Developing Evangelistic Small Groups in a Rural, Traditional Church © by Kevin R. Ward 1
Church Growth Magazine 13 (January - March, 1998): 8 - 10.

How do you pull off the impossible -- effective, evangelistic small groups in a 110-year-old, conservative, rural congregation that has been in a decade-long decline? That was the dream we are working to make a reality in our congregation.

In the New Testament, evangelism was not a church program or a special class or a job for preachers; it was what disciples did! We want saving the lost to be what we do not just the work of a few, but the lifestyle of the many.

Life Groups will not automatically make a church evangelistic. In fact, most congregations with small groups are not much more evangelistic than anyone else. What we are striving to develop, with God's help, are purpose-driven "Life Groups" where every person is actively involved in reaching the lost and leading them to Christ. For this to be successful, our approach must (1) be biblical, (2) overcome the barriers of tradition without dividing the congregation, and (3) provide long- term, unlimited growth potential that can actually reach the entire population of our community.

Here are the four keys that are opening the door for us:

#1 - Engaging in Constant Prayer

This was the turning point in our congregation. A few of us really started praying. Both Jesus and the early church devoted much time to prayer (Luke 5:16; 6:12; Acts 1:14; 6-4). Over the last year I have seen believers spending more time in prayer together than I have ever experienced in my life. I am convinced we are only beginning to glimpse what God is about to do as we learn more what it is to kneel before the Father.

As you begin planning, commit to praying. Pray for God's help and direction. Ask God to break us of our self-reliance and complacency Plead for humility and for revival, first in your heart, then in the hearts of the entire church Pray that God will open our eyes to the fields that are ripe for the harvest and that he will give us a passion for seeing souls added to the Kingdom. Ask God to help you lead lost people to Christ and model the mission. Pray for faith, wisdom, patience, focus, perseverance, unity, courage, and passion. It is amazing what God will do when we dedicate ourselves to fervently, constantly praying to him for hours on end.

#2 - Establishing a Clear Purpose

Rick Warren's book, The Purpose-Driven Church, gives an entire process for clarifying purpose. The goal is to discover from scripture the distinct purposes for which Christ built the church. Why did God make us a church? What does he want us to do and accomplish as his people?

Using key passages such as Mt. 28:19-20, Acts 2:42-47, and others, we began to clarify our mission and purpose. It is also critical that you have a way to articulate that purpose. First we developed a simple and concise Mission Statement: "Our mission is to help people find God and give their best to God " Next, the mission statement is expanded into the five distinct purposes which uses an acrostic of LIFE GROUP Our purpose is to be:

Some purposes will be fulfilled more easily than others. In well-structured Life Groups, close fellowship is almost automatic. Evangelism, on the other hand, takes a lot of focus, encouragement, and practical equipping. For most Christians it is uncomfortable and unnatural, but when evangelism starts happening, there is nothing that can fire up a Life Group and the entire congregation like seeing new Christians being born into the family of God!

Life Groups will work only if they are purpose-driven, so we try to find as many ways as possible to constantly communicate our purpose. We use catch-phrases like "T.G.T.K.T.O." (Too Good To Keep To Ourselves!) and "T.W.A.M.A.R" (To Win As Many As Possible) This emphasis on outreach helps us keep the main thing and prevents Life Groups from becoming cliques. It is having this clear sense of purpose that brings joy and energy Md. life to the body and that makes Life Groups grow and multiply to the glory of God.

#3 - Casting a Compelling Vision

In order to cast the vision to the congregation here, we used focus groups. In each focus group we had eight to twelve people who met together one time to dream about the future of the church, to clarify our purposes, and to set goals. Then, during the last half of the meeting, I shared with each group the vision of using Life Groups to accomplish our mission and to fulfill our shared dreams for the body of Christ. At the end there was an open time for questions and answers. Here is what these focus groups accomplished:

A renewed sense of intensity and urgency about our mission.

A sense of optimism and enthusiasm about our potential. "It could really happen!"

A sense of shared ownership and personal responsibility for the future.

A sense of unity even among members that did not like the idea of Life Groups.

A willingness to listen to all sides.

A vision of the church growing more than we ever imagined.

Nothing was crammed down anyone's throat. The people knew that we were willing not to do Life Groups if they were not the best thing. The key was knowing that something had to be done. If not Life Groups, then what?

When Ezra said to Israel, "Let us rise up and build!" (Neh. 2:17), they rose up because they had a purpose as the people of God and they had been captured by a vision of the walls of Jerusalem rebuilt. Casting a compelling vision is the work of igniting people's faith in God's power, opening their eyes to the opportunities, and mobilizing them to action. Vision-casting is not a once-for-all step, but must be done over and over again to keep a passion for the vision burning in people's hearts.

