Fellowship

November 9, 2020

Ten Ways to Welcome Seekers into Your Group

By Reid Smith

The best groups are high in health and impact for God’s Kingdom. For both to be true, a small group leader must be prepared to welcome people into their group’s life regardless of where they are at in their commitment to Christ and His Church. We reflect the beauty and greatness of our God when we accept one another just as Christ accepted us (Romans 15:7).

The more small group leaders know how to welcome and encourage people who are seeking truth and reaching out to God (whether they realize it or not) the more effective they will be with engaging them with the gospel in transformational ways. To that end, here’s ten recommendations for how you can welcome spiritual seekers, build relationships with them, and inspire everyone to grow in their relationship with Jesus!

Don’t assume. Consider newcomers as seekers until you learn otherwise. Believers who are new to a Christian gathering tend to convey something about their faith/church commitment up front. If they do not, chances are they either do not have a relationship with God or may not have a strong one. It’s important to avoid making assumptions about what your guests believe. Rather, look for ways to affirm the truth God has already started to impart to them as Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:22-23, 28-29).
Be a connector. Warmly introduce seekers into your small group and connect them with a few people as they come in, helping them to strike up conversations before your study begins. If possible, learn a little about them before they show up to their first meeting as this will help you to introduce them to others in a more personal way. Do your best to remember facts they share about who they are, their family and friends, and how they found your group. Use what you know about them to ignite conversations with other group members. The likelihood of seekers returning increases by at least 50% if they experience a sense of belonging through connection with others.
Empower them. Find out what subjects your truth-seeking guests have an enthusiasm or expertise in and talk about that! People like to talk about things they know about. Seekers will feel more empowered and comfortable talking about things of interest to them. If you listen with interest, you will show that you are interested in them as people and they won’t feel like a project.
Introduce your group. Take a minute on the front end to say what your small group is about and invite input from others so that guests can get exposure to some of the other personalities present. In a small group situation, most people prefer to get a good feel of the dynamic before jumping into the discussion. The more free people feel to participate, the more likely it is they will return.
Include and affirm. Prioritize seekers in your small group time by making it a goal to help them feel safe and a valued part of the gathering. Look for ways to include them socially and affirm any contribution they make to the conversation. One of the simplest ways of helping a newcomer feel ‘at home’ in your small group is to repeatedly call them by their first name. Express appreciation for their input. When seekers say something that does not harmonize with Scripture, don’t be surprised or correct them. Rather, be positive and say something like, “Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us!” Discipleship happens through trust-filled relationships that develop over time.
Break it down. Use relational terms to explain theological concepts in your Bible study. For example, salvation is having a relationship with Christ or being friends with God now and forever. Redemption is Jesus helping us to connect with God and know Him. Do your best to stay away from Christian jargon.
Don’t over-accommodate. Most newcomers like to be acknowledged but may not like to stand out or be spotlighted in front of a group…so don’t focus on them. If you keep things normal, your small group will feel more natural and comfortable to them. You can be sensitive to your small group’s form without changing its function. Be yourself and allow the group to be itself. Don’t hesitate to pray or worship in your group if seekers are present. Sometimes this is exactly what God uses to gather lost people to Himself (see Acts 2:46-47.) If somebody needs prayer, pray for them. If you are planning to worship, just do it. Don’t attempt to explain it for seekers. They likely want to see things how they really are and would rather not have you disrupt the flow of what you do on their account.
Talk about being difference makers. Healthy groups have regular conversations about how they can be Jesus’ hands and feet and impact our world with His love and message. Don’t miss the opportunity to demonstrate to seekers in your midst that you genuinely want to show God’s love to people and make a difference in your community. Have that conversation spontaneously or just say you would like to talk about it next time. This allows you to revisit your group’s commitment to evangelism and shows spiritual seekers that your group is…
- Outward-thinking and it’s not all about those in your small group—this actually helps guests feel safer because it makes the communal nature of your group feel less cultic and more caring.
- Serious about making a commitment to share God’s love and grace to a waiting world. People want their lives to make a positive impact on others. This helps them to see that your small group can help toward this goal, making group time a worthwhile investment of their time.
Have a soft landing and end on a high note. When you have truth-seeking guests, leave plenty of time for people to socialize at the tail end of your group. Newcomers tend to be interested in being more personal toward the end of a group than the beginning. This will give time to connect your small group members to guests further and have fun and relaxed conversations. Also, studies show that when something ends positively the entire experience becomes a good memory for people, and one they are more apt to repeat. In private, let newcomers know how much you appreciated them coming and that you really hope you get to see them again!
Don’t hesitate to follow-up. Let your guests know you hope to see them again! If a seeker came with somebody, encourage their friend to welcome them back. Sometimes small group leaders hold off from following up in this way because they are afraid of being intrusive or coming across as pushy. Most guests appreciate this act of kindness and it makes your small group more inviting overall. If you do not risk the remote possibility of coming across as intrusive in your follow-up, newcomers may feel like they are intruding. Revisit prayer needs when you follow-up with them by naturally weaving them into your conversation. This shows you were listening and that you care.

