Growing Groups Strong

A church’s purposes or values usually reflect the practices they want to encourage in the lives of their members. If your recommended group format is structured around your church’s purposes, you will be more effective at weaving these essential spiritual practices into your group life. This is critical since the relational circles of groups create the community that transforms lives and enables your church to be transformational in its own community. This post examines four more spiritual practices that necessitate spiritual relationships and help believers to be faithful and fruitful in their walk with Jesus.

• Communion – This practice, along with baptism, is a primary sacrament of the Church and involves community. Though communion may be done in private, the biblical example shows this to be a communal event that involves the sharing of food (Acts 2:46b; 1 Cor 11:23-34). It is an expression of worship and an act of remembrance any believer is authorized and able to do. Receiving communion together honors Christ, communicates the Good News, and proclaims the unity of the Church (1 Cor 10:16-17).

Growth Tip: Bring bread and beverage to your group, open by reading from 1 Cor 11:23-26, distribute the elements, give thanks for Christ’s sacrifice explaining what the elements represent, provide a time of quiet reflection, and close with a brief prayer of thanksgiving. Practicing communion in your group conveys how all believers are ministers and confers a fresh sense of authority in how your members minister to one another. It strengthens your group’s bond and deepens the way your group worships together.

• Confession – Confession points to how we need one another for full healing. It holds such importance that we are advised to make it a common practice (James 5:16). Healing results from confession because the dark areas of a person’s life where sin likes to remain concealed is exposed to the light of Jesus Christ (1 John 1:5-7). Confession breaks sin’s power, enabling people to respond to God’s transforming grace and extend what they have received in Christ to others (Rom 8:5-11; Gal 5:16-26).

Growth Tip: The group leader sets the pace for vulnerability in the group. Vulnerability is a necessary ingredient for confession to become a spiritual practice that is exercised in your group. The more real a group leader can be, the more free people are to be themselves and receive the healing God wants to bring. When confession is modeled by the group leader it empowers others to do the same. There may be times that are more conducive to breaking up into smaller prayer groups or same-sex breakouts, which can encourage more openness. Pray for discernment in how to introduce this spiritual practice in your group.

• Ministry – Ministry is the super-natural outworking of our Christian life and involves giving our time, testimony, talents, and treasure in Jesus’ Name. It involves the exchange of God’s life-giving grace and takes on many expressions: Loving my neighbor, carrying the burdens of a fellow believer, exercising my spiritual gifts, and sharing the resources that God has blessed me with so that I can be a blessing to others and advance God’s purposes in the world. Ministry is relational by nature and has the effect of building community.

Growth Tip: Aim to create an interactive environment in your group. When somebody shares how God is doing something transformational in their life, pause the discussion and affirm what He is doing. If somebody is sharing a struggle, lay hands on the person and pray. Invite others to do the same. Allow prayer and Bible study to ignite ministry moments. Then model care and demonstrate how ministry is a priority over your group’s meeting agenda. To paint a picture of what in-group ministry can look like go to www.biblegateway.com and do a quick search of the phrase “love one another.”

• Outreach – If we are to encounter God, we must meet our neighbor in need (Mt 25:40, 2 Cor 5:19). We cannot ignore one command and follow the other. We cannot walk with Him and leave our neighbors behind. Evangelism is how we ‘love much’, which we are constrained to do since in Christ we have been ‘given much’ (Luke 7:47, 12:48). God commands us to reach out and invite others to follow Him (Luke 14:23), which is an act of obedience that is inherently relational. It is our purpose as the people of God, His Church (2 Cor 5:13-21; Eph 3:10, Mt 28:19-20). Relationships fuel disciple-making, which enlarges the family of God – so from beginning to end – evangelism involves community. There are things we just would not do without the encouragement of other believers around us. Our evangelistic potential is multiplied with the addition of just one other Christ-follower by our side. This is why Jesus sent out His apostles and other disciples two-by-two (Mark 6:7-8; Luke 10:1-2). We are stronger together.

