Small Groups…
I think Small Groups (we call them Home Teams) have been one of the hardest things for us to get to fit into the culture of Ridge Stone. We are young (17 months old) and we are still learning in so many areas and Home Teams are the one area that we struggle with. We actually have a decent amount of people in HT’s but getting them to fit who we are is a constant struggle.
I believe in them and I know they are important but I find them hard to get a handle on. HT are the one thing that is seems EVERY church does different.
Some close them
Some are open
Some are year around
Some are done in quarters
Some are done by location
Some are done by age
Every church does them in a different way and I think small groups more then anything else is something you have to keep plugging at until you figure out what fits your style.
Small groups can literally make or break a church. If you get a small group that is strong and going good, it is a good way to take people to the next level and get people locked into the church through strong relationships. If you get one that goes south, chances are you are losing everyone in that small group. We had a small group last year where the leader decided we were not the church for them. That is fine and I realize that not everyone is going to enjoy RSC but what has happened is slowly we have lost everyone in that small group except two families. That is the price you pay and one of the negatives of relationships getting formed.
One of the problems we have is small group leaders. We simply don’t have enough. I have two very sharp families in my Home Team that will both probably take over a small group next year but we are very short handed in that area. Another problem is child care in small groups. Yet another struggle is the schedule of people.
We had a GREAT meeting today discussing what tweaks we need to make and I am excited to try the changes but for some reason it still seems we have the “RSC” stamp on everything we do except small groups.
A couple of questions I am asking in regards to small groups:
1.) What is the point of them in our context?
2.) Is the effort we put into them worth the return?
3.) How often should they meet?
4.) How long should a team stay together?
5.) What should our HT schedule look like?
6.) What is the purpose of OUR HT’s?
7.) Is there a better way?
8.) Should we kill them and start over when we figure it all out or should we keep doing it until we figure it out?
Don’t get me wrong, we have about 50% of our adults in a small group but I can just feel that they aren’t right yet.
Does that make sense?