TiVo Church (or "How Small Groups Solve Everything")

TiVo provides:

unlimited opportunity to
watch whatever i believe to be valuable
whenever i desire to watch it.

TiVo also provides a nice acrostic to describe what i perceive to be three critical factors that hinder volunteerism in the church.

T -- Time -- people are rarely willing to give up any of their time to add a new activity to their schedule

V -- Value -- most people have not bought into a vision/lifestyle that places a high value on church volunteerism. this is probably a greater reflection of our inability to sell a vision and build buzz than anything else.

O -- Opportunity -- many people who might be willing to volunteer are not sure where they can, or worse yet, there are so many options they are not sure which one too choose, so they don't do any.

What is the solution?

LIFEGroups. (am i serious? what? are LIFEGroups the solution to everything?)

You betcha.

LIFEGroups get people together. When people are sharing their lives, time ceases to be a big issue. We make time to be with our friends. If we choose to serve together, it is no longer an addition to our schedule, it is another element of our relationship.

If the church can do a good job of presenting and communicating the opportunities for service, the marriage of LIFEGroups and service can add value both to the church and to the time people are spending together.

How can the church do this?

1) Identify a few specific projects instead of many vague possibilities.

2) Clearly communicate 3-5 goals repeatedly to generate excitement.

3) Regularly encourage LIFEGroups toward missional expressions.

anyway, thats what i think

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