SG² Steve Gladen on Small Groups

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and co-host Derek sit down to continue reading and answering the top small group mail bag questions sent in by small group point people and ministry leaders. You don't want to miss this episode!SHOW NOTESMail Bag Questions 8-128 Who is doing ESL as a small group?9 I wish I had known the importance of having the right coaches in place...any tips?10 What is the biggest mistake you made?11 What’s the one thing you would tell yourself as someone new to ministry regarding groups?12 How to get/grow more leaders?Re-imagine Coaching Episode  ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and co-host Derek sit down to read and answer the top small group mail bag questions sent in by small group point people and ministry leaders. You don't want to miss this episode!Mail Bag Questions 1-71 What advice would you give to someone brand new to vocational ministry?2 What is key to moving from good and high participation to great and highly effective in your groups.3 How do you navigate creating a small group culture if senior leadership isn’t on board?4 How to encourage attendance after a busy work day?5 How do you best prioritize time and energy with ministry friends?6 Starting healthy! I am from a church plant and want to establish firm foundations as we look to continue the process of growing more into the likeness of Christ in community! Help.7 What % of regular worshippers being in small groups is typical?Check out the The Lobby Conference ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve & co-host Deek talk about 20 ways that you can honor and celebrate the leaders in your ministry this groups season.This is a rebroadcast episode ★ Support this podcast ★

Would you like to know about ten unique ways that your small group can evangelize together? Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and Dereksit down with special guest Kiersten Telzerow to discuss ten innovative ways that small groups can break out beyond the walls to share the good news with people in their community. Note: Kiersten is still finalizing her program and is not yet a doctor. 10 Ways Your Group Can Evangelize Kiersten - Groups Pastor @ NCC in DCDMIN: Wholistic Discipleship– passionate about ways that groups can engage in mission on a regular basis– being the hands and feet of ChristDo the leg work up front– don’t just sign your group up for something - because then everyone will feel like they have to do it and that’s not mission ;) Of first time Health Assessment takers 87% evangelism is self selected as lowSet up Personal, Local and GlobalPersonal—1 Corinthians 3:6-7 (Plant, Water, and Harvest)Local/Global—Homa and Away Teams Don’t overcomplicate it- first and foremost- don’t try to put a 1-week overseas trip on the calendar for all 15 people in your small group- never say never, but the likelihood is that may not happen.Keep it simple and consistent- if we know those who experience the greatest transformation in community in a small group- why wouldn’t we believe the same to be true of mission? The more we keep showing up– the easier it gets. It’s like flexing a muscle. If we don’t have the gift of mercy or evangelism- it can be harder to flex this muscle- so start with something easy.Pray about & strategize it- What’s one of the areas that’s a great need? Is there a local cause that is close to the church or your small group? Are there places that a group could rotate so maybe it doesn’t work on everyone's schedule all at once, but you can take shifts. Serving 2 Saturdays/month.Find what people are passionate about– leverage strengths/ gifts in group. & the most important thing is do it together– model it together, live it out- express the Gospel through our lifestyle/everyday living. Practically speaking:Prayer Walk- Reimagine mission – what that could look like in your group– prayer walk your neighborhood or around your church. Every summer our groups engage in 40 days of prayer walks- in their neighborhoods, at their workplaces, etc. Prayer walking is still living on mission! **Have everyone in your group be praying for 3 people consistently in their sphere of influence.See if your group can “adopt” a cause like taking turns providing respite care to families who are fostering or every year your group puts together shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.Food- Make lunches for homeless friends- if that doesn’t already exist- make that a small group! Or, every other week I’m a part of a reconciliation lunch at our Dream Center and I’ll bring people with me– listening to people’s stories is a way of partnering with Jesus- doing what He did wherever we go.Evangelize in your own neighborhood–(together or individually) If you all live in the same community- ask what you can do in your community. Several of our group members all live in the same area and so we realized there was a gap of a chaplain down at our police precinct- one day we had an incident in the neighborhood and I just said hey I’m a pastor, I live over here- if there’s anything I can do please let me know… there’s several of us from the same church in the area if anyone needs anything.Never underestimate the small- hidden things. Our small group is made up of bakers- we are always baking things, giving them away, etc. So one time we made a batch of cookies with invites to Easter services attached. I thought- small things- maybe it’ll cheer a neighbors day up. Everyone in the group can do this wherever they live- but just deliver goods to neighbors on a regular basis- you never know the difference. Recently I had a neighbor I’ve been praying for, and she came up to me and said I just needed you to know the difference you made by dropping off those sweets- I’d like to go to church with you one day if that’s possible. I was floored- over a batch of cookies.Neighborhood block party.  Invite your group host home to had a block party (or someone else in your group if thats better) to invite their street to a block party.  Either the group, the church, whoever can sponsor it and have a gathering.  This is a great way to live for Jesus in front of lost peopleWrite out your 1-, 3- and 10-minutes testimony and share it with your small group.Identify your One Life who doesn’t know Christ and share with the group what stage you are at with them (plant, water, or harvest) and your next step.Have a party with your small group and invite your One Life(s). Let them see Christians having fun.Explore people different than you, attend an ethic mom and pop restaurant and learn about their culture. ★ Support this podcast ★

