Is Your Group Growing Pt. 2Posted by Patrick Scott on November 6th, 2008
It is so easy to get caught up in numbers. Numbers tell us if something is profitable, if someone is winning, or if something or someone is successful. Stop thinking about the numbers. Someone once told me, “If you are responsible in the small things, then you are more likely going to be responsible in the big things.”.
I have been talking about my experiences with small group ministry. I am not an authority and do not wish to be thought of as one. What may work for me may not work for you but experience shared can many times help someone come up with a better idea. Small Groups are about the discipleship and growth of a believer. They can offer fellowship and community, allowing believers the ability to encourage, and be encouraged, confess, and serve. My focus right now is in student ministry and student ministry discipleship.
The other day I talked about experience I have had with high school guys in my small group. We have focused on spiritual growth and numbers have been secondary. Small Groups are never meant to be large and that is why they are labeled small. What if your group only has 3 students? Why do you want more? I have learned that the more I have the less one on one time I can spend with each of them. A majority of us that lead a small group are in other careers and have families and our time is absorbed in those areas. The little extra time we have to devote to small groups should never be about quantity but quality. If you do not have the time you need to be more efficient with the time you have. I have talked to people that lead small groups and they start curriculum just to start curriculum. They desire to see their students grow but they do not know what their students need. This all goes back to asking your students question to see where they are spiritually and how you can encourage further growth. If we honor God with the 3 that we have then He may give us the opportunity for more.
Once our guys have started to buy in to growing spiritually I have seen them start talking about inviting others. There is nothing more powerful than word of mouth. If your students are experiencing change themselves they will have the desire to share with their friends or will be asked by their friends whats going on.
Instead of focusing on recruitment, focus on retention. Why aren’t students more committed in attending small groups? Why aren’t adults more committed to attending small groups? I have seen students leave because they are confused, challenged, but more than not because they are not ready. How do you get a student ready? You get a student ready by knowing them. Many times we don’t jump on this early enough. Small Groups are not for getting to know students but for developing God Chasers. Know a student and grow a student. Why would they want to be challenged by someone that doesn’t truly know them? If a student is confused about who God is, why would they be in a discussion that they don’t understand? Once we know them then we can lead them appropriately. I only have two guys that regularly attend my small group and my focus has been on using what I have learned about them to formulate a plan that helps them grow with a solid foundation in Christ. The joy I have in this small group is something that I wish every other leader of a small group could experience. If God allows our group to grow, then I am all for it. Don’t judge your success in numbers but in what God is doing in the lives of your students.
Small Groups allow the church’s youth ministry’s core to grow, and develops a healthy spiritual foundation to grow numbers in the overall ministry. If this did not happen then the depth would be extremely shallow. Small groups or any discipleship is the backbone that allows a student ministry to build successfully upon. Your leadership is important in building the kingdom of God.