Practice #3: Invitational Challenges – No matter how good you are at PR, nothing beats a personal invitation to lead a small group. I often work with a team to assemble a master recruitment list with the names of people we feel would do a great job as a small group leader. We send all of them a letter with a challenge to consider facilitating a group and then each member of the team makes follow-up calls. We allow opportunity for potential leaders to pray about the opportunity, but we always call back until we get a definitive “yes” or “no” response. While the practice of “Inspirational Opportunities” is a great way to cast the net wide, the practice of “Invitational Challenges” is the personal touch that many people need. It’s harder to say no to a personal, face-to-face invitation over a cup of coffee.
Practice #4: Investing Strategies – The final practice addresses your leadership pipeline and how you identify and invest in future leaders. This pipeline might include leader-in-training small groups, rotating the facilitation of groups, or recruiting co-leaders or apprentices. Last year I wanted to initiate a recruitment/training opportunity for potential leaders that would help them understand the DNA of our small groups. So I put together a practical study guide based on our small group model, formed a couple of small groups that met at Starbucks, and together we worked through the material. It’s not a way to recruit the masses, but it was one more strategy to recruit and invest in leaders using an intentional developmental approach. Several of those emerging leaders went on to lead groups. One couple even told me it was just what they needed to gain the confidence to lead.
Question: Which of the four practices have worked for you? What other practices or ideas have you found helpful?
