Tuesday through Sunday from 8am - 8pm EST.

This post is intended to both promote my work with congregations and let you know that congregations that are thriving invest in consulting & training. You can't know it all and do it all yourself.

Tsunami Update

2005-01-19T17:13:00.000-05:00

As of today the death toll of the Tsunami has risen to approximately 225,000. When I posted following the disaster it was a third of that.

If you have not yet donated to the relief effort, now is a great time to do so.

If you are a Unitarian Universalist, consider giving to the UU Service Committee & UUA Tsunami Relief effort. Visit the UUSC Website to give.

Thank you for your generosity.

Tsunami versus Scheduled Session Topic

2004-12-29T16:30:00.000-05:00

As of this date there are nearly 80,000 dead as of this post from the Tsunami. What is your group going to talk about the next time you get together? That is a great question.

When do you scrap the session you had planned or were given and go with recent news? People wanted to talk about the US Presidential Election. We needed to talk about September 11th. What about the start of the war in Iraq and the capturing of Saddam?

This post is most relevant to those of you who use prepared session plans such as those prepared by the Augusta, ME UU congregation.

There is no doubt that there are times you need to attend to disasters, invasions, and other major news stories. When you do this is not a science. It is a judgment call and making this call is part of the ministry of a group leader.

Here are a few tips:

When there is something going on that is serious enough to make you consider dropping the prepared plan and going with the news, at a minimum offer a prayer, meditation and/or moment of silence to acknowledge what has happened. You might then offer the group a chance to share their thoughts and feelings before moving on.

If you are on the edge, you can ask the group. Tell them you know you are all thinking of the events presently unfolding in the news. You can tell them you'll start with a meditation and time of sharing related to the event(s) and then check to see if the group is okay moving on.

Remember to be flexible. And be willing to be wrong.

If you decide to go with a regular session and the gravity of the situation keeps drawing you back, stop. Let people know you recognize their need to talk and that you'd be happy to shift gears. In this case, it isn't so much about switching gears as your letting the group fully engage in the topic on their hearts and minds.

If your thinking about changing topics and you have time, you may want to check in with your coach or minister.

Be mindful. If you open yourself up to the state of the group and listen to cues (both external and internal) on how best to use the group session, chances are you'll end up following the right path. Personally, I think that it is easier to scrap a session after you've started and move to discussion of BIG NEWS than to have yet another news based group. Often the spontaneous news based groups do not have the readings, thoughtfulness and great discussion questions that our prepared sessions have.

What is my upcoming group focusing on? We have a scheduled break right now. We'll see where we are mid January.

In faith,
Peter

Tsunami Relief -- Where to Give

Resolutions, accountability and small groups

2004-12-15T08:33:00.000-05:00

How many of you have made resolutions you have not kept? One the problems with new year's resolutions is that we tend to have no system for accountability, no one to remind us in a friendly, caring, challenging and appropriate way.

Small ministry groups are a great place to discuss resolutions.

As we approach the new year, develop a session that explores each person's history with resolutions, identify those they have been making year after year -- or maybe have stopped making due to continued failure.

Have each person share their resolution - if they want - and how they would like the group to hold them accountable to it. Perhaps a group could choose to revisit resolutions seasonally.

Tara Gross, a UU and life coach in the Providence, RI area sent in a small group session plan titled "The New Year's Resolution Dilema" (PDF). If you use this session or another session focusing on resolutions, take the time to explore how the group can assist in helping each participant engage in their new year behavior.

My new year resolution: To meditate more regularly.

If I visit your congregation as a guest speaker or see you at one of our conferences I invite you to ask me how its going.

What does ministry mean?

2004-11-15T09:03:00.000-05:00

I always read my wife's copy of CONGREGATIONS, a journal published by the Alban Institute. She is the minister of the Unitarian Universalist church in Newport, RI. After the magazine arrives at her church and she has had a first read she brings it home. I then attack it like a hungry dog tossed a good bone. There is always some meat attached.

The most recent issue focuses on lay ministry. This is my specialty, though I do not call it that. I am working hard to end the use of the term "lay ministry" in our congregations, as does the author of the feature article. I believe this is important as the only distinction between the ministry a "lay person" and an ordained minister is the status of the person doing it -- is she...

schooled
trained
compensated for her work
called
ordained
fellowshipped
allowed to wear a robe
put up high in a pulpit
and on and on...

It is all the same ministry. It is OUR ministry. Small group ministry has proven to be the most effective way to help us reclaim our ministry. It is important to have staff & clergy. However, I feel they should work to support and empower the ministry of all people, not take it on.

I often think that since it is easier to do it yourself than to help others learn to do so many called ministers just end up taking it all on.

I like to measure the quality of a called ministers ministry by the ministry of their membership. What's happening at Blank Parish that the minister is supporting, but not doing him or herself?The more the better. That's what, in my opinion, all of our world's greatest spiritual teachers taught.

Congregations, the Alban Institute, and their Congregational Resources website are all great resources for both clergy and lay leaders. The following is their description of the journal:

CONGREGATIONS is published quarterly as one of the benefits of membership in the Alban Institute. The magazine presents firsthand learnings and insights into the
dynamics of congregational life for clergy and lay leaders. Dealing with a broad
spectrum of issues and challenges, CONGREGATIONS is a valuable resource for
those who want to create vibrant, sustaining, and empowering communities of
faith.

You should get your hands on the FALL 2004 issue of CONGREGATIONS. You should also visit the Alban Institute's Congregational Resources Lay Ministry site. It has some great background on the "Lay Ministry" problem -- I call it a problem -- as well as book reviews and links to web resources.

