Hi friends! This months UU Growth Lab live session is on Small Group Ministry for Health, Growth and Impact. In other words, small group ministries that work, not stagnate, not get derailed, not fight with your other objectives. Registration is open in our usual two-stage process.
Members
Registration is presently open for UU Growth Lab members at the end of this message below and in our lab member area.
Guests
Remaining seats will open to Unitarian Universalist clergy, staff, and volunteers as guests of the UU Growth Lab next week, after members have registered. Invite will go out via my email list for UU Leaders.
Session Details
Topic: Small Group Ministry for Health, Growth and Impact!
Trainer: Peter Bowden
Date: September 9, 2025
Time: 1:00 PM Eastern
Duration: 2 Hours
Format: This will be a one hour training with Q&A followed by a second optional hour for additional strategy disucssion.
The focus of this Small Group Ministry training is on designing, implementing, and launching (or relaunching) congregation-wide small group ministry programs.
Not just any kind of program! We're focusing on small group ministries that are healthy, growth orientedm, and actively support your congregation's mission and vision.
This training will draw on my decades of work helping our congregations launch, troubleshoot and grow their small group ministries.
I launched the original UU Small Group Ministry Network website in 2001, then co-founded the network formally in 2004 as a UUA affiliate organization, back when we had those. We worked for years to promote and popularize the group ministry models used in Unitarian Universalist congregations across the United States, and in U/U congregations internationally. The organization continues hosting a very popular small group session library.
This training is the first installment in what I intend to be a growing small group ministry section of our member area.
We'll cover foundational concepts, group and group system structure, and other elements of your program design with a focus on how they support health, growth and impact.
Health
We want to make sure your congregation and its group are healthy. There are specific group ministry practices and design principles that can support this. For example, how your group leaders and ministry team partner together (or not) impacts how group members relate to the larger congregation.
Growth
How we design, promote, and lead small groups determines whether or not they grow or stagnate. We want your small group program to grow relationships, meaning, and your membership! Groups can be treated like an add-on to your primary ministry, or they can be integrated, celebrated, promoted, and used as a primary vital component of congregational life.
Impact
When integrated into your ministry with intention and care, small group ministry can advance your mission significantly. We want your small group ministry to not be an add on but an engine for accomplishing your mission, vision, and amplifying your impact!
