I have directed the small group ministry in a church WITH small groups that later began a transition to a church OF small groups. And most recently, I am involved at a church that probably more closely resembles the church IS small groups. After experiencing all these models, I have concluded that God can and does use all these paradigms.
Recently, I attended a small group leader training workshop hosted by a church of 12,000 people. I was struck by the fact that even with a congregation of this size, small groups were playing a relatively small role in their disciple making structure. Clearly, this was a church WITH small groups, however, it was also a church WITH 72 other ministries each that involved medium-size groups of people. Discipleship and the scriptural "one anothers" were happening through small groups and also, to some extent, through medium size task-based ministries. Through this strategy this church was able to avoid the most common pitfall of the disciple making process at a church WITH small groups. That pitfall is to define church by what happens during the Sunday morning event. What made this church's discipleship structure work was that small groups and other ministries were not thought of as add-ons in addition to 'going to church'. Rather, church was defined not just by preaching/worship at a weekend event, but by 24/7 involvement with ministry and with people. A key question is: How does that value get established at a church WITH small groups?
Thinking about my experience at a church WITH small groups, one key is to develop a strategy and communicate it often with our leadership. We expected the Sunday morning event to be the place where the unchurched would show up most often either through advertising or personal invitation. But, our strategy was to make small groups and other medium size group ministries the glue that made the church 'sticky', giving people a connection point that promotes fellowship, learning, caring, and accountability. For this to work leaders had to be reminded to be intentional about inviting new people to become involved in a small group or other ministry. This strategy allowed us to have roughly 40% of our people involved in a small group and another 30% involved in medium-sized ministries.
The question that comes up is this: Isn't the small group a more ideal place for fellowship, learning, caring, and accountability to take place? Sure it usually is. But other medium-size ministry programs can provide a 'taste of small group life'. Key leaders of medium-sized ministries such as choir, larger Sunday school classes, church boards, and ministry service groups are also included in small group leader training periodically to promote the formation of community within their medium-sized groups. We find that some of the best promoters of small groups are our medium-sized ministry leaders. And while not all of these medium-sized ministries incorporate small group dynamics, many provide intentional relationship opportunities so that prayer, caring, and sacrificial serving can happen in the context of each specific ministry.
You may ask, why wouldn't you eventually want everyone in a small group? At our church, the answer is you eventually do want everyone to experience community in a small group context, but our discipleship model also recognizes the disciple-making potential of many existing ministries that can also provide a 'taste of small groups'. How do you keep that taste fresh for people? You have to be intentional about proclaiming the core value of community and relational discipleship throughout the church. Some of those core values include:
- Challenging every member and every attender of the church to become connected to a group of people for the purpose of discipleship (intentional shepherding). Those who remain unconnected, are occasionally assigned to a group/ministry leader to be prayed for, invited to the group, and to be cared for.
- Every group/ministry leader is charged with:
1. Monitoring and facilitating the activities of fellowship, learning, caring, and accountability during the group/ministry times
2. Praying for and making contact with group participants outside of group meetings
3. Reaching out and inviting new people into the group (both disconnected church-goers and the unchurched)
4. Recognizing and training upcoming leaders
5. Prepare the group for personal and group multiplication
- Group and ministry leaders have independence to develop their own learning/serving focuses, however seasonal participation in church wide learning/serving programs is critically important to build unity, to discern God's will for us as an entire church, and to emphasize a complete understanding of the gospel and our discipleship roles.
- We will recognize life change and celebrate it in our group leaders and group members when we see it occurring in the following ways:
1. Increasing evidence of the fruit of the Spirit
2. Hunger and thirst for God's Word
3. Willingness to serve sacrificially
4. Sincere love for people replaces critical spirit
5. Increasing excitement to be with God's people and to see the lost be saved