You want group members to have more than permission to invite their friends…let them know you WANT them to invite their friends. This attitude is one of the greatest contributing factors to a small group making an evangelistic impact. Small groups can and should always serve to encourage personal outreach.

A small group that has an open home, open hearts, and open hands is a group that is replete with life-giving possibilities. By following the ten recommendations above, you will create an environment where the hospitality of biblical community will receive and reach many spiritual seekers for Jesus Christ!

Reid Smith has been equipping leaders in churches of all sizes and stages of growth for effective disciple-making since 1996. He lives in Wellington, Florida where he serves as a Groups Pastor at Christ Fellowship. You can find more of his helpful resources at www.reidsmith.org.

Group Leadership

November 5, 2020

Three Guidelines for Talking About the Election in Your Group

By Group Ministry

By Will Johnston

I once convinced someone to switch to my political party by berating their beliefs and saying that they must be stupid if they didn’t come around to my way of thinking.

Find that hard to believe?

Me too. It didn’t happen. I’ve actually never seen that strategy work, although that doesn’t seem to stop people from trying it out.

There’s a good chance that your small group members don’t all agree on politics. Even if you think they do, they might not actually. I’ve got friends who are tight-lipped about their politics because they live in an area where their livelihoods would be impacted if they were too open.

Things are crazy right now. We’re all a little unsettled. We’re not sure what direction our country is going or how this election season is going to play out.

You’ve probably heard the old adage to avoid discussing religion and politics in polite company, but small group isn’t polite company. At it’s best, it’s the people we can be the most real with, and politics has a real impact on our lives. It matters, and if it matters, then it’s fair game for groups.

That doesn’t mean every group needs to discuss politics, but you should be ready in case it comes up. Here are three simple guidelines to keep your group discussion from going the way of the comments on nearly every Facebook post about politics.

Focus on “I” rather than “you” or “they.”

Keep the conversation focused on who each person supports, why they support them, and even why they don’t support the other person. For example:

“I supported Donald Trump because I think he has the best plan for XYZ.”
“I voted for Joe Biden because I believe he better reflects ABC.”
“My concern about Trump/Biden is that he DEF, and I think that reveals some character issues.”
“I understand why you would vote for Trump/Biden because of his position on HIJ, but I think XYZ is a higher priority, so that’s why I voted for Biden/Trump.

What we want to avoid are statements that disparage the other person or their positions and shut down discussion. For example:

“I just don’t see how a Christian could support Donald Trump/Joe Biden. He’s for XYZ!”
“All Christians should support Donald Trump/Joe Biden because ABC!”
“Democrats/Republicans are for DEF, and that’s just plain ungodly.”
“Jesus cares about HIJ, so Christians should support Democrats/Republicans.”

Do you see the difference there? The first set of statements expresses what I think and why I think it. The second set of statements tells everyone else that they have to agree with me.

Jesus called us to unity, not to a political party.

I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be Republicans, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

I love those words from Jesus, praying that we would all be Republicans so that the world may believe. Or wait… was it Democrats? Did Jesus pray we would be Democrats?

Look, I think politics is important. I used to work on Capitol Hill. I truly believe that it matters. But ultimately, Jesus called me to follow Him, and he called me to unity with other followers, even the ones I disagree with politically.

At the end of the day, the world will see there’s something different about us when we can love people with whom we disagree because of the love of Jesus.

Pray.

I probably should have started with “pray,” but the truth is we may not be able to open every discussion on politics that happens in our group with prayer. Regardless, we can pray for our group’s unity ahead of time, just like Jesus prayed for the Church’s unity.

And when a political conversation starts up in our groups, we can pray silently that the words of our group members would be infused with love. We can pray that those nervous to share their thoughts would have the courage to do so, and that those who are outspoken would have the love and humility required to listen.

And sometimes, if a political discussion looks like it might heat up too much, you just might need to stop everyone, pray, and lay out some ground rules for the discussion. Feel free to use points one and two above.

