A
small group is an intentional gathering regularly for the purpose of
joining together in God’s mission of loving God, loving others, and making disciples. The first Christian
small group was made up of Jesus and the twelve men he invited to follow
him.
Many of the first churches included small groups of disciples that met in each
other’s homes. In the second and third century, many devout Christians even
moved to the desert to explore new versions of Christian community in small
groups. During the middle Ages, small bands of Celtic missionaries would travel
through the cities of Europe, and stop to start a new church.
In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, churches began to organize small groups specifically to help Christians grow. Philipp Jakob Spener, a Lutheran pastor, organized small groups in which Christians discussed the practical implications of their faith. When the Methodist Church began, it was made up of small groups that came together to share stories of how God had been at work in their lives. These models provide the inspiration for the small groups that help Christians grow today.
Strong community is a powerful tool for advancing God’s
transforming work in the believer’s life. Here are five reasons why being in a
small group is essential for a Christian’s health:
Abiding-We need community more than we think. To truly experience
the fullness of abiding in Jesus, we need to be around each another to
experience Christ as the head and His church as the body (Ephesians 4:15). Communion
with the Savior is meant to be experienced alongside Christ’s bride, the local
church.
This is why the idea of, “I’ll bounce from church to church
because it doesn’t really matter,” just doesn’t work. Abiding in Christ is more
easily accomplished in a small group setting where Christians can experience
fellowship and pray with one another as a part of the local body of Christ.
Abounding-A mark of true conversion is an overflowing abundance of
love that’s experienced vertically with God and horizontally with people
(Matthew 22:37-40). We can experience the overflowing joy Jesus offers when
we’re growing in grace individually through prayer and scripture reading,
growing corporately through gathered worship, and increasing in discipleship
within small group settings.
Accountability-We simply cannot live on our own. We need other people. The
accountability we gain in small group settings helps us sharpen one another in
our Christian walk. This idea counters an individualistic, consumer mentality.
The idea of it being “just me and Jesus” isn’t enough. We need to be worshiping
corporately in a community and connecting together in small groups for
accountability.
Assimilating-Does your church make integration an easy, assimilation
process for people to walk through? If your church has many programs, small
groups can sometimes get ignored during the process of assimilation because
they’re time-consuming. Indeed, building community within church families is
difficult, so it’s tempting to forget it. But just like how a “home” button on
a smartphone is made prominent on the device, we must maintain a simple
discipleship pathway for people through our assimilation processes so they can
easily find home in a small group community.
Authenticity-Christians need to be able to be honest with one another. This
doesn’t come about easily in a big crowd. This is where real relationship
building comes in. Nothing replaces Sunday morning worship, but I implore you
to not just meet in rows in a corporate gathering but also in a circle in some
type of a small group. People need to be authentic and know each other by
spending time in small groups for intentional, authentic discipleship.
“Pouring yourself out for the church without
letting the body of Christ pour into you is like being a heart that only has arteries.
Sooner or later, you’re going to burn out.” (LogosTalk)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“5 Reasons a Small Group is Essential for Your Health”
By Jonathan Hayashi
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