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Launching movements February 8, 2010

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Launching, Trusting God.
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I was at a meeting last week with the Student Venture City Directors.  Barry Bowling our Houston director was giving an update.  He mentioned that our Coaching Center team had conducted a multiple movement training a couple of years ago and it have made a difference in how his team is now working and the impact they are having.

Houston is really spread out geographically.  I have no idea how many middle and high schools there are in Houston, but his small team had only scratched the surface.  Within two weeks after our training, one of the staff, Yaneth Diaz, launched two new high schools with volunteers on the inside.  Barry strongly encouraged her to coach those volunteers from a distance.  The next year, the volunteers from those schools took a couple dozen students to their FastBreak.  Yaneth now has a baby and she is still coaching those volunteers from a distance.  She recently wrote me to say:

Aldine High School I have been coaching for 2 years now and Westfield High School for a year.  I am really enjoying coaching a lot more than I thought I would, plus it is great to know that we can have different types of movements started without a staff being at the campus all the time.

Barry told us that they recently ran into a pastor’s wife leading a ministry in a local high school.  The Houston team helped them with an outreach one time and this group of 40-50 kids are now calling themselves Student Venture.  They want to go to this year’s FastBreak.  That pastor’s wife said she knew of others who were doing something on two other campuses.  Three campuses through one volunteer.

Now more than ever, Barry is convinced that there are people that God has prepared who want to make a difference for Christ on campuses they are not presently on.  He says that finding, equipping and leading volunteers is going to be the means to reaching the middle and high school students of Houston.

Some questions us to consider:

  • Do I believe that I have to reach the campuses in my scope that we are not presently on?
  • Or am I trusting God to be preparing a volunteer, a student, a faculty member who I can lead to reach their campus?
  • Am I actively looking for such persons of peace?
  • Do I know know the first steps to take to launch a ministry on any given campus?
  • Is launching in my schedule?


Two weeks ago, when I was in Pittsburgh, I mentioned an old article by Rick James, “Scope: Taking Possession of the Land.”   John Mathieu, an intern, broke in to say that he did not understand why that article was hidden so late in New Staff Development.  He thought it should be the first thing a new staff should read when they get to campus.  John, Yaneth and Barry are launching movements.

Questions Leading into Spiritual Conversations February 1, 2010

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Evangelism.
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I happened to be in Pittsburgh this past week.  We were having a conversation about helping students lead in evangelism.  Someone commented about the co-relation between conversational skills and evangelism.  That got me thinking about helping others grow in their conversational skills.  One way was to help them learn to ask questions.  I thought back to something I sent out a couple of years ago on questions that lead into spiritual conversations.  Here are 31 conversation “starters” compiled by Patty Burgin and Bobb Biehl.

  1. Where are you in your spiritual pilgrimage?
  2. In your opinion, how does one become a Christian?
  3. What single thing would you like to make absolutely certain you do (if at all possible) during your lifetime?
  4. How do you think a person can keep from becoming a workaholic?
  5. What character can you imagine yourself to be? (any period of history)
  6. What are you reading that is not an assignment or required by your work?
  7. How do you know you’ll go to heaven when you die?
  8. How are your growing personally?
  9. In a conversation with someone who has never heard about God, what would you say about Him from your experience?
  10. In your opinion, how does one become a Christian?
  11. How would you describe your father and his impact on your life?
  12. Tell me about your mentor and his/her impact on your life.
  13. What do you think would probably surprise most people about you?  Why?
  14. What is your greatest strength, and what are you doing to develop it?
  15. Why do people do what they do?  What are the assumptions you make about people?
  16. How do you handle pressure?  When the pressure is really on, what do you need from your friends?
  17. Has anything ever happened to you that was dramatic, personal or spectacular enough to cause you to be certain there is a God who is both infinite and personally caring?
  18. What do you consider to be two major turning points in your life?
  19. What is something you consider to be a great personal success?  Why was it so significant?
  20. What is the key to maintaining balance in your life?
  21. What are 2 or 3 major truths upon which you have based your decision-making?
  22. Tell me about two of your life-long friends and why they have such an impact on your life.  What made you choose them?
  23. Have you dealt with the questions? “How much money is enough, and what do I do with the rest?”
  24. How would you describe your mother and the impact she has had on your life?
  25. In your opinion, who was/is Jesus Christ?
  26. If you could know God personally, would you be interested?
  27. How would you define materialism, and how do you deal with it in your life?
  28. What have you found to be the best way of absorbing disappointment, rejection, distress and discouragement?
  29. When you get to heaven, what will be the first three questions you will ask God?
  30. If you were to inherit a million dollars today, and couldn’t spend it on your own enterprise or keep it for yourself, what would you do with it and why?
  31. What do you find most attractive about Christianity/the person of Christ?  What do you find least attractive about Christianity/the person of Christ?


