SMALL GROUP DISCIPLESHIP #4: Can we really be a church of small groups?

Hi All,

Many churches have a dream of "being a church of small groups" but often fail to make this happen.  What goes wrong?
The dream is admirable.  There are some definite benefits to being "a church of small groups."
But what do we even mean when we say that?

I came across this factoid about small groups at the Church Growth Factoids section of HighPower:

“Based on lots of research over the years, there are some standard guidelines.  Ideally, you have a minimum of 60% of your adult worship attendees involved in either classes or groups.  If you can get more than 70%, you’re excelling.  Between 50 and 60% is fair, and less than 50% is poor.”

(McIntosh, Gary.  OutreachMagazine.com.  Sept/Oct. 2007.)

So the goal is to have more than half of your adults in small groups, and preferably more than 60%.  In fact, I doubt that you can even make the claim that "we are a church of small groups" unless more than half of your adults are involved in small groups.

And they question I want to ask, is 'Why limit it to adults?'  We have both our youth and our children involved in age-appropriate small groups at our church of 700.  This sets people up, and prepares them for a lifetime expectation of being in true Christian community with others.

So how many of your adults or people are in small groups in your church?

What are the Benefits of being a "Church of Small Groups"?

• 1.  True Christian Community

My first blog post in this series talks about the elements of Christian community (Acts 2:42-47) which are available through small group participation.  Imagine having a whole church of people who truly experience what it means to live in Christian community with other brothers and sisters in Christ.

• 2.  Pastoral care for everybody

Every pastor who loves his people wants them to be cared for properly.  But he also realizes that he and even the whole staff are not sufficient to meet all the needs people have in their lives.  This is the power of small groups.  Small groups do not have to be assigned pastoral care, or told to care for their people; they do it naturally.  It just happens.  And so a "church of small groups", is a church of good pastoral care.

• 3.  Personally applied discipleship

Small groups apply Christian discipleship in a very personal way.  As the group works through a Bible study, or discusses the pastor's sermon, they find ways to make it relate to their lives.  It is the best application of the Word, in the context of a small group who can talk about how to make it real in their lives.

Why the dream goes awry:
But if the benefits of small groups are so great, then why does it not always happen?  What stops the dream from becoming reality, or from not being completely fulfilled?  I see three primary reasons, and if one doesn't stop a church, the others do.  They are interdependent, and intertwined as to how they prevent a church from achieving this dream.

• 1.  Saying it, but not doing it

Lots more churches say that they are a church of small groups, than really are.  "Having" small groups in your church is not the same as "being" a church of small groups.  There needs to be real intentional effort.  This is indicated by either having a staff person or a volunteer whose sole job is to oversee and guide small group creation and maintenance.

• 2.  Doing it, but making it optional

If a church begins doing small groups, but just lists it as an optional item on the menu instead of the main course, they will not achieve the goal of "being a church of small groups".  But when we say "optional", we obviously can't force people to join a small group if they don't want to.  But you can design your church infrastructure such that it is very difficult to avoid them.  Larry Osborne has a great book out, entitled "Sticky Church", in which he talks about how they focus so much on small groups, that people don't have a lot of other options if they want to meet some people or get some personal discipleship.

• 3.  Requiring it, but not streamlining programming

Third mistake which prevents the dream of "being a church OF small groups" from becoming reality, is to offer small groups and even strongly encourage it, but then also offer too many other choices on the menu.  It is difficult to choose the main course, when there are so many salads, appetizers, and desserts also available.  Take a look at all the programming in your church, and make a list.  How many other choices do you have in your church besides joining a small group?  Too many, and that's a problem.  Most churches in American are over-programmed.

How to fix it:
OK, so you want to "be a church OF small groups", and you see some of the problems in your own church, so how do you fix it?  Here are just three ideas I have, which is based on comments of experts in this field.

• 1.  Pastor must lead

This is the number one, must have, can't avoid it, requirement to become a church that truly values small groups.  Until and unless the Senior Pastor is involved in a small group it will never happen in your church.  If he gets involved, two things will happen:  First, everyone who cares will take note, and begin reshaping their own values in that direction.  Second, s/he will make reference to his/her small group in sermons and begin sharing stories of this or that, and people will hear how helpful the group is in the pastor's life, and this will make an impact.

• 2.  Infrastructure must support it

Second step is that your church infrastructure must support small groups, not work against it.  What do I mean by that?  First, as mentioned, you need to either require it, or strongly support it.  In my Chicago church plant, we made small groups the place where you became a member of the church.  If someone wanted to join the church, they had to take the membership class (which most all churches require), but then THE SMALL GROUP LEADER HAD TO LISTEN TO THE TESTIMONY AND SIGN THE MEMBERSHIP FORM.  So they had to join a small group to become a member.  How does your infrastructure support small groups?

• 3.  Dump the good for the best

As mentioned already, Larry Osborne in the book Sticky Church makes some great comments about this.  You need to get rid of a lot of other ministries to really focus on small groups.  What if you've been around for a long time as a church, and you already have a plethora of various miscellaneous ministries clogging up the discipleship system?  You will have to practice benign neglect and let some of them die, so that small groups can gain a more central focus.

Can we really become "a church OF small groups"?  Yes, I think you can, but it will take work and will not happen by accident.  You will have to be intentional, and smart, and persevering to make it happen.  (And when we finish "Shepherd Care Discipleship Group Software", you will be able to use that to help make it happen at your church.)

I would be curious to find out:  What have you seen work, or not work, when trying to apply this model?  Drop me a comment and let me know.   Thanks!

Wishing you God's best for your ministry!

Dr. Bill