We have been amazed by all of the ways that God is at work in our church helping people build community and friendships that will last. One thing I have heard from a couple of different leaders is that “I emailed my Group and nobody responded” or “This person signed up but has never shown up”. If you have a similar situation going on, you are not alone. 

Nobody Showed Up

This can be a common issue for some Groups to run into. “I reached out to everyone and they said they would be there and then didn’t come.” or, “Our Group started strong but it fizzled by the end”. These are two examples that might be a reality for you. 

“I reached out to everyone and they said they would be there and then didn’t come.”

When this happens it can be very discouraging, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Sometimes, people do get busy, communication gets lost in the shuffle, and people forget. But, as leaders it is our job to communicate to the best of our ability that this is a commitment that we are making ourselves. With that, we as leaders have to be consistent in our scheduled groups, the structure of our groups, and the ways we communicate. If we are constantly changing things it can be  hard for groups to grow and people to follow you. Make sure that if you are saying when the group will be, that is when it is happening where you said it is happening. When you’re consistent and take the time to focus on that it gives you credibility with your group members, knowing they can count on you. When we have taken the time to prepare our homes, prepare food, and create space in our weeks to be able to host this, on top of our daily routines and responsibilities, it is important that the members of our Groups respect that effort we have made. It is okay to communicate to your Groups the things you have done in an attempt to show the care that you have for this Group and this time. 

We want to show grace to our Group members, but we are also leading a Group in an attempt to build community. Don’t shy away from sending a group text. This is a more personal way to communicate than an email and you introduce peer to peer accountability for people to be able to commit. Taking attendance at your Group is a great way to gauge the engagement of your members and gives you an accurate picture of who is attending each week.

Ultimately, the goal is to connect with others and when members of our Groups are not following through on their commitment, that means they have taken a spot from someone that potentially would be able to make time for this Group, or really needs it. At JRNY, one of our core values is to be a “Blessing not a Burden” and to take a spot from someone else without following through is being a burden to the leader, the Group, and anyone looking for community. If you have this happening in your Group, after the first Group, send a follow up to that individual, if there is no change in the attendance and communication, take the step to remove that person from the Group. This will open your Group up to people that want to be a part of it and help you as a leader hold people accountable. One other step is to take attendance as a way to track who is coming/not attending and it gives us as a Staff the ability to see those trends and support in any way we can.

Nobody Responded

I have heard from a few leaders that they were sending “messages” to their Group and not hearing back from anyone. My first question back is always are you sending “emails” or “messages”. The difference is that a message only posts on the Church Center App and if your members have not downloaded it they will not be able to view it. So, make sure that people are receiving your messages and even consider starting a text chain for communication as well. By creating the text chain, it is a more effective way of personal communication and creates that urgency to respond.

If you have gone a couple of Groups without hearing from someone, it is okay to remove them from your Group. This will allow your Group to repost if it was previously full, and be available to people that actually want to be a part of it.  

My Group is Coming to an End, Can I continue? What Should I do?

If you are nearing the end of your Group, there are a few options available to you. One of them is that you can decide to continue your Group with the same people and change up your curriculum focus or the book you are using. This allows you to continue growing together and seeking after God in a new and fresh way that can offer us new perspectives.

Another option is to take a break and reconvene in the future. For example, if you are leading an activity Group that is meant for Summer, you can stop the Group at the end of the season and offer it again next summer. Or if you have a Group that meets for 8 weeks and takes a 4 week pause the starts again, that is a great way to allow people the opportunity to assess where they are at in their schedules. 

You can end your Group and then start a new Group with different people, or a different “Style” of Group. Meaning, if you made a close group of friends that you want to continue growing with, you could change from a Bible Study to an activity Group or a Hangout. This is a way to change up the style and approach of the Group to connecting with one another and maybe you found that your Group was meant to be more in line with a different style. 

No matter what you do, please let Parker know so that he can take the appropriate steps to helping you get your Group established, updated, or archived. As always, the goal of our Groups is to put the love of Christ on display, grow in our walks of faith, and develop lasting friendships and community. God is working in our church through each leader that steps up and we are seeing relationships being built all around us. Let’s keep doing all that we can to help those that don’t know Christ come to know Him.