Discipleship Talk with Holy Trinity Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Small Groups as Family: Clarity, Leadership Pathways, and Multiplication Without Fear (Zoom Q&A with Holy Trinity Kuala Lumpur) Pastor Steve Gladen joins pastors and connect group leaders from Holy Trinity in Kuala Lumpur on a recorded Zoom call to share small group ministry insights shaped by his Saddleback and Pine Lake experience, beginning with how a new believer’s simple Gospel-of-John group led to 19 family members coming to faith—including Steve himself. He emphasizes that churches must define “health” by clarifying what they aim to produce in disciples and recognizing the Bible’s family-system framework (temple courts and house-to-house), where ministry is messy like a hospital, not a hotel. Steve outlines a leadership development pathway using “crawl, walk, run,” availability and capability, and building faith through developmentally appropriate risks, even allowing new believers to start groups if they have friends. He addresses fear around multiplication by explaining shattered family systems and suggests focusing on personal evangelism, sub-grouping within large groups to develop new leaders, and staying close to new groups through early coaching contacts, plus using individual and group health assessments to balance key group purposes. 00:00 Welcome and Coaching Offer 00:45 Zoom Call Setup 02:44 Prayer and Opening 03:33 Steve’s Small Group Journey 08:24 Acts 2 Model and Misconceptions 10:52 Purpose and Group Health 18:31 Leadership Development Pathway 28:04 Who Should Lead Groups 36:38 Multiplication Fears 41:20 Nuclear Family Decline 42:14 Why Communities Shatter 43:52 Rethinking Group Multiplication 44:31 Evangelism Plant and Water 46:16 Opening the Q&A 46:51 Lowering the Bar Safely 52:08 Coaching New Leaders 56:26 Handling Infrequent Members 58:33 Subgrouping Without Forcing 01:02:28 Keeping Groups Balanced 01:06:42 Wrap Up Prayer and Farewell ★ Support this podcast ★