Jesus' model of ministry was unlikely yet effective. When the world was looking to strength in numbers through the way government and religion was done, Jesus focused on small group discipleship. Crowds followed Jesus, but He remained faithful to focus on the twelve.
We can learn a thing or two from how Jesus did ministry, and one of them is that small group discipleship works. If we want to see churches grow, we should think small. Small group discipleship gives the pastor less of a burden of having to follow up with so many people and allows members to get involved in ministry.
If your church is not yet into small group discipleship, why not consider starting a small group ministry. Here are five ways that we can get more people involved in small groups.
Make assimilation to small groups simple. When it's hard to get into small groups, don't expect people to jump in. The effort to get people into small groups should come first from church leadership. We can do so by investing time and effort into vision casting small groups from the pulpit, getting involvement cards out, and even a sign up booth.
Enable more small group leaders. If there's anything we can build in numbers, it's the number of leaders a local church has. 2 Timothy 2:2 says, "and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." The more small group leaders we train and equip, the more people will get connected.
Make small groups fun. No one ever said that ministry should be boring. In fact, ministry should be fun! Discipleship is about relationship, and relationship is something that was meant by God to be enjoyable.
Reward those who faithfully attend small groups. The human mind was meant to respond to rewards, and that's how God has wired us. Church leadership can take the opportunity to reward people who lead and get involved in small group discipleship. It doesn't have to be grand or special. It can be as simple as a "welcome" card, a phone call, a word of encouragement or a pat on the back.
Find avenues to build bridges with newcomers. Whether it's through evangelism events, membership classes, meet and greets or any other program, we can never go wrong with a simple, cost-effective way to bridge new comers to small groups. We cannot wait for the fish to come to us, we must go where the fish are.
A culture of small group discipleship does not just pop-up overnight. It requires deliberate effort and hard work from church leadership. But the most important thing that we can do is trust God to bring the harvest and pray earnestly that He gives us open doors to share Jesus to others and get them involved in church community.
