Small groups (pastoral input solicited)

[dolfan]

What dbserv said. That's my response.

That's what we were doing quite well years ago following the sort of model advocated by Willow Creek. Of course, things went off the rail in other areas; but the groups were working well and growing. There are a jillion copycats, none really original, all playing off each others' ideas and adaptations. But, all I can do is echo what dbserv said.

[Full Quiver]

and I am chopped liver

[Poimen]

and I am chopped liver

huh?


Anyhow, as to your reply before...

That's good advice.
But what about the function I am intending? Instead of being pastoral in nature to use the small group concept to produce network evangelism (to coin a phrase).

[Full Quiver]

ABM was pastoral

Small groups as we practice, as I'd say most "purpose driven churches" practice is evangelistic.

The purpose of the group is to get more people into church. Like Pastor Howie said tonight, "Hey, what are all those cars doing at that house? What are y'all doing? Bible Study, wanna come?"

It's not really pastoral for us anyway. Sure us leaders keep an eye on things and monitor members but we report back to the actual pastors on such things. We steer the groups in study and fellowship and try and recruit new folks to the group. My small group had 36 folks at our last meeting. Our next meeting is being scheduled and I have asked for folks to invite a neighbor.

[Pastorbps]

Poimen:
Here are the some hurdles we've faced.
1. Homes - You need enough homes, big enough homes, and homes people are willing to make available (Some people don't want to spend the time preparing their home for small groups).
2. What to do with the small children. If they go with the parents they are usually so rowdy they disrupt or the homes don't have a separate place for small children. The other option is paid babysitters but where do you get them.
3. Dedicated and consistent leaders - You have to have leaders who will "own" this ministry.
We do ours once a month on a Sunday night. We have a senior's group which meets at the church in case visitors come by thinking it is a normal service night.
I like the idea of making them evangelistic because some people feel more comfortable coming to your house than going to a church where they may be turned off by the unknown.
We have tried, unsuccessfully, to have them on non-church nights but people are so busy with both spouses working, kids in school and the kids extra-curricular activities. People don't want to give up another night.

I hope these "what not to do" insights give you some help.

[rjjunior]

Pastor's Perspective:
If you want them to be evangelistic, you need to build it into them from the start because the tendency will be towards "the holy huddle."

When we transitioned from Sunday School model to cell model, the groups were vibrant at first, but a few things happened (or didn't happen).

1. They didn't reach out effectively. They greatly strengthened the bonds of already existing relationships, but there was very little new blood.
2. The groups that were "more attractive" grew via "transfer growth," much like what happens in church-dom. A couple of groups folded, while a couple of groups grew and didn't want to multiply. Our 6 healthy groups have in essence become 2 really BIG pseudo-healthy groups and a couple on life-support.

If possible, set in place the process of multiplication beforehand or evangelism will be stunted (I tried unsuccessfully). Convince each group that their goal is to grow and multiply. That means from the start, they're already determining the 'who, how, etc' of the next group.

Sometimes the only hope is to do a relaunch of the groups. Set up your target audiences, identify leaders (probably different ones from before) and set them out to recruit their groups. We did this once with great success, but alas, back to the holy huddle

I knew of one pastor who's rule of thumb was: any group that didn't multiply in 6-9 months got the plug pulled. Not sure if he truly enforced it or just threatened with it.

*Since your people like the "church facility-event" style, you might consider using the small group launch as part of an evangelistic thrust Alpha Course-style. You have a dinner (at the church perhaps) where people invite friends, family, etc and they sit at tables, have dinner, then listen to a "talk." They are invited to return and subsequent weeks and have dinner together at the same tables and build relationships while being evangelized/discipled. Each table is a "small group" with a leader (pre-determined by you, of course). When the series is over (10-13 weeks) you can encourage them to continue as a small group, meeting wherever. I like the concept and our church is considering it as a strategy.*

Long-winded, sorry.

[Dr. Ron]

FQ has well stated what we intend the small groups to be here. With the exception that for "permanent" status, the goal is to create a smaller base group from these larger groups.

We are experimenting with all sorts of things. It very much is determined by the number of people you already have. I can tell you that there will be people who love it and many who will NOT attend with a shotgun at their back. They are generally melancholy people who don't like socializing. They can't get past that aspect and see the benefit of it all.

What ever you do, make sure you have a good small group coordinator. If not, you will fail for sure. You must have leader's meetings and all that. It is vital to control the content of the lessons. You don't want 10 small groups all going in different directions. I don't care if one of my leaders "feels lead" to do a Beth MOore series......they will stay with the rest of the group. We keep the curriculum the same with them all....with the exception of teen groups and /or special groups like women only or men only.

At any rate, it is one of the most difficult things you will try ....but if you get it working, it will be one of the most beneficial things to the body.

[rough_rider]

2. What to do with the small children. If they go with the parents they are usually so rowdy they disrupt or the homes don't have a separate place for small children. The other option is paid babysitters but where do you get them.

This is a huge hurdle, any suggestions?

[rjjunior]

2. What to do with the small children. If they go with the parents they are usually so rowdy they disrupt or the homes don't have a separate place for small children. The other option is paid babysitters but where do you get them.

This is a huge hurdle, any suggestions?

Paid, teenage sitter is probably best option, I think. Other than that, parents commit to taking turns on site. They can all be together for the fellowship/whatever, another room for the study, prayer, etc.

[Full Quiver]

We have plenty of children in our group. Last meeting there were 15 children most 10 and under. They had a blast. We plan our meetings in such a way that the children can fellowship as well.