A 41 page pdf version of this site is also available.

If you would like help unleashing the power of your congregations "Lay Ministry" give me a call. That's what I do.

Training Opportunities Expanding

2004-09-11T13:09:00.000-04:00

Take a look at the events on The UU Small Group Ministry Network calendar.

There are a growing number of events for those looking to start with small group minsitry or to deepen their understanding. Most exciting to me are new regional conferences in the works and a week long Ferry Beach intentsive.

I hope you will join us at one of these events. I also invite you to let me know about any UU small group ministry events you learn of.

Training Opportunities Expanding

2004-09-11T12:09:00.000-04:00

Take looking at our Small Group Ministry Network calendar.

There are a growing number of events for those looking to start with small group minsitry or to deepen their understanding. Most exciting to me are new regional conferences in the works and a week long Ferry Beach intentsive.

I hope you will join us at one of these events. I also invite you to let me know about any UU small group ministry events you learn of.

Adding some FUN and Weirdness to groups

2004-09-08T11:24:00.000-04:00

Mel Ash is a former member of my home church. Years ago he wrote an amazing book called Shaving the Inside of Your Skull: Crazy Wisdom for Discovering Who You Really Are. It is essentially a manual on personal transformation. It is filled with ideas and exercises to challenge our conception of the world. I used many of them in workshops and with youth. Unfortunately it is such a good book I keep giving it away. I've bought over a dozen to date.

If you are looking for fun and/or weird material to base small group session on, check out Mel's book.

Radical Hospitality

2004-09-08T11:11:00.000-04:00

I've been reading the book Radical Hospitality: Benedict's Way of Love. The term "radical hospitality" is spreading like wildfire. The concept is relatively simple. Benedictine monks try and live with mutual reverence for all people.

What is the difference between living with mutual reverence" and respecting the inherent worth and dignity of all people? That would be an interesting session.

A discussion on Radical Hospitaltity would serve as a great discussion for group participants and leaders as it discusses how we treat people - strangers - coming in to our lives.

Get the book

C is for CLOSED

2004-09-08T11:04:00.000-04:00

Confidentiality is something that group members automatically suggest when the group creates its covenant. Why? We have experience with confidential groups. Makes sense. The problem with this is that confidentiality allows for very deep disclosure. What is the result of this this level of sharing? Members do not feel comfortable having newcomers join the group and sharing moves into areas best left for private conversations, pastoral calls, and therapy groups.

If the intention is to extend the ministry of the church and support the health and vitality of the community, groups need to be more open. This just doesn't happen with high levels of confidentiality. There is a middle path between ANYTHING GOES and CONFIDENTIAL.

Is this a common recommendation? Yes. But you might have missed it! It is in Bob Hill's book, the Complete Guide to Small Group Ministry" on page P.32.

Members: See the Role of Confidentiality for more information on this topic.

Suggestion: Try encouraging groups to have a policy of BEING RESPECTFUL in sharing.

Note: This does NOT go for all church groups, such as grief groups, parent support groups, etc...

Shared Ministry Covenant

2004-09-08T11:01:00.000-04:00

You've heard how important it is for any shared ministry group to have a covenant. That being a mutual behavioral agreement. For ministry groups the covenant typically outlines the group's purpose, structure, its relationship to the church community, and how various logistical and ministry issues will be dealt with.

But what about the covenant between the minister and the shared ministry leaders?

In many of our congregations only the groups are covenanting together. Just as a group needs to form a covenant, so to should the minister and the shared ministry leaders. This is essential if leaders are expected to attend a small group where ongoing support and training happens. It is important to outline the responsibilities being taken on by the shared ministry leader and the minister(s). This includes how they will be in relationship with each other, meeting or reporting schedules, and any other obligations.

Suggestion: Form a covenant with any individual who is taking on a new ministry on behalf of the church.

ARE YOU GUILTY OF BEING A UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST?

2004-08-27T14:34:00.001-04:00

In his book, Growing a Beloved Community (Skinner House, 2004), the Rev. Tom Owen-Towle offers the following question:

"If you were on trial for being a Unitarian Universalist, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

The above question came to mind recently while I was on the phone with one of our ministers. She shared the following common problems with her congregation's small group ministry.

1. Groups tend to become closed.
2. Groups do not want to do service projects.
3. Group leaders say they do not have time to meet with minister.
4. There are not enough leaders to form groups for newcomers.

Many of these problems have roots in Rev. Owen-Towle's question. Your groups are greatly impacted by the vision you uphold, leaders you select, and the content/quality of your ongoing facilitator sessions. It takes a clear vision, committed UU's and consistent effort to engage in the ministry of sharing our faith.

If your small group ministry is facing some of the problems mentioned above you may want to stop and reflect. How committed are you and your fellow group leaders to your vision? Do you have one? Are the groups being created to meet the needs of existing members of your community or is there a larger goal?

In the book, The Purpose Driven Church, Rick Warren suggests your congregation’s mission and vision need to be communicated in some way at least every 28 days.

VISION: Make sure you know the purpose of your small group ministry. Then be sure to communicate it regularly to the full ministry team, staff, lay leadership, members and friends.

LEADERSHIP: In order to fulfill the mission of your ministry your group leaders need to be willing and interested in participating. Reluctant UU's tend to have groups that are reluctant to welcome newcomers, encourage participants to go to church on Sunday, and to engage in service projects. Choose your leaders carefully.

If you are looking to grow your small group ministry try identifying leaders willing to follow the following recipe for being convicted of being a UU:

1. Lead a small ministry group that intentionally welcomes newcomers on a regular schedule.
2. Regularly go to church, inviting group members to attend with you.
3. Engage in service projects as a group both within the congregation and the larger community.
4. Participate in a monthly small group for leaders led by the minister for ongoing training, support and spiritual renewal.
5. Actively mentor new UU small group ministry leaders from within your group.

