Frank's Blog

How do you structure your small group ministry?  Bill Donahue recently wrote on the topic of place based community,

Another approach is an organized network of groups for spiritual growth within the broader geographic context. Many churches are using a small group structure but organized geographically. These include affinity groups, serving teams, meal groups, recovery, bible studies, etc. Without such a clearly integrated group network (as opposed to simply allowing small groups to form and exist independently), our observation was less than 20% of people connected to a neighborhood community after 2-3 years.

Bill is right.  When I was researching the topic, and conducting some benchmarking studies to gauge the health of our group ministry, many churches have 20% or less of their adults participating in group ministry.  It is unfortunate that so many people miss out on this part of Christian community.

When structuring our small group ministry we attempted to be as flexible and intentional as possible.  We always attempt to connect people geographically first but we will settle on any connection that we can get to work to accommodate the busy lifestyles people live in the Northeast.  We have to remember that group ministry cannot be approached from a one size fits all perspective and to do our best to help those that we serve connect with God and each other.  

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How do you prepare for your small group meeting?  I recently found another small group blog by Jim Egli called Small Group Confessions (while I was browsing some articles from Dan Lentz).  In a recent post he described his preperation process:

This may not be very exciting but I thought I'd tell you how I get ready for small group. I have an old flimsy nylon briefcase that is my small group briefcase. I keep my small group stuff in it. Right now it has songsheets, the Outflow book, and outflow DVD in it. I toss the small group helps-the LifeLine-in there each week.

I PRAYED

The longer I lead small group the more I realize that praying is important and preparing the lesson isn't that important. As many of you might guess, it was my doctoral research on healthy small groups that helped me discover this. It's really true. This week I prayed for the group at various points. Mostly random prayers as the group came to mind but Vicki and I also prayed for things a few times together.

WE PHONED

"You have not because you phone not" is a truth about small group especially when you are starting a new group. We called everyone who has come to group-not many at this point-to inform them of where we were meeting. One person said that she enjoyed visiting our group but would not be back. :-(

I'm not sure why. We'll try to find out from her after the service this weekend. Maybe another group would be a better fit for her.

Vicki called a gal who hadn't come yet but seemed interested. She came! :-)

I LOOKED OVER THE LESSON

I skimmed the small group helps and highlighted key phrases and the questions that I wanted to ask.

I LISTENED

As I prayed for the group this week I would see one of the group member's face. As we prayed on the way to group this happened again, I realized that this was probably from God. I thought, "We need to pray for this guy tonight." We did. I have found if I listen, God faithfully shows where to start ministry.

GOT COFFEE?

We met at a different host home this evening. The couple is moving out of the country in two months so they have sold a lot of their stuff. They told us that they don't have a TV or coffee maker anymore. "No problem," we told them, "we'll bring a coffee maker and a computer to show the Outflow DVD on."

How do you prepare for your small group meeting?

Click here to read the rest of Jim's post.

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Small Groups in the context of church ministry will always exist.  However, how churches and Christians express group life will always be in a state of change.  Culture, church administration, leadership, and other factors will constantly maintain an influence how we express our faith and spur each other on in spiritual growth and discipleship.  Bill Donahue recently posted his thoughts on the topic:

It is no secret that there are multiple movements taking place across the kingdom landscape. Only time will tell which ones survive and thrive. One thing is for certain, however; communal life is central to almost all of the current emerging expressions of church life. More intentional than the previous generation, the rising cadre of church leaders consists largely of communal architects, shaping the church into smaller communities for greater missional impact and presence. Not since Wesley's little bands of the 1700s, the haystack prayer gatherings of 1806 and beyond (starting from a small group of 5 and launching prayer groups still today), and the Jesus Movement of the 1960s have we seen such a church-wide emphasis on community.

The small group movement that burst onto the scene in para-church groups in the 1950s-70s began to find a home in the church in the 80s-90s. Meta-church models, cell churches, mini-churches, discipleship groups, recovery ministries, and evangelistic groups emerged. As a result, churches began to embrace group life as important for growth, but still treated this form of community as a program: "We do groups." The last 10 years has seen a move beyond that narrower focus-where groups are still essential to spiritual growth, but where they are connected to larger mid-sized communal gatherings.

As leaders we need to be aware of change in our culture and more specifically to the needs of our individual communities.  One of the biggest mistakes we can make is forcing a change in our ministry context simply because it is what is working somewhere else.  China will experience something different than what happened in Korea and New York will have a different experience than Chicago.  I believe the best we can do is learn from what is happening elsewhere in our country and the world at large.  Here is my approach as a ministry leader when I try to use other ministries to help us grow or solve problems:

• Observe another ministry context
• Evaluate my ministry context
• Apply what is relevant

There is never a "one size fits all" solution to understanding your future or addressing challenges in your ministry.

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Rick Warren recently sent out an email where he writes about some observations he has had about his church, small groups, and the fires in California.  Here is a piece of what he wrote:

As the fires have raged this week, I've once again seen the undeniable importance and benefit of being a part of a small group. While people without a church home or a small group were sent to evacuation centers across Southern California (like our campus), I kept hearing  story after story of Saddleback small groups opening their homes to fellow group members who had to evacuate.  I also witnessed small groups actually fighting fires together when a group member's homes was threatened by fire!

THAT, my friends, is what small groups are all about! Your group carries you through a crisis! Right now I feel sorry for those who've never connected with a group. It's never too late to join one.     

Also, I am so proud of how our 3,500 small groups immediately moved into action in this crisis.  Jesus said, "Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples." John 13:35 (NLT)

(For those of you who asked:  Yes, Kay (my wife) and Saddleback staff minister Elizabeth Styffe were captured briefly on video by a local TV news crew. Members of our small group were assisting in saving the Styffe home from the fire in their back yard. You may have also seen many of our college ministry ("CRAVE") students working alongside firefighters on the fire lines.

What these small groups are doing shows me how much our group leaders matter.  Lets continue to build into our leaders and each other so we can be better prepared for any opportunity that presents itself.

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was the main speaker that spoke about the need for connection in American culture since it is becoming more and more relationally depreived. Here is Will's profile from the Willow Creek site: Will Miller is a psychotherapist, ordained minister, and hospital and police chaplain. He has worked in community mental health centers and drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs and has served as a spokesman for the National Institute of Mental Health. Simultaneously, for 16 years, Will had a successful career as a stand-up comedian. He has headlined in clubs and theaters across the country, appearing with such stars as Aretha Franklin and Natalie Cole. He is one of the country’s foremost media and popular culture analysts, having served as host of Nick at Nite’s “Why We Watch” segment for five years. Currently, Dr. Miller is a therapist and campus minister at Purdue University, where he lectures on media effects. He has written three books, including the acclaimed Refrigerator Rights. Will holds a master’s degree and a doctorate in urban education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a master’s in clinical social work from Columbia University, and a master’s in divinity from Union Theological Seminary.

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