Steps to Start Your Small Group

If you have a heart for others and you want to help shepherd others in a small group, you have the initial components needed to start a small group. Here are the 5 simple steps you can take to do this.

5 Simple Steps

1. Pick a date to have a social and invite interested folks from Crossroads and/or your neighbors that live in your neck of the woods to come do two things. First, to simply come enjoy getting to meet others in your neighborhood. Second, to find out about your new small group that you’d like to invite them to. Folks coming to this will get to meet some neighbors and will also get a chance to hear about your small group opportunity. Some will attend to just meet folks. Others will attend to possibly join your small group. (example e-mail invitation, example post-card invitation)

2. At the social, find out who is interested in joining your new group (folks fill out an interest card). After the social, send a list of who attended to the folks that came so they can stay in contact if they feel led to do so (i.e. now you know who some of your Crossroads neighbors are and can get together with them if you’d like :o)!

3. Pick a start date for your new group and notify all folks who expressed an interest in joining your small group. You then start your group with all folks that are interested! (example follow-up to all attendees, example follow-up to those interested in your small group)

4. Use our “8 Week Challenge” starter study approach to get your new group started. This includes using a DVD based curriculum called "Regroup". Your group would commit to this “8 Week Challenge” which would include 8 meetings as follows:

· 1 dinner gathering where everyone shares about themselves with some basic questions (e.g. Where did you grow up?)

· 6 Bible discussion sessions using the “starter study”

· 1 debrief gathering to discuss how the startup went and what the group should do next

Note: Don’t worry about “how this works”! A coach will be assigned to you to help you with ALL of this! :o)

5. Establish your plan today to get your small group started! Contact John Frye (John.Frye@Crossroads.org) the Small Groups Pastor for support!