Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Spring Cleaning for Small Group Ministry: The 5 Ks with Steve Gladen

In this episode of FG Squared, Steve Gladen, the global pastor of small groups from Saddleback Church, shares insights from his 25+ years of experience to help listeners enhance their small group ministries. Joined by Derek, Steve discusses 'The 4 Ks of Small Group Ministry Spring Cleaning': Kinship with leaders, Keeping clean data, Knowing your playbook, Kindling leadership, and Kicking spiritual butt. They emphasize the importance of building deeper relationships with leaders, maintaining accurate data, ensuring everyone understands the group's playbook, fostering leadership pathways, and ultimately achieving ministry victories. Tune in for practical advice to rejuvenate your small group ministry.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome
00:25 Personal Updates and Moving Challenges
01:46 Spring Cleaning in Small Group Ministry
03:02 The Four Ks of Small Group Ministry
03:20 Kinship with Leaders
07:42 Keep Clean Data
10:50 Know Your Playbook
12:50 Kindle Leadership
16:56 Final Thoughts and The Fifth K
18:30 Conclusion and Farewell

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Equipping Small Group Leaders: Insights from Saddleback Church

In this episode of SG Squared, Steve Gladen, the global pastor of small groups at Saddleback Church, shares his extensive experience to encourage and equip small group leaders. The episode includes the 'Saddleback Scoop,' highlighting the church's shift from fruitfulness to faithfulness, an approach to combat COVID-induced depletion by focusing on all four aspects of personal refreshment: physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual. The 'Network Nugget' segment introduces Saddleback’s first online training course, Align, and discusses its positive impact on participants. Additionally, the podcast touches on new course releases, upcoming events, and the importance of maintaining various forms of personal well-being. The show wraps up with a focus on five emotional refreshments essential for small group leaders and members: support, stability, self-expression, significance, and satisfaction.

00:00 Welcome to F G Squared
00:19 The Saddleback Scoop: Refreshment and Recalibration
07:03 Network Nugget: Align Learning and Cohort Strategy
13:42 Leadership Learning: The Replenishment Cycle
21:45 Trending Topic: Five Emotional Refreshments
32:08 Closing Remarks and Resources

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

This episode is a very special cross post from the Group Answers podcast. We are sharing in honor of the passing of Chris Surratt, a friend and brother in Christ who has impacted thousands of small group point people around the world.

Thanks for taking the time to listen, and don't forget to check out Group Answers podcast wherever you listen to podcasts.

Original Description:
On this episode of Group Answers, Chris talks to Steve Gladen about why we should go after hard and soft data to know if our small groups are healthy and creating disciples. Steve Gladen has been the pastor of small groups at Saddleback Church since 1998 and serves as an elder of the church.
The post Group Answers Episode 235: Steve Gladen on Knowing Hard and Soft Data in Your Small Group Ministry appeared first on Adult Ministry.
CLICK HERE to read the report from Lifeway Research about the state of groups.

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve shares the four key steps that you will want to follow for a successful and strategic 2025 in regards to your small group ministry. You don't want to miss this episode!

BOOK: Planning Small Groups with Purpose

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and co-host Derek sit down to continue reading and answering the top small group mail bag questions sent in by small group point people and ministry leaders. You don't want to miss this episode!

SHOWNOTES

Mail Bag Questions 13-18

13 How do we get previously existing groups to become “official” Small Groups so we can include them on our website and app? They are nomads and we love to start walking beside them.
14 What’s one thing you would do differently if you could go back to your first day over groups?
15 How do we create a church culture of groups?
16 Top tips for getting long-time groups to multiply
17 What is the outcome or “win” of a group?
18 Can Adult Sunday School work with small groups?

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and co-host Derek sit down to continue reading and answering the top small group mail bag questions sent in by small group point people and ministry leaders. You don't want to miss this episode!

SHOW NOTES

Mail Bag Questions 8-12

8 Who is doing ESL as a small group?
9 I wish I had known the importance of having the right coaches in place...any tips?
10 What is the biggest mistake you made?
11 What’s the one thing you would tell yourself as someone new to ministry regarding groups?
12 How to get/grow more leaders?

Re-imagine Coaching Episode

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Steve Gladen, Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 25 plus years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small groups and small group ministries. In this episode, Steve and co-host Derek sit down to read and answer the top small group mail bag questions sent in by small group point people and ministry leaders. You don't want to miss this episode!

Mail Bag Questions 1-7

1 What advice would you give to someone brand new to vocational ministry?
2 What is key to moving from good and high participation to great and highly effective in your groups.
3 How do you navigate creating a small group culture if senior leadership isn’t on board?
4 How to encourage attendance after a busy work day?
5 How do you best prioritize time and energy with ministry friends?
6 Starting healthy! I am from a church plant and want to establish firm foundations as we look to continue the process of growing more into the likeness of Christ in community! Help.
7 What % of regular worshippers being in small groups is typical?

Check out the The Lobby Conference

Sign up for the Lobby Gathering: Small Group Conference May 13-15th in Southern California at https://smallgroupnetwork.com/conferences/
Food and lodging are included!

Steve Gladen, Global Small Groups Pastor at Saddleback Church, pulls from his 20+ years of small group ministry experience to encourage and equip listeners to lead healthier, growing and more effective small group ministries. In this episode, Steve & co-host Deek talk about 20 ways that you can honor and celebrate the leaders in your ministry this groups season.

This is a rebroadcast episode