Start as you wish to continue

2004-08-27T14:31:00.000-04:00

With the start of the church year there are many opportunities. One of them is to gather your small group leaders together and to affirm the vision for your church and its ministry.

Don't let the year start with facilitators wondering when groups will be formed, when to expect session resources and if there will be a September facilitator meeting. Explain your startup plans by early September. Letting these questions go unanswered can produce anxiety and a sense that facilitators are either not valued or are taken for granted. Remember, how you start the year can set the tone for the coming months.

If you want to have strong group enrollment make small group ministry part of your in-gathering plans. Include an invitation to join a small group in your spoken and written announcements. Have a staffed registration table for small group ministry next to your religious education registration table.

Do you have ideas for starting up the church year right?

Small Group Ministry, GA and the UUA

2004-07-07T15:39:00.000-04:00

If you attending our association's June General Assembly conference you probably noticed people were talking a lot about small group minsitry. Here's what happened:

* There was a very successful pilot program of covenant groups. Close to 250 people participated. Almost all reviewed the effort as a great success despite some logistical issues related to space.

* Small Group Ministry was mentioned over and over again in workshops and presentation. Our association has learned that small groups are part of "Good Church".

* There was a worship service on small group minsitry (Rev. Michael McGee).
Web coverage of service | Full text of sermon
* There was a 8-10 minute spot in plenary on small group ministry and its positive impact on our faith (Rev. Bob Hill with back up singers).

* There was a workshop presentation on Covenant Groups: Some glorious, some gone bad (Rev. Bob Hill, Rev. Calvin Dame, me, and Thandeka).

* All week the Rev. Mellen Kennedy and I, with a few other volunteers, consulted with masses of people on small group ministry. That is in addition to signing up new members to the UU SGM Network.
Membership Info | Membership Kit (PDF)

What was the highlight of these highlights? For me, talking to hundreds of excited and confused UU's about the perils and promises of small group ministry. Why? Because for all the things that happened at GA, there is still very little support for congregations working with SGM. Our members are hungry for it! GA affirmed my belief that our NEW UU Small Group Ministry Network is doing much needed work.

But it also raises for me the issue of the UUA supporting small group ministry. For the money we are investing in new congregations I wish we were spending as much on supporting this proven way to strengthen congregations. We need more people teaching people how to do small group ministry right. I say "right" because the majority of the people I spoke with were having some kind of trouble. Big trouble.

But more on tha later.

I'd like to hear peoples thoughts on how best to have small group ministry supported in our congregations. We have just launched our new UU Small Group Ministry Network as a membership driven organization. This is raising funds so we can coordinate the production of some badly needed resources. But this is just a start. Maybe kind of a bandaid until the UUA starts supporting this ministry more actively.

What kind of support does your congregation need? Resources, training, consulting?

I want to know. WE want to know.

There are several ways you can communicate with us. You can use the comment feature on this blog, complete our needs survey , or email me.

Later this month our leadership team (coordinators and board) will be gathering for a visioning retreat. We will be discussing feedback you give us, prioritizing resources to develop, developing content for our journal (the SGM Quarterly) and looking at the role of small group ministry in growing/supporting our faith.

You can follow our work by subscribing to our free monthly email news and update list.

SGM this Summer

2004-06-08T11:27:00.000-04:00

This summer some great things are happening with Small Group Ministry in our association. First, there is a pilot program of covenant groups at General Assembly. Several hundred people will gather each day in small groups to share their experiences. In our youth movement these groups are called "touch groups" and are used to make sure everyone has a core group to be in relationship with at larger conferences. After decades of success in youth conferences I am glad to see our largest conference is catching on.

Also at GA will be our first ever UU Small Group Ministry Network display table. We are gathering people with SGM expertise and testimonials to work with us to "share the good news" of small group ministry. I will be sharing my take on lifespan SGM, leadership development, evangelism, and more through mini presentations and hands demonstrations. If you are going to GA, check out our display.

Why a booth this year? Because we are getting organized. After years of the UU Small Group Ministry Network being nothing but a website, we are growing into an actual organization.

What is the point of this organization? We have a lot of great things in mind, the least of which is becoming a UUA affiliate organization so we can sponsor GA small group ministry workshops. More on this will be shared around GA. For now, please stand by.

If you are going to GA, consider volunteering to help with our booth.

In cooperation,
Peter

Small Group Wedding?

2004-04-21T04:42:00.000-04:00

Note: Our wedding did not end up having small groups. Sorry! However, Calvin Dame's homily on what a true UU wedding is was loved by all.

This Saturday I am getting married to a fellow lifelong Unitarian Universalist and religious professional. She is the minister of our Newport, RI congregation and I am a freelance church consultant. I mention this first because I will be away from the computer for a week. Secondly, because it is going to be a huge Big Fat UU Wedding with people from the four congregations we are connected to attending. Obviously not all the members of four churches, but enough to make a very large and exciting UU celebration.

When Calvin Dame agreed to officiate he said, somewhat jokingly, that he'd do it as long as he got to break everyone up in to small groups. I would love to see Calvin break up 350 people into small groups during our wedding! Okay, maybe during the reception to follow. Either way it would add something for sure. Chaos? Maybe. But certainly a touch of intimacy that a large wedding can easily lack.

