Tag Archives: Small Groups
Smaller is had a greater impact than BIG
Posted on 24. Mar, 2010 by Kenny.
Two days ago I published this post about small being the new big. Honestly, after I wrote it, i didn’t love it. However, I got some feedback and my wife even encouraged me to continue the idea, specifically expressing what this looks like in kidmin. That’s easy enough.
When it comes to elementary ministry, smaller is better. Before I say anything else, I will preface that there’s nothing like a huge rooms totally packed with elementary kids. The energy is unbelievable and I seek building these kinds of environments. However, it’s necessity for me to sandwich this large group environment with a small group experience. When parents drop their kids off, it’s usually best if they can get dropped off in a small group.… Read the rest
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Helping volunteers grow
Posted on 12. Jan, 2010 by Kenny.
One of the things I love most about Gateway is that central to the mission of our church is the fulfillment of the Great Commission in EVERY aspect of ministry. For year, my focus as a Children’s Pastor was to help kids know and follow Christ. It wasn’t until coming to Gateway that I really began considering the spiritual health and growth of those serving kids. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve always been concerned about my volunteers spiritual condition, it just wasn’t my job. It was their responsibility to be in a small group or accountable relationship to be growing. I just needed them to help me reach kids. Sure, we could debate the pros and cons of this setup, but Gateway challenged my thinking about caring for and leading volunteers spiritually.… Read the rest
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Promoting volunteers
Posted on 21. May, 2009 by Kenny.
I’ve always been intrigued by this idea. At the end of every year we promote kids to their next grade. Why don’t we promote the leaders too? Sure, some do but why isn’t it the norm or expectation?
I was talking to my good friend (and permanent intern) Josh Kornberg about this last night. He’s an elementary major in college and he said that this is a newer strategy in education. It’s called looping. I have a lot of friends who are teachers and they often complain about the start of a new year as they have to begin again with a new class and start from page one.
The real beauty is when early childhood leaders promote to elementary to follow their group of kids or even when elementary leaders promote to middle school.… Read the rest
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Early Childhood small groups
Posted on 21. May, 2009 by Kenny.
Say what? Early Childhood small groups? Aren’t you supposed to start this once kids get into elementary? That’s been the given assumption. Some churches are starting to break this mold and give this a try. We’re going to start this really soon and we are very excited. So, please keep in mind that everything I write below this paragraph is theory and a vision of what could be.
My staff came back from Orange with all kinds of ideas. On of the ideas my Early Childhood director had concerned alignment of terminology. Basically this is where churches use the same vernacular for positions and programs throughout every ministry. It makes perfect sense. In the Early Childhood area we have three main positions.… Read the rest
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The problem with Sunday small groups
Posted on 20. May, 2009 by Kenny.
I’m not being a Negative Nelly. I’m sharing the difficulties that come with these models. Yesterday I shared the difficulty with the Sunday School model. It has big enough difficulties that I’d prefer not to be at a church with Sunday School. However, the small group difficulties I’ve faced can be overcome with a little creativity.
I’ve had great success with small groups on Sunday nights or Wednesday nights. They were discipleship/growth focused. The kids were pretty consistent and all my groups had 8-12 kids. However, once I decided to launch small groups during Sunday services at Gateway, I knew I would have a problem. Kid’s attendance on Sunday is not consistent. I would be creating a small group model around irregular attendance.… Read the rest
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Elementary small groups
Posted on 20. May, 2009 by Kenny.
Yesterday I wrote about how small groups are where it is at in Children’s Ministry. I also wrote a somewhat controversial post about how Sunday School doesn’t work. So, how do you do small group?
It depends on your purpose.
Are you small groups relational based or discipleship based? Or are they both? Is the point that kids connect with a leader who can speak into their lives or is the point that the kids dive deeper into God’s word and a more personal atmosphere?
When I first started small groups, I was following Craig Jutila’s model. Although my small groups were relational (kinda unavoidable) I wanted the focus to be discipleship. I wanted the kids to go deeper. So, I created my small group program on Wednesday nights.… Read the rest
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The problem with Sunday School
Posted on 19. May, 2009 by Kenny.
I’ve got a bone to pick with Sunday School. I don’t like it and I wont do it. Sunday School was a big reason why I left one of the churches I was at. Before you get mad at me, please hear me out.
It’s not that I think small groups is better than Sunday School, it’s bigger than that. It’s not about what you call it. It’s about what it is. I believe that you have the greatest impact when you have an adult leader who is responsible for no more than 10-12 kids. That’s a small group. From my experience at more than one church, Sunday School looks a lot more like a school setting with 15-25 kids per teacher.… Read the rest
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Small Groups in childrens ministry
Posted on 19. May, 2009 by Kenny.
I’ve been doing small group ministry with kids for the last three and a half years. Before that I was in churches that did Sunday School, but it wasn’t working (I’m going to write a post later about Sunday School). I must say that small groups have changed everything. Too often the Children’s Pastor wears the mantle of spiritual shepherd over the congregation under 11 years of age, but the only way they can do this effectively is through small groups… unless you only have 12 kids in your church. Then the Children’s Pastor can do it.
I’ve got a few thoughts on small groups that I want to share this week. I’m going to throw out a little philosophy, a little practical application and perhaps some of you will comment with your thoughts and ideas that will benifit everyone (including me and what we’re doing here at Gateway).… Read the rest
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Small Group Leader Success
Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by Kenny.
How do you know when one of your small group leaders is doing a good job?
The evidence is usually pretty clear. The group grows. You see kids swarm around the leader when not in the kid’s building. Yeah, it’s pretty obvious. However, I saw a level of success this week that made my heart swell with pride.
On Sunday night I held a baptism class. We had about 15 kids participate with their families. At the end of the class parents fill out the required paperwork. One of the parents waved me over to their table. They asked me if it was okay if their daughter’s small group leader baptized her. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Of course it’s alright! I LOVE IT!… Read the rest
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A huge day for our elementary program
Posted on 08. Sep, 2008 by Kenny.
Yesterday was a big day for us at Kids Quest. I posted here a few days ago about how we moved to small groups on Sunday’s. That was a big day and something we had been planning for all summer. But it was on September 7th that we were launching 252 Basics as our curriculum that we could combine a powerful small group element with an energetic large group production. I’ll just say it. Today was the best elementary service I’ve experienced under my leadership in years. It was awesome! Let me clarify.
I’ll admit it. I feel like one of the things I do very well is create small group experiences. I can get small group leaders, equip them with materials and create the relational experience pretty easily.… Read the rest
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