Will Johnston is the Director of Build Community at Eastside Community Church in Anaheim, California. Will graduated from Wheaton College with a degree in theology, did a two-and-a-half year stint on Capitol Hill, and then joined the staff of National Community Church in Washington D.C., where he oversaw small groups.

Group Leadership

October 8, 2020

Infusing Your Groups with Encouragement

By Group Ministry

Why it’s imperative and how to implement it

By Reid Smith

We all need encouragement! We need people who speak hope and build confidence into our lives so that we can consistently live in a manner that’s worthy of the gospel of Christ (Php 1:27). This is why God commands us to encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thes 5:11). Encouragement is one of the spiritual gifts explicitly referenced in the New Testament and it’s so important that God tells us it should be a daily practice (Rom 12:8; Heb 3:13).

Human beings are hardwired for encouragement and there’s no shame in this. The Apostle Paul expressed how encouragement was a primary goal of his ministry and how it is a fundamental responsibility of God’s people (2 Cor 13:11; Col 2:2). Encouragement is fuel for our faith enabling us to run with perseverance and overcome hurdles as we run the race marked out for us (Heb 12:1).

Encouragement has empowering effects for our faith and how we live it out. Here are three reasons why we should be intentional and proactive about encouraging our pastors and group leaders:

It reminds us we need one another. The flame of faith needs to be repeatedly stoked by encouragement. Throughout the New Testament, we see how the early believers supported and emboldened one another. Paul commented on how he was personally encouraged and how encouragement filled the felt needs of others (2 Cor 7:13; 1 Thes 3:7).

It strengthens our faith. There is a real connection between the fellowship of the saints and the encouragement we need to live out our faith in Kingdom-advancing ways (Ecc 4:9-12; Heb 10:24-25). Our faith grows stronger in the company of spiritual friends who love Jesus and want to live for Him (Prov 27:17; Rom 1:12).

It helps us overcome sin. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” This reveals how one of the side-effects of sin’s deceitfulness is hardened hearts. Encouragement, on the other hand, counteracts this and softens our hearts so that we can be more attune to the leading of the Holy Spirit in our lives, hear God’s truth, and walk in obedience. Sin speaks lies whereas encouragement speaks life that is found in God’s truth.

For these reasons and many more, find a way to build encouragement into the way you regularly communicate with your group leadership and create a delivery system for them to do the same with people in their groups. For example, at my church we train our group leaders to do four things with their group members every time they meet together. We use the acronym E.S.P.N., which stands for Encouragement, Scripture, Prayer, Next Steps. In other words, we challenge group leaders to speak life and Scripture over their group members, pray for them, and encourage them in their next steps every time they gather.

You’re echoing God’s heart and words when you call your group leaders to be people who are deliberate about speaking life into others. There are countless practical ways to do this whether your words are delivered in-person or online, by mouth or by text:

Remind others of God’s Presence, power, and promises.
Affirm virtues you see in others and the impact they have on others.
Challenge people to exercise their God-given spiritual gifts in new ways.
Talk about God’s grace, Jesus’ sacrifice, our deliverance and redemption.
Help people develop an eternal perspective and think about excellent and praiseworthy things (Php 4:8).
Let people know you’re praying for them and find practical ways that you can actually carry their burdens with them (Gal 6:2).
Sometimes an uplifting note, a gift, or gesture of love showing another person you believe in them and you’re thinking of them goes a long way.

God is the source of faith-building encouragement and He calls each and every believer to be a conduit of His love in this way (Rom 15:5). Encouragement has a way of reminding us that we are known and not alone. It’s a light that penetrates the darkness of sin’s lies and ushers us into deeper expressions of community where we can be fully known and fully loved. For these reasons and more, it’s imperative you find a way to infuse your church’s community life with this empowering practice!

Group Answers Podcast

October 7, 2020

Group Answers Episode 173: How to be a Great Small Group Member

By Group Ministry

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:48 — 42.5MB) | Embed

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On this episode of Group Answers, Chris and Brian discuss 10 ways to be a great small group member.

Blog Article

10 Ways to be a Great Small Group Member

Episode Sponsor

Ministry Grid wants to help your church stay on the same page and maintain discipleship in the midst of this unique season. They are offering a special offer specifically for our podcast listeners to get unlimited access for $399/year. Just go to ministrygrid.com/podcasts to learn more.

This offer is only valid through October 31 at midnight. So make sure you sign up before the end of the month.

