Because Relationships Matter

Problem Solving

Starting Point is our brand for groups where you can simply get to know some people. The brand works. People show up. We are providing a path toward something they value: friends.

Beyond providing something that people value, we had some unsolved problems. We were stuck - stagnant. We tried lots and lots and lots of things in 2007, without a clear perspective of how to get unstuck.

I am a problem solver. When I exercise, I work hard. When I cook, I use the high setting. When I dance, it's crazy. When I sing, I'm reminded I shouldn't. And when I work, I run fast. When it's too fast, I go in circles.

Before 2007 ended, I stopped. In the silence, I gained a solid focus to move us forward. I forget too often that being still is necessary to discover God's leading.

Developing two unique facilitator teams is described here. Creating a great atmosphere is described here. Creating a way for people to have more choice about who they will be grouped with for 6 meetings is described here.

The measurement of 2008 progress: 77% of the people who attended the first launch returned for week 2. We have a great volunteer tracking statistics in 2008! In 2007, we had ballpark figures - not so helpful for problem solving - but it was good enough to recognize a problem. In 2007, we had approximately 60% returning from the launch to week 2. I'm very pleased!

I'm excited to keep finding solutions that translate into people discovering that they matter to people and they matter to God.

Space to Learn

No matter how good your training materials are for group leaders, you can't beat what people learn for themselves! This is what a facilitator wrote to me this week.

"...I should just listen more. Honestly? I think the reason I sometimes talk too much is to show how much I (think I) know about pain and how to get over it...yadda, yadda. Which leads me into what I'm discovering about myself in this role. The first couple of meetings I found myself offering little tidbits of my past (just to get the momentum going and to get people to open up more) and how when I said things like 'when I realized this' or 'recovered from that', it was usually after someone else's similar story. I bit my lip the next time because I realized it might sound like I was one-upping everyone in the group. Then later, like the next week I found myself thinking, 'Is that it?! Is that all you are having to deal with and you're acting like this?' and/or 'why don't you just buck up and get on with life?' I'm not always that compassionless, but that is what I was thinking.

Which led me to understand my revelation about myself. I have been through a lot of stuff in my life. I mean tons of stuff. I have come to the conclusion that I have an ability to work through things, learn and grow from it and then get on with life. I have a strength to overcome and go on that I now know not all people have. That my level of tenacity is not in everyone, and that I need to be more willing to make myself vulnerable to their needs and to their pain. That this will in fact create more love and compassion in myself which will grow me even more. It could make me more approachable and less intimidating for some. I just love what God is doing with me, and to think I've been a 'Christian' for about 20 years now. I've been doing the majority of this growth in only the last two years or so."

You can't teach this stuff. Create space for people to learn. 

Mix it!

We have eight Starting Point launches in 2008 equally divided between married or engaged individuals and those single or single again.

How do we group them from this point: age, life stage, neighborhood, shoe size? No matter what we chose, it was awkward and distribution was difficult to manage. People come in, they are nervous, and they quickly find a place to sit. Wherever they sit, this would be their group. We often heard, "I wish I had the opportunity to get acquainted with others in the room." Here's what we've tried at our first two launches this year.

At the initial welcome, I acknowledge the tension of meeting others and explain our desire to balance it with a comfortable experience. We have four areas of the room marked with the large easel size "Post it" sheets. They will meet others who they have things in common with, and can then choose where to sit after that process. Self selecting their group for the next six meetings gives them some control.

The categories we have tried for four rounds: Neighborhood, Pets (dogs, cats, other pets, no pets), Seasons, and Life Stage (newlywed, babies to 5th grade children, middle and high school kids, college and beyond adult children). I communicated the challenge of sorting, and that our intent was not to offend those who were not parents.

We used the life stage category at the married launch and it worked really well as most groups self sorted based on this last question. We're going to stick with it.

At the singles launch, I used Entertainment (books, TV, movies, music) in place of Life Stage, and it was just OK. Life Stage choices for those single and single again is difficult without emphasizing the failed relationships. Maybe we could just have two choices based on kids or no kids? Have any other ideas?   

Mark Beeson's Blog!

I am so excited to have our leaders and guests regularly hear from Mark Beeson in a new way! You can connect here or it's www.markbeeson.com.

We had some friends who started attending when we did in 1999. We realized that if we kept attending this chruch, it was going to be very difficult to keep living how we had lived. They did too.

We stayed. They left. Reason given, "Mark Beeson's not real. No one could be like that. It's an act - just a big show." I believed he was real - genuine.

After 9 years, changing my life and our marriage, living with purpose, going back to school, changing vocations and joining the staff, Mark Beeson has character.

