Vision
People in the church have to see the value, and have some idea of the outcome, before they will buy into a ministry. In the case of a small groups ministry, it means thinking out of the box. From the stories and information I received while attending the conference at Willow Creek, there is a lot of trial and error that goes into the development of a small group, and a ministry based on small groups. So vision, and revision, is important.
Each group must have its own vision as well as the entire ministry to which it is connected. The ministry of a small group must fit the circumstances in which it finds itself. Re-visioning, or regrouping, should be done at least twice each year, if not once each quarter, just to keep things moving in the right direction.
Committed Leadership
The leader of a small group is a shepherd, in the Biblical sense of the word. If the group is functioning the way it should be, he is the one who assumes a level of responsibility for the spiritual well being of the people in the small group. Ideally, he's the first person a member of the group would call when facing a crisis, or a need.
In order to serve as a shepherd, the group leader must invest time in training, in his walk with Christ and his own spiritual growth, in preparing for group meetings, in prayer for and ministry to group members, and in staying connected with the church. It is a long term committment and it requires the ability to balance the needs of his own family with those of the members of the group. In addition, the shepherd must be willing to invest some time in an apprentice, who can assist with the group responsibilities, but who will eventually be leaving the group in order to start another one.
A Supportive Church Community
The local church is the "mother" of the small groups in its ministry field. The people of the church must have a vision for a small groups ministry. This includes the willingness to provide resources for leadership and training, and a centralized place for the shepherds to be spiritually fed and encouraged.
It is sometimes diffucult for Christians who belong to a church that has been oriented on the attraction model to accept the fact that small groups ministry is not some kind of outreach strategy for the local church, but is a ministry of the local church in the neighborhoods where people live. The church provides the leadership, resources, and the theological foundations to which the ministry is anchored. But as small groups begin to be the church in the neighborhood, they become somewhat independent and autonomous in terms of their own vision, and how they go about it. They may depend on the mother church to handle some things, like child care or logistical matters. And while the church is open to anyone who comes into one of its small groups joining, becoming a member and attending services, that should not be the expectation of the small groups. If a small group is functioning Biblically, then those who participate in it are "doing church" through the small group.
The church also needs to enable its shepherds to serve. There are several ways to do that. One is to recognize the importance and scope of small groups ministry, and organize the church calendar, activities, and expectations of attendance for shepherds so that they are not overwhelmed, and feel that they are obligated to attend every time the church doors open. Churches that are based on the attraction model seem compelled to have something going on every night of the week. Narrow that down as much as you can and still remain viable. A second way of doing this is to let shepherds be shepherds. They should be able to administer communion and baptism to the members of their own community. The church should let shepherds baptize people who are won in their small group, in theirs or a neighbor's swimming pool, the creek, anywhere.
The Annointing of the Holy Spirit
A small groups ministry should be done because the Spirit has led to its formation, and for no other reason. It is not some kind of "strategy" or church program to fix a problem. It's the church, being the church in the world. Dr. Scott McKnight, of Jesus Creed, says that the local church is the hope of the world, and the hope of the local church is group life. The church became the church at Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Those who were saved, and continually added to it, became part of the community, right down to sharing their own belongings. Only the Spirit can bring people together in a commitment to community. Relationships between people that are worth having are often messy. The presence of the Spirit keeps everything in order, and helps groups become communal.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
A Vision for Small Groups at Garden Oaks
We have a small groups ministry at Garden Oaks Baptist Church. It is a ministry which is generally inclusive of all of the small groups that make up the body, including Sunday morning Bible study classes and home fellowship groups. It has gone through a period where it grew rapidly, involved a lot of people, and was the likely means through which enough growth in the church took place to revitalize it during the 1990's and beyond.
The time has come for a re-grouping, and a revisioning to take place. There is a solid foundation that has been built for this ministry. People are used to the idea, and they have some experience with it. It has potential.