And here is a list of questions intended to break through barriers in sharing the gospel compiled in the NorthEast several years ago.

  1. Do you consider yourself a seeker of the truth?
  2. What is your spiritual background?
  3. Have you ever read the Bible?
  4. Have your views on religion changed since you started college?  How?
  5. Have you ever discussed what Biblical Christianity is?
  6. Why do you think you feel the way you do toward Jesus Christ and his message of love and forgiveness?
  7. What is your philosophy of life based on?
  8. Do you believe what you’ve been brought up with?
  9. Why do you think Christianity isn’t relevant to your life?
  10. If Christ was who He claimed to be, how would that affect your life?
  11. What are you living for? What do you value most?
  12. If your questions could be answered in a way that would satisfy you, would you then believe in Christ?
  13. The Kennedy questions:  First ask–”If you died today, do you know for sure you’d go to heaven?”  Then ask–”If you died and stood before God and He asked you ‘Why should I let you into Heaven?’  What would you say?”


I am amazed at the power of a question.  I had an aisle seat on the way home from Pittsburgh.  Those sitting next to me were carrying on a conversation, but I was not a part.  Then at one point I asked if either of them wanted to read my newspaper before I tossed away.  One did.  And then I was in the conversation.  That led to my sharing my testimony and answering some other questions about faith.  The point: Ask questions and then to listen to the heart of the one you are talking with.

Decoding Campuses Virtually January 25, 2010

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Launching, Trusting God, Uncategorized.
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Have you ever had a conversation with a student on a campus that you seemed to know better than the student did?  You can, you know.  There is nothing that communicates your heart for a campus to a prospective student leader than to have done some decoding of that campus beforehand and to share what you are praying God would do on that campus.  Decoding is not about sounding like an insider or making you look good.  It is about building trust and a connection with students who can potentially reach their campus for Christ.  Kerri Louck, was on our staff as a Regional Director.  Before that she served as Forerunner for the NorthEast region.  She was very good at decoding a campus without even stepping foot on it.  I am re-sending this tip on her decoding process.


Decoding Campuses Virtually

Reality set in that I had to embrace that technology was my friend and not my enemy.  I prefer to not be on the computer nor do I check my email unless I’m working.  However, the fact that my scope was huge, my campuses were far away, and I desired and needed to be more involved in my immediate community led me to experiment and see how much information I could find out about campuses through the internet.

Here is what I found that may be helpful to you too!

1.  Prayer:

  • Pray for the campuses in our scope.  Know that the Lord is preparing people’s hearts on campus and in the area.
  • Decoding is an interactive process of seeing where the Lord is working and coming alongside those He has raised up to lead ministries.

2.  Information gathering: What questions do you need to ask yourself to know your scope inside and out…
First Level: Basics of a campus

  • What campuses are in your scope?
  • Are there campuses in a general area geographically?  (same city, same street, etc)
  • How many community colleges/state campuses?  How many private?  Any affiliated with a particular denomination or people group?
  • How many students go there?  How many on-campus/off campus/all commuters/how many dorms?
  • How many ethnic and international students are there?
  • Websites and helpful tools:

    • The Campus Staff site (the infobase — helps know addresses of campuses and their campus website)
    • Petersons.com (how many students, % of population, history of campus, popular organizations on campus, on-campus students, etc.)

Second Level: Getting to know the campus specifically and where the Lord may be calling us to have a ministry

  • What specific groups/activities are on campus?  Ethnic groups?  International Groups?
  • Any group that could be an “in” for Military ministry, Impact, Destino, Epic, Bridges, Greek, athletes?
  • What Christian groups are already on campus?  Who do you contact to ask ?’s and see who they are targeting on campus… where could CCC’s niche be on campus?  Are there opportunities for multiple movements on campus?
  • Who is the student activities director?  How do I get in touch with them?
  • Is there a student handbook on-line?  (helps with starting up an organization on campus guidelines)
  • websites/tools that are helpful:

    • individual campus websites
    • LiveAbove.com (This site lists various ministries.  [We can see who else is doing ministry on the campus] (I.V.; Navigators, Chi Alpha, etc).
  • [Resources for Multiple Movements on your campuses:

Third Level: What resources and volunteers are within a 5 mile radius of the campus?