Would you like to know about ten unique ways that your small group can worship together? Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and Dereksit down with special guest Troy Kennedy to discuss ten innovative ways that small groups can worship together.10 Ways to Worship in Your Small Group Brief discussion on definition of worship. Three questions to prompt response: Who is he? Who am I in relationship to Him? What has he done? 10 Ways to Worship in a Small Group - For the leaders - Before and during the worship time, always pray for God's guidance and presence to be felt among the group. Ask for wisdom in leading the group in worship. Every group dynamic is different and needs to be treated sensitively. Sing along with a favorite worship song with the text. Afterwords, discuss which parts of this song were most powerful or meaningful to you. After everyone has shared, sing along with it again. Read a passage of scripture (Start with John 15)  then offer gratitude prayer through what you discovered as a group.Festoon a passage of scripture - start with Psalm 23 (define "festoon")As a group read The Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:9-13 - Articulate to one another different sections in your own words. "Our father" "in heaven" "holy is your name" "for Yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever, and ever." Use your own perspective on what these phrases are applied in your life right now.Read Revelation 4 & 5's scene from heaven then respond to what you read with one another.Pick a story from one of the gospels involving Jesus. (A good place to start is Luke 10:38-41) Read the passage through together. Then instruct everyone to imagine themselves in the story themselves. Who are they? What does it feel like? What time of day is it? What are the smells? Etc.… Have someone else then read the passage again, slowly, while everyone else is imagining themselves in it. Afterwords have group members share who they were in the passage, describing in detail, what day heard, saw and felt.Everyone write down 10 things, however, great or small, they are grateful for. And when everyone is done, offer prayers of gratitude in the form of popcorn prayer.After a reading from the Psalms enjoy a time of contemplative prayer using silence. Set a timer for 2 to 5 minutes. And during that silence have everyone focus on the goodness of God. Try to visualize yourself sitting quietly with Jesus across from you in the room. How is he looking at you? How does that make you feel? After this time of contemplation, share the experience, however, beneficial or awkward, it might have been.Read Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-17. Then listen to or sing along with a favorite worship song in the group. Afterwords, go back to Ephesians 6, and identify which parts of the armor of God the song best represents.Have someone share a story in their faith journey where God came through for them. They may have been healed of some kind of malady. They may have had a relationship that was healed. They have felt protected in some way, etc.… while the group is listening to their story, have everyone write down three characteristics of God best exemplified in that story. Afterwords, share with one another your observations. And then offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s character as it is revealed in that person's story.Have everyone go on some sort of hike or outing to a beautiful outdoor location. Enjoy God's majesty in nature and spend some time prayerfully thanking him as a group for what you see. Expand the worship experience by including elements like communion, foot washing, different body postures (kneeling, hands raised, eyes lifted up etc…) ★ Support this podcast ★

