Missional Small Groups

God blesses groups that look for ways to show His lost children the way home – He will make room if we make room (Luke 15:10, 22-24). He inspires new growth in us when we expand the relational circle of our group-life to touch the lives of others.

Sometimes people feel like the presence of newcomers will negatively affect the friendship-forming happening in their group. This is a myth. When a group takes a protective (territorial) posture when it comes to its size or acceptance of newcomers, it suffocates itself. A group needs to breathe. New participants feed a group’s dynamic like oxygen feeds fire. In other words, new participants bring new life. Consider this: There are a lot more options for dealing with challenges that come with growth than there are in dealing with the problems of decline.

Prayer ignites brainstorming about outreach. This is critical to do in the group and with the group. Small group leaders can bring options, but more importantly, they should involve everyone in the process of determining how the group can expand its circle of influence together. Take time to share the benefits of outreach, answer questions, and give everyone a part to play in organizing for how to engage in missions together.

The Lord will show your group how it can make a difference near and far. You might begin by thinking through what constitutes Jerusalem (local-citywide), Judea (citywide-regional), Samaria (statewide-countrywide), and the ends of the earth (countrywide-worldwide) for your group (Acts 1:8). What does each sphere look like and what opportunities exist within each? Ask the group to come up with examples for each sphere. I have found excellent ideas from www.servantevangelism.com: Ideas to Change the World (see also www.kindness.com or www.serve-others.com).

There are a variety of ways your group can reach out together:

·         Invitational – invite your friends to your group and your larger church.

·         Event-based – Link your group outreach to your church events and serve together during the weekend services or for special outreach events.

·         Community service – Identify needs in your community that touch your group’s heart and serve together (e.g. community clean-up day, providing school supplies for underprivileged kids, food delivery, helping the homeless, etc.).

·         Focused Prayer – adopt a people group in prayer (www.adoptapeople.com).

·         Mission trips – Contact a member of your church’s pastoral leadership team and share that your group would like to go on a mission trip together. Learn about what your church is already doing and get a couple of recommendations on organizations that can help with planning it.

Growth is a good thing. People naturally think of it as being a positive. Yet the road we need to travel to get there oftentimes feels very unnatural and even negative. However, when we overcome this internal resistance to step outside the safe boundaries of our groups we discover new passion and purpose in our lives and our groups.

Taken from Small Group Dynamics ezine article: "Missional Small Groups," November, 2007, by Reid Smith.

Used with permission from www.SmallGroups.com