The Group Answers Podcast is a weekly show designed to resource, train, and encourage small group leaders. Each episode considers current trends and resources as well as timeless truths and methods of discipleship. It is hosted by Brian Daniel, a Bible study and discipleship expert in Lifeway’s Groups Ministry, and Chris Surratt, the small group and discipleship specialist at Lifeway and author of Leading Small Groups.

Start New Groups

September 24, 2020

Three Signs It’s Time to Start a New Group

By Dwayne McCrary

As we begin to regather, creating more Bible study groups will be essential if our churches are to impact our culture. Here are a few things we as leaders can look for so we know when it is time to give birth to a new group.

Discussion is a challenge

Discussion can be a challenge no matter what size of group we lead, but this is especially true of larger groups. God created us as relational beings. Not being able to interact with others creates short-circuits our minds were not made to handle. We want to interact with others. Some of us have found ourselves talking to neighbors we would have avoided prior to March of 2020 simply for face-to-face interaction during the pandemic. Here is the issue when it comes to groups: the larger the group, the less likely substantive discussion will occur during group time. We will know it is time to start a new group when people hesitate or measure their words during discussion in a way they did not before.

There are no open chairs

Most leaders love a full house. We feel successful in our roles when all the spots are filled. But a full room works against involving more people in the Bible study. A full room may make a leader feel satisfied with less urgency to reach out to potential new members. No empty chairs may lead a first-time attender to feel they were not expected and give the impression they are an intruder. On the other side, the group itself may stop inviting newcomers for fear of losing their spot or feeling crowded. Open spots remind us to keep inviting people to join in Bible study. Creating a new group leads to room for more to be involved.

The group has been together for more than 18 months

Staying together for too long is not exclusive to ongoing groups. Groups that are reshuffled every year or six months will often have people who work around the system and find a way to stay together. Leaders may accommodate these arrangements since we would rather people be in a group than be working against us from the outside. Yet, the longer a group is together, the more difficult it is for an outsider to break into the group. A person in the group loses his job and the others rally around him during the transition. Another person has a medical crisis and the group walks beside that person through some deep valleys. These types of experiences create connections and identity within the group but people who join the group after that experience may have a hard time catching up. In this way, the group becomes functionally closed. While we strive for these types of connections, it is important that they do not become so ingrained that no one else is welcome.

We have reviewed only three signs that it may be time to start a new group. What other signs do you look for that tell you it may be time to start a new group?

Dwayne McCrary is a team leader at Lifeway, adjunct professor at Midwestern BTS, and a BIble study leader in the church he attends.

Group Leadership

August 18, 2020

Five Ways to Continue Discipleship Through COVID-19

By Brian Daniel

“At the very time of greatest stress came the epidemic of influenza, and this was perhaps the most far-reaching hindrance to [small groups] work which has been known in a generation…

….We had anticipated that it would take many months for the [groups] to rally, but they came back in March. There flowed in a steady stream of orders, which indicated that the [group leaders] were well organized, full of purpose, and had rallied themselves. As a result, the year, which had been so trying for many months, ended full of hope and promise.”

(1919 SBC Annual, pp.449-450)

Early in the Twentieth Century (the Center for Disease Control doesn’t specify when it started nor its origin), what is now referred to as the Spanish Flu infected more than 500 million people worldwide, or about a third of the world’s population at the time. It was first diagnosed in the US in the spring of 1918. That was a different day. Travel wasn’t as easy or as common. Communities didn’t come into contact with one another as often or as intimately. Because of all of this, the Spanish Flu didn’t spread nearly as fast as COVID-19. According to the SBC Annual, quoted above, churches closed in September 1918 and remained closed through the fall and winter, most not re-opening until March 1919. In terms of modern pandemics, the Spanish Flu was unprecedented. According to the CDC, the “number of deaths was estimated to be at least 50 million worldwide with about 675,000 occurring in the United States.

There are two reasons for beginning this post with this brief history lesson. First, while the effects of COVID-19 in practically every area of life—ranging from how we work to job loss to school to church practice and everything in between—has been profoundly jarring, this isn’t the first time either Lifeway or the church has faced something of this sort. In fact, given the modernization of medicine and today’s technology, one can logically deduce that leaders in 1919 had a greater challenge. Second, if the results of the Spanish Flu and the subsequent revival of discipleship is any indication, we need to be ready for what’s next and look with expectancy for a similar revival when we emerge from the immediate threat of the coronavirus. Yet, while we remain between the pre-pandemic church and what God has in store for us on the other side, it’s important to remember that discipleship must continue and that we as leaders, like those in 1918-19, continue “full of hope and promise.”

