Connect Groups

Raising up leaders is one of our values at Catch The Fire. We need to really think about the following questions: Will people listen to you? Do people follow you? Do people take your advice? Do people come to you to share prayer requests?

Philosophy of Groups

Pastoral Care

People always have a need to belong. They need to feel loved and cared for. You need someone who will listen to the people in the group so they are heard.

Leadership Training

Small groups are the best way to raise up leaders and give them an opportunity in a safe place.  Low risk of failure, low risk of harming another person.  High risk of success in realizing that I can lead people like me.

Outreach Focused

Group outreach is more fun than individual outreach.  If there isn’t an outreach, the group becomes too inward focused.  The group lead will limit the group as “they aren’t caring well enough” for those they already have.

Task Groups

This group gathers for an assigned task or role.  For e.g Prophetic Ministry who functions on a sunday prophesy over people, but once month they just meet together to have small group and talk about the function of the task. 

Structure of Groups

Jethro/5x5

This group's idea is based from where Jethro went to Moses and explained how to delegate well. It is where you as the leader makes minimal decisions and other people do the rest.

1) Method: Groups grow in size and split into two at a certain point.  

2) Weaknesses: Needs oversight.  Usually 1 person mentors 5 groups, and then 1 person oversees every 5 group mentors.  The negative of this is that overseers are either admin people who don’t lead groups well, or they are expert group leaders who’ve been taken out of leading. No one like dividing of the groups. One of the limitations are how quickly can we train group leaders up

3) Strengths: Quality control – lots of supervision and training before the leader is released

Groups of 12 (Bogota)

Every member of a group is encouraged to take the leadership training course and begin their own group.  Each group leader is in two groups; one they are in and one they are leading.

1) Weaknesses

Quality control begins to be an issue as no one really knows what is happening in the groups. Replacing a leader is also a challenge in a Western context where people opt in and out rather than being told which group to be a part of.  It can easily become a striving structure to prove oneself.

2) Strengths

Expands quickly and releases everyone, including dysfunctional people.  Everyone one becomes a potential leader and they are released to strat their own group. 

Semester Groups/Free Enterprise Groups (Ted Haggard)

This group runs for 13 weeks. They finish for a month and then restart.

1) Weaknesses

Challenge is raising up new leaders (ideally each group has an assistant).  There is lots of admin work prior to each semester.

2) Strengths

This method allows for people to lead and take breaks from leading.  Similarly, it allows for people to join a short term group that has the option of continuing. This group gives people the opportunity to be mentored in different focus groups. 

General Connect Group (Steve Long)

Connect groups, also known as midweek fire groups, have a common pastoral role but also enable people to have friendship in a community.  It is a great way to help people get connected right away in areas that they are passionate about. For e.g., people can choose to join the worship community to serve the worship team on the stage without necessarily being on the stage themselves. 

Another option for connect groups is to leave it open with no restrictions. People can choose the topic, the timeline, the number of people in their group etc. This gives people the opportunity to produce their passion into other people

We ask our groups to have 2-3 outreaches in their 13 week leading. This really helps people become outward focused more than inward. 

We always go through the core values for the  first weeks in order  to go deeper, and this sets the foundation of the small group. This alleviates some of the pressure for the leaders not knowing how to start. 

In Toronto, there is a vision to start a family night once a week with an inexpensive meal. There will be small groups for youth and young adults. There will be courses which adults can choose from for the semester (e.g, parenting course).  This way we are trying to attract more people to lead and join. 

The measuring stick of a healthy church is based on the number of people who are leading groups and the number of people who are attending groups. To get people connected to smaller groups in a large church is more difficult than a smaller one.  

Family Groups (Darrin Clark)

For the family group, you don't have to give them everything at one time. Keep them hungry. If you keep everything to bite-sized experiences, the whole family will be wanting.

Family groups have to be timely. You start at this time and you end at this time. They will lose the fun of it if you keep the kids past their bedtime, etc. 

For the kids who attend, it’s helpful to have somebody like a teenager who can literally be paid to do run a program each week. The leader can provide the lessons to the teacher.  Donations can be collected for this. The kids are having a blast because they are not with mom and dad and the teenager is making money. 

It is nice to meet every second week so it is not overwhelming. It is important to choose another leader as a successor in your group. Always look at how to empower group members to be leaders. 

There doesn’t need to be a formal arrangement for bringing food.  The meeting can start with snacks, fellowship, and worship, which the kids could all be involved in. However, depending on the value that is put on the desired result, arrangements can be altered. Icebreakers are a great way to start each meeting for everyone. 

Patience is the key to connecting with your family group. I believe this next generation is going to step up and run fearlessly as they have us underneath and behind them. 

Young Adult Groups (Ruth Preston)

First, you need to break off any judgments about young adults. Young adults don't know what they don't know. If their actions are contrary to what the bible says it's because they just don't know. Just show them that you care about them and their hearts. 

People think that Young adults don't want to commit- its because of the content. It is important to know what you are teaching, know what your leaders are doing. We had the opportunity to see our leaders plan their syllabus. Leaders of young adult groups are held to set a standard where they need to commit to their own meeting and a leaders connect meeting each week. 

At the end of the semester, give out feedback forms for everyone.  The feedback forms asks questions about the leader in the following areas: communication, connecting, leading, teaching etc.  We start to understand how our leaders are doing based on perception of everyone. Every leader has a co-leader who keeps them on track.  Overall provide clear cut guidelines, training, and communicate purpose.