Article
Why Church Plants Need Small Groups
Small groups may seem counterintuitive for a church plant. But they are worth it.
Almost by nature, church plants are small. That is one of the most defining realities for most plants, in challenging ways and in beneficial ones. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone participates. If someone is absent, everyone notices. Since that is the case, it raises the question, why would a church plant need small groups? Why would a small church want to gather in even smaller groups? What is the point? Here are four principal reasons why church plants need small groups.
1. Church is more than corporate worship.
The Sunday gathering is the hub of a church’s culture, mission, and energy. Corporate worship is essential to the life of the church. But corporate worship is not the totality of a church’s life. Rather, it feeds the life of the church. People can’t be discipled, encouraged, built up, and cared for in one or two hours per week. If that is all Christians are getting, then the hours the news, social media, podcasts, and a hundred other inputs will eventually far outweigh the reality of the gospel in their lives
Small groups are one careful, intentional means of creating a churchly reality for people–a deeply Christian context for them. Small groups serve as a scheduled, designed way for people to prioritize their faith and their commitment to the kingdom of Christ. They provide a means of Christian friendship and community so that Christians are not isolated sheep, vulnerable to the prowling devil (1 Peter 5:8).
In short, small groups are where the truths of the gospel proclaimed on Sunday can be lived out and honed in real life. They are where all the one-anothers of Scripture can be fulfilled.
2. Relationships are the fabric of the church.
Close relationships and deep trust are essential in the life of the church. This is true in churches of any size, but especially in small churches. A large church has different weaknesses and vulnerabilities than a small, new church. But generally, a large church can weather a little bit of relational friction with relative ease. The same friction is much more likely to cause division in a small church. If you drop a pebble in an Olympic swimming pool, it makes ripples that might not reach the edge. If you drop the same pebble into a bird bath, some of the water might slosh over the edge. Close relationships are vital and precious.
Small groups are an environment where these kinds of relationships can be formed and fostered as people meet regularly, courageously enter honest vulnerability, lift one another up in prayer, and also have a lot of fun around food and laughter. Ideally, a small group becomes the people someone calls with joyful news or tragic news, to rejoice or to mourn (Romans 12:15).
An unhealthy, immature small group can become a clique. But a Christ-like one, shaped by the gospel, incubates a culture of welcome and nurtures people who invite people into fellowship. So, a thriving small group infuses a church plant with hospitality and a culture of warmth. And isn’t that what you want for a visitor walking through the doors for the first time?
3. Small groups can extend and expand the Sunday ministry.
There are a lot of ways to organize and operate small groups logistically, and there are even more options for the content the group focuses on.
Some groups do video teaching. Some do guided studies. Some go through books of the Bible. Some go through books by Christian writers. Others are more fellowship and prayer-focused. All these have their merits, but let me put all my cards on the table: sermon-based small-group discussion is the most beneficial for church plants.
When a church is in its formative years, infusing the whole church with the same doctrine, values, and culture is essential. That starts in the pulpit, with clear preaching. Then what? This is where small groups can play such a pivotal role. If the people of the church are gathering outside of Sunday mornings to dwell on the sermon passage or theme together and consider more deeply how it moves them to worship or adjusts the course of their lives, then they are growing together.
Sermon-based small groups help church members move from merely thinking about the ideas of a message to being shaped by them. And if they collectively encounter the same questions, then the pastor has gained valuable insights about what and how to preach.
4. Small groups prepare a church plant for growth.
When a church plant establishes small groups, it is a bit like a newlywed couple buying a house with extra bedrooms. It seems like they don’t really need them. It might even seem excessive. But they are preparing for their family to grow. Small groups are preparation for growth. They are created in anticipation of the church needing to welcome more than just a core group.
In the early days, small groups might feel a little forced, a little over-programmed for a new church. But laying that intentional groundwork is anticipatory planning, making room and preparing in advance for who the Lord brings to the church. It is difficult to go from no small groups to some small groups. It is much easier to welcome people into existing groups and then add new groups. Starting groups before they are an obvious need eases a burden that will arrive when the church grows.
Small groups may seem counterintuitive for a church plant. They are not foolproof. They are not easy. Like everything worth doing, they take work and planning. And they are worth it.
