Conference Overview


Two simultaneous events:

  • a Friday-Saturday two-day small group conference for small group point leaders
  • a Saturday gathering and training day for all their small group hosts/leaders

This split schedule allows you and your entire small group team to attend one conference together while you each receive training unique to your responsibilities.

New this year for small group point leaders is the ability to get certified [linked to Certification] as a trained small group point leader. Bring back tangible evidence of your level of understanding of small group principles with a Community U Certificate of Achievement [linked to Certification].

Small Group Point Leaders (responsible for the small group ministry of their church) - three different tracks

    Friday and Saturday

    Prime track [linked to Session Descriptions] - learn the foundational principles that Saddleback has used to connect over 100% of weekend attendance into small groups (in more than 3500 small groups).

    Planning track [linked to Session Descriptions] - a facilitated two-day planning process in which you draft a 12-18 month plan for your small group ministry.

    Breakthrough track [linked to Session Descriptions] - a two-day problem-solving session to tackle the challenges that are holding your ministry back.

Small group hosts and leaders - a rallying day of training, inspiration and alignment for small group hosts/leaders

    Saturday only

    The day includes a kick off session of worship and high energy teaching followed by two workshops, including Lyman Coleman’s ground-breaking sessions on relational community. The final session of the day is a time of deep reflection, inspiration and recommitment. Your small group ministry can use this day as a rally to kick off your ministry for the year, or as a unifying event to get everyone on the same page.

Small Group Point Leaders, instead of “bringing the conference back” to your small group leaders, bring them to the conference! There is simply no better way to cast vision for small groups than to involve your leaders in a high-energy environment surrounded by others who are in the trenches leading small groups. In addition, shared experiences like these will not only deepen the relationships between the members of the small group team, but everyone will all walk away from Community U energized, aligned, and ready for action!