Small Groups 2.0 – Using Tech To Measure Group Growth

Posted on 10. Jun, 2008 by frank in small groups

How do you measure the progress of a small group ministry? How do you know if you, as a champion for small groups in your church, are accomplishing your goals? First, you actually have to have them! Kevin Stone, our Executive Pastor, is a big fan of the S.M.A.R.T. method. Goals must be:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Attainable
• Realistic
• Time based

But the hardest part of that list for a small group ministry can be the measurable piece. That is where the functionality of web 2.0 tools can help. There are two ways we as ministry leaders can keep our finger on the pulse of our small group ministry.

1. Stories – You have to record the life events that occur in your group ministry and help them spread like wild fire! If you are plugged into tools like we have discussed a bit in this series of posts, you can use the web to help you do that. Listen to people in your church when they tell you stories of life change. Encourage leaders to share their group’s life experiences on blogs, message boards, and other social networking tools on the net. If you don’t have a place on the net to share these experiences use the message board on our small group website, it is so easy to use when you register for a free account!

2. Statistics – You have got to measure attendance in your groups. Especially as a group ministry begins to grow in your church. Here how measuring attendance helps:

• It helps with enrollment retention. If we don’t measure attendance and people stop attending a group, how do we know why they stopped attending? Maybe the group that they visited for a few weeks wasn’t a good fit. By tracking attendance we can place a follow up phone call and try to plug drop outs into a group that may be a better fit.
• It identifies a group of people that are committed to building community and spiritual growth. The people that are committed to group ministry and attend regularly are the same people that will serve your church, and volunteer their time when there is a need. There have been numerous occasions we have tapped into our small group ministry to get help. One significant moment that comes to mind was when we experimented with a Saturday night service. Our small groups signed up together to serve and help that service happen each week.
• It helps make staffing decisions. As a group ministry grows there are decisions that need to be made about leadership development, training, and support. Without data to measure the need, how can you make a sound decision?

There are a few great tools you can use to help you gather data on your groups. Two that I have experience with are Fellowship One and ChurchTeams. If you have very little experience with this sort of thing I would recommend starting with the 30 day trial that ChruchTeams offers for free. There are two great features that I love about this tool.

1. It can link to your church website so people can enroll in groups online
2. It sends reminders to group leaders via email to post their attendance.

It is an easy to use affordable tool that will help you get started on the data collection path for your ministry.

Read More In This Series

Small Groups 2.0 – Social Networking For Social Groups
Small Groups 2.0 – Blogging For Your Small Group
Small Groups 2.0 – Task Groups On The Web
Small Groups 2.0 – Using Tech To Measure Group Growth