  • What churches are within 5 miles of the church?
  • Are there administrators/faculty going there?  Are there students going there that could be leaders?
  • websites/tools that are helpful:

3.  Record/Track the information gathered:

  • Set up a spreadsheet with campuses and information you find out so you can refer to it quickly when a student/volunteer wants information (you can even hyperlink to the campus website.
  • You may not always be there but the information recorded could help the next person the Lord raises up from having to start from scratch.

Sounds like a lot of work, right?  It is worth it!

I have learned that the more I know about a campus and the area, it is easier to bond with students more quickly because you are talking about their turf and they start to realize that you care about them and their campus.  It also helps me to have information that I can look at right away to help give vision for their campus, and yet talk about specifics right away.

Bottom-line:  Decoding through the internet saves time so you can show up on campus, talk to those people who will get you closer to knowing students, and launching a ministry.  The process helps me to “….become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.” (1 Cor. 9: 22)

I have come to the conclusion that the internet is a tool that helps me be a steward of my time.  It helps me to connect with students, churches, and volunteers better on the first meeting, because I know my facts about their turf and I gain credibility with them as someone who wants to serve them.

Kerri

At this time of the year, when weather can be uncooperative and ministries are starting up again for the second semester travelling to a new campus may be difficult.  But here is a way to anticipate how God might work before you even step foot on the campus.

Asking powerful questions January 18, 2010

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Discipleship, Personal Growth, Trusting God.
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One day last month several of us participated in a clinic on coaching. Rhonda Bennett, SetSailMinistries, led the daylong training.  She had some very helpful implications for us as we coach our staff, our student leaders and volunteers.  At first I thought that this was really great for, say, life coaching or helping someone deal with personal issues.  But I could see how this would also be really helpful as we coach our leaders in their ministries.  A few things stood out that I wanted to pass on.

First, we had a little discussion about the difference between “telling” and “asking” as we work with others.

  • Telling is directive.

    • It helps us be clear.  We get to the matter faster.  There can be better quality control.  We have a real sense that we are helping.  The person knows what we are thinking.
  • Asking is non-directive.

    • It shows respect.  It anticipates self-discovery.  Collaboration, participation, ownership and dialogue are fostered.  Two brains are better than one.  Trust is engendered.

Now, we do need to do both as we coach others.  The art of leadership is knowing when we tell and when we ask questions.  But I think we have a tendency to tell more than we ask.  This helped me to think more about how to frame what I want to accomplish by asking questions.


Second, there are two over-arching questions as a starting point. “Where are you right now?” and “Where do you want to be?”  I liked how this considers both situational analysis and the vision.

Third, there is nothing like the joy of personal discovery.  Whether choosing a career path or developing a ministry plan, sensing God’s direction builds faith.  Rhonda listed five key steps that bridge from where we are now and where we want to go.  And with each step she offered what she called powerful questions.  Questions can often unlock wisdom necessary to open doors.

  • Focus on the conversation

    • What would you like to get from this conversation?
    • What feels most urgent to you now?
    • Of all the issues, which one is your top priority?
    • What is the best use of our time together?
    • What do you need most for yourself?
  • Explore options

    • What outcome do you want?
    • What is the best thing that could happen?
    • If you know what wouldn’t fail, what would you do?
    • What have you observed has worked for others?
    • That’s one option…what’s another?
  • Plan the next steps

    • Of all the options, what’s most compelling?
    • What do you need to do first?
    • Who or what do you need to include to succeed?
    • Who do you need to talk to?
    • How will these actions contribute to achieving your goal?
  • Address obstacles

    • What might prevent you from succeeding?
    • What’s missing?
    • What resources do you need?
    • What are the roadblocks you expect or know about?
    • Who do you need to communicate this to?
  • Review

    • Tell me what you are going to do and by when.
    • What are you taking away from this conversation?
    • What will you have achieved by our next meeting?
    • For our next meeting, what date and time will work best?
    • How would you like me to hold you accountable for your commitments?

Here is more on asking good questions.

