Most churches have some kind of small group ministry, whether a traditional Sunday School format or small groups meeting on various days and times throughout the community.<\/p>\n
Regardless of the type of small group ministry you may have, there are three foundational questions that must be settled for maximum effectiveness and clear focus \u2013 yet seldom are. And they are foundational questions because they speak to the heart of your philosophy of ministry.<\/p>\n
Here they are:<\/p>\n
1.\u00a0 Will we be a church\u00a0of<\/em>\u00a0small groups or a church\u00a0with<\/em>\u00a0small groups?<\/strong><\/p>\n If you are a church\u00a0of<\/em>\u00a0small groups, then you are intentionally trying to have every single person in a small group unit. If you are a church\u00a0with<\/em>\u00a0small groups, then you have a small group ministry available to any and all interested parties.<\/p>\n There was a season a few years back when some who espoused the \u201cof\u201d philosophy did so with a bit of spiritual arrogance. Groups, and being in one, was seen as a test of orthodoxy. The truth is that however much you might believe in the efficacy of being part of a small group, it is not a biblical directive. There is no \u201cThou shalt be grouped\u201d in the\u00a0Bible. Instead, you have reference to the \u201cone anothers\u201d \u2013 a series of directives that are meant to be played out in the church\u2019s community. Small groups are one way of doing it, but only one. Small groups are a methodology; a means to an end. The key is the \u201cone anothers,\u201d not whether you have, or are in, a small group.<\/p>\n I think the reason I hear less of the \u201cof\u201d mantra of late is because while it sounded good, it was not realistic. I do not know of a single church outside of, say, South Korea (where the idea was first popularized to the Western church) where it has been achieved. The \u201cmeta model,\u201d as it has often been called, just didn\u2019t translate to American culture.<\/p>\n Further, many leaders have discovered a simple but important truth: Small groups are needed by people who need small groups. In other words, they aren\u2019t for everyone. Those who like them and are served by them, swear by them.<\/p>\n Those that aren\u2019t swear\u00a0at<\/em>\u00a0them.<\/p>\n Many leaders are finding that what does reach the vast majority of attenders are serving teams. These are groups built around volunteer ministries that take time to connect with each other, and serve each other, as part of the serving experience. So a group of individuals preparing to serve on a Guest Services team would have a \u201chuddle\u201d on the front end, share\u00a0prayer\u00a0requests, introduce new members or celebrate new births.<\/p>\n At Mecklenburg Community Church (Meck), we\u2019ve made the decision to be a church\u00a0with<\/em>\u00a0small groups. We find that there are many who find them immensely beneficial. Many more are served by a short-term, 6-week small group experience that equips them with friendships. Others are most comfortable with a serving team. But regardless, all are challenged to practice the \u201cone anothers\u201d in the context of community.<\/p>\n 2.\u00a0 Will our small groups be primarily for discipleship or community?<\/strong><\/p>\n At first, you might disagree with the question, seeing it as a false dichotomy. But after many years in ministry, I am more convinced than ever that it is very difficult for a small group to optimally pursue both. They are simply two very different animals. And as I\u2019ve talked with other seasoned leaders, most would agree.<\/p>\n If a group is primarily about discipleship, it is very curriculum driven. It is all about the study, the material, the depth. If the group is primarily about community, it is about relationships, spans of care and assimilation. The curriculum, while usually present, is more of a means to that end.<\/p>\n At Meck, while there is a discipleship component to all of our small groups, we view them primarily as community groups \u2013 a way for people to make friends, practice the \u201cone anothers,\u201d give and receive support, and give and receive spiritual encouragement.<\/p>\n And for those who ask, \u201cSo where\/when do you do focused discipleship?\u201d, that\u2019s through our Meck Institute, which offers a wide range of classes, seminars and experiences completely designed for optimal growth in life and knowledge, from learning how to pray or read the Bible, all the way up to seminary-level courses on systematic theology.<\/p>\n 3.\u00a0 Will our small groups be \u201cclosed\u201d or \u201copen\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n A \u201cclosed\u201d small group is just that \u2013 closed. No new members are allowed. The idea is for that small group to stay as that group, go long and deep, build trust and share intimately. And there can be little doubt that there is a comfort level in that, and no doubt some good.<\/p>\n An \u201copen\u201d group is one that has the philosophy of always welcoming someone new. Sometimes called the \u201cempty chair\u201d philosophy, there is always a spot for someone to come for the first time. As the group inevitably grows, it develops new leaders and launches new groups. The key is that small groups become integral to the assimilation of new attenders to the church, and the multiplication of new groups to accommodate ongoing growth.<\/p>\n Meck is an \u201copen\u201d group church. If we sense a resistance within a small group to add new members or, even if they want to stay together, if there is an unwillingness to develop new leaders from a group in order to launch new groups, we will have pastoral conversations with the small group leader(s) to ensure that every group holds to this philosophy. \u201cOpen\u201d groups keep the mission in focus and can lead to healthier growth within the small groups ministry.<\/p>\n So there are your three questions. And in case you haven\u2019t noticed, there is a thread that connects all three questions. If your groups are about discipleship, you will probably lean toward having them be closed. And if that\u2019s the basket where you are putting your discipleship apples, you will probably want to lean as much as possible to the \u201cof\u201d instead of the \u201cwith\u201d approach.<\/p>\n Likewise, if you have a multi-faceted approach to discipleship, or have it concentrated in another area, then you will seize the power of small groups and serving teams for assimilation and community, which is in many ways a small group\u2019s sweet spot. This will make you a \u201cwith\u201d small group church and, obviously, an open one.<\/p>\n The point is not to embrace Meck\u2019s philosophy on these three questions \u2013 it is to have a philosophy that you have thoughtfully and intentionally embraced. Without such a settled philosophy, your small groups will blow with the wind, and each one will take it upon itself to constitute its identity and intent.<\/p>\n That is not good leadership and will blunt the full potential of groups in your church.<\/p>\n Most churches have some kind of small group ministry, whether a traditional Sunday School format or small groups meeting on various days and times throughout the community. Regardless of the type of small group ministry you may have, there are three foundational questions that must be settled for maximum effectiveness and clear focus \u2013 yet … Continue reading “Three Questions Every Small Group Ministry Must Answer”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33292\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}