Small Groups are Vital to the Health of the Church

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and its  associated lockdowns church leaders around the world have identified two key strategic areas that the church needs to focus on as pastors, ministers, officers lead out of this period of crisis that we have been living in;

One which we have been exploring over the past few weeks or so, the importance of discipleship.

The other is in the area of small groups, cell groups, life groups, cell meetings, house churches – call it what you will! Small groups are vital to the health of the church and I believe that Discipleship and Small Groups are intrinsically linked.

Steve Murrell in his book ‘WikiChurch’ writes that he is “convinced that the most efficient and effective way to make disciples is in small groups.” Obviously it is possible to make and grow disciples outside of small groups as we looked at last week 1:1 Discipleship is extremely important. It is one of a variety of ways in which we can start and be journeying with others in their faith and traverse life with them over a period of time. And maybe 1:1 Discipleship is pertinent to where some people are at in life, they can’t or won’t suit group settings, or they need some in-depth guidance and encouragement which is best suited to one-on-one direction. We need a ‘both and‘ approach to discipleship.

As Rick Warren espouses, we were designed for relationships, formed for fellowship, created for community and God intends for us to experience life with others together.

It is not God’s will that we would go through life by ourselves (or just with a select few) – we need others to journey with us.

We need to be in a small group where we can love and be loved, serve and be served, and share what we are learning and learn from others. We can’t do that in isolation and we can’t do that in a crowd, we need to be doing it in small groups.

The coming together of Christians in smaller (restricted sized) gatherings throughout the pandemic has been absolutely vital for the survival of many churches over the past couple of years. Many recognising that they had no other option than to reimagine what the meeting together in their homes referred to in Acts 2:42-47 meant for us in this day and age.

As Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho writes in his book ‘Successful Home Cell Groups’;

“when a home cell meeting is full of life, and when people are happy and sharing their faith and witnessing to what the Lord has done in their lives, other people are drawn to them. Unbelievers become curious. They want to know why this little group of Christians is so joyful when all around them there are so many troubles.“

Dr. Paul Yonggi Cho had identified in the 1960’s & 70’s that the traditional models of church growth and leadership simply did not work. But God has a method that does, and He wants every church to have it.

“Home cell groups give every church member an opportunity to participate in the ministry of their church and to bring revival to their neighbourhood.“

Maybe we, as the universal church, have to a certain extent been a bit slow on the uptake of this, especially in some settings, there are those for which small groups have worked extremely well. Or maybe the priority around small group development and the importance of it has over the years been squashed by the demands of the myriad of other areas of the church ministry, such as service and worship.

But the thing is during the pandemic that has swept our world and due to governmental restrictions of faith based gathering sizes, many church leaders had to grasp the reality that “this is not the time to pull away and neglect meeting together, as some have formed the habit of doing. In fact, we should come together even more frequently, eager to encourage and urge each other onward as we anticipate that day dawning.“

Hebrews 10:25 (The Passion Version)

They recognised that they needed to revert to New Testament Church principles found in Acts and the Epistles, and develop ways in which the church could continue to meet and grow in smaller groups. Not being reliant on a form of church that had become predominantly attractional and dare I say it entertainment driven. But encouraging their congregants to be doing life together in small groups – for this is where meaningful community and transformation happens, this is where people can experience a closeness with their brothers and sisters in Christ that can’t be found attending a church service once a week.

I love how the Message puts the above verse; “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out, not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on…” Hebrews 10:22-25 (The Message)

You see, Small Groups are vitally important to the health of the church and we need to be inventive in the way that we approach them, ensuring that we don’t lose sight of the holistic aspects of what they should be about, especially going forward as we return to in-person services.

It is not enough to have a group regardless of size running that is solely about attracting others to be a part of it, or a group that solely meets a need in one way or another, they all need to be about Kingdom growth principles; pasturing, developing, training and utilising its people in God’s service. For according to General John Larsson in his book ‘How Your Corps can Grow: The Salvation Army and Church Growth‘ we each need to be;

• Growing UP – to maturity in Christ.
• Growing TOGETHER – in Christian fellowship.
• Growing OUT – in service and outreach.
• Growing MORE – seeking numerical growth.

