Transitioning to Small Groups
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DSMN 630
TRANSITIONING TO SMALL GROUPS?
By Rod Dempsey
If you are thinking about making the transition to small groups in your church here are several
things to consider. First you need to make the decision of whether or not you are going to
become a church “with” small groups, or a church “of” small groups, or a church that “is” small
groups. Making the transition to become a church “with” small groups is not a big deal. Most
churches already have some small groups, but they may not be aware of where they meet, who
leads them and what they are doing. That is a church “with” small groups.
To become a church “of” small groups requires some retrofitting of the church’s model and some
rearranging of the church’s priorities. In addition you will probably have a staff person involved
in overseeing the groups and maybe even some support personnel. The small groups receive
attention from the Sr. Pastor and they are also included in the church’s budget and calendar
planning. The leaders may receive some training and the church is regularly adding new groups
throughout the year. That is what a church “of” small groups looks like.
The transition to a church that “is” small groups is no small feat. It requires a complete
transformation from an organizational model to an organic model. Practices flow from principles
and principles come from passages. Serious work is done to exegete what a New Testament
community looks like. The Senior Pastor becomes the point person for the small group ministry.
Sunday morning Celebration services are simply a collection of groups that gather together for
praise, teaching and worship. Groups are multiplying on a regular basis. Programs and ministries
are de-emphasized and may even be cut from the church altogether. There is a significant effort
to simplify church structure and the church is basically a 2C church (Celebration and Cells).
Whatever level of transition you decide upon here are 11 things to keep in mind. The suggestions
form an acrostic, “S.M.A.L.L. G.R.O.U.P.S.” and are based upon personal transitional
experience.
S. eek God’s Direction from His Word. Examine passages like the Great Commandment
and the Great Commission and the New Commandment and ask yourself the question,
“are we following the exhortations from these passages… or are we developing
Christians who look like these passages.” Go to
Acts 2:42-47 and Eph. 4:11-16 and ask
yourself, whether or not you are following the example of the early church. Go to Col.
1:28 and examine whether or not you are seeking to present “every man” complete
(teleios) in Christ. The focus is on the individual. Are you developing every person in the
body to stand before Christ and not be ashamed?
M. ake sure the Sr. Pastor is in the lead position. The job of “making disciples” is not to
be delegated to others in the church. Pastors are to “make disciples”. That is the job of the
Pastor. Preaching, leading, fund-raising, counseling, marriages, funerals… are all part of
making disciples. The things of the ministry should not take our focus off enabling and
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DSMN 630
empowering individuals to reach their full potential related to the Great Commission. If
we are growing and developing disciples, Jesus has promised to “be with us.”
A. dopt a model that fits who are and where you are. Ideally you may want to become a
church that “is” small groups, but you may not be able to get there, or you may not be
able to get there quickly. That is ok. Just make sure that you are emphasizing the right
priorities from the Scriptures. Winning people to Christ, helping them to grow in Christ
and then sending them out for Christ. Form follows function. If your goal is to become a
healthy church that is producing disciples who are willing to go out from the church then
you must develop forms and structures that allow/ promote those very things. Remember
“you cannot be committed to the person of Christ, without being committed to the
mission of Christ.”
L. eadership Training. Leading a group is spiritual business and if done correctly, it will
be opposed by the enemy. Let’s not put people into difficult spiritual positions of
leadership without some basic training in the art and science of making disciples. Basics
questions like, “why should I lead a group” and “what is a small group leader” and “how
do I lead a small group discussion” or “how do I handle a challenging group member?”
People need answers to these questions before they start leading a group. Years ago I
developed a basic training manual that has trained hundreds of small group leaders. The
people who have taken the training seriously and have put into practice the principles
from the training have developed into effective disciple makers for the Kingdom.
L. aunch the New Groups! After much prayer and planning and training… eventually you
will need to launch some new groups in your church. I like to launch groups in the fall
after Labor Day. Everybody is back for school and their minds automatically begin
thinking of a fall routine. The fall is a great time to launch a group ministry. After you
launch the new groups, you need to decide whether or not the groups will meet all
through the year, or on a school calendar (taking off for the summer). Either approach has
strengths and weaknesses.
G. row the groups in quantity and quality. Special attention must be given to the new
groups so that they will grow strong and healthy. Much in the same way of giving birth to
a new born baby, special attention is given to the baby’s growth and development. The
parents, mother especially, is very concerned about every aspect of the baby’s well being.
If the baby does not grow and develop it could become sick and die. The same is true for
the new group.
R.etrain the leaders to retain the leaders. After the initial training we do not leave the new
groups as orphans. We check on them through personal mentoring and coaching. We
invite them to attend some additional training courses at the church or to attend a small
group conference out of town. We could purchase a book about small group leadership
and give a copy to every small group leader and discuss during our coaching clusters. The
idea here is that leaders need additional training to stay focused and to improve the
quality of discipleship.
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DSMN 630
O. ver communicate. Rick Warren has made this statement, “People are down on what
they are not up on.” Most ministries are guilty of not communicating enough with the
people in their church. Let’s make sure that small group leaders are getting enough
information from the leaders of the ministry.
U. tilize Coaching structure. I like the 5x5 model of coaching. 1 Pastor for every 5
Directors. 1 Director for every 5 Coaches. 1 Coach for every 5 groups. This model is also
from Exodus 18, where Jethro told Moses that the thing he was doing “was not good.” As
a result the Israelites implemented a structure based upon thousands, hundred’s, fifties
and ten. Attention could be given all the way down to the individual in the organization.
P. ray. Very simple, but very difficult. Joel Comiskey did a study on groups that were
multiplying and he discovered that there was one common denominator in multiplying
groups. The common denominator in multiplying groups was that the leader of the group
prayed on average one hour a day. Emphasize the importance of prayer in your groups
and you will see miraculous things happen. Remember “nothing of eternal significance
ever happens apart from prayer.”
S. ee God’s blessing. Jesus said in the Great Commission that if we made disciples, He
would be with us. We can receive the promise of the power and presence of Jesus Christ
with us, if we will determine to make disciples. Small groups are the best place to make
disciples, because Christianity is more caught than taught.
Making the transition to become a church “of” small groups or becoming a church that “is” small
groups is possible if we intentionally and strategically make the decision to make disciples that
bring glory to Christ. Look over this list of 11 suggestions and circle the top 2-3 areas that need
attention and then prayerfully meet with your team and formulate an action plan to transition to
become a disciple making church!
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