Courage and Christlikeness January 11, 2010

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Personal Growth, Trusting God.
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I run.  I don’t necessarily like running, but I like how I feel because I do run.

I happened to speak to a different ministry a while ago.  The one who invited me knew that I ran and gave me a couple running books as a thank you.  I recently finished one of them, The Runner’s Guide to the Meaning of Life by Amby Burfoot.  It is not a Christian book but I found it interesting and somewhat anecdotal.

His chapter entitled Courage starts like this (pp 114, 115):

“When I was young, I thought courage began with a capital C.  It always involved swashbuckling heroes who appeared in history books or adventure movies. Somebody usually died in these stories, but many others were saved by the hero’s Courage.  Without it, Freedom or Democracy or Independence or some other word that also begins with a capital letter would have been lost.
“Growing up has changed my views on courage.  I still honor our heroes, particularly those who have fought to sustain important ideals.  But I’ve also come to believe that, more often than not, courage begins with a small c.  And it doesn’t turn into a major book or a Hollywood marketing campaign.
“In fact, courage is available to all of us.  We don’t have to be standing on the precipice of history—at a time and place when momentous social forces collide.  We only have to look at ourselves full face in the mirror.  Most acts of courage do nothing more than change the life of the person who summons it.  Which, of course, is everything.
“I have seen many acts of courage in running.  Indeed, the sport has a special appeal for those who are looking to change their lives.  While running at first appears to depend on great physical strength and endurance, it is, in fact, based almost entirely on strength of mind.  Those who have the will will succeed.”

As I read that, I thought immediately of what we do day in and day out.  The choices we make, the decisions we choose and how we spend our time requires courage.

I am also reading Meditations on the Gospels by the 19th century Scottish preacher, George Morrison.  I happened to read today his thoughts on Matthew 10:25, “It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master….” NIV.  He talked about how Christ experienced weariness, He was misunderstood and He longed for others to choose the Lord who never did.  You know, we will experience weariness and being misunderstood and unfulfilled longings this year.  But it is the kind of courage that Burfoot talks about that keep us ministering, regardless of the outcome.  It is enough to be like the master.

As we live our lives this year and seek to make the greatest possible impact for Christ, let us with “small c courage” choose to trust God and be like Him, no matter the outcome.  “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.”  Hebrews 10:24 NIV.

End of the Semester Checklist November 30, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Evangelism, Leadership, Personal Growth.
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If you are like me, you have a ton going on right now. You are still recruiting for the Christmas/Winter conference, thinking about Christmas outreaches and you want to end the semester well. You know you need to think about the Spring semester, Spring Break opportunities and talk to students about asking parents over break about going on a summer project. Oh, and you probably are working on your end of the year ask, doing Christmas cards and some shopping and parties…Gotta do the parties! So, how do you do it all?


My friend, Ben Rivera, Student LINC Consultant, sends out a weekly ministry tip to over 600 student and volunteer leaders around the country. His tips are always very practical and cut right to the meat of what needs to be done. So I went to an archive of his tips to see what he had talked about last year at this time. Your leaders can sign up for Ben’s ministry tips.

Here is a check list of his thoughts from some of those tips.

  • Christmas/Winter Conference.

    • http://godsquad.com/getinvolved/christmas.htm
    • Begin to finalize and encourage people to attend your regional Christmas conference.
    • Do some fund raising to help people go.
    • Arrange rides before you leave for home.
    • Exchange email and cell phone numbers.
  • Summer Project Opportunities

  • End the semester well

    • In your final end of year party on campus, take the time to praise God for what He has done this semester.
    • Begin now to plan with your leadership team for your Spring semester. The time will catch up to you quickly. Here are some things to think about:

      • Try to reserve the same room you met in this fall, for next Spring.  This will give you some consistency.
      • Reserve a place and the time (first week of classes) to do a campus wide survey. This is always a great start and helps you to meet new people.
      • Print off posters and flyers to advertise your weekly meetings so everyone on campus knows where you meet.
      • Plan a solid monthly evangelistic event each month.  This helps you to keep the gospel message as  an emphasis each month.
    • If you are graduating or transferring after this Spring semester, be sure to reproduce yourself into some one else’s life so the movement with continue when you’ve left.
  • Finally, be sure to have a regular devotional and prayer time during the break. Don’t let your walk with God run dry.