#4- Preparing a Comprehensive Game Plan.

Effective Life Groups are carefully structured, well-planned vehicles for changing lives and bringing people into the Kingdom. A quality game plan will include values, goals, strategies, and a detailed, comprehensive plan for implementation that will work.

There are all kinds of logistic questions. Who will lead the groups? How do you decide who will be in which group? What about people who do not want to participate in a group? What will the groups do they meet?

Then there are issues of effectiveness. What can be done to keep the groups focused on their purposes? What do growing groups do? Look at churches that are growing through evangelism by using small groups. How do they do it? How can we implement that in our situation?

For example, we decided that to be effective the Life Groups could not be an "add-on ministry" that met after services on Sunday or Wednesday. There were three reasons this would not work. First, most of our members are already overextended on their time. Second, getting non-Christian friends to come to Life Groups (a major focus) would be much more difficult. Finally, Life Groups would be seen as strictly another optional program for the few people who get into evangelism and who are already involved in everything anyway. These and countless other decisions make up the essential element of preparation.

Eighteen months ago it looked totally impossible. Today we have celebrated our first new baptisms resulting from Life Groups. Three of our seven original groups have already multiplied. One-on-one evangelistic Bible studies are taking place every week. More and more disciples are "thinking souls" and wanting to lead people they know to Christ. God help us take our towns and cities for Christ!

PREPARATION CHECKLIST

Promote the Purpose.

A church that is captured by a vision for God's purposes has the perfect leverage to transition to Life Groups. Build that vision with excitement and imagery. Promote but don't pound. Pounding builds resistance. Promoting builds momentum.

Research.

Learn everything you can. Study the Word, read books, interview congregations with evangelistic small groups, attend seminars, and so on. Learn the methods and principles of group dynamics that work. The more you have studied and learned, the better able you will be to answer questions and put together a winning game plan.

Establish Credibility.

This cannot be done three weeks before proposing a switch to Life Groups. As a leader, members will only support such an idea if they trust you and like you. They must have complete confidence in your integrity, stability, wisdom, motives, and faithfulness to Scripture.

Persist with Patience and Tenacity.

Stay focused! Making such a major transition can take months and likely years. Don't get distracted by activities or programs that are less significant. Be patient with people, yet be tenacious in pursuing God's vision for the church.

Absolute Agreement Among Leaders.

"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" (Amos 3:3 NIV). Avoid the temptation to manipulate or to sneak Life Groups by a dissenting leader. A total consensus among the elders and staff working in harmony is an absolute.

Recruit Key Leaders.

Who are the men in the congregation who have the potential to be quality leaders of a group? (2 Tim. 2:2). Richard Rogers suggests that Life Group leaders must be EA.S.T. (Faithful, Available, Submissive, Teachable). Evangelistic groups rise and fall on leadership.

Address Questions and Concerns.

Members need the opportunity to be heard and to have their questions answered with love and sensitivity. Give multiple opportunities for this to happen. People will listen to a leadership who listens to them.

Tell Them.

Communicate everything to everybody at every opportunity. An informed congregation is an empowered congregation. Consistent, honest communication of what is being planned will decrease resistance and increase fruitful participation.

Implement a Plan That Will Work.

Will this plan effectively accomplish the purpose or is this just "better than nothing"? For example, groups that meet once a month after services for fellowship should not be expected to evolve over time into evangelistic groups. The ship you launch is the ship you will sail on. Don't launch a poorly-built vessel and expect it to develop into a mighty battleship. It is okay to start small -- just be sure you do it right from the start.

Ongoing Leadership Training.

Our leaders meet weekly for what we call "4-F Meetings": Fire-Up (celebrating victories), Fix (problem-solving), Facilitate (training & equipping), and Focus (re-casting the vision). The key to weekly leader training is making it productive and uplifting rather than burdensome and boring. Growing leaders result in growing groups.

Nuts & Bolts.

Staying focused on a few basics is ultimately what makes small groups grow and be evangelistic. Here are the "nuts & bolts" we use for Life Groups: (1) Focus on our Purpose, (2) Building Leaders, (3) Inviting non-Christian using the Empty Chair, (4) Setting up Studies with non-Christians, and (5) Multiplying Groups.

1 Keven R. Wood is from Vernon, Texas and this article was published in Church Growth Magazine 13 (January - March, 1998): 8 - 10.