One of the best books we have read as a team at Elim Gospel Church on developing and maintaining healthy small groups and closing the ‘back door’ is the book, “Sticky Church“, by Larry Osborne. I guarantee you that this book will not only give you fresh ideas for group ministry, but it will also help you communicate some of the principles on group life in the local church. It’s not necessary that you adopt every idea/philosophy represented as it is necessary for you to get/stay sharpened in helping people find authentic and lasting community in your church body.I highly recommend this book!
Excerpt from Pages 79-80 of ‘Sticky Church‘
“I think of people as being like Legos. We all have a limited number of connectors. Introverts have a few. Some extroverts have dozens. But either way, once they’re full, they’re full. And when that happens, we tend to be friendly but to not connect. It’s what happens when you move to a new town and are excited by everyone’s friendliness, only to be discouraged three months later that you haven’t connected with anyone.”
“This can be very confusing and frustrating for people who are new to a community or church. The acts of friendship send one message, but the lack of connections send another. It’s why so many people complain about churches being cliquesh. The realit is, it’s not so much a church full of cliques as it is a church full of people whose connectors are already full. Obviously, this can be a huge problem when it comes to assimilating new people into a small group or even a congregation. But it can also be put to use by employing a bit of spiritual jujitsu.”
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