Though we are not having small groups at the wedding, I would like to make a plug for small group ministry and weddings. As I have been planning on moving for some time, when my small group grew and divided, we decided it would be a good time for me to step down as facilitator and have the two facilitators I was mentoring take over the new groups. We also decided it would be easier for them to find their own unique style of facilitating without me in one of the groups. The result? After the new year I left my group and facilitating at my congregation. At present I am serving on their steering committee and am looking forward to a new group soon, in Newport.

This week I wish I had a small group ministry session scheduled. Yes, I have family and friends, but few things are like a great small group ministry! My suggestion - strongly encourage people to make time for their group before significant rites of passage.

As for me, I'm hoping Calvin wasn't joking! Maybe during his homily he will pause and make people talk in small groups on the meaning of love.

Too many choices?

2004-04-16T09:22:00.000-04:00

On the train to Arlington, VA for the April Small Group Ministry conference I read a copy of Scientific American. In the issue was an article entitled "The Tryranny of Choice". The author, Barry Schwartz, describes research examining how we feel when we have various degrees of choice. The research highlighted in this article suggests that we feel good when we are given freedom (more choices), but start to feel overwhelmed and bad when we have too much to choose from.

If this is true, what does this mean for Unitarian Universalism?

I suspect that many newcomers do not know how to handle the freedom we offer. Perhaps long time members and friends as well. I cannot say as I have not asked them yet. How many "tracks" or pathways does your congregation offer people for spiritual growth and exploration of various beliefs? Many congregations have a newcomer class orienting people and new UU classes. On the other side of these offerings our members and friends have countless pathways for spiritual growth, almost all of them being up to them to create & follow.

After reading this article I was trying to visualize what this must be like for someone coming from a more structured faith community. I decided that it mus be like walking down a path, taking a sharp left turn, and then ending up in the middle of a parking lot. Why a parking lot? Because a parking lot is what you get when you have pathways leading away from you in all directions -- all path, not grass. Standing suddenly in a vast open UU parking lot I think it is natural for people to simple park and wait.

Enter small group ministry.

I believe that small group ministry is a path. It is a spiritual discipline. Whereas much of what we discuss is principle and philosophy, small group ministry is an immediate action. Join us. Go to church. Participate in this group. Together we will explore, reflect, share and make sense of the world.

Sharing Small Group Ministry at GA 2004

2004-04-16T07:20:00.000-04:00

Going to GA? Visit us!
The UU Small Group Ministry Network is having the first ever SGM display table at GA! This will be a place not only to find resources, but to talk to small group ministry consultants, get advice, meet people working with SGM in our congregations, and more.

What's the more?
Well, that depends a bit on how healthy our group of display volunteers is! A small group of us are coordinating the resources ON table, the fundraising to HAVE the table, and organizing people to be AT the table.

Share a story
If you are a seasoned facilitator, coach or minister and would like to spend a half hour with us, send me an email. We hope to have three people at the booth at all times. I will be there along with others answering basic and advanced questions. I would love to have one person per shift to tell their SGM story and another to explain the various resources available. Note: Training available on resources!

At any given time that means we will have three people... One to consult, one to share their story, and a third for general info requests.

UU World visitors

2004-04-15T15:58:00.000-04:00

I was just informed that the May/June issue of the UU World has an article on UU Blogs.

For those of you visiting this site because of the article I would love to hear from you.

Do you have a small group ministry?
If yes, what is working? What isn't?
If no, are you interested in launching one?

Send me an email describing the state of your SGM.

You can share general comments about this website and UU Small Group Ministry using this form.

Minister's job security

2004-04-15T15:51:00.000-04:00

Small Group Ministry and a shared ministry model is not a threat to the ministers job. This comes up from time to time. When groups are working the participants know each other better than the pastoral staff. As a result the group is able to respond to many needs that a lay ministry committee or the minister herself would have tended to. This may seem like a threat. Will the minister lose work? Will the congregation decide they don't need a minister? If the ministry is shared, what is to become of the professional staff.

Have no fear!

Small groups can do a great job of tending to the needs of participants. This includes responding to basic ministry "tasks" as well as helping more significant ministry needs surface. The small group ministry, when healthy, can identify more pastoral needs than would have been identified previously. The net result is more apt to be on the side of more work for the minister.

When a small group ministry is thriving many basic ministry needs are addressed within groups. This leaves time for the minister to focus on

1. Leadership & lay ministry development
2. UU Faith development/formation
3. Nurturing personal/spiritual growth

When our members care for each other through small groups the minister ends up facing a change in what issues and tasks are brought to the minister. There is a change, but never a lack of work to be done.

The Small Group Iceberg

2004-04-01T16:52:00.000-05:00

Yesterday during a phone consultation I used the image of an iceberg to explain what is involved in designing, launching and nurturing a small group ministry. I was encouraged to share this analogy. Here is a link to a description and doodle of my iceberg.
What is the point? Anyone looking into small group ministry - I would like to impress upon you that the actual group meeting or session is only about 1/9th of a small group ministry. There is a lot more to it.

I think it is the other 8/9ths that lead to the fact that many Unitarian Universalist congregations (and non UU too) have trouble getting their groups to grow and divide. This is a common problem. Why? Because of focusing on the groups and not the leadership development, mentoring of new leaders, service, ministry, evangelism, and/or participation in the life of the church. Those are just a few...

If you have thoughts on aspects of SGM that are often overlooked, please let me know.

Small Group Ministry Conference

2004-03-25T14:35:00.000-05:00

We are days away from the Spiritual Growth Through Small Group Ministry conference. I have had a number of people comment that they cannot attend and that their districts do not have any trainings scheduled.