As we wait and take measures to perpetuate discipleship—encouraging group members to immerse themselves in the Bible and maintain our own discipleship and spiritual growth—we have created a handful opportunities to keep on the path God has called us to in this season. During this time when it’s such a challenge for groups to convene, whether due to municipal restrictions, Zoom fatigue, or health concerns, it’s important to stay on the right track even at an individual level. Below are five ways in different formats to remain on the road to greater Christ-likeness.

The Good Life Online Bible Study

https://www.facebook.com/groups/thegoodlifeonlinebiblestudy

This experience is for anyone with an interest in learning more about the good life espoused in the Beatitudes. Pastor Derwin Gray’s new Bible Study, The Good Life, will be made available for anyone that signs up using the link above. Invite group members, family, or friends to engage in community built around this 8-session study. We recommend ordering the Bible study guide at Lifeway.com as a complement to the weekly video event. In the description with each video, we’ll add questions regarding the teaching. Then, you’ll comment with your answers to start the discussion!

Pray Like This: A 52-Week Prayer Journal https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/pray-like-this-a-52-week-prayer-journal-P005826967

We talk a lot about prayer. We ask for prayer and commit to prayer. Scripture describes prayer as crucial in our relationship with God through Jesus. But do you find it hard to remain grounded? Has consistent prayer been a challenge over the years? Are you in a season in which your prayer life might have become stale? This journal has been created to get you in the habit of reading Scripture daily, to serve as a guide to improve your prayer life, and discover the path to knowing God more intimately.

No More Excuses 90-Day Devotion for Men https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/no-more-excuses-a-90-day-devotional-for-men-P005826966

Adapted from the popular No More Excuses Bible study for men, No More Excuses: A 90-Day Devotional for Men will challenge you to lay down your excuses, stop compromising, and fight to be a man of character and commitment. Each day, you’ll find a Scripture verse, short devotion, and thought-provoking question to help you find purpose, meaning, and direction in life and become the man God has called you to be.

Unanswered Personal Bible Study https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/unanswered-personal-bible-study-book-P005819108

This Bible study provides precisely what many of us need today: tools and answers! It addresses several challenging topics, including mental health and suicide, paranormal activity, the resurrection, how we got the Bible, suffering, and why God is sometimes silent. The study will show you how to answer, how to explain, and how to respond in a deeply personal and effective way, as a thoughtful ambassador of Jesus. You will leave this study enriched, characterized by a thinking faith, capable of communicating confidently, and committed to escape the tendency to offer trite answers to a skeptical world. It’s also great to work through with a friend, co-worker, or spouse.

The Power of God’s Names Personal Bible Study https://www.lifeway.com/en/product/the-power-of-god-s-names-personal-bible-study-book-P005819105

The study examines 11 names of God. The words translated as name show up over one thousand times in Scripture and routinely carry with them power, responsibility, purpose, and authority. The study for personal discipleship offers biblically rooted content on the meaning and power of God’s names and encourages us to call on God through the names that speak to their needs. Like the Unanswered Personal Bible Study, this experience from Dr. Tony Evans is a great opportunity to share with a friend.

Group Leadership

July 20, 2020

Five Reasons We Need Unchurched People in Our Groups

By Dwayne McCrary

After the Spanish flu pandemic, believers expressed a renewed interest in Bible study groups. We can certainly see why today! We miss the community found in the company of other believers. Talking through a Bible passage and listening to how others receive the truths found in that passage encourages us to process the passage further and gives us food for thought. We come to understand that our questions and doubts may be close to normal. The value of these groups is seen further through time spent praying with one another in person.

However following the Spanish flu, some began to see Bible study groups as places for believers to be nurtured and moved away from groups built for all people including the skeptic, searcher, and non-believer. People who are not yet believers need to study the Bible and we need them to be in our groups. Here’s why.

We need the dialogue. The longer we live as a believer, the more likely our friends will be believers. We begin to talk in “believer” terms and lose our “unbeliever” dialect. Losing some of that language is a good thing, but we must still find a way to communicate with unbelievers. We are called to share the gospel and we need contact with unbelievers to do so. Keeping our Bible study group open to all people puts us in a position to share the gospel more readily.
We need the accountability. In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul called on them to imitate him as he imitated Christ (11:1). The Corinthian believers needed someone to show them what a follower of Christ looked like and Paul was willing for them to examine him. By placing himself on this pedestal, Paul was making himself accountable to all who were looking to him as an example. We need to know others that need an example and we need the accountability to be such an example.
We need to remember. The longer we live as a believer, the more likely we are to forget the guilt, the search, and the sense of lostness that comes with being separated from God. Losing that sense impacts our gratitude for the cross and the salvation Christ provides us. We need to always be mindful of the grace granted to us.
We need to be challenged. We sometimes get comfortable with our beliefs and rarely revisit them. Being around unbelievers will lead us to explain why we believe what we believe. Doing so will help us refine and sharpen our beliefs, while keeping us from becoming complacent about what we believe and why.
We need to learn to love. We are directed to love our neighbors, all of them. The best way for breaking down a “them” and “us” mentality is spending time with whomever we consider to be “them.”

