A fruitful garden requires ongoing work.
It begins with choosing plants and deciding where they will go based on their needs. Building the containments with soil and a watering system that will provide nourishment in partnership with the sun. Planting what will grow effectively to provide the produce you desire. And finally, tending the garden regularly. This is where the results match the effort put in.
The same is true for the health of Rooted in your church.
We have declared and positioned Rooted as a flourishing tree in our garden, one that is so fruitful that it benefits nearly every aspect of our church. We began in 2010 and still graduate more people annually today than we did nearly 15 years ago. How does a discipleship experience that generates small groups sustain such health for so long? Like a garden, it requires planning, building, planting, and constant tending.
Planning the Calendar
Our senior pastor loves Rooted and gives it what it needs to sustain health. That begins with the annual teaching plan, an outline of the weekend teaching series for the next year. Before that is finalized, Rooted kick-off and Celebration dates (3 times per year for us) are selected so the message points people toward community and gives graduates an opportunity to place their faith in Jesus. This partnership of the teaching plan and the all-church roadmap are life-giving components to the health of Rooted; much like soil, water and adequate sunlight to a garden.
Building the Environment
Now that Rooted is placed on the roadmap, it’s time to build momentum. What you celebrate will replicate, and we are overwhelmed by the life change that happens every session of Rooted. We are eager to share stories and point people toward the place we know God will do a good work in their life. During kick-off seasons, our Rooted team will take over the patio or lobby as a way to help people register for the next Rooted session. In fact, we believe in Rooted wholeheartedly that it’s the most recommended next step at our church and mentioned in countless conversations weekly. When you remind people consistently of what God is doing in Rooted, it’s natural for it to come up in conversations with new people in our church. We tell them, "We want you to experience what we have found in Jesus."
Planting a Healthy Group
As we see in 1 Corinthians 3, Apollos and Paul do the planting and watering, but God does the growing. Rooted facilitators plant the new small group and they are the key to sustained success in Rooted. We have a roster of trained facilitators curated over the years and facilitating a Rooted group is an annual staff and elder requirement for us.
A facilitator not only establishes the new community this group will become, but they identify the prospective small group leader who will carry it on for years. These early weeks of planting and watering require skill, attention, and a healthy dose of prayer. Because I know God wants growth for His church, we are committed to planting and watering the new life groups with care and intentionality.
Tending the Garden
This is where churches will either see sustained and fruitful growth in their discipleship efforts or Rooted becomes a thing of the past. Like every garden, there are weeds to pull and critters who want to enjoy the fruit of your labor before you do. A gardener knows there is ongoing work to ensure the environment is set up for success season after season. While this section could be its own article, here is a summary of how we tend the ministry of Rooted at our church.
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Transition healthy life groups. Before the end of Rooted, a leader must be identified and signed up for training, a volunteer Coach is assigned to them for ongoing care, and we know the details of when, where, and what content the group will study first. We stay close to groups for their first year, ensuring they practice the 7 rhythms introduced in Rooted. These early weeks are vital to the success of the life group.
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Clear the calendar. As mentioned above, planning for Rooted’s success begins with the all-church calendar. One of the weeds we constantly pull are the competing events that cause a person to have to choose between Rooted and something else (that won’t be as beneficial to them or the church). This goes beyond just time-slots on the calendar. We think through the whole family and everything they are invited to do in a month - it’s usually a lot! If Rooted is a flourishing tree, clearing the calendar is a way of pulling the weeds that can drain vital nutrients.
- Commit to your church’s discipleship plan. The battle for fruitful ministry is often won or lost in how the team spends their time. Planning, preparing, and executing events that don’t add momentum to the discipleship plan will ultimately take momentum from the elements you know work. Rooted is a core component in our plan, birthing ongoing life groups where disciples are formed, and anything it needs for success will be provided.
Disciples of Jesus are grown through intentional planning and careful tending of ministry. The great encouragement for us all is that God desires healthy disciples even more than we do, so keep planting and watering and He will do the rest.
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By Jared Kirkwood, Executive Pastor of Ministries at Mariners Church