As I'm using the term, a "small group" is group of between around 5 and 15 church members (many experts say 8-12 members is the optimal number), which meets regularly (usually either weekly or fortnightly), normally in the home of one or more of the group (it is possible for a group to meet elsewhere). The purpose of a small group is to develop, grow and encourage Christian discipleship and fellowship in its members. Most small groups also aim to grow to the point where they can split into two groups when enough there are too many people for one group. For some groups this growth may be from within the body of disciples within a congregation while other small groups have an evangelistic aim, to draw people from outside the church into the group and the church as new believers and new disciples.
The core activities of the group are usually Bible study, discussion, prayer and fellowship, though group activities are often flexible enough to include social and recreational activities from time to time.
A typical small group meeting would last anywhere from approximately 2 to 3 hours and may take the following pattern (though this is very flexible):
- Welcome and catching-up with people
- Refreshments or a meal
- Bible study/discussion
- Prayer time
- Final chats and goodbyes
Perhaps three to six times a year, groups sometimes vary this typical pattern or meet at a different time and may have more varied activities such as:
- Watching an edifying film, documentary, discussion programme or debate and then using this as a basis for group discussion.
- Games nights
- Going on group outings such as the cinema, a concert or the theatre, going for a country walk, visiting a museum, going out for a meal together, etc.
- An evening of practical service to the larger congregation or community. This could be anything from DIY, cleaning or maintenance, through to evangelistic activities.
Why should our churches have small groups?
This is a very important question. Some people would argue that there is no need to have small groups within a congregation. Perhaps a few would even argue that small groups cause problems and should be avoided. These objections are not completely off the mark. It is possible for small groups to "go wrong" and cause problems, perhaps exposing members to false teaching, or leading to the formation of inward-looking cliques, or channelling energy away from other meetings or programmes in the congregation. Yet these problems are hardly unique to churches with small groups. The very same criticisms could accurately be levelled at churches with no small group structure in place at all!
More importantly, it simply does not follow that because something can be abused or done badly that it should not be done at all. If that were so, many a church's activities would have to be curtailed.
It is more objective to consider the advantages small groups can bring when done well. There are a number of points in favour of encouraging small groups within a church congregation, particularly if the congregation is larger than say 100 members (though this is hardly a baseline figure - small groups could give many of the following advantages even in smaller congregations).
Reason 1: Closer Relationships
Small groups are one of the best ways to help build closer relationships between members of a congregation. In the early church, believers shared their lives with each other in close fellowship (e.g. Acts 2:42). In large, modern congregations this is often difficult to achieve. Too often our churches are large groups of people who gather to hear a sermon, sing hymns and pray together, as if this were all that Jesus requires of the people of the Kingdom. Small groups of 6-12 people, particularly when meeting in the comfortable and familiar setting of members' homes, immediately create a more intimate atmosphere, and as the group meets and becomes more relaxed with each other so the Christian ideal of the church as the family-community of shared lives with God and with each other is more apt to flourish.
In a large church of over 200 members it is almost impossible to get to know everyone, and it is easy to just be an anonymous churchgoer and consumer of Bible teaching.
It has been pointed out that the number of inter-relationships in a group of people grows exponentially with the size of the group. With four people, A, B, C and D, there are no less than six interpersonal relationships: A-B, B-C, C-D, D-A, A-C, B-D. If we merely double that to a group of eight people, there are then no less than 28 interpersonal relationships possible and needing to be maintained if there is to be a "family dynamic" in the group. It is immediately apparent that in a church congregation of 100, 200, 300 or more people, it is simply impractical to maintain a close relationship between everyone in the many thousands of possible relationships that could potentially exist. As human beings we can only manage a certain number of close family-like relationships. We need smaller units of people to relate to. That is where small groups offer a tremendous advantage for encouraging close Christian fellowship.
Reason 2: Approachable to Outsiders
The days when most people attend a church even occasionally, such as for weddings, funerals and maybe a Christmas service are rapidly disappearing into history. For many people, especially among the under 30s, the church is an alien environment where people do strange, unfamiliar things like sing together, sit quietly or listen to an extended monologue from a speaker, and where much that goes on is not explained and hard to understand.
