Looking Ahead Part Three (Small Groups)

When I was in college I had a professor who said that the answer to life was small groups. He called them LIFE groups and had training for students to lead LIFE groups. In fact, as a student leader we were required to attend. There is nothing that saps life out of things like being required to do it. For a host of other reasons too, the experience I had made me walk away thinking “small groups don’t work”.

In the years that followed I went into a ministry position where I was asked to lead a campaign called 40 Days of Purpose. In that program we encouraged the church to join in small groups, and my wife and I volunteered our home and to host the discussion. What happened on the first night forever changed my life.

In the first minutes of the first group I asked a question, an icebreaker really, but the answer I got was not what I expected. A couple that had attended together opened up about the struggles of their marriage, and the hope that they were finding in their faith. Instantly the group was galvanized by the transparency and authenticity that was shared not just by them but also by everyone in the group. It was a time of memorizing scripture verses, sharing their significance and relating them to our real lives.

That experience ruined me for a lifetime. I will never be without a small group again. That’s why when we started this church and examined the scripture in Acts 2:42-47 we knew that we had to have small groups as part of our vision. It became part of our vision path. The vision path is the means to accomplish our mission of making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them to obey God’s Word.

Many of us know the mission of SRC, but haven’t found ourselves involved in the process that helps our church accomplish that mission. Looking ahead we are standing by this process and saying that every person at Severn River Church should be connected to a small group.

Small groups are places that people connect with people on their journey with God. It is a place of community, transformation and life development. Now I understand that as a church of 40 people we aren’t able to offer groups in every time slot. But I believe that the 90 minutes a week that you carve out for small group are a major component to your spiritual growth. What good is a church where everyone is ok with people not growing in their relationship with God? To me small groups are where the gospel is lived out. We are not a church with small groups, we are a church of small groups. If you want to connect with the church, the small group is where you do it.

In 2008 we’ll be increasing our focus on training new leaders. We’ll be moving to some new terms to describe our approach. These terms are C-groups (connection), E-groups (evangelism), and D-groups (discipleship). Whereas our groups have been homogenous up to this point we’re looking for great multiplication and diversity this year.

This is what I’m praying for. SRCers to say, “I want to grow in God, so I need a small group.” or “I’ve attended a small group for a year, now it’s my turn to start one.” or “I’ve got an idea on how to help people get together; I’m going to start serving dinner for my C-group on Tuesday nights.” or “There’s a major need for a LOST E-group.” Etc.

This is a vision worth looking ahead to. This is our vision.

--Ben