The below excerpt is from my book Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups. This revised and expanded edition shows church leaders how to make their small groups work.

As all good marketing professionals know, repetition works. People need to hear the same thing over and over again before it registers and translates into action. As such, you simply cannot over-communicate the need to join a group during the promotion month. It’s impossible to talk too much about how important groups are–and the more ways you can say it, the better.

Each week during the promotion month, send an email to everyone in your church not yet signed up for a group. This email has one purpose and one purpose only–to invite people to sign up for a small group today! It should have two elements:

1. The email should include a link to your online sign-up page. It should be easy to click the link, get to the right page, and choose a group. I like to be able to tell people, “It only takes a minute.”
2. The email should focus on a different reason to sign up each week. Don’t send the same email over and over. One week, you may focus on how groups are a great place to meet new friends. The next week, focus on the importance of growing in your faith. The next, highlight the different types of groups being offered. You get the picture. You want to provide a well-rounded view of why small groups are so important.

– Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas, with Jennifer Dykes Henson

The above excerpt is from p. 233-234 of Activate: An Entirely New Approach to Small Groups.

Drawing from the startling success of small groups at The Journey Church, Nelson Searcy and Kerrick Thomas debunk the myths, set the record straight, and show how church leaders can implement a healthy small group ministry that gets the maximum number of people involved and solves many of the important problems facing churches of all sizes. These practical strategies will produce life-changing results.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson

© Nelson Searcy. All Rights Reserved.

About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.