The believers in Bible study groups that purposefully remain open to all who join gain a great deal from the presence of unbelievers. Believers need those who don’t yet follow Christ to be in our Bible study group just as much as they need to study the Bible for themselves.

Dwayne McCrary leads some teams that create ongoing Bible study resources at Lifeway including Explore the Bible (goExploreTheBible.com). He teaches two groups in his church (one for empty nesters and one for three year olds) and is an adjunct professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City.

Group Leadership

July 16, 2020

8 Keys for Building a Community Culture

By Group Ministry

By Reid Smith

Culture is something you feel. Every group of people and organization has a distinct culture. It’s the water in which you swim when you’re hanging out in an environment or with a group of people. It’s what you experience through all your senses when you are gathered with others who are included in it.

You, for example, are experiencing more than just coffee when you sit inside a Starbucks. There is a culture that has been intentionally and artistically created to entice customers to return and build brand loyalty. Although our motivations differ, church leaders want people to return and consistently engage in community life for infinitely more important reasons.

Pastors love it when people say their church feels like family. It’s always a win when folks say they feel like they belong and enjoy connecting with others each week. However, most leaders are not conscious about all the factors that contribute to this. The DNA of culture must be deliberately molded, and just like a potter with clay, it is best to do this at the very beginning of a new work.

Regardless of where you consider yourself in building a community culture in your church, here are eight keys I’ve discovered along the way that will help in this process:

Discern God’s plan for building community in your church and reaching your surrounding community with the power of the good news. It’s safe to assume the Lord is already at work building His church where you minister and your primary job is to figure out how that’s happening. Invariably, it will be a community of two or more people pursuing Christ together. So how is God already moving in your midst to reach the lost?
Decide together with your core leadership team how everyone will prioritize community and relationship-building. How will each one live it and lead it? The involvement of pastoral leadership in a church’s community life is the linchpin to the ongoing growth of biblical community. There is no substitute for what the most influential and visible people in the church model and advocate, particularly on the weekend.
Don’t allow groups to be viewed as another ministry program/department of the church or as something that good Christians do. A programmatic paradigm can be lethal to the life of organic community. It is not groups that we’re after ultimately…it’s what happens in groups. Biblical community empowers believers and churches to function as the body of Christ should (Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:21-27).
Dedicate resources towards building community. Invest time, energy, and money into the leaders and resources that serve as the life source of community in your church. By virtue of resourcing this area of your church, you will be enhancing all areas. There is no shortcut to healthy ministry that flows out of healthy relationships.
Discover who is gifted in communications and beat the drum of community every chance you get. You want to show and tell people what you believe about the importance of biblical community in their spiritual growth and well-being. Use all forms of communication: platform, print, digital, visual, and stories to convey what God is doing through the community life of your church.
Design a community life calendar and include no less than three church-wide opportunities per year for people to get plugged in. Present new ways for people to get connected in new types of groups. Feature existing groups and new group startups in your weekend announcements, website, social media platforms, slides, etc.
Determine that every event you host or program you run will be used as an opportunity to help people take their next step toward greater engagement in your church’s community life. Churches tend to pour a lot of time and energy into planning events but the next step for people to take is an afterthought. Flip this. When events are built around a clear next step, more people are inspired to actually do something and you’ll see measurable fruit from your organized activities.
Devote yourself to building a community culture. The journey will be filled with successes and setbacks, but stay with it. Study churches that do it well and read books by leaders who are community building champions themselves. Attend groups conferences and take staff and key volunteers with you. In other words, be a learner and take others along with you. Never settle.

This is all worth doing wholeheartedly because healthy spiritual relationships are essential to a growing relationship with Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 1:7, 3:14, 4:20). Furthermore, when spiritually lost people come to a loving community, they tend to come to Christ (Acts 2:47; John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:12). Building a community culture is not optional for a church that wants to advance God’s mission in the world and these keys will help you and your team in the process.

