Great Question: How Can I Recruit Leaders from the “Crowd”

I get a lot of questions.  I got a great question yesterday and I thought many of you might be interested in this answer.

After reading Do You Know This Game-Changing Connection Secret? a reader asked, “What are the best tactics to recruit leaders within the circle?”

Interpreting the Question

If you haven’t read the article, you might not have learned yet that I believe the most connected people in your church (represented by the square in the diagram) are almost often the least connected in the community (outside the circle).  And as the diagram illustrates, the people in the circle actually are the most connected in the community.

See why it’s a great question?  If you could learn how to recruit leaders from the circle (as opposed to the square) you’d actually be able to begin reaching into the community.

Here’s My Answer

Recruiting leaders from the circle isn’t problem-free.  It comes with a set of problems.  I often use this diagram as an alternative to Saddleback’s concentric circles, but if we were thinking about Saddleback’s diagram the square would roughly represent the core, committed, and the inner edge of the congregation.  The circle would represent the outer edge of the congregation and the crowd.  Recruiting from the circle comes with a set of problems.  People from the circle attend less frequently, are often younger in their faith and are actually more like the people in the community.

Don’t miss this important corollary: recruiting from the square has its own set of problems.  The most important problem with recruiting leaders from the square is that they often do not know anyone outside the square.  If you want to connect people outside the square, it is an advantage to have a leader who knows some!

So, how do you recruit leaders from the circle?

• A church-wide campaign offers the best opportunity to recruit leaders from the circle.  A small group connection promoted the right way will also draw unconnected people to attend and within the attendees will be plenty of people from the circle.
• Your senior pastor making the ask in the right way will get the attention of the right people.  See also, How to Make the HOST Ask: The 2012 Version.
• In most cases you will need to rethink who can lead in your church.  The people in the circle are often not members, attend less frequently, and may not meet high standards.  But they do have the most connections outside the circle.  See also, Small Group Leaders: Qualifications, Hoops and Lowering the Bar.
• Keep in mind that the study you choose for the church-wide campaign determines who will say “yes” to hosting and who will say “yes” to attending.  See also, Your Church-Wide Campaign Topic Determines Two Huge Outcomes.

You are asking a great question!  I hope this helps.  For a better understanding of the opportunities and challenges see also, Clue #2 When Designing Your Small Group System and Connecting the Gap Between Congregation and Community.

What do you think?  Have a question?  Want to argue?  You can click here to jump into the conversation.