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Disciple-Making Small Groups Marry Mission and Values
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When Jesus commanded his followers to “make disciples,” it was a call to mission as a lifestyle (Matthew 28:18-20). The way we are instructed to ‘make’ more followers & learners of Christ is by baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has told us to do. The word “teach” in The Great Commission involves more than verbal instruction (v. 20a). It involves the whole person and the whole of life.
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Discipleship – When Fruit Gets in the Way
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As a small group pastor, I sometimes feel that we have taken Jesus’ words in Matthew and retranslated them to say, “Go into the world and make intimate small group experiences for everyone.” Another one would be, “Go into the world and build an organizational flowchart for ministry, with small groups as the assimilation plan.”
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The Goal is Not to Get People into Groups
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Many churches, with purity of heart, discuss the success of their small group ministry based on the numbers, typically the percentage of people ‘connected’ in small groups. Numbers can be an indication of success, but we can be misguided by them too. For example, we cannot presume that we are SUPPOSE to connect 100% of our congregation with other members of our congregation.
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Missionally-focused vs. Need-based
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Most life-saving inoculations occur at the very beginning of a person’s life. The same is true of small group ministries. The way we promote small groups influences what people will expect from them and, ultimately, how they will engage with others once they are in them.
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More than Just Bible Knowledge?
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Our congregation is a 130-year-old congregation in a rural community of 700 people where we are the only evangelical church in town and, in fact, the only one in a 6 town “radius”. For a large part of our history (100+ years), we existed as what I would term a “family” church. One where most additions came through pregnancy. The small number of other additions came when people from our church heritage moved into the area and sought us out.
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Evolving Community Groups
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The origins of Central Peninsula Church trace back to 1965 when six Palo Alto families commuting to Peninsula Bible Church desired to have a ministry closer to home. They were encouraged by Ray Stedman and the church leadership to meet together as a home Bible study on Sunday nights. With assistance from PBC’s staff, the group grew and in 1967 called a pastor and began holding Sunday morning services.
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Building Community in a Busy Community
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Being a small groups minister in a large church in the mid-south is an interesting challenge all by itself. The “bible belt” runs through the heart of our churches influence. The vast majority of our membership comes from some denomination, previous church experience or religious expression. They come seeking everything from anonymity to finding a spouse, from seeking a deeper relationship with Jesus to seeking a meaningful influence in the marketplace. You want it? We have it. They hear great preaching, perhaps three of the finest expositors in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:country-region><st1:place>America</st1:place></st1:country-region>. They come for great worship, with moving music, dynamics lighting and comfortable seating. Church members and guests immediately recognize the excellence of the education programs for adults and their kids. Some may seek relationships through on-campus studies and gatherings, but thousands never opt for the excellent classes, studies and programs. They are quite satisfied with worship. Worship is “King Cotton” here.
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The Story of a Relationship-based Church
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Harvest was launched and structured around a relationship-based focus rather than a program-based focus or an event-based focus. In many ways the church functioned around a cell-church model where relationships and small groups were seen as the hub and focus of ministry life. And, in fact, the church originally met in small group format until the original small group multiplied into two small groups. Shortly after, a Sunday worship began as a time of worship, teaching, celebration, and reunion of the now multiplied small groups.
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Getting into the FLOW of Small Groups
by a former small group minister
The church was started as a small group and grew around solid Bible-based teaching and a rural friendly family-oriented appeal. As the church grew, community primarily happened organically and through affinity-based adult Sunday school classes...
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Becoming the Church Next Door … and Lots More
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I am a regular at the Willow Creek Small Group Conference. I think I have missed one since they began. I always learn more about leading small groups and overseeing a small group ministry. I am inspired and challenged, and I leave with many ideas and resources I can use back home.
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