First of all, small groups are the most effective and efficient way for the church to do its ministry of evangelism. The "attraction/program" model that most churches have followed in our culture is no longer effective in reaching people and making believers and disciples out of them. The method of inviting your lost friends to church, and once there, engaging them in some kind of program, no longer works. We are now into the second generation in which a majority of people have no experience with church life at all, and no interest in, or curiosity about, what goes on inside a church. In spite of some excellent, well written "programs" in recent years, the number of people who are having conversion experiences continues to decline.
Small groups open the door for relational evangelism to take place right on the neighborhood level. A small group is designed to attract neighbors. Some of those neighbors will be people whose church involvement needs to be re-energized, while others may not know Christ at all. Through a small group environment, Christians can influence others to become Christ followers by engaging them in personal relationships.
Second, small groups enable discipleship to take place. By mixing mature Christian leaders with people who are new believers, the relationships that develop will promote discipleship. It's a fast track, because the new believers have a chance not only to be part of a Bible study that provides them with real knowledge of God, but they can see the principles modeled by people who are believers. This is the most effective kind of learning experience.
Third, small groups bring church into the neighborhood. This is where it belongs. When crisis comes along, or a family comes into a need, they have neighbors who can step up to meet it. The small group functions as a ministering body, and there are people in community who are both able and willing to give what is necessary in terms of time, service, and even money, to help. They function as the body of Christ is intended to function. Whereas people in a large church might not even be aware of a need, the people in a small group know immediately when one of their members has a need, and can mobilize immidiately to meet it.
Fourth, small groups are the church. In Acts 2:42-47, we see a church that meets together for worship, that is involved in discipleship, that ministers to needs both inside and outside of the body, that draws in new converts, and that fellowships together. Small groups do all of those things. The oft-quoted passage, "Wherever two or more are gathered together...." comes to life in a small group, where perhaps a dozen or so people invest their lives together in community and are the body of Christ. The point comes, in this small group life, where individual believers grow into a maturity of faith that leads them to leave the group and invest their spritual gifts and leadership in winning new converts and helping them grow in the context of a new group.
It is possible for people to grow to Christian maturity, and come to the point where they form and lead their own group without leading them through the doors of a local church. Small groups sometimes do recruit new members for churches, but more often they simply recruit new members for "The Church," and add to the kingdom that way. That's o.k. They are not competing with anyone.
The time has come for a re-grouping, and a revisioning to take place. There is a solid foundation that has been built for this ministry. People are used to the idea, and they have some experience with it. It has potential.
First of all, small groups are the most effective and efficient way for the church to do its ministry of evangelism. The "attraction/program" model that most churches have followed in our culture is no longer effective in reaching people and making believers and disciples out of them. The method of inviting your lost friends to church, and once there, engaging them in some kind of program, no longer works. We are now into the second generation in which a majority of people have no experience with church life at all, and no interest in, or curiosity about, what goes on inside a church. In spite of some excellent, well written "programs" in recent years, the number of people who are having conversion experiences continues to decline.
Small groups open the door for relational evangelism to take place right on the neighborhood level. A small group is designed to attract neighbors. Some of those neighbors will be people whose church involvement needs to be re-energized, while others may not know Christ at all. Through a small group environment, Christians can influence others to become Christ followers by engaging them in personal relationships.
Second, small groups enable discipleship to take place. By mixing mature Christian leaders with people who are new believers, the relationships that develop will promote discipleship. It's a fast track, because the new believers have a chance not only to be part of a Bible study that provides them with real knowledge of God, but they can see the principles modeled by people who are believers. This is the most effective kind of learning experience.
Third, small groups bring church into the neighborhood. This is where it belongs. When crisis comes along, or a family comes into a need, they have neighbors who can step up to meet it. The small group functions as a ministering body, and there are people in community who are both able and willing to give what is necessary in terms of time, service, and even money, to help. They function as the body of Christ is intended to function. Whereas people in a large church might not even be aware of a need, the people in a small group know immediately when one of their members has a need, and can mobilize immidiately to meet it.
Fourth, small groups are the church. In Acts 2:42-47, we see a church that meets together for worship, that is involved in discipleship, that ministers to needs both inside and outside of the body, that draws in new converts, and that fellowships together. Small groups do all of those things. The oft-quoted passage, "Wherever two or more are gathered together...." comes to life in a small group, where perhaps a dozen or so people invest their lives together in community and are the body of Christ. The point comes, in this small group life, where individual believers grow into a maturity of faith that leads them to leave the group and invest their spritual gifts and leadership in winning new converts and helping them grow in the context of a new group.