So, as we return to in-person services we need to have and maintain an holistic approach to our small groups, and not lose sight of the importance that these have for His people.

Next week, we will touch on the importance of reorganizing our churches into a church of small groups, rather than being a church with small groups.

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Effective Discipleship

Prior to the Covid pandemic impacting our world the way it has over the past 2 years or so, there was a huge variety of different discipleship approaches that were available for the church to use.

And I’m sure that each of us could point to an App, website, model or method that was sort of working in our setting.

Last week I touched on The Importance of Discipleship and how it is intrinsically linked to evangelism as Steve Murrell writes in his book WikiChurch; “discipleship is a call to “fish” for people“. Today I want to draw our attention to the need for Effective Discipleship.

You see, maybe it would be better to say that we thought our discipleship ministry or programmes and services were working – because in reality this may not have been true as the results (the fruits of our labours) were not necessarily bringing us what we had envisaged. The effectiveness of our discipleship was not being fully realised. We may have focused previously too heavily on one aspect of discipleship or another, and may have even gone so far as to separate the many aspects of discipleship and lost sight of their correlation.

Dare I say that this may be the case with many Western churches as we have compartmentalised discipleship and even created whole departments that don’t necessarily interact with others to remain committed to the ultimate vision of the Christian church to bring people into a life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ.     

The things is, some people may have been coming both to faith and then maybe coming to church, but as the affects of Covid on the church show in our days many people are not coming back. Admittedly that may just mean not yet – for we are forever hopeful.

But hearing from some trusted Officers within The Salvation Army, ministers and pastors from other denominations and the likes of this article entitled ‘They’re Not Coming Back‘ posted by James Emery White on Church & Culture, among others. We’ll most likely find that attendance levels and discipleship group numbers, and all the other metrics we use to gauge how well we have been doing in the church will remain low post Covid.     

There are multiple reasons for this, Covid obviously being one. But because our churches haven’t or won’t be fully returning to normal (as the people in our congregations would define it) or because they have simply moved on to other things – as church is not necessarily as higher importance as maybe it once was, many so called disciples, believers and Christians are not coming ‘back into the fold‘ so to speak.

They may still see themselves as Christians, although a word of caution is needed to be communicated in this space in a way that is as lovingly possible as we can to those that choose not to return, for Jesus may say to “them outright, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me – you didn’t follow God’s ways!’” Matthew 7:23 (Radiate New Testament) 

Now, that may seem a bit harsh for some – but the reality is God created the church, and He envisaged for it to bring Life and Hope to the world, and be His resource to impact the world in which we live for His glory. 

This is not a new issue! It is one that the church has been grappling with for eons, and Paul even touches on it when he writes to the church of Philippi according to Richard Lamb in ‘Following Jesus in the “Real World” – Discipleship for the Postcollege Years’;

Paul’s urgency in Philippians is rooted in his awareness of the very real possibility that people who begin as disciples may turn away from the path of discipleship.

Jesus himself also recognises this issue when in John 6 after speaking of himself as the Bread of Life the very people who were joining to be His disciples were offended by His teaching and “turned their backs on him and even refused to be associated with Him“. John 6:66 (The Passion Translation)

In 2010 Alan & Debra Hirsch in their book ‘Untamed: reactivating a missional form of discipleship’ write that they “sincerely believe discipleship has become a frontier issue for the people of God at this time in history.

And most commentators would agree that in sincerely seeking to appeal to the prevailing consumerist culture, the Western church has all but lost the art of discipleship.”

They go on to say that “rediscovering what it means to radically follow Jesus is an area of strategic, missional concern” and, that “to fail in discipleship and disciple making is therefore to fail in the primary mission (or ‘sent-ness’) of the church.“

So how effective have we been in our discipleship? I would hazard a guess to say that we as the church universally have not been very good at it for quite a while. Discipleship programmes although many and varied have not necessarily been as successful as we would like. Studies consistently show that the Biblical literacy in church is sadly lacking, over the past few decades involvement in frontline church ministry has been on the downward trajectory, and attendance levels in mainstream denominations has continued to decline. This is not all doom and gloom though – there is hope! God is not finished with us yet – for the church is the Hope of the world, and the Bride will get to stand with the Bridegroom.   