If this is the case, we should organize a training. Remember, in our association this is a grassroots movement. If you want to have a training, we need to work together to make it happen. The demand for trainings is high enough that most areas could support a day or weekend event based on registration fees from local participants. If you would like to discuss how this would work, contact me.

If you are not from a UU congregation and are interested in a training you may still contact me. Though this is a plug for my consulting work, it is also an important message. Don't wait for a training to be organized, YOU make the effort. Let me know you need a training. Let your district office know. We can transform our faith (and world) through lifespan small group ministry, but to do this we need to work together.

Request a training

Leaders or Ministers

2004-03-12T10:32:00.000-05:00

An ongoing topic in my conversations with lay leaders and UU ministers is our concept of what being a "minister" is. Our congregations are rapidly shifting to a shared ministry model. However, in my experience few people, ministers included, are upholding lay members of the congregation as ministers. We have lay leaders, people on lay ministry committees, but not lay ministers.

With a small group I recently did an exercise looking at the continuum of ministry in a congregation. What are all of the "ministry tasks" that need to be accomplished? How are these tasks shared between lay people and the staff? What training would be needed to shift more tasks to the lay leaders? And, who gets the minister label and when.

Yes, we each have our own personal ministry and participate in the shared ministry of the congregation, but do you consider yourself a minister? Despite the sharing of ministry, we still have a binary system -- you are either a minister or you're not.

If you are a "lay leader" reading this, I'd love to hear from you. What would you need in terms of training, support, empowerment and/or recognition in order to consider yourself a UU lay minister?

Note: I will soon be posting my "continuum of ministry" exercise/resource. Come back soon or subscribe to the Small Group Leader.

What does it take to be a lay minister?

Micro UU Churches

2004-02-25T16:21:00.000-05:00

In his blog, boy in the bands: Universalist Christian theology, Scott Wells sites an article on Micro Churches posted on coolchurches.com. I find Scott's comments on the UUA's large church initiatives and this micro-church approach very intersting. Take a peek.

Moving away from UUA politics/policy on large churches and getting back to small group ministry, I think that there is great hope for micro-uu-churches. Think about the success of Howard Dean's grass roots effort through meetup.com. We are discovering how to use grass roots organization in new ways. This is a great example of the internet assisting with political grass roots efforts. What about a grass roots UU effort? People are hungry for both community and meaning. What better way to get people together than small, medium, large and MICRO sized churches. Of course, you can hardly talk micro without talking small groups.

Thoughts on micro uu churches?

2004-02-20T16:58:00.000-05:00

Question: We keep an open chair to welcome newcomers as is recommended. Consequently, we have people come join a group for 1 or 2 sessions to check it out. Then they stop coming, or come irregularly. It is hard to keep track of the actual members. The size of a group will vary, and membership becomes casual rather than being the committed group relationship that we held as our ideal. Neither Bob's book nor any other info we've seen has dealt with nitty-gritty details such as: Should we take role? Should newcomers from outside the church be required to give complete contact information the first time they come? Are these tasks that facilitators should understand as part of their job? Should we require a joining ceremony? A quitting ceremony? My feeling is that these should all be answered YES.em>

My thoughts: Should you take role? One aspect of the ministry in SGM is paying attention to people and their involvement. I wouldn't do a roll call, but I'd have all of your leaders note who is present. I would also have a member of the group volunteer to call those not present. No one should ever miss a meeting and not have the group reach out to them to check in.

Should newcomers from outside the church be required to give complete contact information the first time they come? I like to have facilitators meet every person before they check out a group. I think groups are better when open, but a good one on one is important. Newcomers can be invited to meet the facilitator before or after a service. If they won't go to church then that tells you something. If they are new and are not planning on going to church you can have them meet you for coffee some time outside of church. Still, good to let them know that being a full part of our church community is an expectation. The small groups are not designed to stand alone. And yes, get their full contact info.

Are these tasks that facilitators should understand as part of their job? Yes. We have incredibly low standards for facilitators. That is why I do not call them facilitators, I call them leaders. In my groups the facilitation of the group is a shared responsibility. Being responsible for the life of the group and connection with the larger congregation is a serious act of leadership. This is another example of our suffering as a faith from low expectations. Raise your expectations and a bunch of people will leave. With those who stay you'll have stronger finances a stronger shared ministry and be on your way to changing lives and our world.

Should we require a joining ceremony? A quitting ceremony? Good to pay attention to these events and spend some time in group on it. However, if you have groups that never end save for certain points when people can opt out or change groups, there will never be a group joining or quiting. As for joining, it is good to review the covenant with a new member before they come to the first meeting.

Some congregations, especially San Jose, have created standard session add ons. Small rituals and words to use when certain things happen. This is a great idea. You can identify frequently occuring events and with your facilitators prepare some standard words or responses to them. A great thing to do in monthly (or more) leadership meetings.

The question of newcomers brings up the issue of how quickly to add newcomers. This can vary by group. I do think it is good for groups to always be adding at least one or two people per year. Otherwise the group becomes closed and isn't really fullfilling the larger vision for sharing our faith. Without reaching out to newcomers within and outside of the congregation small group ministry can easily degenerate into small social clubs. Being open and connected to the larger congregation's ministry is essential. Some groups will want to be closed. In that case you may need to assess whether they are to remain part of your small group ministry.

Open Chair Success Stories?

Politics - Fuel for transformation

2004-02-20T11:33:00.000-05:00
This year has been hard for us. Our diverse communities are quite naturally filled with very diverse views. This includes political views. Though we may all be religiously liberal, indiviudal political views fill a very broad spectrum. It gets hard when attention is kept focused on one area for a very long time, such as with the war with Iraq and terrorism. What was once a vibrant diverse community can over time start to feel polarized and not very welcoming.

