SMALL GROUP DISCIPLESHIP #1: The Power of Christian Community (Acts 2:42-47)

The Power of Christian Community (Acts 2:42-47)

I have a suspicion that most Christians have never experienced the power of Christian community.  And this is a big problem if you are trying to create a robust small group ministry in your church.  If most people have never experienced deep Christian community, they are not likely to easily jump into the small groups that you are offering.

What percentage of people in a typical church participate in small groups?

I went to the HighPowerResources.com Church Growth Factoids page, entered "small groups" in the search field and found this:  In 1992, Leith Anderson of Wooddale Church in MN said the following:

"Small groups are not for everyone. Even those churches that heavily promote them often do not exceed 50% of their overall constituency who regularly participate in small groups."  (A Church for the 21st Century)

But I recently finished the book "Sticky Church" by Larry Osborne (see my blog post on "Sticky Church vs. Simple Church").  And in that book he speaks quite a bit about how many adults are involved in his small group ministry (partly because they apply Simple Church concepts).  Here's what he says, 

"Without cutting the competition so severely, there is no way we could have reached an 80 percent participation rate in our small group program. And without keeping things trimmed back, we wouldn't have been able to sustain it, either"  (Sticky Church).

So we have two viewpoints here.  One pastor says 50% small group involvement is tops and another says that they have reached 80% small group involvement.  I would guess that Anderson's comments about 50% is probably closer to the average success experienced by most churches, and Osborne's numbers at 80% are an exception that proves what you can do if you stay focused on it for decades as he has in his church.  But please remember that these are the best rates experienced by these churches.  What this means is that for most churches, a very large percentage of their adults, probably more than 50% have not been in small groups.

But what is it that we want them to be experiencing when they get into a small group?  Christian community.  That ideal, as I see it, is best expressed in Acts 2:42-47:

2:42   They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  44 All the believers were together and had everything in common.  45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.  46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts,  47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.   (Acts 2:42-47)

And as you know, most people see four key elements of Christian community here:
1.  Biblical study  ("devoted to the apostles' teaching)
2.  Fellowship
3.  Worship & Prayer
4.  Outreach ("And the Lord added to their number")

This is the church in microcosm.  I really believe that if we can get most people together into their living rooms to really BE the church together, they will be hooked; they will choose to stay together in Christian community because it is so fulfilling to their souls.

In my personal experience of being in small groups, I have felt more love, affection, both given and received, when in the company of a small band of brothers and sisters who take the time to get to know each other, and share honestly about what God is doing in our lives, than in most other contexts of church life.

I believe that if the pastor believes in the power of small groups, because s/he has personally experienced it, then much of the Body will follow.  Of course, as Osborne has indicated, you as the pastor also need to be making some good programming choices for your church to make it easy for them to get into a small group.

Q:  What do you think?  Do you agree or disagree that most Christians have not experienced the power of Christian community?  How about pastors?

For the Kingdom of Heaven,

Dr. Bill