Growth Tip: Three simple steps group leaders can take to develop outreach in their church’s community life are: 1) Set the expectation 2) Pray for the lost 3) Appoint members to ministry roles. It refreshes the group to discuss its purpose at the outset of each new season. Before entering a new study, share with the group that one of the reasons why your group exists is to share the Good News with others. Then in times of group prayer, be sure to pray for those beyond the group and for your church’s outreach efforts. This fosters an external focus to your group and plants seeds for future outreach. Gradually appoint people to fulfill ministry roles in the group that are in keeping with their passion and gift-mix. Invite them to try out roles for a limited duration at first and start them off with small tasks before graduating them to larger group projects.

Community is the wellspring of the spiritual practices that enable us to be faithful followers and disciple-makers. Each believer’s life with God and effectiveness as a part of the Body of Christ hinges on their relationships with other people. If we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – we must be walking in the most excellent way of loving our neighbors (Mark 12:29-31; 1 Cor 12:31b). If we are to obey the dozens of ‘one another’ commands in the NT, grow in Christ, and show lost people the way home – we need relationships (John 14:21, 13:34-35; 1 John 4:7-12, 20-21). There is no more effective way to ensure the outworking of spiritual practices in our lives than being in community with a circle of believers enjoying full-bodied group life together.

It might sound strange to describe group life as being full-bodied. For example, I like my coffee “full-bodied,” but what does it mean when applied to community? The big idea here is that within the soil of community our roots grow deeper in Christ than they ever would in our own individual experiences (Col 2:6-7). The composition of this soil is enriched when group members engage in a breadth of spiritual practices that allow them to live out their faith with one another. As a result, a group will fully taste and see biblical community in the way we see it expressed in Acts 2: Rich, robust, strong, well-matured, and even flavorful!

God used the depth and diversity of the Early Church’s life together to put skin on His love for the world (1 John 4:12). Its full-bodied community made the disciples’ spiritual life ever-deepening and their Kingdom impact ever-expanding (Acts 2:46-47). This two-part post will explore several key spiritual practices that can be exercised in community, result in life-transformation, and keep your groups and church on mission. Emphasis will be placed on why community is integral to the nature and outworking of spiritual practices. Also, “growth tips” will be offered on how to strengthen the development of each one in your group life.

• Fellowship – A “church” is a gathering of ‘called out ones’, as the Greek word (ekklesia) suggests, so it is both physical and spiritual in nature. It is why the reference to gathering in Jesus’ Name in Matthew 18:20 is viewed by many as the starting point for understanding the Church. Groups help believers gather in Jesus’ Name and when they are gathered in His Name, He is present in their midst. When He is in our midst there is power to exercise all the other spiritual practices so that we can respond to God’s work in our lives, our group, and church. Fellowship encourages the growth of all the other spiritual practices listed, which is why we are exhorted to not stop meeting together (Heb 10:25). We find encouragement to persevere and live in a way that is pleasing to God when we have the support of other believers around us.

Growth Tip: Allow fellowship to serve as bookends to your meeting format. Pre-planned fellowship on the front-end helps the group time feel less agenda-driven and more relational because it takes the edge off the start time and allows people to catch up. Fellowship on the tail-end provides a time cushion and allows people to connect more and process through their insights and experiences in the group.

• Prayer – Prayer is communion with God. Like most of the spiritual practices, this is can be done in private or public. The best historical account of the Early Church gives numerous examples of believers praying together (Acts 1:14, 24; 2:42; 3:1; 4:24, 31; 6:6; 8:15; 12:5, 12; 13:3; 14:23; 16:25; 20:36; 21:5). Many of the psalms were private prayers in origin, which were recorded in order to be used in corporate worship. When we witness a believer’s communion with God, it can enrich our own. Furthermore, we need the prayers of others for our own spiritual well-being. In his book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote: “A Christian fellowship lives and exists by the intercession of its members for one another, or it collapses.” Oftentimes, prayer provides glimpses of people’s heart condition in ways discussion does not always allow. Some of the most candid moments in community come during times of prayer together. Ministry is oftentimes embedded in this spiritual practice and group prayer helps to unearth it. Prayer prepares the way for holy moments where our fellowship deepens and we minister to one another.

