Evangelism in Small Groups

Posted by: Frank Chiapperino Posted date: January 28, 2010 In: Young Adult Small Groups | comment : 0

I don’t know about you but one of the things I love about my small group is that I get to see life-change happen right before my eyes.

One of my favorite stories to share is from one of the very first groups that my wife and I started. It was a group that we started for single young adults and it filled up pretty quickly as this was a growing demographic in our church.

I remember specifically it was a Tuesday night and we had a pretty good turn out, maybe 15 or 16. I don’t remember anything special about the discussion but I do remember something that happened at our prayer time that I will never forget. There was a gal who had gone back to college, to finish a degree in nursing, and she had visited the group 3 or 4 times. She was admittedly not a committed Christ follower and in a place of exploration. Well, she had come back that night and interrupted someone sharing a prayer request.

She said, “I’m sorry to interrupt but I have a question. I hear all of you asking God to help other people that you know who are sick or who have problems and it makes me feel guilty. I don’t want to ask God for something for someone else. I want him to help me. Will I ever feel the way you all do and want to ask him to help someone else?”

That moment in our group took my breath away. Everyone was silent. We prayed for her that night and I looked forward to every evening she showed up because our group was experiencing something fresh.

While I think there is potential for conversion experiences to happen in a group environment, I don’t think it’s the norm. What I have observed that happens more often is a relationship is started in the group environment that leads to a discussion outside of a meeting. Groups have the ability to enhance relational evangelism. Hopefully, relational evangelism is already a regular part of your lifestyle. Then, when your friends who are far from God are ready, you can leverage the abilities of your group. Someone from your small group may be just the right person to help your friend cross the line of faith.

There is nothing more rewarding for me than attending a baptism service at our church and seeing that person in the water and they say, “I am here because of these people.” And they are pointing to their small group.