Now, in today’s world there is a plethora of information about churches facing a new change of pace due to the Covid pandemic and the state of our nations.

There are many conversations about attendance declines, discipleship issues, pastor weariness and the great resignation and Dan Reiland explores 5 Traits of Churches That Will Build Again post this season we have been in with Covid.

Thom Rainer and Kevin Ezell in a recent Church Answers Revitalise & Replant podcast also look at five consequences for churches in this season that don’t seem to get much attention which may just surprise you. The third point that they raise is that there is a reawakening of the need for effective discipleship ministries.

So, as we return to a level of normality with restrictions being eased may we focus on one of the areas that needs a fair bit of work to establish effective discipleship for our people.

Not just Bible Study groups and interest groups for the sake of gathering together with likeminded people to do stuff and learn, which remain absolutely essential, but ‘Life‘ groups that start to exhibit areas of ‘spiritual‘ growth in people.

God requires for us to go deeper and develop those people entrusted into our care so that they become Spirit-filled and exhibit what J. Oswald Sanders calls the Three Fundamental Principles that should guide us in our service; 

• The Continuance Principle – “Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free.‘” John 8:31-32 (Revised Standard Version) 
• The Love Principle which is found in John 13:35 “by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” (New International Version)
• The Fruit Principle – “If you remain (continue) in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourself to be my disciples.” John 15:7-8 (New International Version)

All three of which need to manifest themselves in our lives.

Blessings ’til next time 🙂

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The Importance of Discipleship

Over the past week I have been re-blogging some posts around the future of the church that I originally wrote about 18 months ago and one of the recurring themes that comes up, is the importance of discipleship.

Many of these posts refer to articles or blogs from church and ministry leaders who are regarded as being at the cutting edge of change within church ministry. And inadvertently many were written prior to any mention of the impending Covid pandemic, which has upset the equilibrium of our lives in ways that we could never have imagined prior to November 2019.

These church and ministry leaders often point out concerns or issues that we have been grappling with within the church for years, and will continue to grapple with, unless we spend some time taking note of what is happening in and around us in these days.

Some within society are proposing that we will go back to normal relatively quickly and that as we return to some sort of normalcy things will settle down. Business leaders (especially in hospitality) and Governments are hoping that by reducing restrictions people will go back to everything we did before; traveling, staying at hotels and motels, eating out at cafes, restaurants and bars, going to events and sports etc. as they start opening up fully and the economy will pick up again.

But the thing is, other factors are at play – the cost of living has gone up and if history teaches us anything, people even if they want to go out, won’t be able to as the level of disposable income has decreased. House prices may have flatlined according to some, but that doesn’t mean that we’ll have a whole heap of people jumping at the opportunity to buy. The price of petrol and food continues to increase and regardless of any changes the government makes accessibility is going to be an issue, as looming shortages on a global scale will have a flow on effect.  

We already see steep increases in the amount of people that are close to the breadline seeking assistance from foodbanks and other agencies for the so-called basics of life, and we are in a privileged country.   

In this environment churches will also have the tendency to go back to some sort of normalcy. They will seek to return to weekly services and programmes which they hope will bring the people back into the fold.

However, a word of caution here – what we were doing previously in many of our settings wasn’t working if the statistics are to be believed over the past few decades. Sunday attendance was in decline, discipleship programmes were not getting the results that we were wanting, the number of people ‘joining’ and serving in the church was declining, our congregations were becoming increasingly older, and the level of Biblical literacy especially in church was disappointing if we acknowledge the trends that have been widely circulating over the past few years or so.

So, do we want to go back to normal, in our holy huddles hoping that someone new will walk in the door? Or do we want to explore ways in which we can make a real difference in our communities in a time when our communities are going to need us, and more importantly need Christ the most going forward? We need to refocus on the importance of discipleship.  

How do we do this? I don’t propose to have the answers to what is needed in your settings, but can I encourage you to look outside the four walls of your halls, citadels, temples, and churches and seek out what God is already doing in your communities and join Him in it!

There are many initiatives and activities that God has instigated through His Spirit, empowering people to make a huge impact in the community. And I reckon God wants us to re-engage with our communities rather than shut ourselves off from them.

