Small groups definitely, as you noted, help with population growth…

Secondly that does not necesarily mean they help with spiritual growth… as Willow creek, and others have discovered…but no surprise really…

I think you touched on a great point… purpose…

Purpose, and clear direction is everything…

If the goal is population growth.. statistics show the small group is a necessity if you want large…and it also makes relational and spiritual growth possible…but not definite…

If the goal is relationships… small groups are ideal…and make population and spiritual growth possible…but not definite…

If the goal is discipleship, true spiritual growth…really it has little to do with the model, as much as the clear purpose and commonality of clear purpose… this can happen in any forum, model, or facet… if it is God’s people working together for a common goal… but it doesn’t guarantee population growth, or relational growth in the sense most assume to understand it… as my experience has taught, and many others are discovering…

Kind of laves a pickle, and a problem no single church will be able to handle alone… because God designed it so that we would need each other…

You said, “We shouldn’t talk about any program of the church without first clarifying the purpose of that program.”… I agree completely, it is of the utmost…

I would also add that much is the talk of the purpose of programs and models, but sometimes that purpose doesn’t line up with God’s purpose and function of the church…

I predict that the question was, is and will be increasingly in the next age, “What is the purpose of the church?”…

Answering that is the difference, IMHO, and not answering it will be the undoing of any ministry… eventually…

Everybody has their own picture of what a small group is and what it should accomplish and we get some really muddy water as a result. A lot of churches start small groups for the sake of having small groups, rather than giving them a true purpose and directions.

Our church has chosen to be specific in the purpose of our programmatic small groups. In other words, the groups that are initiated by the ministry staff are done so only with a clear goal/purpose in mind. Other groups have formed, but they form organically. Our philosophy has been influenced heavily by TNET (a discipleship training organization) as well as the results published by Willow Creek as part of the REVEAL study.

Most would consider Willow Creek successful in the small group arena, but they realized that their small groups may help people connect, or learn, or something good, but miss the target when it comes to developing true discipleship in the life of the individual. In other words, they significantly influenced the growth of the church, but not necessarily the spiritual growth of the individuals within the groups.

We shouldn’t talk about any program of the church without first clarifying the purpose of that program.

Craig wrote: “I have always preferred the organic approach, but am curious as to those of you who have placed them in groups. How did that go?”

We do place people in groups, but it has an organic feel to it. We have group leaders call or face to face invite folks who have shown interest in being in a group. It works some of the time. We were averaging about a 50% connection rate last year (interested - to actually staying in a group 3 weeks in a row) to now with some adjustments around 90%!!!

Our church averages around 8-9 thousand people on a weekend, and we are over 7000 people in relational environments.

So yes I believe in small groups, I believe more so in what they potentially accomplish…making disciples!!!! That is what Jesus commanded us to do…not church goers, butts in seats, or anything else. We have the best chance to be the church in small relational environments.

Love this conversation!!!

I have just led a church wide survey of our church and the results are off the charts. The results only supported the fact that small groups are THE primary way to connect to community and growing in discipleship.

We have a weekly attendance of 4,000 down here in Melbourne, we had a sample of 1,500 people. We had over 30,000 answers to collate from 30 questions. One truth that came through if you are in a small group you are much more likely to:
- be baptised
- serve
- have friends
- read your bible
- share your faith
- tithing

The results were off the charts. I am more than happy to pass our questionnaire on to anyone who would like to run their own survey to get a measure of where their church is at.

This is why I believe in small groups.

When I was on your staff it was a true blessing to always have your full support! Now I’m blessed again to serve at another church where the Senior Pastor is throwing his weight behind the small groups ministry! Senior Pastors, follow Craig’s lead and jump on the groups bandwaggon!!!

More persecution eh… well that’s not exactly what I had in mind… but it was funny…

Hebrews 10:23-25
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

I hate hearing that, I really do. The problem is that it’s the same with many Sunday School teachers. I’d say that issue (the issue of having valuable leaders) needs to go through a much more open, honest, and biblical selection process so that we don’t end up with goobers for small group leaders and SS teachers, respectively.

Here’s why I laugh, is not the small group model, though different in its own right no doubt, very similar to Sunday Morning Bible Study Fellowships, or more classically known as “Sunday School?” Groups meet together to study God’s Word, pray for each other, and often carry out small mission type projects as a “small group” of believers who are joined together with a larger body of believers, the local church.

So whether or a smaller group who are part of a local church meet Sunday morning, Wednesday night, or some other time during the week, aren’t they very similar and very effective whatever their called?