Are our congregations places where political views should be shared? God yes! You know the religious right is making it their mission -- perhaps even a mission charged by God -- that they lobby for their moral and political positions. Given this, I think we must. I also think that we can't be truly religious and spiritual beings without fully living our faith and that includes how our faith sheds light on our political views.

What role should congregations play? Ours differ so much that it is hard to say. Should all churches wage peace campaigns? Maybe not. Should they all have forums where people can explore how their beliefs and religious views inform their politics? Yes.

Should this happen is small groups? Having watched our groups respond to needs after the 9/11 terrorist attack, I think it is safe to say that politics and world events will always come up in groups. The question is not whether or not we should allow politics to come up in groups, but how do we handle political issues.

I think we can use politics to help people integrate their spirituality, religious beliefs and opinions. When politcal issues come up, try and move away from debate. Ask questions that relate to peoples spiritual and religious life and identity. I like to always keep some cards with the UU principles and purposes handy. Do your political opinion, your gut or emotional response, your view of the world, and the principles all agree? I always try and weave in threads of Unitarian Universalist theology, identity, history and members individual experiences, beliefs and spiritual practices into discussions.

The key is to bring it back to the person. When we do this political issues turn into fuel for personal transformation.

Ideas for dealing with politics in church?

Is the empty chair symbolic?

2004-02-17T16:15:00.000-05:00
There is a lot of talk in our UU SGM literature about the "open chair". It is held up as an important aspect of the model. It is important to keep a chair open to symbolize that the group is open and there for others.

Symbolic?

I don't know where the idea of a symbolic empty chair came from. My understanding and conviction is that if a group is an open group, there is a plan to fill it. Otherwise the empty chair is more symbolic of our failure to share our faith, that UU's are reluctant to share what we have with others.

Save the symbolic empy chair for passover.

If you want your small group ministry to be an extension of the ministry of the church and have it serve to promote personal and spiritual growth, cast a vision for open groups with REAL people in the chairs. We have to much work to do in the world and to much to share to keep seats reserved for imaginary Unitarian Universalists.

Let me add that it is a good idea to have an extra or empty chair. But don't have it be symbolic. Fill it. Not necessarily every session, but often. That is, depending on the kind of group you have. Maybe your covenant could specify the rate at which new people will be welcomed into the group...

Do you have an empty chair?

Put your Budget where your ministry is!

2004-02-13T16:33:00.000-05:00
Now is a great time to try and increase your small group ministry budget for next year. What? No budget???

This is common. Many congregations have little or no budget for small group ministry resources, training and support. Why do you need a budget? There are many reasons. Here are a few things you can do with a larger SGM budget.

* Celebrate your leaders. Hold events to celebrate your small group ministry including food ($).
* Put ads in the paper ($) about small group ministry.
* Invite a guest speaker to preach ($) each year.
* Hold enrichment workshops ($) for your facilitators. You can do this or you can bring in an outside consultant. Either way, food is a must. If you don't know what you'd do as an enrichment program you might pay ($) to consult with someone like me who can help you design a program.
* Have a retreat at a confernece center or hotel ($) for your top SGM leaders & coaches where you explore spirituality, personal growth, and vision for the coming year.
* Just ask yourself what you could do to support your ministry and shared ministry leaders if money was no object!

Obviously it is an issue. But it is essential you remember that the quality of your ministry is what leads to larger pledge units and more pledge units. Multiplying ministry and increasing its quality is a guaranteed way of raising funds. Yes, it is kind of a chicken and the egg deal. Which comes first, the pledge units & funding or the vision & ministry?

I think the vision and ministry must come first. If you have ideas for Small Group Minsitry budget items, please let me know. That would be a great new resource.

Budget ideas?

Supporting Leaders/Facilitators

2004-01-24T05:02:00.000-05:00
This past month I've had a lot of contact with people who are facilitators of groups. The number one complaint they have is that the support they received from the minister dropped off once things got started and were working well.

If you are a minister who has let the support drop, I invite you to say OOOPS! in the privacy of your study. Once you've done that, schedule your next leader/facilitator meeting. Remember, this model is like a web of ministry fanning out like the veins of a leaf. You minister to your leaders, leading a small group for them and they in turn do the same for the rest of the congregation.

If you really want to use SGM as your ministry model, here is my challenge. Judge your entire ministry by your ministry with your small group leaders. Do this as a private spiritual practice or discipline. As you minister to them, challenge them to do the same with their groups. That is going to raise the bar. It is going to bother some people. But it is also going to transform your congregation and the ministry of our larger faith. It is a different way of being.

Have you had resistance to sharing responsibility with facilitators?

What kind of resistance?

Youth Groups vs. Small Groups

2004-01-17T06:07:00.000-05:00
I had a conversation with someone involved with youth and Religious Education recently. It was suggested that youth group/small group ministry models are very different from curriculum/structural models.

There is no doubt that SGM is different. However, I would caution that the "small group ministry" and "youth group" models are not necessarily the same. There is no doubt that we are seeing a convergence of the two. In fact, many youth groups are set up as quasi small group ministries. They have the common ritual, check in, focus, and closing.

But there is more to small group ministry than that basic format. At the heart of small group ministry is intentional empowerment and leadership development with the ultimate goal of helping each individual share their gifts through their personal ministry, in many cases as small group leaders.

