Small Groups. Five HabitsSample

Why Start or Join a Small Group?

Once a person makes a deep personal commitment to Christ what’s next?  Usually we refer to the process of growing to maturity in Christ as “discipleship.”  Jesus told us, “...obey everything that I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:20).  So where do we begin?  All the materials you will need are a Bible, a place to meet and optional, serving food.   

A Small Group is 2 or more people gathered together in Jesus’ name (Matthew 18:20). These groups are the basic unit of disciple making and church life. There are three parts in the weekly or regular small group meetings:

1.  Sharing insights from the Bible – Agree each week on a portion of Scripture to read.  It should be challenging.  For example, agree to read the Book of Philippians (all 4 chapters) through three times. When you meet together, share the things God is teaching you. Always focus on obeying what God reveals.  

If someone is a very poor reader, choose a passage of Scripture (one or more verses) to memorize.  Go over and over it together until all three of you have it memorized.  Then meditate on that passage during the week (think about it over and over).  Share the insights God reveals when you meet again.

2.  Sharing our personal lives – This is the time to be open and honest about areas in our lives that God wants to change.  Don’t pretend to be more spiritual than you are.  The others in your group will respect your honesty and be encouraged as they see God at work in your life.  

Look over the topics listed under Personal Sharing Helps on the Bookmark.  You may want to share about something not mentioned there.  Remember, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  We will only suffer defeat as long as we try to hide our sins in the shadows. “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

3.  Praying for each other and those who need Jesus – Pray for the personal needs and concerns of your small group.  But spend most of this time praying for lost friends and “enemies.”  Give thanks for answers to prayer and ask God to give you opportunities to help lost friends come one-step-closer to Jesus.  It is essential that the focus of a small group be outward rather than inward.  This is safeguarded by continually praying for the lost and always being ready to start new groups with those who are about to be saved.   

This matters a great deal if you want to see lives transformed. On the weekends, people come together and experience God's powerful presence, hear teaching from the pulpit, and serve others within the life of the church. But it's during the week, in small groups, that people find themselves in the kinds of relationships that help them stick to the church and to keep on growing spiritually and experiencing transformation long term.

Our model for ministry isn't found in the list of largest or fastest-growing churches on earth. Our model for ministry is actually the very first church in the Bible. In Acts 5:42 it says this "The first church met day after day in the temple courts and from house to house." We come together on the weekends for a large group gathering of everyone in the congregation. And then we scatter all week long for small group gatherings from house to house.

There are five habits of truly transformational small groups that you must model as a leader and that you must challenge people to practice as they gather in their homes in small groups.