Who Are Small Groups For?
Who should come to my small group?
Our vision statement begins: Our small group ministry exists to enable the people of Southport Presbyterian Church to grow as disciples of Jesus . . . . What do we mean by "the people of Southport Presbyterian Church?"
For starters, our small group ministry is a ministry of a particular local church. When people come to my small group they are coming to a ministry of Southport Pres. We have a variety of goals that we are seeking to accomplish within our groups ministry that will impact our church as a whole. For example, a phrase we use regularly is "get to know the people you go to church with." That's one of our goals . . . get to know each other beyond Sunday morning.
Small groups are a great outreach tool. Some call groups the backdoor of the church. You may have a neighbor who is unchurched for a variety of reasons: they are new to the area, or something has gone awry at the church they've been attending, or perhaps they have never been part of a church. They might enter our church through the back door by coming to your group first and then later get involved with the larger group.
What about people who go to other churches? Are they welcome in our group? I would like to move this out of the realm of welcome or unwelcome. We live in a culture that takes a piecemeal approach to church. I've known people who go to one church for worship, another church for small group, and yet a third church for youth ministry activities. They've sought to find the best each church has to offer and take advantage of that. This will sound harsh, but it comes across to me as consumeristic. My preference is always for people to pick one church, however imperfect it may be, and give themselves fully that that church.
Next week, I'll begin to unpack some of the goals we want to accomplish through small groups at Southport Pres.
Our vision statement begins: Our small group ministry exists to enable the people of Southport Presbyterian Church to grow as disciples of Jesus . . . . What do we mean by "the people of Southport Presbyterian Church?"
For starters, our small group ministry is a ministry of a particular local church. When people come to my small group they are coming to a ministry of Southport Pres. We have a variety of goals that we are seeking to accomplish within our groups ministry that will impact our church as a whole. For example, a phrase we use regularly is "get to know the people you go to church with." That's one of our goals . . . get to know each other beyond Sunday morning.
Small groups are a great outreach tool. Some call groups the backdoor of the church. You may have a neighbor who is unchurched for a variety of reasons: they are new to the area, or something has gone awry at the church they've been attending, or perhaps they have never been part of a church. They might enter our church through the back door by coming to your group first and then later get involved with the larger group.
What about people who go to other churches? Are they welcome in our group? I would like to move this out of the realm of welcome or unwelcome. We live in a culture that takes a piecemeal approach to church. I've known people who go to one church for worship, another church for small group, and yet a third church for youth ministry activities. They've sought to find the best each church has to offer and take advantage of that. This will sound harsh, but it comes across to me as consumeristic. My preference is always for people to pick one church, however imperfect it may be, and give themselves fully that that church.
Next week, I'll begin to unpack some of the goals we want to accomplish through small groups at Southport Pres.
Posted in Pastoral
1 Comment
Thanks for providing this guidance. It's helpful as we look towards resuming small group activity this fall.