Small Groups are No Cure
Posted by Todd Rhoades in Outreach on Mar 7th, 2011 | 5 comments“Simply having a small group program in a church is no guarantee of success,†according to Kevin Dougherty, an assistant professor in Baylor’s department of sociology… what matters is that the groups meet regularly; that members trust one another enough to divulge matters they would not to a stranger; and that they tackle tough issues in one another’s lives.  That’s according to a new small group study out from Baylor.
Here are some other findings:
Members of small groups are more likely to attend worship, tithe and volunteer.
Any type of small group will benefit a church, from a Sunday School class to a basketball league
Frequency of attendance at small group is more important than length of attendance
The best way to get people into small groups: Â invite them
Small groups foster belonging and commitment, but Bible Study and prayer groups are better at promoting discipleship and spiritual growth.
via Small Groups Are Not a Cure-All for Megachurches.
Any thoughts? Â What church do you think does small groups really, really well? Â Why?
5 Responses to “ “Small Groups are No Cure”
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Well, that is kind of a no-brainer; of course small groups in and of themselves are no guarantee of church health. You can have a really jacked up large church made up of a bunch of small jacked up groups! How well the small groups fit the Biblical image of being Holy Spirit dependent, God loving, and Christ serving is the key.
When it comes to small groups the Mormon church puts most Evangelical churches to shame. Their structure, techniques, participation percentages, etc appear to be working well; but that is just a man made institution. Heck, girl scouts and boy scouts have successful small group models which are better attended than most church’s.
Organization and structure are not enough, it is the focus and the level of Jesus intimacy that determines true success. If you get people deeply tuned into who God is and what He is up to, your small groups will flourish because people will come to get closer to God and to his family.
For what it’s worth, the Mormon Church does not actually have any small group structure. You’re right that they have a well-oiled machine of structure and techniques with high member participation, but small groups are not a part of it. The closest thing they have is something called “Home Teaching,” which is a monthly visit by someone in the church to go over church teachings with the the family – and most Mormons, if they’re honest, really don’t like it.
Thanks, I was thinking of the ward network and the inter family network utilized by the Mormon church. Or the fact in many cases the church chooses addresses for families to live in and whom they should befriend-designing a faith network neighborhood by neighborhood. They wouldn’t call it small groups, true, but the inter-family communities they build serve in the same way. Regardless of terminology, I was stressing the key for successful home groups being focused on substance over function or structure. Churches sometimes get those priorities backward.
I think that North Point does a great job with small groups. We have adopted their strategy and it works well for us.
Hmmmm…..interesting. My husband has traveled in many church circles as a church consultant. He has come across pastors that will never have small groups in their church again( which is sad) because of “bad, traumatizing” experiences they have had. When small groups are thriving and healthy they are fabulous, but when they become little exclusive independent groups they can do some damage to the church as a whole. I think it is very important that the small group leaders believe and stand whole heartedly behind the vision and leadership of the church and make sure they are an extension of that vision. Otherwise they can become a small group that attracts all the people in your church that want to “pray and discuss” about all of the wrong decisions that the church leadership are making. I think when small groups are healthy they greatly benefit the spiritual growth of believers.