Chapter 8 of 15 · Tactical Ideas
What Makes an Online Small Group Actually Work?
Chapter 8, “Power of Online Small Groups,” from Online Church Is Not the Answer by Jay Kranda
Short answer: Online small groups are the easiest way to see biblical community happen digitally. They're a try before you buy step, a safety net, and a launchpad for in person groups. The copy and paste hack: host a large Zoom small group twice a year and use Breakout Rooms.
What is this chapter about?
Our early aha moment in 2012 was connecting the weekend stream to online small groups. If people watching got into a healthy online group, the online community was healthy. Our strategy today isn't that different. The most meaningful connection I have with my two brothers is a plain iMessage thread named Kranda Boys 2 Men (my sister in law renamed it and didn't realize we could see). Nothing fancy, but it means everything. That's the power of online connection, and your church can enable it on purpose.
Four reasons online groups matter. People want to try before they buy, and an online group lets them explore your church without committing. It's a natural second step after the stream. It's a safety net for the new parent, the night shift security guard in London (my friend Richard found community with us that way), or someone in a season where a living room isn't possible. And online groups launch in person groups. Come and see online, come and die in person. One online group over a plain phone call turned into several in person groups.
Then the meat. Four elements: decide synchronous or asynchronous (younger people thrive in text based groups, and Telegram groups have reached hundreds in closed countries), be platform agnostic, trust the process from text to audio to video to in person, and give every group a home base (a group thread) and a meeting space. A typical meeting looks like your in person groups: warm up like a comedian's opening act, jump into the questions because everyone already watched the study, discuss, pray. Then the hack I've handed to thousands of churches. Twice a year, run one large online small group on Zoom with a three to four week open enrollment, a study of four weeks or less, and Breakout Rooms once you pass twelve people. On the last week, pitch that this is exactly how an online group works and hand them a link to start their own. We've launched hundreds of groups this way.
What are the big ideas?
Online small groups are an easy win for any church of any size. A couple who met in an online group during lockdown now serve together at one of our locations and are getting married. Healthy groups are about transformation, not information, and that's true on Zoom too.
Who is this chapter for?
Small groups pastors, and anyone whose church quietly forgot everything it learned about Zoom the moment the building reopened.
What is the Big Idea of chapter 8?
Big Idea: Online small groups are a great way for people to experience biblical community before joining your local church family, and a seasonal large Zoom online small group makes it easy to launch online small groups at your church.
What else do people ask?
How does an online small group meeting work?
Much like an in person one: a warm up, discussion of a study most people watched beforehand, then prayer. Groups keep a home base thread for the week and a meeting space for the hour they gather.
What platform should online small groups use?
Recommend one, but stay platform agnostic. Platforms are regional and generational. The book cares that people meet, not where.
Do online small groups replace in person groups?
No. They're a first step and a safety net, and many online groups eventually launch in person groups. The chapter describes moving groups from text to audio to video to in person over time.
What is the large online small group hack?
Host one big Zoom group twice a year with open enrollment, a short study, and Breakout Rooms for discussion. In the final week, invite members to start their own group. It lets people experience a group before leading one.