Viewing entries tagged
small groups
Many people think that it’s the leader who makes or breaks a small group. But a great small group is usually the result of one or two group members who make the difference. The Bible’s one another commands lay out practical steps that can help you turn your group into the community it’s designed to be.
Have you ever been in a small group discussion that was more awkward than awesome? You look around and see silence, rambling, confusion, and irritation. Maybe you’ve been the one leading and wondered what went wrong. Consider these pitfalls that can make even the best of Bible studies less than they were intended to be.
Starting a small group is fun, but what started as a great thing can easily become a tired thing. While God is the one who builds community, there are practical steps you can take to keep your small group thriving over the long term.
Joining a small group for the first time can feel intimidating, but it’s one of the best ways to grow in your faith. Here’s what to expect, how to prepare, and why it’s worth showing up.
When people think of church, they usually think of the place where you sit, listen, and sing on a Sunday morning, but church was intended to be much more. Church can be a lonely place if you never get past the crowd. You need relationships with other Christians you can invest in and be supported by. You need people to pray for and who will pray for you. You need a place where you can experience the family of God, not just a meeting with God. Small groups, or what we call life groups, are where those things happen.
Maybe starting a Zoom group in the first century wasn’t an option technologically, but there’s value in considering what would have been lost if Jesus had chosen to mentor His disciples online instead of in-person.
I think we often take for granted the fact that Jesus lived and ministered with a group of twelve disciples. Moses didn’t do that. Neither did David or Elijah. In one sense, the apostles were unique. Jesus was setting apart twelve representatives for the birth of the church, patterned after the twelve tribes of Israel. But the character of the church was forever transformed by the fact that Jesus invested in a small group of disciples rather than just signing a book deal or travelling as a conference speaker. The impact of Jesus’ small group shows us why it’s important that we make time for small group fellowship ourselves.
The end of summer is always bitter sweet for me. It means my daughter’s return to university, but my consolation is a long drive there, together, filled with conversation. One of the things she mentioned this time stood out to me:
‘I think one of the main things God used to establish my faith was people’s testimonies. Growing up, I heard so many powerful stories of God at work in people’s lives that I couldn’t deny that Jesus was alive.’
It was interesting that she mentioned that because I knew right away where she had heard all of those testimonies. It was at an annual retreat where we gathered with other churches for an overnight event. The ironic part is that this retreat was one of the toughest things we did all year.
I remember, as a young Christian, attending a newcomers meeting for a church I had begun to attend. I listened with interest as the pastor talked about the church’s priorities. I nodded in agreement as he talked about worship, evangelism, discipleship and prayer. But when he got to the word fellowship, I felt a disconnect. For me, fellowship was Christians eating donuts and drinking coffee and I just couldn’t understand how it could be important to God. It took many years for me to figure out what fellowship really is, but again and again it has been the means that God has used to sustain my faith, keep me grounded and help me thrive in my relationship with Jesus. I wonder whether you really understand what fellowship is and why you need it.
Questions can make hermits out of us, driving us into hiding. Yet the cave has no answers. Christ distributes courage through community; he dissipates doubts through fellowship. He never deposits all knowledge in one person but distributes pieces of the jigsaw puzzle to many. When you interlock your understanding with mine, and we share our discoveries, when we mix, mingle, confess and pray, Christ speaks.
