Building Small Groups Newsletter Need fresh ideas for your small-groups ministry? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter and receive regular access to innovative training resources, Bible-based curriculum, and practical articles.

Often I get into discussions with people about the early church.

They say, "I wish we could be just like the early church. God was so alive, and he was doing such powerful things."

What was it about the early church? After Peter gave his very first sermon, thousands came to Christ. Then Acts 2 tells us what they did next: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

So first of all, they were devoted. They were committed to right doctrine, to being with one another, to the breaking of bread, and they did it in homes. In the verses that follow, it says:

Everyone was filled with awe. Many wonders and miraculous signs were being done by the apostles. All the believers were together, and they had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave as anyone had need.

The result of these dynamic relationships was this: "The Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." That is normative New Testament Christianity. That's not an exception. It's not for an era. That's what God wants for every regular, ordinary believer like you and me.

This kind of transformation happens in a supernatural community.

We often call it a small group. This has definitely been true for me. I not only came to Christ because of a small group, but all my early spiritual growth came out of my small group experience. When I was an unbeliever, I went to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes camp. I sat in a small group, along with a bunch of athletes after we'd worked out, and we talked about real life issues. Instead of religion, I saw life and reality and relationships.

Perhaps you're thinking, Chip, it sounds great. You've had these good small group experiences. But you know what? I went to one and it was boring. Or I went to one and I thought it would never end. I don't want to sign up for five years. Or I've been to one, and it was not only boring, but it was theologically in error.

Ultimately, what attracted me to Jesus was how I saw him transform lives. I saw people I knew become Christians, and they completely changed. They didn't just talk a little differently. They were radically different. Unfortunately, that's not always the case, but it should be. The Bible says that if any man or woman is in Christ, that person is a brand new creature. A revolution has occurred. They're spiritually born.

In college, I got in a small group with some guys. We would read the Bible together, and then we'd talk about how it applied to our lives. During seminary, I was in a small group, too. That's when I learned how to lead and teach, because I got mentored and helped—not by someone talking at me but by live interaction in a small group.

Small groups bring about dynamic, supernatural life change.

Our dream at Living on the Edge (www.lote.org) is, really, to help pastors equip the saints to do the work of the ministry. We exist to help everyday believers live out their faith at home, at work and in their schools. We want to see God use you like never before. We want the hero in the church to be God's people reaching out in their community and seeing life change. We want to saddle up next to their pastor and in no way usurp his position but get behind him and put some more wind in his sail by helping grow the men and women in his congregation.

Copyright © LifeTogether.com. Visit LifeTogether.com to find resourcees that help your church transform communities through community.