That last one is really important. You will want to prepare your students for the break and their time home. The advent season can be a very worshipful and celebratory time as we focus on the Christ’s coming on our behalf. But it can also be a time of letdown for many students if they go home to the rush rush or less than favorable family situations. For all of us, the time spent in the Word is vital.

Christmas Outreach Ideas November 23, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Evangelism.
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I realize many of you reading this are at regional staff conferences.  Why not take this moment to forward this to your student and volunteer leaders?  That is who John Mitchell, Southern New England Campus Crusade, sent this out to last week.

Most likely as you read this, you are eagerly anticipating your upcoming Thanksgiving break! Chances are, that you may think there is plenty of time to consider Christmas outreach after Thanksgiving but even with this celebration just over a week away, most of us only have a few weeks before exams end. That means right now is probably just the right time to plan for some Christmas outreaches.  People are usually much more interested in spiritual things at Christmas time, so I encourage you to be ready to share the hopeful “news of great joy” that we have with your friends and classmates.

“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; He is Christ the Lord.”" Luke 2:10-11

Some outreach ideas to the campus may include:

  • Giving out any remaining evangelistic books and resources and/or give out the Case for Christmas at a table, or bringing them to a weekly meeting or small group and encouraging members to take 2-5 with them to give out to friends.
  • Giving out candy canes and/or hot chocolate at a table near the campus bookstore when people are selling books back. (There is an interesting story about the Candymaker using/designing candy canes to tell others about Jesus–not sure if it is true or not but there is some interesting connections in the design.)
  • Showing the Charlie Brown Christmas special (there is actually gospel content in it!) or the Nativity movie and having a party where people invite friends. Play some fun games and decorate Christmas cookies (made in advance).
  • Get together as a group and bake cookies to give out to non-Christian friends and to the people on campus that you want to thank.
  • Use the EveryStudent.com Christmas posters found at http://everystudentpromotion.com/campaigns/20-christmas/index.html to offer students an opportunity to seek Christ this Christmas.

One other thing we would like you to consider is taking a few moments to thank those who help to make your ministry possible on campus. (Phil 1:3 “I thank my God every time I remember you.”)
Some of those people may include:

  • Faculty Advisor
  • The person who approves your posters
  • The worker who reserves rooms for you
  • The accounting person who you go to with your financial questions and for money
  • Etc….

There could be many others, but consider how you might show some appreciation to them. A card signed by those in your ministry or leadership team, a small plate of homemade cookies etc. Nothing expensive or elaborate but it shows care, appreciation and the love of Christ.

We pray that these ideas will help you reach out with the love of Jesus in a couple weeks as we enter the Christmas season. If you don’t use one of these ideas I hope it helps spark your imagination to develop other methods of reaching out!

Praying for you,
John

John makes use of a number of coaching strategies.  He visits his campuses once or twice a semester.  He calls his leaders every week or two.  He sends out an email to all of his leaders every Monday with a couple of paragraphs on the topic and a link to his blog where he posts the rest of the content.  These are always very well written and offer great practical coaching for leaders.

Constitution for recognition November 16, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Launching.
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You participated in Cross 09.  You found a leader.  You launched a movement.  Perhaps you think that new movement should become a recognized student organization on campus.  If so, writing a constitution is typically part of that process.

Campus Crusade’s Office of the General Counsel recently posted some helpful information and a sample constitution on the Staff Web.   From their experience, problems registering as a student organization often stem from language in the constitution in the areas of membership and leadership requirements.  Their model constitution speaks to those concerns and they believe it has strong legal grounding.

Obviously, we want everyone to be welcome in our ministries.  But it is important for us to maintain leadership standards in keeping with our vision and beliefs.  It is also important for us to see consistency across our ministries.  The General Counsel’s model helps with that language.

On some campuses, recognition is not a big deal.  But for many, organizations cannot schedule rooms or put up posters unless they are approved.  Often the campus provides a constitution template in their recognition information.  You will also want to make sure you have included the requisite topics as you apply.

What to do after Cross 09 November 9, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Evangelism, Launching, Student Ownership, Trusting God.
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You have prayed for open doors.  You have made your plans.  You are going to initiate conversations with students or faculty in a different ethnic community during these next three days.  And you are trusting God to launch a movement.

On last week’s podcast from Sam Osterloh and the Cross 09 team, Anna Pratt offered some suggestions for what to do now that you have found a leader or you have some students who want to start a movement.

