If you are looking for a way to incorporate outreach and mission into your small group ministry, look no further than the neighborhoods into which God has placed church members. The uttermost parts of the earth may lie a lot closer than you think.
My involvement did not spring from a strategic plan but was a matter of practicality. One of our dearest church members, Abigail, had become a shut-in, and I worried her disability would leave her feeling disconnected from the church body. I asked if we could bring the church to her by having a small group study in her home.
SURPRISE, SURPRISE
When we made the arrangements, I envisioned the familiar faces of 6-8 women from our own congregation sitting in a circle around the perimeter of Abigail's living room. When I walked in that first night, though, I encountered a sea of strangers, and Abigail's face smiling up at me. "I hope you don't mind," she said, "but I invited some friends and neighbors to try it out."
" Great!" I said outwardly, while inwardly I felt slightly unsettled. We were the only two from our church. Who were all these people? What would they be expecting? Would they be disappointed? What, if any, beliefs did they have? Did any of them attend church? What toes was I in danger of stepping on? “Help, Lord,†I prayed.
In the few minutes that remained before we started, there was some surface chit-chat, during which I recalled that those He sends, He equips. I could rest in that and in the knowledge that though the composition of the group was a surprise to me, it was not a surprise to Him. Once the study got under way, my initial concerns faded.
At the end of the evening, though, I could not say for sure who would return. I did not press for any type of commitment. I simply thanked everyone for their input and participation, and invited them to join us again the following week if they were able. I wanted to leave a non-threatening invitation. To my surprise, they ALL returned the following week—and the next, and the next!
Each week, we followed a simple routine that involved reading a section of scripture, then batting around some questions. Then, we heard requests for prayer and we prayed together. In the beginning, all we had was a short closing prayer, but as the group bonded, the prayer time grew and many joined in to pray.
I quickly learned a lot about the lives, history, and struggles each person faced. It was quite a mix of physical and mental challenges, marriage problems, past hurts from churches and strongholds of sin. If I had known some of it on that first night, it may have sent me into a panic.
The subject of church affiliation never came up, but I surmised that five churches were represented in the group. There was no sense of proselytizing and no competition. God's Word was our connecting thread. As the weeks and months moved along, I found myself more and more eager to arrive each Thursday night. There was something exciting about all these fresh voices.
"THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME"
I came home from the grocery store one Friday morning to find a message on my answering machine from Abigail. "The Lord did a real work of healing here last night!" she said, wisely choosing not to leave the details on my machine.
I called her back. It seemed that her neighbor, Simone, a member of our group, had fallen under conviction by the previous evening's discussion. She realized that her marriage had been suffering under a weight of unforgiveness on her part. She had gone home and asked her husband to forgive her for harboring a grudge for many years.
Simone stopped by Abigail's house early Friday morning to share what was revealed to her and to report experiencing a lightness of spirit she had almost forgotten was possible. "Thank you for inviting me to that group!" Simone said.
Her story was but one of many testimonies I would hear about how God was working through the group. Nine months later, at our last meeting before taking a summer break, each member shared how her life and the lives of those around her were affected by the exchanges that took place in the group.
- Christy, who had been on the verge of leaving her church due to lack of fellowship, had a total change of heart and ended up spearheading a women's ministry program in her congregation.
- Sherry, for the first time since she was widowed over a decade earlier, was able to connect with others and laugh again.
- Judy found friends to walk beside her as her teenage daughter rebelled.
- Helen was set free from a 20-year-old secret and was able to tell her daughter the unfortunate details of her birth. That secret no longer had power over her.
- Beth, Helen's sister-in-law, who joined the group midyear because she saw how much Helen was benefiting, came in as a nonbeliever but did not stay that way for long. It was one of the most natural introductions to Christ I ever saw. By associating with people who knew Him, she met Him, too.
- I, as leader, was not only blessed by the privilege of being part of all this change, but I learned all over again that it is God who orchestrates small groups. He stirs the people together. It is not about me being in control but about me being available.
Simone, by the way, not only had her marriage restored and refreshed, but reconnected with her servant's heart which had been closed up for a long time. She is now a major mover in a local program that takes unwanted furniture and clothing and gives it to needy families.
GREAT COMMISSION WORK
Clearly, as a result of this small group, we saw evangelism, healing, outreach, and mission. My previous twenty-plus years in small group ministry paled in comparison. Not to discount its importance, but I had fallen into the comfort of pulling a circle of friends around me and settling in. Now, for the first time, I had a sense that I was personally involved in taking the gospel to the world. (For some reason I had always thought of that "world" as being the other side of the world not the other side of town.) It all started with just one leader and one host.
Abigail's disability, which initially seemed a setback, was a door of opportunity. The second year the group grew so large that something had to be done. Since the word "split" had negative connotations, we called it multiplication! We gave birth to a second group in another neighborhood.
I later recalled that when our church started eight years earlier, it was our heart's cry to touch the community in which we were planted. I envisioned powerful services packed with people. I pictured an overflowing parking lot. I imagined our church and its name becoming a major presence in the town.
God has answered our prayer, but not in the way I imagined. It has happened quietly, without fanfare, without the name of our church even being known at times by those who are receiving the benefits of our efforts. I would not have it any other way.
I encourage small group leaders to take their discussion-leading skills, their listening ears, and their welcoming smiles and get out there on the mission field that is down the street and around the corner, or maybe across town. Leave the outcomes and the glory to God.
