Here’s some things you can do as a leader to help people coming back (and these aren’t any extra responsibilities):
1. Make sure good contact is happening with everyone through emails and that there is follow up happening with those who are absent. If people feel like you care, they’ll be more apt to show up! (In the email contact make sure to let people know where you are at the in the book or study, so that way if they’ve missed a couple of weeks, they at least feel they know where the group is at.)
2. Greet everyone who comes and say bye to everyone when they leave. Believe it or not, but the quality of your welcome and your goodbye has a huge impact on what people feel about the group.
3. Include everyone in the discussion and make sure the discussion feels safe and accepting. (Subgrouping is a great technique to get everyone talking).
4. Have people sign up to bring dessert…they have to turn up if they have a responsibility!
5. Make sure you are prepared…an unprepared leader is a real demotivator for the members of the group (especially new ones).
6. Plan either your party or outreach not too far into the trimester to encourage people to get connected more. Make sure to personally invite those who haven’t been attending regularly – so they feel they can come even if they missed a few meetings.
7. Stick to time. If your group starts late and finishes late, people can easily get demotivated.
8. Teach your group to reach out to each other (and in particular the newer people).
9. Consider if you’re glad/excited to be able to meet that week? If not, why not? Your vibrancy as a leader comes out in how you lead – and if you’re not glad to be at growth group, it will come out – and others won’t want to be there either!
I’m sure there’s more to this list (and I’d love to hear your ideas!).
