In Part One we tried to define Christian small groups and began to explore some of the reasons why small groups in our churches should be regarded as a positive benefit. In this second Part we continue by looking at a number of other good reasons for having small groups.
Reason 7: Building One Another Up
In 1 Thessalonians 5:11, the apostle Paul instructs Christians as follows: "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
One of the benefits of close fellowship is that it gives more opportunities to get alongside one another to give that personal word of encouragement or support to build another Christian up in their faith and walk with Jesus.
In many churches very little time is spent actually talking with each other. How often do we rush into the church, take our seats, sit without engaging with anyone around us other than to say a quick "Good morning" or "Good evening" and then head off after maybe another brief chat with one or two people at the end.
Even when we do have a longer conversation, how often do we actually communicate at a serious personal level where encouragement can be given? Not very often in my experience, but then I may be as guilty as anyone of failing in this.
The point is that small groups create relationships which are close and relaxed enough to actually do what Paul calls on Christians to do with each other.
Reason 8: Conducive to Bible Study
Small groups are very conducive to Bible study and to grappling with the message and challenges of Scripture. One of the things about studying the Bible together in small groups is that it allows group Bible study in an interactive, discussion-based learning atmosphere.
Traditional teaching in the church in a sermon or large group Bible study is essentially a monologue, more-or-less a lecture-based format where one speaker talks and the group or congregation listens. Although some modern teaching takes this traditional approach in schools, colleges and universities, the truth is that many teachers realise that this approach is not the only way to teach, and for some people, a more effective method of learning consists in dialogue and discussion rather than handing down knowledge from the pulpit or lectern. Anyone under 40 years of age is probably more familiar with a dialogue based learning approach, and many people nowadays find it difficult to imbibe knowledge from a long monologue.
Jesus' approach to teaching encompassed both sermons addressed to large gatherings (Matthew 5-7) and more intimate and interactive teaching sessions with his disciples (John 13-16) as well as people who wanted to question him and hear his answers (Mark 12).
It seems to me that our approaches to learning God's Word at the very least can and in all probability should include all of these kinds of teaching in our churches and I believe the teaching is enriched by having all methods going on together and complementing each other.
Reason 9: Aiding Growth to Christian Maturity
Many of the particular benefits in having small groups within our churches can be summarised in the general benefit of aiding growth towards spiritual maturity in the Christian life. As our knowledge of the Bible, prayer life, fellowship and so forth develops through involvement in a small group, so the overall aim of the Christian life - to grow and mature in Christ - is increased.
So, small groups help facilitate church growth not only in terms of numbers in evangelistic aims but in discipleship terms regarding Christian maturity.
Reason 10: Development of Future Leaders
A very practical and realistic benefit of small groups is in the training up and development of future leaders. Leading a small group gives an excellent opportunity for participants to "try their hand" at leading a Bible study, praying aloud, and so forth. It also allows group leaders to develop their talents in leadership, organisation, service, working with people, pastoral work, etc. as well as teaching and praying.
A leader in a small group may then have a better grounding and preparation for other work in the church whether in the eldership, ministry, mission field or in some other teaching or pastoral role within a congregation.
Reason 11: Flexibility
Having a number of small groups within a church provides a range of different nights and locations for Bible study, prayer and fellowship. Where a congregation has one large scale midweek meeting, inevitably this may not suit every member of the church due to work, family, other commitments, or for other personal reasons. Having only one meeting and few or no small groups is a kind of "all or nothing" approach, where, if a person cannot attend there is little or no opportunity to engage in these activities at all with others in the congregation.
Small groups meeting on different nights maximises the opportunity for members to take part in midweek Christian worship, Bible study, prayer and fellowship.
Another kind of flexibility is that small groups allow the level of teaching to be tailored better to where the group members are at in their Christian walk if this is considered desirable in certain circumstances by the church leadership.
Reason 12: The Biblical Example
Our final reason for having small groups within our churches is simple: small groups are a biblical practice!
To begin with, as we have already noted, Jesus himself met with his disciples in a small group setting. Although he would teach to larger gatherings, many times in the Gospels we find Jesus meeting privately with his disciples or sometimes other groups for more focused teaching and times of prayer or fellowship.
Secondly, the fact is that the apostolic churches founded in the New Testament were all essentially composed of small groups meeting in people's homes. For example if we read Romans 16, it is clear that though Paul was writing to the church in Rome, that church was itself made up of a number of different house churches that met in various houses in the city.
It seems as if the building blocks of the early church were small groups meeting in people's houses. The early church grew bottom up from small groups. Rather than breaking up a larger congregation into small groups, it looks as if the base unit was the small group, which linked together to form larger congregations in the various towns and cities of the Roman Empire which had churches. After all, the opportunities for large gatherings where small groups would get together were probably few and far between in apostolic times, especially once the church began to be persecuted and had to go "underground" during the reigns of Roman emperors like Nero.
This alone is enough to at least admit the validity of small groups in our present day churches. But more than simply acknowledging the validity of small groups, I believe when we look at all the points in their favour, we will actually want to encourage their introduction or support their development in our churches.
And if you are not already involved in a small group, perhaps the Lord is calling you to consider joining one, forming one or even leading one?
(Part Three of this series will follow soon with some personal reflections on my experience of small groups)
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