Throughout the Bible we see examples of this, and we need to be reminded again that Jesus didn’t take a group of well-intentioned church people to be his followers, he invited people from all walks of life to join him on a journey from their everyday normal lives and become extraordinary Spirit-filled people – Sold out for Him!

Steve Murrell in his book WikiChurch writes that discipleship is a call to “fish” for people and he goes on to share an insight that he picked up while listening to a podcast by Rick Warren.

“Write down what you love to do the most, and then go do it with unbelievers… Whatever you love to do, turn it into an outreach.”

He goes on to advise new believers, if you love playing bridge, keep playing bridge – just with unbelievers. If you enjoy watching Monday night football, keep watching Monday night football, as long as you invite over nonchurch friends.          

Rick continues, if we stay engaged in our relationships, then it is only a matter of time until we have an opportunity to share the story of our faith journey. Maybe a friend will mention his economic woes or his frustration with his teenager. Both are open doors to offer prayer, our testimony, or some humble godly wisdom. Just keep the relationships, pray for your friends, and wait for open doors.

These open doors create opportunities for you and I to invite people to come on a journey with us to explore this thing called faith. I used football as a way to get in the door to people’s lives and still do when given the opportunity. Things look a bit different for me these days but I am using other means of sharing my faith with others – how about you?

You see, Jesus had a tendency to reach out to those on the fringes, those that were frowned upon, those everyday people living out in the community who were often classified as sinners. And Luke 15:1-2 shows that those in the established church of the day were concerned about this “now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Luke 15:1-2 (New International Version)

“One thing is clear from the story of Jesus calling a tax collector to follow Him (found in Matthew 9:9-13) that Jesus’s strategy of making disciples was not calling the already religious to follow Him. Instead of separating Himself from nonbelievers, Jesus came to be known as a friend of sinners, and He called them to be His followers.”

“We seem to have divorced evangelism from discipleship” Steve writes, and he goes on to explain that “when we separate the Siamese twins of evangelism and discipleship, we kill both. The Biblical starting point of discipleship is evangelism, and the whole point of evangelism is to make disciples.”

So, as we return to some form of normalcy within the church may we reignite the importance of discipleship – for God has invited us on a journey to bring Life and Hope to our communities. To do that we need to get out of our comfort zones! And for those of us within The Salvation Army we need to be the church he has called us to be ‘Te Ope Whakaora – The Army That Brings Life’.

For those of you that want to explore further this whole area of change that I’ve written about previously check out the following:

• 7 Possible Church Trends Emerging from Covid-19
• Changes – More than Just a Song
• Navigate Change, for change we must!
• Reimagining the Methodology
• Reimagining the Methodology – Part 2
• Five Things Churches Should Do Differently in 2021

Blessings ‘til next time 😊

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WikiChurch: Making Discipleship Engaging, Empowering & Viral

Makes for an interesting title doesn’t it?

I’ve just started reading a book by Steve Murrell called ‘WikiChurch’ which caught my eye at the Christian bookstore the other day.

What with all the news around ‘WikiLeaks’ founder Julian Assange being holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy in the UK and the phenomenal reach that ‘Wikipedia’ has, I thought what if any would be the connections with either of these and how does it relate to Discipleship.

In explaining what a WikiChurch is Steve says;

Imagine if every believer, not just paid ministers, did ministry. That’s a WikiChurch.

He goes on to say “… many churches today function more like ‘Nupedia’ (check it out for yourselves) than Wikipedia. They allow only credentialed professionals to lead evangelism and discipleship efforts while volunteers are expected to show up and pay up, but not engage in serious ministry. Imagine if the situation were reversed. Imagine if every believer, … were engaged in ministry.”

Jesus in giving the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19 said “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations…” this after saying to His followers that He would build His church. We are told to do the discipling and He will do the rest.

However, for many of us in the work of the church we strive to build the church with programmes, activties and promotions. Entertaining our audiances regardless of age rather than focussing on the essential practice of discipleship.

As Steve states “we often get this backward” and I’m intrigued to find out more about how I can ‘Engage Culture and Community, Establish Spiritual Foundations, Equip Believers to Minister, and Empower Disicples to Make Disciples.’

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