Group Leadership

July 13, 2020

Spanish Flu and the Decision Faced when Groups Regathered

By Dwayne McCrary

As the spanish flu began to subside, churches began to meet again and a renewed interest in Bible study followed (per BSSB report in 1919 SBC annual). Most of us can understand why that would be the case as we meet on Zoom with others. We understand the need for face-to-face interaction with people. We miss the freedom and trust that only comes with in-person conversation.

In 1919, First Baptist Church of Ft. Worth, TX (FBCFW) hired a “church manager” to oversee their ongoing groups. They hired Arthur Flake who had been a field worker from 1909 to 1919 for the Baptist Sunday School Board (now Lifeway). Most point to this as the beginning of the minister of education role in the local church. This appears to have been a response to the renewed interest in Bible study groups. The pastor, J. Frank Norris, and Flake were paid the same salary. The value placed on this position may illustrate the recognized need for leading an effective ongoing Bible study ministry on the regathering side of the Spanish flu pandemic.

FBCFW reported that they had 3,000 members and 4,000 enrolled in ongoing Bible study groups (Sunday School) in 1919. By 1920, they became the largest Sunday School organization in the US. We should note that not all their groups met on Sunday or on campus. They focused on creating groups that sought people not connected to another church (lost people) and the numbers reported bear this out. This was counter to what was happening elsewhere. The renewed interest in Bible study groups came mostly from people who missed meeting with other believers during the Spanish Flu quarantine. The renewed focus was on community with other believers and the nurturing role Bible study groups played. Flake saw it differently and built groups that focused on reaching people who were not believers. After six months, Flake returned to the Baptist Sunday School Board.. Upon his return, Flake influenced Southern Baptist churches to focus on the reaching function of open Bible study groups, proposing a five step process for creating groups that did just that; the same process he perfected while at FBCFW (per Fuel the Fire by Chuck Kelley and Lifeway Legacy by Jimmy Draper).

Today, we are hearing the same renewed interest in Bible study groups. Some of that interest is being expressed by people who were not involved in a group prior to COVID. However, much of what we hear is the desire for Christian community which tends to focus on believers and the nurture element of Bible study. Many of those who ignored the reaching opportunity in 1919 (those focused primarily on nurturing believers) eventually turned to Flake in an effort to curb their decline (the potential for growth of intentional open groups is larger since the pool is all people and not only those already in the church).

Herein sits a warning and opportunity. A move toward community was already happening prior to COVID-19 (functionally closed groups that focused on nurturing the existing body), but now we have a renewed opportunity to reclaim the opening of that community to lost people. What we face may very well be the same opportunity faced by church leaders in 1919 with the same forked road sitting in front of us. Which path will we take?

Church Leadership

November 18, 2019

The Cost of Opening Your Home

By Group Ministry

by Jared Musgrove

Place matters. A person and a people’s story is impossible to understand apart from their place of origin and life lived in a place. They learn their way in a place, they show their way in a place, and they make decisions to be in a place. We see this in the Lord Jesus Christ. He himself was like us in every respect (Hebrews 2) including His attachment to and choice of place. So, it is important to consider what places the Lord Himself chose to spend His time. And what He did when he was in those places.

The Gospels record the ministry of Jesus occurring in three places: public spaces, the synagogue, and the home. Each has an obvious 21st Century counterpart. But in Jesus’ time it was the home that was considered the foundation stone upon which the rest of society was built. As went the home so went society. Considered rightly alongside Scripture’s teaching on the importance of family and home, it should stand out to us that Jesus placed a special emphasis on homes as a place of intentional ministry. There are over 50 instances of this across the four gospels. Even later in His ministry, Jesus began to move away from primary ministry in the synagogue and public spaces, moving more to homes.

I am not setting out to prove the home as a primary place of ministry and evangelism. I’m just saying that Jesus already did. His practice of proximity in the most personal of places matters for how we see ourselves and our ministry. If we model Jesus, we see that ministry is often best done in community that allows intimacy. And there are not many places more intimate than someone’s home. Home Groups at The Village Church are our effort to shrink the church from corporation to this kind of closeness of camaraderie centered in Christ. They are our effort to do the mission of God much like Jesus did in many respects.

Jesus used the home to build relationships and heal others, thus allowing Him to demonstrate the very power and truth He came to teach. It was His apologetic in many cases. He used the opportunities that were made available to Him through the relationships and miracles to teach on matters of faith, law, grace, and general truth on various subjects. If we were to say it in a way that includes the modern day believer living as Jesus did, we may see the home as a place set apart to build relationships and provide a healing presence so that others may be open to the truth of the gospel. That they would have a reason to wonder why we believe what we believe because we first lived our belief right before their eyes. And that place of intimacy and safety becomes a place of revelation.

