Frank's Blog

There is an interesting conversation going on that Dave Treat started on the Willow Creek Group Life blog.  There is some discussion about the aging of small group ministry and some say it may even eventually just die so I had to make sure I weighed in on the discussion around some key things I think group ministry provides for the church.  Here is what I posted:

To say that group ministry is dying is saying you don't understand the purpose of group ministry and you don't know how to implement it in your environment. Every ministry model has it's weaknesses. Small groups are no different. They have their weaknesses and I wont pretend to hide behind them, but there are some benefits to small groups that cannot be ignored.

1 - Healthy Community: if your goal is to foster community in a church. The power of a healthy community cannot be ignored. We have already established that small groups provide discipleship opportunities for intentional leaders, but there are lots of other benefits that churches experience from a healthy small group community.

2 - Help Big Feel Small: It is no secret that there is one major fear people have in going to a large church: no one knows them! Small groups change that experience. Every Sunday my wife and I sit with a couple from our small group and I see over 100 others that do the same each week (and that's just the people I know).

3 - Pastoral Care: Group ministry is the front line of pastoral care in the church. Group leaders and members are the first responders to crisis in a large congregation. There are many emergencies that occur in our church that I am the last to hear about because our small groups have jumped in and handled the situation before word of it even made it to me.

4 - Evangelism: We have to stop thinking of small groups as "Bible Studies." We have groups at CCV that facilitate relationships that result in evangelism. New people have been attending our church as a direct result of the following affinity groups: softball, kids play group, volleyball, dog walking, tennis, scrap booking, and others.

5 - High Priority Communication: Do you need to get the word out fast about something important in the church? Leverage the small group ministry network. On numerous occasions we have done this about an important change in the church or even aiding with communication for a capital campaign to build a new facility on our campus.

6 - Volunteer Network: I can't count how many times we have utilized our small ministry to rally the troops to get a job done.We would not have been able to staff our kids program when we experimented with our Saturday night service if it weren't for entire small groups volunteering to serve on Saturday nights together.

I kind of look at this whole situation kind of differently. Small groups will continue to exist in all of our communities - with or without churches. I just hope that churches pay more attention group ministry because without this vital ministry, churches are the ones at risk, not groups.

Click here to read what Dave and others had to say about the topic.

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Are you looking for some unique ideas for your small group this Christmas?  This year we started something different at our church, we call it the Christmas Covenant and some of our small groups are making it a group effort to keep Christ at the center of Christmas this year.  Here is what we are commiting to:

1. Creating a modest budget and committing not to buy any gifts on credit.

2. Adopting a child from the CCV sharing tree.

3. Reading the Christmas story, Luke 2:1-20, on Christmas Eve and asking, "What's the greatest gift Jesus gave you this year?" and ending in prayer.

4. Creating a "savings jar", saving money from Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve; bringing the savings to CCV's Christmas Eve services to be given to an annual benevolence event (Casas Por Cristo or an African mission that will take place next year).

5. Making a gift "from the heart" for people in your immediate or extended family that cannot be purchased.

You may want to consider something similar for your small group.

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The video below really shows how a group of friends can have an impact on their community in a practical way.  Try to think of a way that your small group can have an impact on your neighborhood!

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My friend Janine and I were recently talking about the topic of community in a healthy church.  There is something about a healthy and growing community of faith that encourages deep relationships.  It doesn't matter if you are a new attendee or a long standing member, relationships begin to develop. 

She introduced me to a quote from Thomas Kelly in his book A Testament of Devotion:

When we are drowned in the overwhelming seas of the love of God, we find ourselves in a new and particular relation to a few of our fellows. The relationship is so surprising and rich that we despair of finding a word glorious enough and weighty enough to name it. The word Fellowship is discovered, but the word is pale in comparison with the rich volume and luminous bulk and warmth of the experience which it would designate. For a new kind of life-sharing and love has arisen of which we had only dim hints before. Are these the bonds of love which knit together the early Christians, the very warp and woof of the Kingdom of God? In glad amazement and wonder we enter upon a relationship which we had not known the world could contain for the sons of men. Why should such bounty be given to unworthy men like ourselves?

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Does your small group ministry take advantage of all that the web has to offer? Are you utilizing all of the functionality of Web 2.0? In order for us to dig deeper into how the web can enhance your small group ministry experience we first should define what Web 2.0 is.  Here is how Wikipedia defines it:

Web 2.0 is a term describing a trend in the use of World Wide Web technology and web design that aims to enhance creativity, information sharing, and, most notably, collaboration among users. These concepts have led to the development and evolution of web-based communities and hosted services, such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies.

Does all of this 2.0 stuff really enhance group ministry? ABSOLUTELY, because it is all designed to encourage relationships, networking, and social interactions in an online setting! Plus, the best part about it is that it is ALL FREE. Your ministry can take advantage of all these tools at no additional cost.

Over the next few posts I will be going over how we use these technologies in our church and specifically our small group ministry context. Then I will post a list of online resources so you can get started with your small group or your ministry.

The type of small group that blogging, in particular, is great for is our social groups. Blogging about upcoming schedules, events, locations, pictures from previous events, all can really enhance the experience for members of a social small group in your church. Plus, like I said earlier... it's all free, and free is good. Here is an example of a social group at our church that utilizes a blog to help stay connected. The group is called our "Small Wonders Play Group." Click here to view their page.

As you can see the front page is static (it doesn't change) and you can tell because it is dated 2007 when they started using it. But notice that it is password protected. Once a new mom joins the group she receives a password and can view the current schedule and other content to keep up on the group's activities. Using simple social networking tools like these will provide our groups with an easy way to stay organized and enhance a small group experience. Especially for younger generations that expect technology to be more integrated into everyday life.

Feel free to post questions in the comments section and I can answer them in future posts.

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