Growth Tip: A couple of ways you can strengthen this spiritual practice with your group members is to introduce prayer during different parts of your meeting. For example, do not always have it follow your Bible study. Include brief prayers in your discussion time and express prayer in different ways (thanks, adoration, petition, and ministry). The more your group gets to know one another, the more freely you can ask different people to lead out in prayer.

• Worship – Most references to worship in the Bible involve a ‘community’ of believers. It is the expression of our love, reverence, praise, and thanks to God for who He is and all He has done by His amazing grace. As with the other spiritual practices, our own worship can be enhanced in the company of others as we witness the outpouring of their hearts to Him. Worship enriches my relationship with God, it encourages my spirit, and it can communicate God’s life-changing grace to a world that has yet to meet the Creator of heaven and earth (Acts 2:46-47).

Growth Tip: Before you introduce worship to your group, learn which expressions are the most meaningful for each of your group members. This will increase the likelihood of successfully weaving this spiritual practice into your group life and expanding each member’s understanding of worship. Begin by asking them to share their definition of worship and what the most meaningful forms of worship are for each of them personally. For some it will be singing while for others it might be quiet thanksgiving, writing, or some other unique expression. Validate each and share a biblical reference on how it reflects the creativity of the Spirit.

• Bible Study – Most of the New Testament was written in the midst of two or more and was created to be read aloud and lived out together in the new churches being planted throughout the Roman Empire. The Bible study of the first century was communal in nature and provided a system of education and mutual encouragement for the emerging communities of believers. An example of this bible study discussion can be found in Acts 20:7a, which says, “On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion [dielegeto] with them…” (NRSV). Two of Jesus’ most prominent and extensive teaching monologues – The Sermon on the Mount and The Last Supper – were delivered to a community of disciples and within a community of disciples (Mt 5-7, Jn 13-17). Our learning of God’s Word is enhanced by the insights of others; their perspective added to our own brings things into sharper focus.

Growth Tip: Find a way to recognize each person’s input because this has a way of rolling out the mat for others to participate. Acknowledgement encourages involvement. The more free people feel to share, the more energy there will be to your discussions. Also, rotating leadership is empowering for the whole group and draws out the spiritual gifts of each participant.

Discipleship (learning and following Jesus Christ) is a plural activity. The disciples were always together in the Gospel accounts. In fact, in every instance a reference is made to the presence of a disciple…that person is with other disciples. There are 266 references of ‘disciples’ and 28 occurrences of ‘disciple’. Almost every reference of the word being in the singular notes how another disciple was with him or it is Jesus making a point in an illustration He is sharing. However, there is only one case when there is talk of a disciple being alone and that is when Peter was denying Christ. What do you think this says about the importance of community for believers?

In the next post, we will examine four more spiritual practices that will help enrich the soil of your group life so that more people will follow Jesus whole-heartedly and impact others with His love and message.

These self-evaluating questions were developed with the intention of giving group leaders a compass to make sure they were staying on track with helping a group to connect, learn, and serve together so it could impact the world with the love of Christ:

Leadership Pastor, Jim Egli, endeavored to discover what makes the difference between thriving and stagnant groups. His research involving over 4,000 group leaders came to the conclusion that praying leaders have faster growing groups. This inspired me to create a tool that group leaders can use repeatedly each month to help them build healthy group life and ultimately impact more people with Jesus’ love and message.

Now create your own Prayer Guide that you can give to your leaders so their groups can grow in strength and influence for the Kingdom of God!

Groups make room for friendships that encourage spiritual growth. Healthy discipleship flows from healthy community with others walking with Jesus whose love for one another is a light that attracts those who are trying to find their way out of the darkness. In fact, the Lord commonly uses a community of believers to bring seekers to Himself (John 13:34-35, 17:20-23; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 2:13-20, 4:11-13; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 4:12, 17). Community is also the greatest influencer in how people follow Christ.

