Ready for all 2011 could be? I’m putting a kind of countdown series together over the next 6 weeks to give you some ideas about how to make 2011 a grouplife year to remember. If you’re just getting started…here’s what I’d be thinking about. If you’re already firing on all cylinders…here are a few ideas that might help you tweak your 2011 plan.
The first thing I do is begin putting together a calendar for the whole year. To make sure you’re thinking strategically about the whole year, take a look at my article, How to Build an Annual GroupLife Calendar. A key here is to recognize that there are best times to do certain things. Unlike the idea that there’s always room for jello…there really are times that maximize the impact potential of a church-wide campaign or a small group connection.
The second thing I’d be doing this week (or as soon as possible) is getting dates on the 2011 calendar for a small group connection (or connections). Late January or early February are great opportunities to connect people into groups because people enter the new year with a natural motivation to make changes. If they’re unconnected…this might be the year when they give grouplife a test-drive. You might be tempted to run your connecting event early in January. My experience is that you’ll catch more people if you promote it for 3 or 4 weeks (often beginning with a soft promotion in the Christmas Eve bulletin).
Third, begin thinking about just the right curriculum for the groups that form at the connecting event. Choosing a study (or studies) that appeal to “turn over a new leaf” people makes a lot of sense and will help your sign up process. For example, we’re planning a two weekend small group connection event. One weekend to launch small groups for couples and the following weekend to launch groups for men, women and singles. We’re looking for studies that will appeal to those target groups. We’re considering Fireproof. We’re also taking a look at Financial Peace as part of the strategy. After all, “I want a better marriage in 2011″ and “I want my finances to be better in 2011″ are both very strong motivations.
This is a short “to do” list, but a very powerful one. If you start thinking about 2011 now…there’s a good possibility it will be your best grouplife year yet! And that makes taking these simple steps pretty important.
