Two years ago, we blew up our small group system in a project called Operation Kaboom. One of the changes we made was in the way we offered initial training to potential small group leaders. Under the old system, potential leaders attended a 3-hour, live, platform-driven content dump of information. It was offered three times a year and allowed me an opportunity to meet new leaders face to face. It served its purpose for a season.

Now, we live in a multi-site reality. Leaders live all over the DC metro area. Because of work schedules and travel demands, even some of our most committed and faithful potential leaders found that more than a few semesters could pass before they had an opportunity to participate in the training. So we started looking at the online option.

Here’s what I love about it:

• Leaders can complete the training in their own time at their own pace.
• Because of the interactive questions embedded in the training, participants aren’t just listening to an information dump anymore, they are thoughtfully engaging the material.
• The answers that participants provide are collected in a document that comes to us in the form of an application, and it gives us added insight into the readiness and character of the potential leader.
• The face to face interview that follows the training is more meaningful because we have a better idea of how they have wrestled through the material.

And I love it because it gives us greater latitude for creativity and experimentation. Over the next few weeks, I’ll be highlighting and releasing some of our training videos. Here is a sneak peek with one of my favorites. This training module helps leaders decide what to study in their groups.

Huge thanks to Maegan Stout and Will Johnston for leading the charge.