Supporting the Online Visitor’s Self-Guided Research Journey
Today, most people visit your congregation online long before they walk through your doors. This session helps you strengthen your digital presence to welcome and guide potential visitors at every step of their journey. Learn how to help online visitors pre-qualify themselves for membership a say YES to visiting your congregation.

Growth Doesn't Happen Automatically, We Need to Lead It!  
Small groups aren’t just a program — they’re a powerful engine for meaning, connection, and membership development.

In this session, we cover a specific approach for designing intentional growth groups (small groups that grow) within existing small group ministry programs. 

Helping Visitors Move from “Just Visiting” to “I Belong Here”
Are visitors slipping away before they truly connect? This training explores why traditional welcome approaches often fall short and what to do instead. Learn how to help newcomers quickly build resonance, foster belonging, and transition into deeper engagement — all while supporting diversity and long-term stewardship.

How to Use AI Tools to Save Time, Spark Creativity, and Support Your Mission
In this no-tech-skills-required session, discover how AI can support everything from sermon brainstorming and small group ministry to communications and strategy. We show you how to work with tools like ChatGPT to accelerate your process, amplify your creativity, and navigate change with intention and integrity.

How core UU Growth strategies covered work together.

This module offers an integrated review of top strategies we've discussed during 2025, from building a digital path to membership to launching intentional growth groups.

Live session and on-demand training recorded in June 2025.

Live Session on Tuesday, Jul 15, 2025 
1:00 PM EASTERN • 120 Minutes

This session is dedicated to helping you plan the video content that will serve your outreach and membership development efforts throughout the coming year.  Think of this as ministry “pre-production” for the Fall and beyond.  

We’ll discuss what specific video content will support your growth efforts, the strategy behind it, what to include, and any questions you have.  This will cover strategies for websites, social media, and harnessing the power of algorithms.   

The goal is for you to leave this session with concrete ideas, draft outlines, and the inspiration to get this content produced before the Fall. 

A reminder that a core UU Growth Lab principle is that people do their own self-guided research to determine if a congregation is right for them before they visit. Video content is how you show up fully online as a greeter, a leader, a minister, and support that process.

An enhanced on-demand training will be shared the following week incorporating questions, issues identified, and crowdsourced insights from the live session.

Live Session Tuesday, Aug 12, 2025
1:00 PM EASTERN • 120 Minutes

As the new congregational year approaches, this session is our opportunity to integrate our strategies — not just outreach, but a more holistic growth strategy that supports people from their first online search to real connection and belonging.

We’ll explore how to align Fall plans with the arc of the path to membership, from researching the congregation online, arriving and verifying it is a good fit, making initial connections, and getting more deeply involved.   

After we discuss that larger arc of the path to membership, we’ll crowdsource ideas, share specific plans, and work together to enhance our plans for growing our congregations this Fall. 

An enhanced on-demand training will be shared the following week incorporating questions, issues identified, and crowdsourced insights from the live session.

Save the Date! September 9, 2025 is the tentative date for this month's UU Growth Lab Live  Innovation Session. 

Update:  This session is dedicated to leading and growing small group ministries with a focus on pitfalls, problems and mistakes that regularly undermine small group ministries. 

An enhanced on-demand training will be shared the following week incorporating questions, issues identified, and crowdsourced insights from the live session.