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Articles by Rick Howerton
6 Compelling Reasons to Have Intergenerational Groups
In small group ministry it’s important we figure out what’s next. Recently I’ve asked a number of the best-known group life practitioners to share their latest learnings. Below are the things I learned when I interviewed Rick Howerton. “Many will hesitate when it comes to intergenerational groups. I certainly understand the hesitation.
Why Become a Disciple-Making Small Group Church?
Some have asked, “Why would I want to lead my church to become a disciple-making church when the people I lead are happy with the status quo?” There are many undeniable and essential reasons. Why Become a Disciple-Making Small Group Church? Only 9 percent of people who call themselves born again believe absolute moral truth exists. (Barna survey, 2009) Biblical illiteracy is at an all time high. Being a witness for Christ has diminished to simply hanging out with someone who is an unbeliever.
The Power of Vision
Note: This article is excerpted from our training tool at SmallGroups.com, Develop a Group Strategy. John Maxwell once said, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.” While this may be a bit of an overstatement, one thing is for sure: An effective leader is necessary if anything of substance is going to be accomplished. But what drives an effective leader? What keeps a leader in the game when things get tough? What inspires a leader to give his or her life to a particular goal?
Teaching Others How to Pray Out Loud in a Group
ShareTweetPinPocketFlipboard Jesus taught the disciples to pray. Shouldn’t we do the same? Specifically, shouldn’t we teach how to pray out loud in a group? I’ve been in ministry for 36 years now. An unforgettable ministry conversation took place one afternoon after our Sunday gathering of Christ-followers. One of the small group leaders at our church was speaking with me about the growth he was seeing in his small group members.
Pastor: Define Small Group for Your Church
ShareTweetPinPocketFlipboard The term “small group” is a very confusing term. It’s confusing because it creates so many different mental images. That’s why every pastor must define small group. If someone was once in a healing or support group, in their mind, a small group is a support or healing group. If someone has been in a group that was mostly about learning the Bible and led by a gifted Bible teacher, they have a completely different image in their mind.
Develop a Small-Group Strategy
Recent research from LifeWay reveals that less than 50 percent of churches have a well-defined strategy for small-group ministry. Yikes! But we understand—it's really hard to find a structure that fits your context well. Often our first instinct is simply to cut and paste what's working at another church. But then when it fails, we realize it never fit our church to begin with. We'd like to show you a better way. This resource will give you the tools to create a customized strategy for your context.
Three Reasons Small Group Christmas Parties Fail
ShareTweetPinPocketFlipboard Small Group Christmas Parties happen once a year. The annual Christmas party is the optimal time to create memories that bonds a group forever. We don’t want to waste the moment so it’s important that we avoid anything that makes it a failure. Below you’ll find a few things that cause a Small Group Christmas party to fail. Avoid them if at all possible. Three Reasons Small Group Christmas Parties Fail 1.Not calendaring the Christmas party far in advance.
On Love & Small Groups
Motivating group members to love Are you motivating your group members to love? by Rick Howerton Want an example of what perfect love looks like? Look no further than the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But how do we use this to motivate our group members to love each other? Read this article that oozes with practicality from small group expert Rick Howerton. [Read full article] Loving the invitation Does your small group love to invite others?
Small Group Quotes That Motivate … In Less Than 280 Characters
ShareTweetPinPocketFlipboard I am a tweeter, and I share small group quotes on Twitter. On an almost daily basis I will tweet as many as five statements that pop into my head. Some of them are about leadership but most of them are small group quotes. While on the road leading training or consulting, I’m sometimes asked by those who follow me on Twitter if they could have the list of quotes.
What to Do If Your Small Group Is Too Big
Sometimes a leader bites off more than they can chew. But, determining when a small group is too big is not as easy as it may seem. If a group leader’s goal is to see spiritual transformation in the life of every person in the group, there are some signs that should tell a group leader the group is too big. When a small group member can come to the meetings, remain silent, never telling their story or engaging in the conversation, and this goes unnoticed, the group may be too big.
7 Words of Encouragement for Leaders of Small Groups
ShareTweetPinPocketFlipboard Small-group leaders are some of my favorite people. In any small-group system, they are the ones who are in the middle of at least 12 lives and, in most instances, are influencing how life is lived in about five households. They are in the middle of the fracas giving their time and talents without any remuneration. here are some words of encouragement for leaders, because they deserve to be encouraged and need help.
Ask the Experts: Small Groups and Sunday School
Ask the Experts: Small Groups and Sunday School Rick Howerton is a church consultant in the south-central region of Kentucky Rick Howerton and Bill Search During challenging days of ministry, I always knew whom to call. Rick Howerton has a warm, kind, indefatigable personality. He’s a pastor to pastors. Many years ago, when I was serving a church in Kentucky and he was working at LifeWay in Nashville, he asked me to participate in a panel discussion about small groups and Sunday school.
6 undeniable reasons it’s nearly impossible to plagiarize a sermon
By RICK HOWERTON, KBC Recently there have been pastors dismissed based on the ignorance of a few influential, judgmental, overzealous, Internet-exploring individuals. The accusation — their pastor is plagiarizing sermons. When someone is accused of plagiarizing, they are accused of an egregious act.
Is An Out of Control Small Group Ministry The Best Kind?!
Leaders long to control that which they lead. This seems to be the bent of most effective leaders. And in many instances – control works. Let’s face it, without someone being in control no one will get much accomplished. But, is it possible that control is what’s keeping your small group ministry from growing? If we look at the early church we’ll find that, 1) Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit would come after His ascension. 2) The Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost.
Making Small Groups Fun!
Making Small Groups Fun! It's not just a good idea; it's necessary. Ben Reed, Sam O'Neal, Rick Howerton, and others When it comes to how the world and our modern culture views Christianity, there are a lot of unwarranted stereotypes out there. But a truly unfortunate one is the idea that Christians don't like having fun—and especially don't like it when other people have fun around them. It’s an unfortunate pigeonhole because it's so far from the truth of God and his Word.
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