  • You don’t need to shoulder the responsibility for starting the movement.  Encourage the students to take the lead.
  • If you really connect with them, you may want to coach them yourself as they lead.  The Student LINC team in Orlando can offer coaching suggestions.  1-800-678-5462.
  • In any case, you will want to connect them to the particular strategy for more resources and upcoming opportunities.  There are “go to” folks for each strategy.

    • Bridges International: Linda.Woods@uscm.org
    • Destino: Jim.Sautner@uscm.org
    • Epic Movement: Darrin.Mabuni@uscm.org
    • Impact Movement: Scott.Crocker@uscm.org
    • KCCC: Bobby.Oh@uscm.org
    • Nations: Mike.Kelly@uscm.org

When you talk with any of these folks, they can let you know the extent of the coaching the strategy can offer you and/or your leader and you will want to let them know the level of participation you can have in the future.  You can find all this information, the podcasts and more here.

And now for something fun!  Stacie Fletcher and the Cross 09 team have put together some ways of passing on stories.  Basically, you can use whatever form of communication you prefer.

  • Leave a voicemail or text (321) 895-425.
  • Send an email to Godatwork@uscm.org.
  • Post to Facebook.
  • Upload to AllCallings.

They are offering a thank you gift to the first 5 stories submitted and everyone who submits a story will be entered in a drawing for an iPod touch.  They also have separate photo and video contests.  Categories are evangelism, location, movement launching, cross-cultural ministry and best overall.  Visit this contest page for more info.

You may recall what Sam Osterloh wrote in his Cross 09 email last week:

“Where did God find you? Who took the step of faith to tell you about Christ? They were loving you as Christ had loved them. Ask God to give you the ability to lovingly proclaim the gospel clearly.”

This is a faith venture.  We are anticipating what God will do in our own lives as well as raising up new movements.  Thanks to the Cross 09 team for all they have done to prepare us for these days.

The Skills to Lead Small Groups November 5, 2009

Posted by Gilbert Kingsley in Coaching, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Student Ownership, Volunteers.
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I happened to read something last week that was interesting.  No doubt you have seen it.

“Last week, I was invited to a friend’s home for dinner. We hadn’t had a chance to see each other for a while, so I was eager for the companionship, as much as a good meal. Shortly after I arrived, we were alerted that dinner was ready, so we headed into the dining room, When I got there, I was expecting to find some sort of main dish— perhaps a casserole, or maybe some baked chicken. I was also hoping for a steaming dish of vegetables, and maybe some bread, served in a basket. Instead, sitting in the center of the table, with its jagged lid mostly pried back, was a five-pound can of cold green beans. “Dig in!” my friend said.

“Disgruntled may be too strong a word, but I was certainly hoping for more. The beans were fine, and no doubt full of good nutrients. The can itself was sturdy and clearly labeled. But the meal lacked a certain presentation, not to mention flavor…

“Every week, on campuses across the country, our students attend Bible studies that are served right out of the can. This year that “can” may have had the label Cru.Comm emblazoned on it. Cru.Comm is, unapologetically, Bible study in a can.”

This came from the first of seven short, but very helpful, articles on “How to Lead a Bible Study” from the folks who gave us Cru.Comm.

Healthy small groups are the essential building blocks of a growing movement.  That article goes on to explain that quality Biblical content, community, self-discovered learning, progressive life change and outward impact are elements of a healthy small group.  Cru.Comm helps provide that quality biblical content.  But it is the role of a small group leader to bring that biblical content into an environment where community is fostered, life change happens and impact for Christ ripples outward.

These seven articles are mostly one or two pages in length.

  1. How to Use Cru.Comm
  2. Crucial Elements
  3. Preparing the Lesson
  4. Planning Your Group Session
  5. Designing the Right Environment
  6. Ten Suggestions for the First Group Meeting
  7. Guiding a Discussion

They are a must read for our new Bible study leaders.  Even our veteran leaders will be reminded of how God works in the small group.


For the last few weeks, I have been talking about growing movements in their various stages of development.  We talked about filtering a leader, developing a leadership team and seeing evangelism and discipleship become a part of the movement.  If we hope to see our movements to grow from launched to multiplying, we must give our small group leaders the skills to lead quality small groups.

While the entire curriculum of over 100 lessons, complete with posters, studies, articles and leaders’ guides, is available for only $9.00 per disk, there is a semester’s worth of free sample lessons.  This will give your leaders enough experience with Cru.Comm to confidently invest in the rest.