Several months ago I had the privilege of attending the Purpose-Driven Small Groups conference at Saddleback Church. Randy Frazee was the opening plenary speaker, and he started off with a quote from Lyle Schaller that still has my attention today: “The biggest challenge of the church is to address the fragmentation and discontinuity of the American lifestyle.”
That’s why I’m such a big fan of small groups. When done correctly, no other ministry has greater potential for life-changing connection and community. No other ministry has a better shot of sewing together the fragments and divisions of the American church – let alone the American lifestyle.
But that begs an important question: What makes a small group a small group?
I started thinking about that after spending some time with my grandfather – Pap Pap, I call him – in St. Augustine, Florida, this past summer. He is exceedingly proud to have a grandson working for Christianity Today International, although it’s taken some convincing on my part to have him grudgingly accept that I don’t produce any of the magazines.
On this recent visit, I had a chance to explain a little more about what I actually do – managing the content for BuildingSmallGroups.com and Smallgroups.com. He seemed a little disappointed. In fact, he informed me that his church was growing by leaps and bounds because they did things “the old fashioned way,” through preaching and teaching.
Later in the conversation, though, Pap Pap told me about his favorite ministry at the church – a weekly prayer meeting of 10 men, all volunteer leaders. They gather every Wednesday for breakfast at a local restaurant and seek the Lord’s favor for their families, their church, and their community. My Pap Pap (a college athlete and WWII veteran) literally had tears in his eyes when he said, “I just love those guys.”
So what is a small group?
Is it a weekly gathering of 8 or 10 people playing games in the living room of someone’s home? Is it a group of bacon-fueled men joining together in prayer and fellowship? Is it 6 or 7 women meeting regularly in an online chat room, or sending updates and requests through e-mail? Is it a church softball team that shares a Bible study after each game? Is it a house church, or a cell gathering, or a home team?
Is it all of these examples? Is it none?
Maybe you think it doesn’t matter – that there’s no point in figuring out some kind of consensus definition of what a small group is and what a small group is not. But I don’t agree. Like I said before, I’ve seen small groups bring healing to lonely individuals and community to a fragmented ministry – when done correctly. But I’ve also seen groups devolve into cliques and gossip and strife.
So I’ll keep chewing on those questions, even though I don’t have an answer now and don’t plan on finding one for a long time. Lord willing, I hope to get more things right than wrong until I do.
