by Clint Smith
Richmond’s First Baptist Church is known throughout Central Virginia for its beautiful, reverent and moving Sunday morning worship services. Every week, hundreds flock into the sanctuary at Monument and Arthur Ashe Boulevard to sing, pray, learn and grow. Though God is present everywhere and at all times, the worship service is a place where God seems especially near and where our hearts are increasingly attuned to his movement. There is more to the church experience, however. While the service allows us to grow deeper in our faith, it is not an ideal environment for us to grow together. Relationships require cultivation, achieved only through authentic connection. This is why small groups are such an important part of the Christian life.
“As much as I love gathering with the whole of the local church for corporate worship, there is something powerfully unique about an intimate gathering around a living room, a small classroom or a dining room table,” says Ed Stetzer, author of Transformational Groups. “It forces us to think differently than when we are in a big room for worship. The theology taught in our pulpits begins to be fleshed out in conversation and action.” ¹
A small group is just what it sounds like: an intimate, intentional gathering of people who meet regularly for a common purpose. While this purpose is often to study the Bible or to discuss a book, it can be any activity that builds community. Small groups can serve lunch at the local middle school, hike the James River Trail System on Sunday afternoons or ride motorcycles on scenic byways. In the course of these activities, friendships inevitably develop around shared experience and interests, leading to deeper connections with one another and with the church as a whole.
The individual’s growth within a small group is often significant. “The concept allows for real honesty with your thoughts and comments,” remarks Ann Hall, a member of a recent Lenten small group study of The Good and Beautiful God (James Bryan Smith, 2009). “We didn’t judge one another as we really had an opportunity to see one’s heart and spirit.” Another member of that group, Mignon Tucker, commented, “Inclusion of individuals at different stages in the Christian journey helped me to re-examine some long held beliefs and ponder new ones. I looked forward to every week and felt motivated to prepare.”
How small is too small? What is too big? “The ideal size is between 6 and 15,” writes Andrew Mason, Executive Pastor of Discipleship Communities at Emmanuel, a multi-site church in Minneapolis. “Groups that start out with two to five people in attendance run the risk of dying out quickly with no one showing up by the third or fourth meeting. Too many and you will inevitably have a handful of people that don’t feel as connected as others do in the group. New guests will take longer to get assimilated and will potentially get lost.”²
Would you like to start a small group? It’s easy. Pick a reason to meet (find a book to read, choose an activity), invite people to join you (call or text your friends, post a flyer at the church) and get together (find a spot and a time). It’s really that simple!
Maybe you’d prefer to join a group that’s already active? Our church has dozens. Many of them meet on Sunday morning at 9:45 a.m. You’ve probably been calling them “Sunday School”, but that’s just a small group with another name. There are also the new “3-D” (Discipleship, Dinner, Dialogue) small groups meeting in the church and in homes. Other groups practice T’ai Chi, make sleeping bags for the homeless and even buff police badges.
Where will you plug in?
² http://www.smallgroupchurches.com/the-ideal-small-group-size/
First Things First 