In the beginning…

•      “Cell” concept originated in churches

•      A way to minister to peoples’ personal needs

•      A way to give a “small church” feel in a large church environment

•      Has been VERY successful for churches.

•      Why not try it for user groups???

Death by Success

•      The curse of an effective user group!

–  You do a good job of giving people what they came for…

–  Once they “get it,” they don’t renew their membership

•      UGs saw drastic decline during the 1990s.

–  Questioned need for UGs

–  Many disbanded

Survey says…

•      Market research done for Clickers in 2001

–  The people who stay in a user group are those who form relationships.

–  The people who stay in a user group have a sense of loyalty to the group.

–  The people who stay in a user group stay to “give back.”

–  The more social interaction, the more likely the renewal.

What’s in a name?

•      Cell – people associate the term with a church group

•      Chapter – we had a disastrous experience with starting chapters once

•      SIGs – Special Interest Group is a familiar term to our members

•      I call them “Geographic SIGs”

Value-added by cell

•      Meeting “closer to home” once or twice a month

•      Group of people who may already know one another

•      Easier for social interaction

•      Adds value to a small community

•      Draws members into larger organization

Challenges

•      Commitment of original leader

•      Publicizing

•      Meeting space

•      Equipment

•      Developing leaders from the cell

•      Must appeal to broad range of interest/ability

•      Foster sense of belonging to larger group

First cell - 2002

•      St. Francisville, a small town 25 miles north of Baton Rouge

•      Already had about 10 families in the vicinity who were members.

•      Started meeting in the community bank, moved to Methodist church

•      Has not lived up to expectations, may soon merge with second cell

Failure to thrive…

•      Too far from main group for most (older) people to participate in main group activities

•      Too small a town

•      Commitment from local participants as leaders not forthcoming

Second cell - 2003

•      Zachary, a small town about 12 miles north of Baton Rouge

•      Already had about 15 families who were members

•      Meets in Presbyterian church

•      Uses their projector

Future looks bright

•      Has grown in less than 6 months to about 35 families

•      Active leadership team emerged in the second month

•      December and January speakers will come from within the group

Plans for cells in 2004

•      Denham Springs, a largish town about 15 miles east of Baton Rouge

–  Current active volunteer lives there and will lead and develop

•      Gonzales/Prairieville, two small communities south of Baton Rouge

–  Current active volunteer lives there and will lead and develop

And beyond…

•      Across the river in Port Allen/Brusly

•      Within individual neighborhoods/areas in Baton Rouge

–   LSU area

–   North Baton Rouge

–   Southeast Baton Rouge

•      Within other “organizations”

–   Senior centers

–   Churches

–   Assisted-living communities