It is possible for people to grow to Christian maturity, and come to the point where they form and lead their own group without leading them through the doors of a local church. Small groups sometimes do recruit new members for churches, but more often they simply recruit new members for "The Church," and add to the kingdom that way. That's o.k. They are not competing with anyone.
Wednesday, October 03, 2007
Why Small Groups?
Garden Oaks Baptist Church has a small groups ministry. On any given Sunday evening, and during several week nights, anywhere from 50 to 60 adults, and 20 to 25 youth will gather for small group meetings in various homes around the area. We already have a church group, and we have Sunday School classes. So what do we need small groups for?
If you look at the purpose and vision statement of our church, you will see that small groups are intended as a means by which our church becomes a training center to accomplish its purpose, which is to attach ourselves to unbelievers in an effort lead them to Christ and to influence other Christians to become fully committed believers. Small groups are not just an option with regard to our being able to do this. They are an absolute necessity. Here's why.
We believe the Bible. That's it. Ideally, we do not govern our church by our own preferences, or our own ideas. The leadership of our church should not base their decisions on what they may "feel" is the right thing to do or what they may perceive the people in the church "want" to do, or even what they like to do. Our church is governed by the principles of the Bible which we believe to be the authoritative, written Word of God that reveals the living Word, which is Christ. Therefore, again ideally, we should be modeling our church after the principles and precepts we find related to it in scripture.
The basic model for the church is found in Acts 2:42-47, which is a description of the way the first group of believers in Christ, the first church, functioned. Within that model you find five clear functions that the gathered body of Christ is to perform. They include worship, fellowship, missions/evangelism, ministry to people inside and outside of the group, and discipleship.
According to this passage, the believers had two distinctive gatherings with each other where they carried out their commission as a church. First, they met together daily in the temple courts for worship. This was a corporate gathering, where all of those who were believers in Christ gathered together. The temple's courts were likely the only place in Jerusalem, other than the palaces and government buildings of the Romans, where the whole church could gather. Second, they gathered in their homes to break bread together and to pray. These gatherings were likely made up of neighbors who lived in the same general geographical area of the city and gathered together with the other believers who lived around them. This would be the pattern of gathering for the church for the next three centuries.
The size of the house likely dictated the size of the group. Most of the common people lived in relatively modest homes. In Jewish culture, the gathering place in the home was the room wherer eating took place, and this dining room was usually the largest room in the house. Typically, a dining room could hold from 10-15 adults comfortably, with the children seated around them on the floor. So the church met together in each other's homes, sharing meals like family and being discipled and ministered to in an close, intimate way.
One of the reasons the church grew rapidly, and was able to assimilate new members so quickly was this intimacy of relationship. Neighbors, most of whom already had a relationship with the people who lived in the house, would come into these gatherings and were quickly influenced, so the number of new believers grew daily. These new Christians were already part of a group and so discipleship also moved quickly. The atmosphere of intimacy and a sense of family was enhanced by the setting of the home, and as the church grew, more and more homes became gathering places for the church in the neighborhood. They were connected to the larger Christian community by the teaching of the apostles and the work of the deacons.
We live in a culture and society today where few people know the people who live around them in their neighborhood, yet it is also a time when people are longing for the intimacy and closeness of personal friendships and relationships. As a result, many people will respond to invitations to come to a neighbor's home and experience a friendly relationship. As in the early days of the church, this becomes a place where people can connect with each other, and the relationships that are developed become doorways to the gospel. Eating together, and ministering to each other's needs help develop the relationships and insure their sincerity. There is a level of trust and security. It helps take some of the difficulty and stress out of the ministry of evangelism. What worked so well in the early church works well in today's church,
In a mere three centuries, the Christian church went from being a relatively small and obscure group of people in small churches in the extreme Eastern part of the Roman Empire, to almost complete domination of it. After the church constructed large buildings in which to gather, its discipleship ministry became institutionalized, its worship standardized and its growth depended more on state and government support than on conversion and baptism, resulting in large numbers of unregenerate members and an institutionalization that crippled evangelism, church growth and discipleship.
