Very simply, churches with small groups are churches that have embraced small groups as a connecting point to their Sunday services. These churches hope to attract friends of their parishioners to church by inviting them first to a small group environment, in which potential members are informally introduced to the mission and values of the church. These churches also value small groups as a conduit of discipleship, hoping that the weekly meetings will allow the members to delve deeper into the current week’s series while also presenting application opportunities for the group to try out.
Philosophically, churches with small groups, usually view small groups as ancillary to the Sunday Worship Experience. In these churches, more time, money and energy is spent preparing for Sunday than curating the small group experience and facilitating accountability. This doesn’t mean small groups aren’t valued by the church, even though the hidden curriculum of less attention may say otherwise… it just means that these types of churches see value in small groups but want to ensure that corporate worship on Sunday remains the main expression of the church.
Like our diagram above shows… Small groups are connected to the church and play a vital role in shaping the Church’s reach into the community, as well as increasing the butts-in-seat goal on Sunday.
Practically, churches that look like this utilize many different forms of small group; some are missional, some social, and others are discipleship oriented. Churches with small groups focus on function over form — Are small groups boosting attendance on Sunday morning? Are small groups developing followers of Christ? Generally, these types of churches aren’t overtly focused on what is actually done during the meetings rather they are focused on the outcome, that is, is the group funneling new people into the church, specifically the Sunday worship experience.
An Example: LifeChurch.tv (LC.tv), a large multi-campus church based in Edmond, Oklahoma, is a church with small groups. Each campus has a LifeGroups/LifeMissions pastor that coordinates, propagates, and equips the lay leaders to lead small groups (or LifeGroups). One of the things that LC.tv does in order to facilitate interaction at a LifeGroup meeting is to make available resources for the small group leaders. These resources incorporate many different paths and are produced by staffmembers at LC.tv’s Central office. LifeGroup leaders are encouraged to utilize many of the resources in whatever form fits their context.
LC.tv | Talk-it-Over | Other Resources
Discussion – Now it’s time to get this conversation going… I’m looking forward to hearing your opinion about this type of small group strategy, and would love to hear your thoughts on the questions below:
How is this small group strategy beneficial?
What are some problems with this type of strategy?
Have you ever been involved in a church like this? Thoughts?
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Small Groups and the Church series posts:
*design by Brandon Jones
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