You are absolutely right. They do not work if you are talking about small groups as a program of the church, a way to grow your church, a popular alternative to Sunday school, or one of the many ministry options offered on the local church menu.
Over the past few years, several church leaders have shared with me their disappointment with small groups and uttered their disapproval and skepticism with the increasing popularity of small groups ministry within Christendom. (Is the notion of something popular automatically illegitimate in God's purview?) In a recent coaching conversation with a small groups pastor, he said to me, "The Elders of our church are not convinced that small groups work, and one of them shared her personal experience of dissatisfaction with small groups ministry from a church where she was formerly a small group leader. I don't know what to say. How about you? Are you convinced they work?" To which I replied, "Well, it depends on what it is you're working on, who it is you're working for, and ultimately what you want your work to produce."
Let us say we were to evaluate preaching a sermon on Sundays with the same criteria as we evaluate small groups ministry? Dare we challenge the preaching of the Word of God based upon the obedient response to its message? How about worship? Could we be so bold as to proclaim that because only 45% of our congregation participates during a corporate worship service that it does not work? How about evangelism? Could we say that based upon the efforts of our church to share the redemptive message of God's love for humankind over the past year we have seen our church multiplying in quantifiable terms? Why is it then that, for some people, small groups ministry is so easily dismissed as ineffective and often relegated to the sidelines, reserved for the nostalgic and overly optimistic members of the church? Can we not lift our eyes to see the place of small groups ministry diminish in the church and begin to flourish beyond the walls of the church?
The day is coming when small groups ministry will metamorphose into a thriving network of fully orbed, potently missional, completely radical expressions of the church in the world. The realization of this glorious appearing will dawn upon those hungry and thirsty followers of Jesus seeking to experience life to the fullest. Consequently, for many of us as leaders of a small group ministry, or to be consistent with popular vernacular, a small group movement, our first steps will be backward…to the drawing board!
Imagine with me for a moment that we were going to evaluate small groups ministry based upon the prime directive given by Jesus Christ to his church in Matt 28:19,20 – "…as you go and make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything that I have commanded you." Here are some basic questions we need to consider:
What are we working on?
So much of our leadership energy and resources in small group ministry is spent on organizing people in the pew to accomplish the mission and vision of our organization. With this perspective, we get trapped in the role of a promotional artist or marketing director, looking for the best way to package and position our product to garner optimum exposure in the display windows of our church foyer. We are forced to recruit people for a particular position of ministry, instead of inviting people to join God where he is already at work in their life. Often, we feel the tension of competing with equally viable silos of ministry that exist within our church structure and also require increasing numbers of volunteers to accomplish their organizational goals. Perhaps, instead of recruiting people to volunteer or lead a ministry in the church, we need to look for ways to empower people to serve God right where he has placed them for His purposes. Maybe, we should work towards eliminating small groups ministry altogether and, instead, create a leadership team that will work on establishing relationships with leaders and mobilizing them to gather others in small groups for the purpose of ministry and mission. This may prove to be problematic for the positional church leader that is accustomed to the perks and preferences that accompany most institutional structures. For others, it is a step of faith in the right direction. We need more partners, not just volunteers.
Who are we working for?
If you are leading a small group ministry or movement, then be certain you are still following the One who called you in the first place. I know this sounds simple, but let me assure you it is not simplistic. The Bible points out that all of us are prone to wander, like sheep without a shepherd. If you find that you have been posturing for people instead of prostrate before Jesus, then you may want to ask yourself this question: Who am I working for? At times, it will seem like you are working for the people in the church. Other times, your focus will be upon the people in your city. At least twice each year, you will find yourself reflecting upon your work from the perspective of an employee of an institution. However, never lose sight of the fact that leading a small groups ministry or movement requires you to embrace those in authority over you, encourage the people working with you, and empower the people entrusted to you by God. When faced with competing directives, never compromise your relationship with Jesus for the sake of organizational success.
What are we trying to produce?
Most of us will concur that our work is already cut out for us, and I would add, to be achieved by whatever form or construct the Holy Spirit chooses to make use of in our time. If it is preparing new wine skins so that God can pour His new wine into them, then glory be to God, but what we have been asked to produce is not new wine skins, or new wine. That is God's work. Our work is to make disciples. If church-sponsored small groups are effective environments for growing healthy reproducing disciples, then sign me up!
What does a disciple look like? Where I currently serve in small groups ministry, we concluded that a disciple is someone who is committed to developing authentic relationships, involved in a process of spiritual formation, and engaged in missional activity. You may choose to answer this question differently, but for us, this picture represents the fundamental DNA of every individual, as well as every small group of fully devoted Christ-followers. We are growing increasingly tired of simply producing a lot of 'good' ministry activity. Instead, it is our desire to make room for God to produce his likeness in our lives, both individually and corporately, as we gather together in small groups throughout our city to become an expression of the church. This interdependence of community and mission is crucial to the health and strength of a small group ministry or movement. Community is the counterpart to missional activity.
For instance, we cannot simply focus our efforts on accomplishing the mission at the expense of community and then pick up the relational carnage along the way. This would betray the very likeness of our Creator, and consequently abort the mission. On the other hand, if it were simply about helping people find a place to belong, then the small group that Jesus assembled on his journey would still be sitting in a holy huddle around the table of fellowship. Our prime directive is not toward belonging, rather, it is toward becoming more like Jesus and teaching others to do the same. If we choose to pursue community without missional activity, we produce moral compost. An incestuous odor emanates from this group like a cluster of grapes that has been trampled upon with dirty feet in a wine press, eventually fermenting into acerbic vinegar. If we choose to strive for missional activity at the expense of community, we produce righteous road kill. People are reduced to resources that necessarily accomplish our justifiably good cause. Our desire is for God to produce fresh fruit in our lives that will feed the multitudes of our city.
Knowing what it is we are trying to produce, will help us to maintain our focus on the 'why' and 'who' of small groups and not get lost in the plethora of formulas and models of small group ministry. It is really not about small groups in the end. People have often commented on my passion for small groups, to which I have emphatically replied, "I'm passionate about Jesus, not small groups, and I still believe that Jesus can use a small group of fully devoted followers of Christ to change the world."
I am convinced that the church Jesus is building will not concern itself with the selling of more books, writing better curriculum, creating more efficient organizational structures, accumulating financial resources, or achieving cultural influence and relevance. In the words of our leader, Jesus Christ, "For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matt 6:32-33. The practice of seeking God's kingdom on earth compels us to periodically ask ourselves these three questions: 1) What are we working on? 2) Who are we working for? 3) What are we trying to produce? Whatever methodology we employ to get the work done is ultimately irrelevant when compared with our obedient response to follow Jesus wherever he chooses to lead us. I still believe, however, that small groups ministry can be the most effective and powerful means to get the job done. It is in the context of authentic biblical community that good intentions become great actions and small groups of people following Jesus can become an expression of the church where they live, work, play, or go to school.
