In Robert Putnam’s book, Better Together, which talks about the ingredients needed for a successful community, he says
“In any large organization, people’s sense of loyalty, connection, and identification comes from being part of a smaller team or group who spend enough time together to know and be known to one another.”
Saddleback Church is a megachurch in the U.S. that averages 22,000 attendance weekly. The key to their success is what the founder, Rick Warren, calls having congregations within the congregation.
When a member joins the massive congregation of Saddleback, they are placed into a smaller local study group. These smaller groups aren’t just members, they become friends. As Warren says,
“People are not looking for a friendly church as much as they are looking for friends.”
The church provides that connection, and in return, their membership grows and retention rates remain high.
Building small group social groups within the larger community is a big part of Saddleback’s onboarding strategy to deep engagement within the community.
If you run a larger community/organization, what are you doing to develop congregations within the congregation? How are you helping individuals find their place within the larger identity of the organization?