Would you like to know about ten unique ways that your small group can serve your church and community? Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and Derek sit down with special guest Jon Laster, small group pastor from Spring Hill, TN to discuss ten innovative ways that small groups can mobilize to serve people.10 Ways Your Group Can Serve Groups serving other areas of ministry in the local church is life giving, and fuel for what God wants to do in your local congregation! 1 - Talk to your Pastoral Staff and ask them what areas they feel needs the most attention in your local church.  This can be basic cleaning, outreach, etc.  I believe it’s the best place to start on where you can serve as a group.   2 - Serve those in your group.  Whether someone needs their lawn cut during a busy season of life, or just a 45 min coffee meeting to check in on them and their family. 3 - Serve your local police and fire department.  These are groups that are often are carrying a heavy load and it’s a great way for the local body to serve and encourage them. Pizza and subs go a long way! :)  4 - Find a street in your community and serve the community by doing clean up together. 5 - Sponsor a block party in someone’s neighborhood and serve your neighbors lunch or dinner.  This leads to a great time of connection. 6 - Gather and pray for your local church and leaders.  There is never not a good time to do this.  Church leadership is carrying a heavier load than a lot of people realize and one of the best ways to serve others is to pray for them. 7 - Serve together at local food pantries, or homeless shelters.  Find local opportunities outside the walls of your church to be the church. 8 - Find a way to serve your Kids, Teens, Worship, etc. Departments in your church. Whether it’s helping with snacks, prayer, set up, clean up, etc.  Serve the upcoming generation! 9 – Connect with a city official and see what they did help in that your group(s) can help. 10 - Serve your local churches vision. This might look a little different for each church, but find ways to serve and carry out your local church’s vision together as a group. ★ Support this podcast ★

Would you like to know the basics of starting a small group ministry? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve shares his timeless and commonsense keys to launching & building healthier small groups. Download the fill ins:1. The Saddleback Small Group Difference2. How To Start A Small Group Ministry ★ Support this podcast ★

Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve shares his timeless and commonsense keys to building healthier small groups. In this episode titled "The Saddleback Small Group Difference," Steve shares 7 transferable keys that Saddleback church has used to build one of the largest and healthiest small group ministries. You are not going to want to miss this episode!Download notes HERE ★ Support this podcast ★

This month's episode features a panel conversation between Steve Gladen, Dave Enns from North Coast, Rick Howerton from Lakepointe Church, and moderation by Carolyn Taketa. Join us as we listen in to their discussion on their decades of small group experience while at the Lobby Gathering small group conference and retreat in San Juan Capistrano. ★ Support this podcast ★

Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve shares his timeless and commonsense keys to building healthier small groups. In this episode titled "Think critically: accomplish more with less," Steve shares 8 ways to accomplish more with less in your small group ministry. You are not going to want to miss this episode! ★ Support this podcast ★

Today's episode comes from a small group conference at Saddleback Church. The session speaker is Dr. Bill Donahue as he shares about how to create an environment for spiritual growth in small groups. Dr. Donahue is one of the most well respected and accomplished speakers and small group practitioners, having written several books and taught at the collegiate level. He also is a coach and leads cohorts at the small group network. To learn more about small groups, or to share your own small group ministry experience, find Steve Gladen and others at https://smallgroupnetwork.com, our facebook group, or join our community at https://go.smallgroupnetwork.com ★ Support this podcast ★

Steve Gladen, pastor of small groups at Saddleback Church visits London to interview Nicky Gumbel, Vicar, Holy Trinity Brompton, and Pioneer of the Alpha Course.Nicky and his wife Pippa have impacted millions throughout the world with the Alpha course. Steve talks through what goes into an Alpha course and what makes it effective with Nicky. To learn more about small groups, or to share your own small group ministry experience, find Steve Gladen and others at https://smallgroupnetwork.com, our facebook group, or join our community at https://go.smallgroupnetwork.com ★ Support this podcast ★

The episode features Steve Gladen who, leveraging his extensive experience of over 25 years, offers insights on leading small group ministry in churches. He addresses the common misconception of people fearing evangelism, emphasizing how the experience fundamentally transforms when done as a group. Gladen shares practical strategies to equip small groups in spreading the gospel, growing the church and leading people to Jesus. He also underscores the importance of sharing starts with caring and the role of curriculum strategy in successful evangelism. ★ Support this podcast ★

Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek and special guest Mike Hinkle - author of the new book "Treasure Hunt." Mike shares his timeless and commonsense keys to building a successful sales career - all of which will be relevant to you as a small group ministry leader! You are not going to want to miss this episode!SHOWNOTESwww.michaelhinkle.comTo enter the contest, leave a comment about this episode on this post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SGNContact/posts/6772166222879217/  ★ Support this podcast ★

You can download your planner HERE and the church planner HERE and the full workbook from the conference HERECheck out the videos referenced in the podcast HEREIn this session, Steve shares one of the biggest sources of excitement for Saddleback as a church. And in each group. Evangelism.  Steve is going to begin the session by addressing the concerns of the typical small group member. Which is that they feel like they might not be a good evangelists.  Well, once they find out how different of an experience it is when done as a small group, rather than on their own.  Evangelism and seeing a friend or loved one's life changed by the hope of the gospel.  That is an incredibly powerful moment in the life of that small group.  Steve will get us through the journey of equipping small groups to share the gospel. To grow the church. And to lead people to Jesus.  Join us in today's episode. How to move from making friends to reaching friends ★ Support this podcast ★

Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek and special guest pastor William Johnston of Saddleback church  who shares his top tried and true keys to creating a healthy ministry and staff culture. You are not going to want to miss this episode!Learn more about getting pastor buy in at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/pastorbuyin/Will's NotesIntroductionOur secular work culture has largely influenced our workplace interactionsSecular work culture shapes us in certain valuesEscapism: Working for the weekend. My real life starts when I leave work.Individualistic Results: My personal results are the upmost sign of success.Passive responsibility: I am just going to take care of what I need to do. We hand over ownership and leadership completely to a senior leader because we do not want deal with something or we are just lazy. The buck never stops with us      C.  Quickly provide alternativesGod wants our whole life to reflect him and flow together. While we can turn off our ministry as work minds. We live on mission for Jesus in all facets of life.We often do not know how to measure success well in church because it is challenging to quantify but our goal is for the Church, the Body of Christ to flourish, for people to meet Jesus, grow to spiritual maturity, serve other and live on mission for him. If it becomes my niche ministry or idea taking off, then we’ve missed it.Lastly, in the body of Christ we all have responsibility to each other and to live as God has created us. We have interactive mechanisms in our body that course correct when we are sick or even when we trip on shoe. It is the same in the body of Christ    II.  One of the symptom of these values is challenging or decaying staff cultures A large part of our jobs are people and the largest portion of time is spent with our staff.We are all different people with different personalities, strengths and weaknesses, hobbies, and work ideals.There is nothing new about people not getting along.Even Paul and Barnabus reached a point where they were like “Ya, I think I’m good”       B. We all want to enjoy our place of work.  We all want to enjoy the people we work with but it is hard.  III.    Who is to blame?If you are waiting for someone to make your workplace enjoyable, you are 50% of the problem. If you are sitting back, waiting, and complaining about what other people are not doing for you without doing anything about it, you are part of the problem.“We want our lead pastor to set the tone” “We want the denomination to do this” “If the board of directors said this”We think of certain people in authority as the one with the sole responsibility for our staff dynamics instead of thinking about our staff as something we have an equal part in. If your staff culture is poor, you are a piece of that pie.IV.  How do we course correct when we are not in the head chair?We need to reflect on: What do we want in a workplace? and What are steps I can do to help us get there? What things would you enjoy in your workplace and begin doing them?       B. There are some simple questions that I believe lead to crawl steps in building a staff that turns into a family. If we as ourselves this set of questions weekly, our staff culture will begin improving immediately.How can I make this time more fun, memorable, intentional?How much time am I spending with each staff member?When was the last time I ate a meal with each staff member in a setting of 4 or less people?When was the last time I asked them about their family?How much time am I in communal spaces or around other staff?When was the last time I followed up on something we talked about recently?What does each staff member want from our relationship? When was the last time I encouraged each staff member?       C. Walk Step IdeasHave an onboarding strategy for new staff.Taking them out to eat or bringing lunch inEvery week checking in on questions they haveInviting them and their spouse over for food or a game nightKnow everyone’s favorite drinkKnow their bdays and their family members BdaysIndividualized BDay giftsShow up to something that matters to them      D. Run StepsRelationship study about the correlation of long lasting relationship and unique joint experiencesGrand openingsCommunity EventsV. Building Trust with a SupervisorThe BasicsI typically hear people who want trust or an in with their senior leader to share challengesWe don’t think they are doing something correctlyThey are not taking our ideas      2.   We do not begin with the right intentions.We connect because we want somethingThis is never a ploy! If someone takes any of the next steps for their own gain instead of enjoying the people God has placed in your life. It will not be successful. These things done without a heart that sincerely wants to know the other person will probably leave you in the same situation.This is the difference between leading up and sucking upTrust with a senior leader begins with a basic friendshipI.  Well that is easy. And the answer to that thought is yes it is easyIt is interesting that most people in our churches desire time and closeness to the senior or lead pastor but when we get on a church staff and are a couple chairs down the table we stop taking initiative and believe everything should be initiated by that senior leader.So we sit back and wait for our senior leader to initiate and then become frustrated when our relationship does not look the way we want it.B. Making ChangesIn the conversation about building good staff relationship I gave clear next stepsI believe a healthy and sustainable relationship with your senior leader is more about posture.Questions that lead us to the right postureWhen was the last time you prayed for your campus pastor?When was the last time you asked about their kids?When was the last time you asked them out for dinner?When was the last time you asked if there is something you could take off their plate?When was the last time you just talked with no agenda?When was the last time you texted them about something happening in their life? C. Hard Conversations1. People are probably thinking “ok, now can I have a hard conversation with my supervisor?”2.        We always need to ask ourselves a set of questions before a conversation with a superior where we want to express concern, frustration, or

