Small group ministry

Assembling a bicycle requires one to ob serve the instructions enclosed. When not following directions, I've wasted many hours in frustration and futility. Such is the price of doing it "my way."

How often the church has made the same mistake! Rather than following the New Testament model for growth, we devise our own solutions only to find ourselves worse off. It seems that centuries of hard lessons would compel us to heed God's plan in the book of Acts, implemented with great success in the first century. One need not be a rocket scientist to recognize how rapid church growth is possible, even in the midst of persecution. Amazingly, the early believers were successful in hard times while we remain lukewarm in good times.

I've often wondered if only the rebirth of persecution will get us back on track. If this is the tool God must use to wake us up and refocus our vision on the gospel, then I must exclaim, "Lord, send a double portion of persecution!" What ever it takes to shake God' s people out of their spiritual spectatorship would be a blessing.

Back to our roots

Our challenge is to bridge the gap between the early church and the con temporary church before we go the way of the dinosaur. To share the evangelistic success of the early believers, we need to study their organizational model as revealed in the book of Acts. We see there a Spirit-led movement rapidly growing through the agency of prayer and fellowship. After adding 3,000 souls at Pentecost, the church continued her evangelistic thrust without the benefit of buildings, organizational charts, or over head transparencies. All they had was a fellowship of simple folk who had an encounter with Divinity and a desire to tell the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. They took this message to the streets of Jerusalem, and with holy boldness pro claimed the Word of God.

The movement was both Christ-centered and people-centered, seeking to fulfill the potential of all members. The collective body of believers felt a sense of belonging to one another and to God. They found joy and strength in fellow ship. At the same time they found true meaning in life by serving one another and the outcasts of society.

In their worship, early Christians gathered under trees and along the sea shore. Many met publicly in the open markets. Even in the midst of impromptu gatherings, the Spirit of God rested upon them. The preaching and praying of the early church became so effective that it became a threat to the Jewish religious establishment. Many Christians were banned from the Temple and imprisoned because of the controversy that surrounded their presence.

The comforts of home

The church also became too much for the Roman government to handle. Emperor Nero banned all believers from meeting in public places. He declared Christianity illegal. Violators who were caught were punished.

Rather than hampering the church, Nero's edict became the catalyst for greater growth. Since believers could no longer proclaim their message in the streets, they took it to people's homes. And what happened? The church grew as never before. Persecution became the torch that carried the message from house to house. While Nero was busy burning Christians in public, the Christians were even busier in private proclaiming the gospel of Christ.

Nero didn't know that the benefits of Christian faith were far greater than the suffering he inflicted upon believers. He didn't understand that the love and care they received from one another far surpassed the power of his death threats. In the context of home fellowship, the Christian church was fortified and established. The body of Christ offered a refuge for those ostracized from their own families. Whatever a member might need materially was satisfied by the fellow ship's mutual assistance charity. The small group structure was conducive to solving problems, mending broken hearts, singing songs to encourage one another, offering prayer, proclaiming truth to visitors, and leading sinners to Christ.

There were no sleeping pew members with this type of ministry. Everyone was a part of the action! There weren't any big "I's" and little "you's" in the early church." Believers experienced genuine fellowship amid persecution. The government sharply defined the church by pushing believers together. So it was that instead of being a curse to the cause of Christ, Nero became a blessing for the advancement of the gospel. The curse of Constantine "If you can't beat them, join them," the saying goes. This became reality when Emperor Constantine proclaimed himself a believer. Good news? Not really. The church moved from homes into brick buildings that looked more like mausoleums than places of fellow ship. Constantine built elaborate buildings. Churches once intimate became institutionalized. Policy took precedence over people, and meetings became more important than ministry. Instead of the church being a place where loneliness ended, it became the place where loneliness began. In the home church environment, people were expected to participate, but in the large congregational atmosphere, the flock scattered. In small group structures people could speak and share the Word with boldness, but this became impossible in large gatherings. The whole church became swallowed up with the arrival of bricks and mortar, and so began the slow death of the vibrant church. It did not take long before all preaching or public speaking was centered in the pulpit. Choirs took over the simple singing of the fellowship, while members learned the great Christian art of spectatorship. Before long they also learned how to be bumps on the church log.