Every group member can become more like Christ when the group leader champions the elements that lead to healthy disciple-making environments. What is necessary to help people in all different places in their spiritual journey grow closer to Christ together?

• Authentic leadership – Nobody influences the atmosphere of a group – positively or negatively – more than the leader. What makes a group leader successful is their love for God and love for people that expresses itself with unguarded authenticity. Authenticity creates common ground where people of varying places of spiritual maturity can meet together, dialogue about God’s Word, and grow spiritually.
• Healthy relationships – Relationships are the engine of discipleship. When a person wants to connect in a group, do not consider the type of group, location, or even the curriculum to be the most important factors. Rather, it is the group dynamic, which is borne out of the relationships among the people in that group. Unhealthy relationships release toxins into the group’s ecosystem, which can be detrimental to strays, seekers, and believers alike. However, if relationships are healthy, the experience and effect of the group dynamic will be as well.
• 3-D group life – Depth perception enables us to see the world in three dimensions. Similarly, there will be ‘depth’ to everyone’s group experience if they are loving God, loving people, and loving the world around them. This happens through the flexible arrangement of elements like fellowship, prayer, Bible study, serving those inside and outside the group. Healthy environments are always in flux, changing and growing. The same is true of healthy groups as well.
• Missional-orientation to group purpose – Every group has a purpose. Group leaders can cultivate disciple-making environments for everyone if they bring a missional orientation to it. For example, there’s a big difference between discipleship and disciple-making in the mind of the ‘Average Joe’. The former typically arises from those within the group who also happen to be the beneficiaries of this purpose (internally-focused). The latter redirects the emphasis to those beyond the group creating a more externally-focused group culture. This in turn creates an environment that helps everyone take their next steps in growing closer to Christ so be sure to balance the group’s inward nurture with external focus and action.
• Engaging curriculum – This was deliberately put last on the list. A mistake made by many leaders is allowing group curriculum to define the ‘depth’ of the group. Plenty of groups use “deep” or “meaty” Bible study material and go nowhere inside or outside of their group. What is also true is there are plenty of groups that use material more mature believers consider to be “milk,” but because of the leadership and relationships among those in the group, people are strengthened in their faith. “Mixed” groups tend to find more help from group curriculum that helps them engage in God’s Word, apply it to life, build relationships among group members, and encourages them to share their spiritual discoveries with others beyond the group experience.

Avoid compartmentalizing people on the basis of what stage of spiritual maturity you think they are in. No such advice has been given in the Bible since the birth of the Church. If anything, we see the opposite. Time and again, seekers or new believers resurrect groups of ‘mature believers’ because of the healthy challenge and vibrancy they bring.[i] On the other hand, those who need more guidance and instruction as they take their initial steps in following Christ can find great help from those who have been walking closely with Jesus for many years.[ii]

It’s difficult to conceive of a better way to follow Jesus and pattern our lives after His than bonding with others in a group and traveling together in our journey of spiritual growth. We can help people in varying places of spiritual maturity come together in groups by communicating that “groups” are not a ministry program. Nor are they something to be added to a list of recommendations for healthy Christian living. Rather, groups are ‘the other half’ of how the Church can be the Church in all the fullness and vibrancy God intended (Acts 5:42). Thankfully, they provide a strategic way for every person to grow closer to Jesus regardless of how much progress each one has made thus far.

[i] Oftentimes, those who consider themselves more mature and want “more depth” or “more meat” are the very ones who need more action when it comes to putting feet to their faith (John 4:32). Groups that tend to fade out are those that are made-up exclusively of more mature believers not reaching out beyond their own circle of fellowship.

[ii] People who are looking at the Scriptures with new eyes and applying it to their lives in fresh ways oftentimes see things longer-term believers have forgotten or missed altogether. Just because somebody has not been walking with Jesus for several years does not mean they cannot grasp what is being said in the Bible. Seekers are not stupid. Thank goodness for us all that the ‘deep truths’ of God’s Word are simply put: Love God, love people.