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 Free Sample chapter of Make Your Group Grow
If you would like to sample a chapter of my new book,
Make Your Group Grow, click here:
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Happy New Year!
I love the new year!
What a great time to forget what is behind, strain toward what is
ahead and press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.
What a great time to learn from the past, reflect on the past,
and let the past go. What a great time to dream great dreams, to set
new goals and to get started anew on pursing the life God has called
us to live.
So, let me ask you, what are you dreaming for God this year? What
are you believing for God this year? Perhaps an example would help.
For me, my goal for 2008 is all about moving from doing
conferences to starting doubling group movements.
I have learned a great deal in the last year about how ideas
spread. The gist is that people are not motivated by people who
stand and deliver talks as much as they are influenced by the
behavior of the people in their reference group. This is why, by the
way, that giving Friday nights to Jesus and inviting every member
and every prospect to every fellowship is such a powerful thing.
I saw it happen this past Sunday. On December 22nd we had a
Christmas party for our Sunday School class. My teacher, Richard
King, invited every member and every prospect to the party. There
were two new couples there. One of those couples was in class this past
Sunday. I have seen it happen more times than I can count.
You surround your average pre-Christian with a half-dozen
Christians who love God and love church, and read their Bibles and
pray and serve and give and everything changes. People are
profoundly influenced by people in their reference group.
This same principle has another application. It has to do with
the idea of how the idea of doubling groups can be more than a
seminar and more of a movement. Everything has to do with people
seeing normal people using hospitality to double groups.
You surround your average teacher with half a dozen other
teachers who are committed to doubling their groups and are using
hospitality to double their groups and they will soon be committed
to doubling their groups and using hospitality to grow their groups.
In 2008 I want to move from doing seminars to fanning the flames
of a doubling group movement. I want to do it by talking less and
finding doubling teachers to talk more. Here are some ways I press on toward
that goal.
- I am bringing my video camera with me on conferences and
using it to catch people doing something right. In some cases
they talk to me afterwards about either 1) how they used
hospitality to win people to Christ, or 2) how they doubled
their class. I seek to get these testimonies on video. One of
the reasons I believe so deeply in the idea of doubling groups
is that I have heard hundreds of these testimonies over the
years. In some cases people share with me casually after the
conference. More and more I am asking hosts to set up some
testimonies ahead of time to share publically.
- I post these testimonies online at
http://sundayschool.ning.com/ I am just now posting half a
dozen new ones. Check it out. I am hoping many of my hosts will
pass along this site to their teachers so they can see for
themselves that it really is possible to double a class.
- I have edited some of these testimonies into short clips
that you can use to promote the dream of doubling groups. Again,
the idea is not for me to talk about doubling groups, but for
people to hear from normal Sunday School teachers that this
really is possible. You can download these videos at
http://www.joshhunt.com/downloads.htm If you would like to
encourage your people to attend a conference in your area, this
is a great way to do it.
- I am asking all my hosts to try to have some testimonies
ready at our conferences. I will tape these testimonies and the
cycle will continue.
- I am more and more aware that it is possible to double, but
it will likely take more than one seminar to get there. More and
more I want to partner with churches over the long haul to
create a doubling group movement in your church. I have prepared
a summary of ten conferences that are available. See
http://www.joshhunt.com/overview.htm
If fanning the flames of a doubling groups movement is on your
New Years resolution list, here are some ways I recommend you press
toward the goal:
- Model it. One of the most common
conversations I have with some of my conference attendees goes
something like this. "I really believe in the idea of using
hospitality to double groups like you say, but I just can't get
my people to do it." My response is always the same. "How are
you doing? Are you in a group that is doubling? Are you using
hospitality to grow your group?" "Well, no, but I really wish my
people would." It is not likely to happen. The leader must
embody the vision. Lead by example. Truth is, leading by example
is not enough. You must love it. You must be in a group that is
doubling and love being in a group that is doubling. I am
starting a new home group tomorrow night. Why? In part because I
love groups. Your enthusiasm for groups is contagious. If you
don't have enthusiasm for groups, that can be contagious too.
- Teach it through a variety of means. Bring
your people to a live seminar. Host a live seminar. Buy the book
for your people. Send them to some of my online resources. Burn
CDs for them. Repetition is the mother of learning. Say it. Say
it again. Let me say it. Read it. Show it on video. Repeat. I
feel I do my best work in a church where the pastor says to me,
"You are saying the same thing to my people that I have been
trying for years to tell them; you just said it in a fresh way."
In a church like that, we have some hope of creating a doubling
group movement. In a church where they only hear it from me, it
is not likely that we will see a doubling group movement.
- Reward it. Look for someone doing something
right and reward it. Get a big spotlight and point it on them.
Give them the microphone and let them tell their story. You
define the win by what you reward. One way you can do this is
through the testimonies mentioned above. If you have someone in
your church that is getting it done, invite them to come share a
testimony at one of my seminars. I do a hundred plus seminars
a year and will likely be in your area. Bring one of your
teachers that is getting it done and lets give them the
microphone. It is a powerful way to say to them that they are
doing something significant. You might bring along one or two
others who are close to getting it.
The daily prayer of my heart is that God will bring a doubling
group movement in our land. I want to invite you to join me in
prayer toward that end. I want to co-labor with you toward that end.
In doing so, we hold to two truths:
- Without Christ, I can do nothing (John 15). It is not that I
would be slightly more effective if God showed up. Without Him
we can do nothing.
- I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. We
can fan the flames of a God-initiated doubling groups movement
through Christ who strengthens us. (Philippians 4)
That is what I want to do in 2008. I can't do it alone. I invite
you to join me. More importantly, I invite you to join God in what
God is doing in a world wide movement of doubling groups.
Model it.
Teach it.
Reward it.
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