Three steps to making your small group dream come true for your church

So many of us have been there -- you wake up in the middle of the night feeling pulled toward starting a small group ministry at your church. But by morning you still have no clue how to go about it.

I'll tell you this: If you're a pastor wondering how to go about launching a small group ministry, start by asking yourself, "Is a small group ministry something I truly value and can excite others with?" This is crucial because values manifest themselves not in your belief system but in your behavior. If your hands and feet are not sitting somewhere where you are sharing, it will be difficult for you to have conviction about the ministry from the pulpit, in your Sunday school class or in your own small group.

If you truly believe that life change and spiritual formation happen best in small settings, you can launch a small group ministry quite easily because of systems already in place. While it may seem overwhelming, there's not a lot of labor involved.

Here's what you need to do:

1. Preach on it and ask people during the service if they would be willing to host a small group Bible study in their home.

2. Gather those people in your home the next week, and you have your volunteer team.

3. Be willing to lead from weakness.

Small groups are the spiritual family system of the future. I know this, because as we see throughout Scripture, this was God's idea first. Read more here.