He's a great leader. He's human - very human. It's hard to tell that it's not a show when he's on the platform with the right lights, sound, polished look and polished words. It's his life - one that's committed to living as well as he can for Jesus.

I'm thrilled he has chosen to extend his influence...even further!   

Perspective is everything!

"What we have done, we're not gonna keep doing," Mark Beeson told us this weekend. With 5,000+ people attending weekend services, most would hardly see GCC as a broken system!

In my pre-GCC life, we were members of another church that my family started attending when I was in high school. Years later, both Jeff and I served as elders in that church. It was a great place. Great people. Great pastor.

The dreams were small. We had 300 people on our membership rolls with 150 attending. One goal was to get those on our rolls to attend - to have 250 people attending each Sunday! We hoped for great attendance at Vacation Bible School with kids whose parents didn't attend our church - maybe their parents would come see their kids sing at Sunday service! Those weren't bad dreams, but the perspective was different.

For 21 years, Mark Beeson dreamed to get the community in the church - big dream! For 24 years, I worked at AT&T and dreamed of retiring with health care benefits - small dream. I am so grateful to be on this team - big goals, big vision, big dreams!

We will be launching 3 new locations this fall! More than 50% of the population in Michiana does not attend church...ever. The dream is huge - to get the church in the community!

We live on the south side of South Bend, a 25 minute drive from current site. We've already decided. We'll be attending GCC - where we are!

Small group. What's that?

My brain is still thinking about the last post. I'm not liking the term "small group". Since I have responsibility for groups at GCC - might be a problem. But, I figured out why it's bugging me.

Before our friends came to church, they heard us talk of other friends we had made "in our small group." It drew the question, "Is that the thing you guys used to have at your house on Sunday nights?" They asked that question a couple years ago, and it still comes up occasionally even though they've attended GCC for a while now. I can't shake the simplicity of the question.

Small groups, home groups, connect groups, life groups: all church language! All of it! When I google these, nearly every one links to a church or a ministry support organization. I found a few exceptions - very few. The name of Benny Goodman's band at some point was "The Small Groups"? Health insurance language includes "small group" plans. Other than a few other random mentions, it's all church stuff!

The most frequently asked question from other churches: How do you get people to want to join a small group? Everyone is trying to figure it out. Talk in a language they speak, make it normal, and tell them the purpose of the group - a purpose they value.

Guests new to the church experience are reluctant. They don't trust us. Let's be honest: guests who are not new to church are reluctant. Ohhhh - bigger problem, they don't trust us either. For the same reasons that businesses fail, we need to deliver something they value (it may differ on the surface from what we value).

I'm very pumped about where we're heading!

Groups vs Small Groups

When I talk about opportunities to meet other people at GCC, I've been trying to shift my language. I've done it randomly for about the past year. I'm going to be more intentional about it.

Something bugged me about multiple adjectives being used for our groups. I don't know if this will make sense outside my brain, so hang with me.

"Kathy has responsibility for our Small Group ministry. It includes small groups, support groups, Bible groups, etc." Huh? If a small group ministry describes all these groups, then what's a small group? (We define friendship as the focus.) Are the other groups second class citizens to the real thing, small groups? (That answer is, "No!")

In our Groups ministry, there are four different types of groups based on focus: friendship, support, study, serve. (One exception: our Merge groups focus on life stage for 18 - 25 year old adults.)

We are way short of our volunteer teams being seen as serve groups, from a ministry perspective or from a participant perspective. I don't know if or when we'll make that shift, but we clearly see volunteer teams as a way to connect in relationship with a shared focus on serving others.

There's something to all this...still trying to figure it out. I'll be exploring this a bit more during the Wired Churches workshop on groups. The next one is Monday, February 11. Hope to see you!

Turning Point All Stars

We have literally stumbled into this. Unintentionally but wonderfully, Turning Point All Stars is a full blown collaborative effort of 3 ministry teams at GCC: Groups, Children's, Arts.

Turning Point offers support for adults who are stuck in negative patterns of behavior or have tension in their marriages or significant relationships. We know the home environments are especially chaotic for their children. We wondered...what if...?

Turning Point All Stars was launched between the Groups and Children's ministry. During the preparation for the initial launch, the ministry leaders discovered a need for some actors who might be willing to help with drama illustrations about the feelings the kids experience in their homes.

With that, 3 ministry teams working together for a common purpose to help families discover they matter to God. Check out this post on the GCC Drama Team blog that illustrates the level of excellence being provided! These kids matter to God, to their families, and to the church!

We thought we might have a dozen kids at the first session. Instead, we have 4 dozen! Sometimes you innovate intentionally. Sometimes you stumble into it. Either way...it's really fun!