I wouldn't call a single group of youth with advisors planning and leading the sessions a small group ministry. The youth group I worked with ten years ago, through a collaborative effort, developed a format identical to small group ministry. That group did very well until they grew to over twenty and now thirty per meeting. The intimacy and deeper explorations/sharing that happened with a small group of ten to fifteen broke down. We didn't have as part of our model training youth leaders to facilitate smaller groups. We didn't have a plan for coupling youth worship with youth small groups. We didn't try to integrate the youth into the larger ministry of the congregation. What happened? Over time it became a larger check in and social focused group with lots of talk about what could be done. Fortunately I went to Star Island and took a workshop on "Small Group Ministry and Religious Education for children and youth"!

If any of you are working with youth or young adults and small group ministry, I'd love to hear from you. I am working on a resource for "YOUTH small GROUP ministry" with an emphasis on how the youth SGM fits into a lifespan model.

In the book The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee suggests that we need to address the need for education OUTSIDE of the worship service and OUTSIDE of the small groups. This is accomplished in his church through bringing groups together into "community groups" of about 50 for traditional classroom style education.

Also, at the upcoming "Spiritual Growth through Small Group Ministry" conference I will be leading a workshop on lifespan small group ministry and my vision for how it can transform our association & larger faith.

If you cannot attend this conference, I am going to offer this one-on-one via phone for those interested. I want to interact with you and get my ideas on lifespan SGM into your head.

Schedule a call.

Purple Church

2004-01-05T19:17:00.000-05:00
Over the holidays I revisited the book Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable by Seth Godin. Purple Cow is about marketing by communicating how REMARKABLE your organization or product is. This relates to the UUA's Uncommon Denomination campaign and how we promote our congregations. It also relates to a friends research project I am assisting with -- exploring what a "Wonder Church" would look like. A church for all those people who do not fit in with other religions, including UUism.

As for small groups, Purple Cow challenges readers to think about how to out do your own business. If you could dominate a niche what niche would that be? Who are you trying to reach with your groups? Everyone???

Small group ministry is the ultimate UU tool for serving little niches within out community. One way to do this is to make sure people understand how to adjust the culture of their group and their session content to meet the needs of the group.

An example, I talked to someone recently who was blown away when I said I thought it was fine for the group to add a fifteen minute meditation to their small group schedule. The group had evolved to be more of a buddhist group. I suggested they do this in consultation with the ministry team and discuss being identified as a buddhist affinity small group.

What if you had general groups and affinity groups where people could work together, exploring common spiritual disciplines, teachings, and so on?

We know that there are basic structures need for SGM to work. Beyond those, try and break all the other rules you have in mind regarding church. If we don't someone else will.

UUA President Bill Sinkford has talked about our becoming the most dangerous church in the America. Sinkford says we need to give people "a community that will help them develop spiritually and grow emotionally". I can't see any better way to do this than with Small Group Ministry.

But we're going to have to break some rules. Make some Purple Churches. Do crazy, bold, visionary things with our Small Group Ministries.

If you were going to design a SGM that broke the rules in a way that would help your church reach more people and do a better job helping each individual grow spiritually, what would you do?

Email me your answers. Okay?

What did your group(s) do over the holiday season?

2003-12-27T12:36:00.000-05:00
The holiday season is a hard time for many groups to get together. People travel, family members are visiting, and so on. Did your group(s) cancel sessions over the holidays, meet as usual, have a holiday celebration with or without partners and friends, or something else entirely?

Sometimes it is good to take a break. This is especially true when you know people are going to be busy. A holiday celebration is a great way to take care of each other and respect holiday needs. Open gatherings with friends, etc... are great ways to keep groups open and identify people interested in joining a group after the new year.

Coaches: At your next meeting check in with facilitators to see how they handeld the holidays. Check to see if groups met, if there were additional social gatherings, and especially if they have better ideas for next year. If they do, take some notes and offer these suggestions early next December.

UU Cell Groups

2003-12-14T12:03:00.000-05:00
Email: Peter, We have two leaders in many of our groups. With co-facilitators the group is still resistant to growth and division. I don't understand how two leaders drive the next step of the group life cycle. (permission to use excerpt)

Many small group ministries do not expect the group leaders to do much outside of the group time. All the "ministry" takes place during the group sessions. This is a recipe for generating long term, closed, stable groups.

Much of the SGM literature uses the term cell groups. This is because the successful christian mega churches follow a model that is based on the life cycle of living biological cells. This is something which pleased me as it meant I could go directly to the source for a guide to growing small groups. No, not the Bible --- biology text books. I suggest you check out some biology illustrations of cell division.

For the sake of this post, let's call UU small groups that follow a model based on the life cycle of living cells UU Cell Groups.

Here are some characteristics of UU Cell Groups:

Span of care
Span of care is limited to 10, but it is always restricted to half of the small group. The group leader and apprentice split up the group, taking responsibility for the shared ministry and leadership development of that subgroup. Well, the subgroup and the other leader.

What about the other half of the 10? That is left for people who will become part of the new groups which each of the two leaders will lead.

The community of the cell
There is always an intentional community of each UU Cell Group which extends beyond the 8-10 attending the session. This includes friends of people in the group and others peripherally connected to the leaders and group members through church life. This larger community of the cell is analogous to the inside of a living cell. The nucleus of the cell -- the genetic core -- represents the group session and official members.

The shared ministry of each group focuses on the members of the cell community, not just the nucleus. Tending to the needs of the community keep the nucleus or group wall porous.

Growing the cell community
The cell community must grow in order for a group to naturally grow and divide. It is the people in the community which become the new members of the group. Each of the two cell leaders focus on their half of the group outside of the session time, such as on sundays and at church functions, and ideally for a periodic social event. By being in relationship outside of the group, each leader develops relationships with her half of the group and their friends.

