This is one way I know the world has changed.
I had to put the word “small group” leaders in quotation marks.
After all, we now live in a church world that includes Sunday School classes, Community Groups, Missional Communities, Small Groups and who knows what else is out there for us to try to shepherd people into 
This simple fact gives rise to this simple question I would love for you to ask and answer as a pastor, planter or other ministry leader.
“No matter what you call them, do your leaders know why they are gathering each week?”
Another way to think of it could be, “Do they know what the win for their (insert trendy buzzword here) is?”
- Why does this group exist?
- What does the meeting itself need to look like?
- What do we hope will happen by the end of it?
These are the guys of questions we need to be asking as leaders. If not, our groups will be all over the page on their own “little missions” as opposed to pursuing the larger mission of the church which (hopefully) flows from the Ultimate Mission of Jesus. Trust me. We’ve been there. The end result isn’t pretty.
But, after a season of recalibration and being clear about what we are gathering to do, things are looking much better.
In fact, in tomorrow’s post, I will share with you a great resource that one of my leaders put together that you can adapt to help make sure that your groups are all moving in the same direction as well.
Until then, wrestle with the questions I posed.
Ask your staff.
Ask a few key group leaders.
You might be surprised what you find.