As we seek to reach others with the gospel against this background, small groups offer a great setting to meet, welcome and introduce enquirers to the Faith. The homely environment of someone's living room is much less "threatening" for many people than a church building, and a conversational discussion about the Bible is easier for many people to process than a half-hour sermon.
Many churches have found that small groups are an invaluable evangelistic tool that has led to significant growth in the congregation.
Reason 3: Pastoral Care
The idea being small groups is that they are more than a home Bible study or prayer group though they certainly are no less than that. By sharing their lives together, the members of a small group get to know each other closely, and get to know each others needs. Small groups can offer mutual pastoral support for the members.
The biblical model of pastoral support is not the minister doing everything. Neither is it the church elders or deacons doing all the pastoral work. The biblical model involves all members giving and receiving help as they are able and require it.
Small groups provide an excellent framework to enable the joy and privilege of ministering to other believers in practical ways.
Reason 4: Living Out the Faith
Pastoral care is only one way in which small groups can help facilitate the practical living out of the Christian faith, but there are many others. Many small groups work together to do evangelism, or charity fundraising, or be of practical service to the church or the local community.
The small group can provide a focal point that brings Christians together to live out their faith in ways that are difficult when Christians operate only on "solo missions" or where only the church as an amorphous whole is working but many individual members can get left behind.
Reason 5: Encouraging Prayer
One of the most important benefits that flow from the increased intimacy of a small group and the closeness of trust and fellowship between the members is that small groups create a comfortable atmosphere for prayer. For many Christians a Sunday service or even a larger prayer meeting does not allow either the time, the opportunity or the right atmosphere to share personal information and seek prayer support. A small group is in many respects a more natural environment to discuss our innermost needs.
Small groups can also prove effective in developing the prayer life of Christians who are not confident enough to pray aloud in a larger setting.
As well as praying for each other in the group, a good group leader will also make sure there is an outward aspect to the group's prayer life, praying for the wider needs of the church, the community and the world and will encourage all the members to participate in prayer.
Reason 6: Open and Honest Communication
One of the perceptions many people have of Christians and churches, rightly or wrongly, is that they are at best uncomfortable with questions and expressions of doubt or uncertainty and at worst judgmental of anyone who does not conform to the "official" line (whatever that is in each particular congregation).
By comparison, one of the strengths of a small group environment, is that it allows the development between members of a level of trust, support and mutual acceptance so that everyone can be completely honest about what they think and how they feel. Rather than closing down communication, the small group fosters openness and honesty. This is not only more healthy on a human level than any kind of repression of the truth, it is also more in line with how the Bible presents the openness and honesty of many of the heroes of the faith in their relationship even with God himself.
One of the wonderful things about salvation by grace through faith alone is that our acceptance with God is not dependent on us getting everything right in our beliefs or in our conduct. As has been said by Tom Wright and others, we are justified by believing in Christ, we are not justified by believing in justification by faith. According to the apostle Paul, this truth gives us a liberty of tremendous value that we should never fritter away.
In my view, when a small group gets to the point where the members realise they are accepted for who they are, not just by God but by the people in the room, even if they make mistakes, even if they don't get all the doctrines 100% accurate, then they are actually beginning to embody the very foundational truth which Luther and Calvin recognised lay at the very heart of the good news and was the doctrine by which the church stands or falls - that our acceptance is not based on anything in us, not even our doctrinal purity, but only, only, only on Christ and his redeeming work.
If that doesn't encourage us to be open and honest with each other, nothing will. The small group merely provides one of the most appropriate and fitting settings for it to take place.
(The second part of this paper will follow soon)
James, that's a masterly apologetic for small groups in congregations. I was particularly struck by your comment that 'In the early church, believers shared their lives with each other in close fellowship (e.g. Acts 2:42).' That's sound reason for considering small groups and their benefit.
ReplyDeleteActually you've analysed the benefits of small groups so comprehensively that I can't think what you'll have to say in Chapter 2!
David