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Do you need more small group leaders? How would you like to see an exponential increase of volunteers stepping up to serve in your church? Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve is joined by co-host Derek and special guest John Shin (One of the Connections Pastors at Saddleback Church) who shares his 8 Steps to Successful Recruiting. You are not going to want to miss this episode!https://smallgroupnetwork.comNotes: 8 Steps to Successful Recruiting1) Write down your pain points (your needs for ministry volunteers)2) Think beyond the norm and get creative3) Pain Levels from Easy, Need, and Pain (and describing each level)4) Special Tip—Think about behind the scenes ministry (no interaction with people and ministry that involves lots of people engagement. You should try to recruit everyone and anyone to your ministry)5) 4 Step practical plan to recruit- Talk to people you know- Find out what they enjoy and don’t enjoy- Focus on their passion (No matter what they say here, get them to serve with you. Make up a role for them)- Recruit person for 1 time help or opportunity6 Always say thank you to your volunteers (cards, gifts, meals). Show appreciation7 Don’t let them get bored. Create a development pathway. Some volunteers maybe can take on more responsibility and leadership roles.8 Set a deadline to recruit. Nothing happens without deadlines ★ Support this podcast ★

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You can download your planner HERE and the church planner HERE and the full workbook from the conference HERECheck out the videos referenced in the podcast HEREWelcome to SG squared. Glad you joined us for this episode. In this particular one, we're going to be talking about how small groups just aren't a program in the church, but they are a powerful discipleship tool that your church has. As you know, we talk about temple courts and house to house and the house to house movement is your discipleship engine. Now we're going to cover so many things about the transformational power of small groups, but the important thing  to understand is that it needs to happen in your own group. And as we go through this material, I want you to start thinking through, okay, how does this pertain to where my small group is?And what am I doing in my own group? Now, as we talk about a number of things in this episode, make sure you download the resources at the top of the show notes and understand that that material is there for you to take this from just being a podcast that you listen to, but something that can transform your small groups and help you make them a discipleship engine.I want you to enjoy as we take a little flashback on this particular episode, but it's great content that will help you make the discipleship tool powerful in your small group. ★ Support this podcast ★