When the church switched from living rooms to buildings and a professional staff, it lost momentum. The Christian army now became little more than a sophisticated cheering section for the newly established clergy. The clergy took the Scriptures from the people, not allowing them to read the Word for themselves. All eyes became directed to the pulpit, and all instruction came from the "lone ranger" of the gospel. Such a worship environment caused spiritual crib death for new babes joining the church. No structure existed to nourish their growth. Local congregations be came weak and cold. The church plunged into the Dark Ages.

Nonpreachers were considered "lay men," a concept not found in the Bible. With the Scriptures out of the hands of common people, preachers exerted theological authority unchallenged by members. Without the Word of God to spur them along, members assumed a passive role in ministry. Whereas the church in earlier times had enjoyed skyrocketing growth, she now became entrenched in a hole she dug herself.

Reformers to the rescue

Out of this atmosphere of doom and gloom, the Protestant Reformers came on the scene. Individuals like Martin Luther and John Calvin challenged the church to restore true worship in harmony with the Bible. They proclaimed the gospel of God's grace accepted by faith in Jesus Christ.

The Reformation restored the theological truth about faith and the priesthood of all believers but failed in dealing with the structures that had weakened the proclamation of the faith. But through the ministry of John Wesley and others, believers began returning to the New Testament model of small groups. Small bands of believers flourished throughout England. The impact of this Methodist small group activity spread to America, and later became a vital element of the Adventist movement.

Ellen White emphasized the importance of small groups with this striking statement: "The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort is a plan that has been presented before me by One who cannot err. If there is a large number in the church, let the members be formed into small companies, to work not only for the church members but for unbelievers also."¹

Small groups today

A recent Gallup survey disclosed that 70 percent of Americans regard most churches and synagogues as ineffective in helping people find meaning in life.² Pollster George H. Gallup, Jr., suggests that the ongoing vitality of American religious congregations depends in large measure on their effectiveness in responding to the following spiritual and emotional needs identified in that survey:

1. To believe life is meaningful,

2. To have a sense of community and deeper relationships,

3. To be appreciated and respected,

4. To be listened to and heard,

5. To feel that one is growing in the faith,

6. To have practical help in developing a mature faith.

In view of the tepid, culture-soaked style of church life in our generation, it is no wonder that 7 out of 10 Americans express disillusionment with the traditional church. Many will never return to their religious roots. American churches have two choices: to remain as they are and continue to lose influence, or to institute changes.

Consider again that list of needs identified in the Gallup survey. Fulfilling them is crucial to the future of Christianity in North America. Traditional churches have not and cannot meet the challenge. Their structures insulate and isolate believers from edifying one an other and properly utilizing spiritual gifts. But did you notice how the home fellow ship concept of the early church does satisfy every one of those needs?

As we get back to basics and finish God's work, there will be a revival of the small group concept begun in the early church. Pursuing this must be the great est priority of the church today.

Setting up small groups

If you share my convictions and would like to have small group minis tries in your church, here are some suggestions:

First, attend a training session. Then, observe members already involved in some type of small group ministry and solicit their support. Next, with the con sent of church leadership, much prayer, and thorough planning, organize a small pilot group. You will need to decide whether the group will be open or closed. In an open group, visitors are always welcome to observe and join. In a closed group membership is by invitation only.

Set a date to begin, and also the length of time the group will commit to keep meeting. Agree on a set of commitments (see shaded box). Then move ahead.

When you are ready to expand, preach a series of sermons on small group ministries and membership involvement. Communicate via the church newsletter and pastoral letters. Hold special training seminars and weekend workshops. Show videos and provide selected books that deal with lay involvement in minis try. Regularly bring together your small group leaders for encouragement, fellowship, equipping, evaluating, and supervision.

Implementing new group leadership will be a continual concern. Some leaders drop out and need to be replaced. Additional ones are required as new members join the fellowship.

Tragedy of traditional pastoring

Since our theology determines how we plan the mission of the church, we should ensure that our thinking is based on biblical principles. Christ is the head and builder of the church, and we must let Him set the pattern. Ultimately, church growth is not what we do, but rather what God by His Spirit does through us.

God does not want people in our churches to lament as the psalmist did: "No one is concerned for me. I have no refuge; no one cares for my life" (Ps. 142:4, NIV). How many of our church members cry this in one form or another because the professional pastor is the only one pastoring?

The traditional model of pastoring is outdated and irrelevant. The biblical alternative is small group ministry.