Since the subgroups have stronger relationships than the group at large, the session group, members are more open to change in that group. Over time, the people in the cell community clustered around each subgroup start to take on the size and appearance of a new small group of 8-10.

As the subgroups and their informal relationships with other cell community members strengthen, they may discuss forming a new group. Upon identifying an apprectice leader and host in each subgroup, now of 8-10 members each, these two subgroups may start meeting as two new daughter groups.

If the process of sharing the ministry continues with the new leaders, the group will again start to form two new subgroups, maintaining the intimacy and quality of ministry. And on it goes...

Cell Cycle
UU Cell Groups on spend a small portion of their time with the core members meeting for a session. In fact it is only for about 4 hours per month. The rest of the time is spent being in relationship with the community of the cell, the group members and the people they are close with both in and out of church. But for this to work, you must have two leaders with an expectation of participating in the community. This does take more time, but it is closer to what people really want!

A higher bar
Fewer people will sign on to be leaders of groups following the model of UU Cell Groups. But the cool thing is that UU Cell Groups grow. Plain old UU small Groups do not! You can identify a great facilitator and explain the model to them. Let the majority of your groups carry on. But try raising the bar...

I am in the process of writing up a more thorough resource on my UU Cell Group approach. If you have comments and or ideas, please email me. --Peter.

On Replication...

2003-12-14T09:57:00.001-05:00
In Bob Hill's December 2004 issue of Covenant Group News, Bob mentions on program consultant's use of the term "replication" as an alternative for group division.

Everyone says we can't get UU groups to grow and divide. I believe this is because most people are working on the level of growth and division of groups. In small group ministry, if you want open groups that are connected to your congregation and continually grow, you have to focus on the replication of leaders.

As far as replication goes, the biological model of cell division does this perfectly. As part of the life cycle all healthy cells (think groups) replicate their DNA in the form of chromosomes (group members), in order to divide into two. They also work with two essential structures in the cell which govern the processes of division. These cell community leaders form links or "relationships" between the chromosomes. Then each of the two cell leaders guide their half of the group to one end of the cell. Once they have migrated to the two poles they settle into two core groups. Once this happens and the two groups have stabilized, a wall is formed between the two. When the cell wall forms the result is two copies of the original cell.

The big lesson?

In the life cycle of the group (or cell) it is the successful completion of one stage of the life cycle that drives the next. For details on the life of groups following the cellular model read my January 4, 2003 notes on Small Group Biology.

Is growth good?

2003-12-12T06:35:00.000-05:00
Growth is a part of small group ministry. Why? Because so many people are hungry for community, friendship, spiritual growth and an opportunity to use their gifts in service and leadership.

We don't talk about growth in small group ministry because bigger is better. We are forced to look at how we handle growth because when a small group ministry is meeting peoples needs, maintaining a connection with the larger congregation, doing ministry/servince in the larger world, and sharing the ministry within the groups growth is almost guaranteed.

You need to know what you're going to do about it! Growth is a great "problem" to have and a good indicator that your SGM is on a good track.

Creating Session Plans

2003-12-10T14:09:00.000-05:00
Where do your sessions come from? I've seen a number of sources...

1. The minister writes them all.

2. A committee works with the minister to prepare sessions. In some cases the minister just rubber stamps them and in others there is a true collaboration.

3. Individuals in a group offer to write AND lead a session. This is optional. Many find it a deeply spiritual process to design a session for their own group.

4. Each group brainstorms topics they are interested in and the ideas are put into a hat. A topic is drawn at random each week.

A few thoughts. Giving facilitators prepared sessions makes it easy to just show up for group. However this doesn't give people capable of producing great sessions the opportunity.

Some groups have had great success with one word sessions such as justice or faith. Random session topics can have great merit, but they can also fall into a rut. Well prepared sessions can challenge people, stimulate serious personal and group reflection, encourage action in our lives, and help us along our spiritual paths.

What do you want to acheive with your small group ministry?

For those of you interested in using prepared sessions, consider purchasing the session books from the Augusta, ME congregation. They have done a great job designing sessions. The cost of the book is probably about the equivalent of one hour of your ministers time.

If you are starting with SGM it is well worth purchasing a set of sessions and THEN adding to the pool. This can take a lot of pressure off of the minister or SGM team.

Starting during an interim ministry?

2003-12-09T16:58:00.000-05:00
Recently I have had contact with a few congregations in ministerial transition. Overall, I would say that small group ministry can be a huge benefit. I have seen people stay connected to a congregation that they might have otherwise drifted away from because of their small group connection.

Harder is starting SGM in an interim year. An interim minister may need to work longer with the board and congregation to determine that this is what they want. If you choose this route, make sure you decide if you want the new minister to inherit and established small group ministry or help launch one upon arrival. There is a big difference. No which path you're on, make sure you include this info in your congregations packet!

Language of Small Group Ministry

2003-12-07T19:51:00.000-05:00
The langauge of Small Group Ministry is hard. We often talk about launching a small group ministry or starting a small group ministry. This reinforces the common practice of ADDING a small group ministry program to a congregations offerings. The potential of small group ministry is in ministering THROUGH small group ministry, in sharing your ministry with lay leaders, in focusing on helping each person find her or his own ministry.

Carl George talks about this in his books on the Meta Church model. His model is about how we can look at everything we do in church as being connected to the ministry of the church, with intentional leadership development, support and care. Meta church is a way of examining and mapping the community. It is not another term for small group ministry, though this is a common claim.

Question: are you a church with a set of small groups or are you a church that ministers through small groups?

There is a huge difference. Can you see it?

When you talk about "a small group ministry" make sure you are not shoving it into the category of another program.

Perhaps we should talk about becoming a small group ministry...