I am very happy to announce that the Small Group Leader’s Guide for Kneeling with Giants is now available! It is also free, and only in the Free Member Library here at GaryNealHansen.com. What could be better than finding ways to draw close to God that really fit? Ways of prayer with deep roots in authentic […]
John Wesley’s Small Group Agenda
Every small group has its own to-do list. When I was a university student I would work up questions for inductive Bible study. We would try to guide our groups from details of the day’s text, to its meaning, and onward to ways to live it. Since then some of the richest small groups I’ve […]
How John Wesley Marketed His Small Group Program
Try to start a program in your church and I bet some of these ideas will be in the conversation: Tell people it will be fun. Let them know it won’t be too demanding — we’re busy people. Make sure they see it is going to make their lives happier. Emphasize that they will meet […]
Want to Join John Wesley’s Small Group?
The pastor had decided to start a small group. Everyone says it is the way to grow your church, or to grow a deeper sense of community. Thursday night a dozen people showed up. They met. They left in frustration. What went wrong? They all brought conflicting expectations. Some wanted the group to be a […]
John Wesley’s Secret for Building Community
In 1748 John Wesley tried to explain the amazing growth of his Methodist movement. He had created a remarkably effective model of small group community, and they were growing fast. What was the secret? The whole thing took them by surprise, he said. “…they had no previous design or plan at all; but everything arose […]