In this, Jesus’ ministry in homes was a ministry of love. Such love in the most private of places was a most potent apologetic to an unbelieving world. It still is.

In Jesus’ day, homes were places of hospitality and intimacy where the host would, in a way, open up their heart like they opened up the physical door of their home to others. They were places for knowing others and being known in the context of family and friendships. They were a context for bearing burdens and in many cases the primary context for ongoing participation in Christian living and witness to neighbors.

The potential and potency of such a live parable still exists in our day. Jesus shared hard truths in homes. Could it be that in this context He might do so in a less confrontational manner where the persons present may have listened closer and accepted more readily the insight of the Son of Man? What does this mean for we who are being conformed to His image who have homes to open? Nothing but possibility, so far as I can see.

First Century Jewish homes were a place of belonging and hospitality known by other peoples/nations (i.e. Not God’s People), so anomalous was the practice of welcoming a stranger in those days. This was the first and final apologetic in ancient Jewish culture. It still could be. Should be. Jesus clearly took advantage of homes to instruct, develop relationships, and perform miracles such that everyone present in the home left saying, “we’ve never seen anything like this!” So too is the possibility when we see our homes as a genesis in ministering Christ to the believer, to the lost, and to spiritual skeptics. That’s the possibility of a gospel-centered community that meets in a home. We won’t innovate a faithful way around this and we are fools to think we ever could surpass the Master’s plan of evangelism and ministry.

God sent His Son to dwell with His people. Jesus came in the midst of a culture that, unlike the peoples/nations around it, welcomed strangers and were hospitable to all. This is as it should be. God expects more of believers than He did or does of nonbelievers. God expected His people to be hospitable. He still does. And Jesus demonstrates it in acts that resonate to set the desire and direction across space and time. The incarnational God is revealed not only by Jesus coming to this earth, but in Jesus going into homes.

Whether or not the home is or should be the primary and most effective place for ministry in these postmodern times may depend upon context. Certain urban areas will have a difficult time with such home ministry because people may not want people in their space. There may be safety concerns. There may not exist a cultural memory of having someone in your home. If you have a home at all this week. In such very real contexts, the church building can be a sanctuary of a place. But this does not tend to be our context at The Village Church. We are sub-urban, we have dwelling places prime with such potential to affect for Christ.

It doesn’t take a program. It doesn’t take a budget meeting. It starts personally and starts in your homes and Home Groups. Begin by opening your home for a community to be affected by Jesus.

The Village Church’s community is costly. If you think what God has done here is easy then you don’t understand. We cannot be explained merely by the clear biblical truth that is preached powerfully and effectively; we cannot be explained by the fact that we have a staff of heavy hitter ministers, capable men and women working at the top of their game unto God; Those two things are important and they are a gift but The Village Church cannot be explained if you remove the third aspect. And that is there has been community here. And it has been costly community.

It is a costly thing to open one’s home. My wife and I have lost wedding gifts and family heirlooms because of it. We’ve personally welcomed people — even pastors — who struggle with their faith in God, who struggle with sexual attraction to their same gender, struggle with being a minority person of color, struggle with deep grief and health defects. We’ve lost sleep and time and money; we know members of this church who’ve lost so much more than that but gained a brother or sister in Christ because of it. It doesn’t take a program to minister the gospel like Jesus did. You don’t have to convince the elder board. All you have to do is open your home. Francis Schaeffer writes, “And there is no place in God’s world where there are no people who will come and share a home as long as it is a real home.” A compassionate, open home is part of Christian responsibility, and each family should practice it up to the level of their capacity. Jesus made no distinction between home or foreign missions — it was all evangelism to Him. Home Groups are our attempt to regularly emulate this practice as a people after Jesus.

Place still matters. It did to Jesus and it should to you. The home as a primary place of ministry mattered to Him. That’s why Home Groups matter to this church body. When evangelism and ministry happen in homes it seems to Scripturally and experientially be more effective than not. That’s the plan. That’s the place. That’s the why, what, and wonder of Home Groups.

Jared Steven Musgrove serves as Groups Pastor and elder at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. He earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Oklahoma, a Master of Divinity in preaching from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry in leadership from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the husband of Jenny and the father of two sons, Jordan and Joshua. You can follow him on Twitter @jsmusgrove

Infusing Your Groups with Encouragement

Spanish Flu and the Decision Faced when Groups Regathered

The Cost of Opening Your Home

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