Small Group’s 101

So I am currently in the process of completely revitalizing a church.

I believe that God has shown me the Mission, Vision, Purpose, Beliefs, Values, and Methods for the church and now I am beginning to fill in the holes.

One such hole that I am trying to fill now is Small Groups. One of our Core Values is Authenticity. It states that,” We believe that real, open, honest, and accountable relationships create community and foster growth. We are committed to a Biblically based Small Groups ministry where this can take place within our church. Small Groups are the best way for people within the church to connect, do ministry, and for pastoral care to take place.”

I believe this with all my heart, but I am trying to figure out how to structure this Small Group Ministry. Our church is very small (50-100 people) so we will have to start small with our Small Groups and build them as the church grows.

The plan is to start with 3 Small Groups organized by age: 18-35; 30-55; and 50+. As the groups grow, they will split into two Small Groups and so on, and so on. As new people join the church, we will have to create new Small Groups.

As the number of Small Groups grow, we will have to have more options: life situations (divorced, married, college, new parents, etc…), locations, and times to meet the growing needs of the church.

I just ordered three books on starting Small Groups today: 2 by Nelson Searcy and 1 by the amazing Andy Stanley.

But I have many questions that maybe you, the reader, can help me sort out:

1. What do you do about children?

Do you allow them or not?

Do you organize some kind of babysitter at the church?

Do you have everyone find their own childcare independantly?

2. What about Splitting?

When the group grows, how do you split?

What is  a good size and time to split?

What if the two new groups don’t mesh as well as the original?

3.  What about input?

Is it an idea free-for-all?

Is there a teacher, or a facilitator?

If someone is pushing ideas that are not Biblical or do not mesh with the Vision and Mission of your church, do you call them on it immediately in front of the group, or individually?

4. What About Time?

Do we start all groups out on the same evening and time?

5. What about location?

What if one of your start-up core-committed leaders doesn’t have a home in a convenient location? Do you meet at a public place, or the lounge area of your church for the mean time?

These are all thoughts that I am working through right now. Please email, call, or comment me with ideas or any philosophy you think I may have wrong about Small Groups. I look forward to your input.