A small group is flexible to function as an early New Testament church functioned. They are the church in the neighborhood where they exist. That's why we need a small groups ministry. We need the church in the neighborhood, and not isolated in a cathedral.
If you look at the purpose and vision statement of our church, you will see that small groups are intended as a means by which our church becomes a training center to accomplish its purpose, which is to attach ourselves to unbelievers in an effort lead them to Christ and to influence other Christians to become fully committed believers. Small groups are not just an option with regard to our being able to do this. They are an absolute necessity. Here's why.
We believe the Bible. That's it. Ideally, we do not govern our church by our own preferences, or our own ideas. The leadership of our church should not base their decisions on what they may "feel" is the right thing to do or what they may perceive the people in the church "want" to do, or even what they like to do. Our church is governed by the principles of the Bible which we believe to be the authoritative, written Word of God that reveals the living Word, which is Christ. Therefore, again ideally, we should be modeling our church after the principles and precepts we find related to it in scripture.
The basic model for the church is found in Acts 2:42-47, which is a description of the way the first group of believers in Christ, the first church, functioned. Within that model you find five clear functions that the gathered body of Christ is to perform. They include worship, fellowship, missions/evangelism, ministry to people inside and outside of the group, and discipleship.
According to this passage, the believers had two distinctive gatherings with each other where they carried out their commission as a church. First, they met together daily in the temple courts for worship. This was a corporate gathering, where all of those who were believers in Christ gathered together. The temple's courts were likely the only place in Jerusalem, other than the palaces and government buildings of the Romans, where the whole church could gather. Second, they gathered in their homes to break bread together and to pray. These gatherings were likely made up of neighbors who lived in the same general geographical area of the city and gathered together with the other believers who lived around them. This would be the pattern of gathering for the church for the next three centuries.
The size of the house likely dictated the size of the group. Most of the common people lived in relatively modest homes. In Jewish culture, the gathering place in the home was the room wherer eating took place, and this dining room was usually the largest room in the house. Typically, a dining room could hold from 10-15 adults comfortably, with the children seated around them on the floor. So the church met together in each other's homes, sharing meals like family and being discipled and ministered to in an close, intimate way.
One of the reasons the church grew rapidly, and was able to assimilate new members so quickly was this intimacy of relationship. Neighbors, most of whom already had a relationship with the people who lived in the house, would come into these gatherings and were quickly influenced, so the number of new believers grew daily. These new Christians were already part of a group and so discipleship also moved quickly. The atmosphere of intimacy and a sense of family was enhanced by the setting of the home, and as the church grew, more and more homes became gathering places for the church in the neighborhood. They were connected to the larger Christian community by the teaching of the apostles and the work of the deacons.
We live in a culture and society today where few people know the people who live around them in their neighborhood, yet it is also a time when people are longing for the intimacy and closeness of personal friendships and relationships. As a result, many people will respond to invitations to come to a neighbor's home and experience a friendly relationship. As in the early days of the church, this becomes a place where people can connect with each other, and the relationships that are developed become doorways to the gospel. Eating together, and ministering to each other's needs help develop the relationships and insure their sincerity. There is a level of trust and security. It helps take some of the difficulty and stress out of the ministry of evangelism. What worked so well in the early church works well in today's church,
In a mere three centuries, the Christian church went from being a relatively small and obscure group of people in small churches in the extreme Eastern part of the Roman Empire, to almost complete domination of it. After the church constructed large buildings in which to gather, its discipleship ministry became institutionalized, its worship standardized and its growth depended more on state and government support than on conversion and baptism, resulting in large numbers of unregenerate members and an institutionalization that crippled evangelism, church growth and discipleship.
A small group is flexible to function as an early New Testament church functioned. They are the church in the neighborhood where they exist. That's why we need a small groups ministry. We need the church in the neighborhood, and not isolated in a cathedral.
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