Small Groups at RBC September 19, 2004
Acts 2:42-47
De-evangelizing the neighbourhood
I was at a conference a few years ago where they told the story of a church thayt looked as though they were really thriving: they had about 500 people attending, and had many outreach ministries reaching their community, and many people were coming to Christ and to church through their ministry.
The problem was that the church was not growing in numbers – people were leaving as quickly as they were coming in. They began to do some research on the people who were leaving and they found that the majority who left were not attending another church, they just stopped going to church all together. They realized that although the church was great at evangelism, because of their inability to hold people, they were actually de-evangelizing their neighbourhood. Those who were leaving were almost impossible to bring back into any community of faith.
The senior pastor realized that something had to be done, so he called up that last 12 people to be baptized and invited them to supper at his house. These were all new Christians and very excited to be invited to the Pastor’s house. After supper he sat them down and asked if they wanted to know the future. They all said “yes!” So he said, statistically speaking in the next 2-3 years… two of your marriages will have broken up and the shame will cause you to leave the church, three of you will have a conflict with someone in the church and you will leave the church, one will have a tragedy and lose faith and leave, two will have a moral failing and leave, and two will lose interest and drift away. In two to three years, out of this group only two of you will be attending church, and only one of you at this church. There was dead silence in the room. All these wide eyed Christians were about to say “surely not I, Lord.” When one of them spoke up and said What can we do to change the statistics. The pastor said, you can get together and as a group decide that you are not going to let anyone go.
That is exactly what they did – these strangers formed a small group and supported each other through the tragedies, divorces, conflicts and failings and in four years, only one had left the church never to come back. The church went from losing 10 out of every 12 converts to losing only one.
That church that was so great at evangelism learned the hard way that Small groups are essential for the growth, encouragement and perseverance of any Christian.
Small Groups Modeled in New Testament
Do you remember the day of Pentecost? In Acts 2 when the disciples were in the upper room praying and the Spirit came upon them like a mighty rushing wind, giving each one a tongue of fire on their head and driving them out on to the street where they worshiped and praised God and spoke in languages that they never knew before? Peter had to explain what was going on, and then he called people to believe and serve Jesus.
On the day of Pentecost, the church went through exponential growth. They grew from possibly 125 people to 3,125 in one day, and then it says that they continued to add more people daily
This is how Luke describes this brand new and ever growing Church
Acts 2:42-47
42They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
When it says that they met in homes, we really need to know that their homes were not as big as ours – most of the people would have been working class or poor, so their homes would not have been much bigger than my office! The most you could fit in the home was 8-12 people – the same number that we say is ideal for a small group!
They would have gathered on mass at the temple, had congregation sized meetings in larger houses and some synagogues, and gathered in small groups in their own homes. It was in these small groups that they could have deep fellowship, intimate worship, and work out the teachings of the apostles together.
Small Groups Modeled in History
- Wesley – “classes” – more accountability groups than Bible Study groups – they would begin with the question “how is it with your soul?”
- China – house churches – caused explosive growth in the church after the missionaries were kicked out
- Latin America – base communities is where liberation theology was formed, but I believed paved the way for the fantastic growth of the Pentecostal and charismatic church in the south.
What is a small group?
8-12 people (could be smaller or bigger) who gather weekly or every two weeks for worship, bible study, ministry and prayer.
Small Groups Enable Us To Obey the Command to Love
“I have no trouble loving my neighbour, it’s the guy living beside me that drives me nuts!”
It is very easy to think that we are obeying Jesus’ command if we have nice thoughts about humanity in general, but small groups give us real people with real issues to practice the love of God on in a real way.
- Love One Another – to obey this command in the way that Jesus meant it, we have to get up close and personal. Even in a congregation of our size, it is very difficult to get close enough to people to truly love one another.
- “One Another” Commands
John 13:34 - 35
"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Romans 12:10
Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Romans 12:16
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
Romans 15:7
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.
Ephesians 4:32
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Ephesians 5:19
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,
Ephesians 5:21
Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Hebrews 10:24-25
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
1 Peter 3:8
Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.
1 Peter 4:9
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.
You cannot obey these commands without being in close relationship with others – to do this the large group will not do, we must have a small group of Christians around us to practice on!
Small Groups Enable Us to Discover and Grow In Our Spiritual Gifts
As we interact with people over the weeks and months, they will see the holy Spirit at work with in us and can identify the gifts that we have. Also, they can be honest with us to tell us that the gifts that we might think that we have we need to keep asking for. The more uncommon gifts like prophesy and knowledge, tongues and interpretation are best honed in the small group session, because it is there where we can as a group reflect on our experience of the gifts and learn together. Prophesying for the first time is much easier in a small group of our friends than it is in front of the whole church.
Small Groups for Support, Accountability & Sustainability
- Teeter Totter illustation
- “I missed you lot” – man weho left the Alpha retreat and swore never to come back.
“Communion is strength; solitude is weakness. Alone, the fine old beech yields to the blast and lies prone on the meadow. In the forest, supporting each other, the trees laugh at the hurricane. The sheep of Jesus flock together. The social element is the genius of Christianity.” – C.H. Spurgeon
Where do you want to be in 2-3 years, or 4 years? Walking in the faith? Growing in the faith? A small group of believers around you is the plasce to start.
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