I'm looking for some feedback from you here. Any and all of you... so if you get a few minutes, think and pray about this and leave a comment...
This is something I've been praying about for a while now... Naomi and I are about to become the '20-something' small group leaders at our church. The church we attend, Connexion Church, is a new church plant that's only a few months old. This past week was the kickoff for our 'Connexion Groups,' and our group actually starts on the 11th. Since they're a new church, there's no established format for what small groups 'should' be. Naomi and I have talked with Pastor Joe on a few different occasions about what his and our vision for a small group is, and we've prayed about it a lot too. Here's my questions for you:
- Should small groups be Bible-study centered, or community centered?
- If they should be Bible-study centered, then what opportunities are there in a church for Christians to fellowship with and pray for each other, 'hang out', be accountable, spend time investing in each other's lives? Should these things be tacked on to the end of a Bible study each week? Every small group I've been to has made fifteen minutes or so for these things at the end of the time together when people are rushed to get back home to the kids, homework, etc. Do we just designate one day a month to be 'fellowship night?' Is that enough?
- We get Bible teaching on Sunday from the pastor, who spends a significant amount of time each week in preparing and praying over his message. Can a small group leader who has to coordinate who's bringing the snacks this week, how to get the kids fed and in bed before everyone comes over, and has been at work all day until 20 minutes before small group starts be an effective 'preacher?'
- If small groups are community-centered, where can we go for a group Bible study between Sundays? Most churches don't even have Sunday night services anymore, let alone the Wednesday night services that I grew up with as a kid. This is something I've hungered for for many years. I need that boost of being in God's house in the middle of the week. The small groups I've been in, even the Bible-study centered ones, haven't really fulfilled this desire. They invariably fall either on the side of a group opinion-fest about a particular passage of the Word, with no direction and not much learning, or on the side of some well-meaning but under-prepared individual reading from the three pages of notes he wrote at lunch that day.
I do know that some people have amazingly awesome small groups. Everything I've heard about the small group my sister and brother-in-law lead has been incredible. Lots of spiritual growth, lots of fellowship between believers, lots of building and actively developing relationships with God and with others, which is the ideal of a small group. But I think groups like that are rare.
So what are your opinions? What is the balance? I'd love to hear what you think. Thanks in advance for your input.
Sunday, February 01, 2009
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3 comments:
Great question and good timing, too. My short answer is that I think small groups should be community centered, but there's a lengthy explanation for that answer. I want to collect my thoughts to share them with you and I'll send them in email. I just had an experience with my own small group at church that raised similar questions for me and that's why the timing is good. I'd love to share my thoughts with you about that. I'll email you tomorrow after work when I've had time to put those thoughts together.
I love that you're thinking about this question!
love
Aunt Rachel
Good thoughts mate...funny about timing for us too! We're just about to start up a home group at our place. We're getting a bunch of people together for a BBQ next week who are keen to start something up, and we'll talk then about what we might do together.
I think that the focus, model, practice, direction of a group should be decided on and determined by the group in the early stages. Questions like: when, where & how often will we gather? Will we have a meal? Will we have a formal study prepared? Will we discuss the message from Sunday as the basis of our study? Will we watch a DVD series and discuss? Will we focus on prayer as a ministry? Will we serve others as a group? How? Should we focus on intellectual understanding of God & faith? Should we focus on devotional aspects of our faith?
I think all of the answers to those questions provide for a huge range of very effective and valid groups...but it depends who's in the group and what you collectively want to achieve.
Thr groups out of our church function around a L.I.F.E. model. All the groups aim to achieve these things: L()earning the Word, (I)ntimacy in Worship, (F)ellowship & Care, (E)xpressing Christ in the Community.
Just relax & have fun with it! Enjoy being with people (and eat food) (after your fast finishes)!
Hey Anson, my name is Ari. I am a classmate of Naomi's and I was at your wedding! I was stalking Naomi's blog and found yours.
I just talked with Naomi about this issue the other day. From my experience - which is very little - what "small groups should be" is largely based on what you want to get out of it. I think, if you and Naomi are called to be leaders of the 20s group, it should be largely community based. Like you said, Bible is taught on Sundays. If people want a deeper growth and study of the Bible, it needs to be in smaller more intimate groups where people are committed to study and growth. Large groups that do not have consistent attendance are just going to become frustrating if you are trying to study or grow together. Not everyone who comes to "small group" is looking for that. PLUS, by having the 20s group as a social/fellowship group, you are able to welcome new people (without having them feel left out or like they have intruded) and even new believers without intimidating them.
Our small group (we call them Living Room Groups) is mainly social and fellowship. We hang out. Eat around a table (if there is enough room). We talk about the sermon. We have great discussions about Jesus and the complexity (and simplicity) of life. Then we play games. But that's what we're into. :) Then, we have small (less than 5 people) mens and women's groups where we get into the nitty-gritty stuff.
This is turning into a sermon. I'm done. Those are my thoughts. I'll be hunting Naomi down to ask her how the small group thing is going.
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