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Thank you to all of you who have signed up for the 3iE 30 Day Pilot Program. We now have 40+ groups who have signed up. At this point I need to bring signups to an end. — Todd
Ok, you’ve tried every kind of small group program there is.
But have you ever been part of a small group like this?
- Find 2-3 people
- Meet for 30-60 minutes
- Once a week
- Before work – at lunch or over dinner
- No one person has to lead all the time
- Read books you like
- Serve others in fun, doable and simple ways
- Pray with each other
The Campaign
I need 30 people to launch and lead 30 3 is Enough groups for 30 days.
All 30 groups will launch simultaneously the first week of January 2009.
I need to test this idea in real life and get the template set for a larger launch when my book comes out in February of 2009.
What’s Involved?
- Review 3 is Enough details here
- Recruit two other friends or colleagues
- Participate in one pre launch conference training call with Todd and other leaders(1/5)
- Meet 4 times in 30 days (weekly)
- Provide feedback in online blog
- Participate in weekly training conference calls during 30 day campaign (they will be available as podcasts for those unable to make the call)
Todd and the 3isEnough Group,
I have recruited two groups to do this pilot program with me. Firstly, I have recruited some fellow ministry practitioners to join me. These individuals are from various parts of the country and we find ourselves in various types of ministry. We are using this program as an opportunity to reflect and grow together as leaders. For this group we will be experimenting with some technology, hoping to see if community can really be created and sustained using the power of the World Wide Web. Ultimately, we hope to form a connected, supportive community, that will strengthen us so that we can become more sensitive to varied approaches to ministry; while at the same time returning to our own ministry contexts, refreshed and strengthened to serve.
Secondly, I have recruited two gentlemen who will be partnering with me to launch a new service at our church, in the coming months. 3isEnough will probably end up being a leadership development tool for this group.
Hey Josh–
This sounds great.
We all look forward to what you learn–especially on the web aspect.
Thanks for your participation,
Todd
Our group met for the first time today. It was terrific! We discussed an article from a discipleship magazine. I was pleased with how easily this group was able to talk and open up. It’s going to be good spending time with these guys.
We spent some time talking about how we might do some simple serving. We were a little time challenged today and so decided that we would each ask the Lord to lead us to connect with someone this week in a personal way. We’re going to talk about “what happened” when we get together next week. We also talked about how we might be able to do some things together as well. Our creativity was waning a little. We hope other groups will share some ideas. (Hint.)
Lastly, we prayed together. It was good to pray with these guys too! We met in a coffee shop for lunch. It felt pretty natural to just stop and pray for each other for a few minutes. Good stuff.
Oh yeah, we also went ahead and scheduled our dates for the rest of the month. Everyone has pretty demanding schedules, so we wanted to make a priority of our time together by protecting those times.
I’m excited!
Our church plant leadership has been prioritizing this kind of micro-communal practice for the plant (we call them ‘workout groups’) for few months. Anyone who wants to see how and why we’ve been talking about them and prioritizing them among other church practices can look here: http://getting-free.blogspot.com/2008/05/making-disciples-of-jesus.html. We’re really just getting started beyond a couple of groups that got going several months ago and wrapped up recently with really good feedback.
My current group (consisting of myself, a fellow leader of the church plant, and a financial planner friend that I frequently work with) is working through the 12 steps of AA, slightly modified to be general regarding our addictions and explicit about Jesus as the Power greater than we are that can restore us. We’re using Trevor Hudson’s One Day at a Time and Miller’s Hunger for Healing, as well as other sources for help and ideas for working each step explicitly for growth in Christ. So that’s how we’re pursuing ‘growth.’
On prayer: A few of the 12 steps explicitly call for prayer, and others just get you to your knees! (I’ve worked them just once before with someone else.) We’ll be learning a different way to pray as well as actually pray together sometimes when we meet to talk about our process with the steps.
On service: The high points of service in the steps come with making amends and eventually inviting others to work the steps with us as we complete step 12. I’m excited and a little nervous, to be honest, even though I’ve gone through the steps once already very recently. More amends are waiting to be made! Woo Hoo! Gettin’ real!
Hey Freinds,
I am thrilled to hear what you are doing–this is a dream come true!
One tip: remember, the more natural, organic, and connected to the actual rthyms and routines of our lives, the better these groups and their serving will be.
Todd
Crap! I missed it. I had just stumbled onto “3 is enough” on iTunes. Sounds great. I look forward to getting involved. So…
When do you plan to move from the pilot phase to launch?
Peace, Tim
Hey Tim,
The launch will happen after my book comes out in a couple weeks.
Check it out on Amazon.
Peace,
Todd
Thanks, Todd.
I’ll look for your book at Amazon.
Peace, Tim