Church Planting and Small GroupsRick Howerton

rick.howerton@lifeway.com615-251-5862

www.serendipityblog.comtwitter.com/rickhowerton

Why a healthy small group system is vital.

• Guests are looking for friendship and co-Kingdom-conspirators.

• Small groups are where leaders are discovered.

• A small group can accomplish all the functions of the church until other ministries are birthed.

• Small group leaders function as the pastor/shepherd for attendees leaving time for the church planter to accomplish other important work.

Five things a church planter should consider as they birth the

small group ministry. 

• First generation groups are the model for all future groups.

• Multiplication of small groups needs to be built into group DNA.

• Small group leaders need basic training, ongoing encouragement, and answers to their questions.

• Groups are important outreach tools. • Groups are essential to establishing the core values of

the church plant.

Best Practice Contradictions

• Groups should multiply every 18 to 24 months. Actually, when planting, groups should multiply when it is most effective.

• Do not build a group ministry based on curriculum. Actually, Curriculum driven groups can be used strategically in church planting.

• Intergenerational groups are only effective if doing a cell church approach. Actually, Intergenerational small groups assure spiritual nurture of children and youth until a children’s ministry and a youth ministry are in place.

• Connecting people to groups should be done by invitation only. Rather… Connecting individuals to groups should be multi-dimensional.

Seven small group systems.

But first…

Four Quadrants of Small Group Life:

• Theological

• Relational

• Restorational

• Missional

Senior Pastor’s Primary Passion

Entry Way(if group is the entry

way)

LeadersRequired

Children Demographics

Cell Groups/Holistic Small Groups

TheologicalRelationalMissionalRestorational

Strong 1 per householdplus an apprentice

Intergenerational Income:Below AverageEducation: Below Average

Making Extraordi-nary Disciples

Theological Strong 1 per 4 or 1 per 12

GroupSpouse

Income:AverageEducation: Above Average

Free Market System RelationalMissional

Strongest 1 per group (Group sizes vary)

GroupSpouse

Income:Above AverageEducation: Above Average

Open Small Groups RelationalMissional

Stronger 1 per group and an apprentice

Group Income:Above AverageEducation: Above Average

Closed Small Groups RelationalORRestorational

Strong 1 per group Group Income:Above AverageEducation: Above Average

Preference of Two (or more) Group Types

TheologicalRelationalMissionalRestorational

Strongest 1 per group/ room size (Sunday School class)

GroupSpouse

Income:Above AverageEducation: Above Average

Organic Community Groups

Determined by the Leader’s passion or the “Group Personality”

Stronger(due to the post-modern mindset)

1 per household Group Income:Below AverageEducation: Above Average

For training and/or assistance…

Rick Howerton

rick.howerton@lifeway.com

615-251-5862

www.serendipityblog.com

twitter.com/rickhowerton