Buiding Church Leaders Home
Search By:
Advanced Search
Church RoleTopicFree Samples
Train LeadersAssess My ChurchConnect With LeadersRespond to CrisisMentor & DiscipleMultimediaStore
Home > Articles > 5 Small Group Myths
5 Small Group Myths
Home Bible studies don't always operate by the textbook.
David A. Womack

Topics:Bible study, Cell groups, Curriculum, Home groups, Leadership, Planning, Small group coach, Small group leader, Small groups, Strategy
Filters:Bible study, Church staff, Discipleship, Elder, Pastor, Shepherd, Small groups
Purpose:Fellowship
References:Acts 2:42-47, 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:24, James 5:16
Date Added:July 12, 2007

Sign up for our free Building Church Leaders newsletter:

Average Rating: 


Posted: October 31, 2008
Ivanildo Gomes  (Guest)
Excelent article. I have been involved with cell group training and church planting in Brazil, and by experience I can tell that the author is very accurate and realistic. There is hope for our cell groups. Congratulations again.

Submit Your Rating and Review:

Choose star rating:
Low High

Name:
Comments: 1000 character limit 
 


Doable Evangelism
Help people see that evangelism doesn't have to be difficult.

Creative Fundraising Ideas
Encourage people to give, for their sake and the church's.



My Favorite Hero
The example of Nehemiah shows us what it takes to make a difference for God.

Performance
Allow seniors to share their creative side with these programs.

 1 of 4

Home Bible studies are a bit like fireplaces; they arouse wonderful domestic feelings, but we're cautious about leaving them unattended.

After more than two decades of promotion in books, magazines, seminars, and classes, the fact about small groups is that few churches can testify to success. Among the reasons are:

  1. We have few role models, at least in our culture.
  2. The literature on the subject has promoted the idea without offering practical methods.
  3. The American concept of home privacy causes such ministries to develop more slowly here than in some countries.
  4. Our American style of church leadership may not encourage lay ministries to develop beyond the immediate supervision of the pastor.
  5. Congregations who decide in favor of home ministries become discouraged when they cannot find specifically prepared Bible study materials. If we want to give direction to the teaching, we must adapt materials created for other purposes—and that's too much work.

Yet we cannot escape the reality that many Christians want a small-group experience—and can benefit greatly if the group functions properly. The question is how to make small groups work.

After ten years of experience with thousands of home meetings in dozens of churches as a denominational administrator, I think I know why more churches do not have home programs. The writers and speakers, myself included, were onto a good idea but were simplistic, idealistic, and premature. We approached the subject without understanding the complicated sociological terrain onto which we had so glibly ventured.

Here are five theories I've had to revise along the way:

Myth 1: Small Groups Are a Wonderful Evangelistic Tool.

One of my early misconceptions was about the very purpose of home Bible studies. At first I said, "Home groups are our outreach to the city."

But a couple of years later I said, "While home Bible studies contribute to the total outreach of the church, they aren't directly evangelistic."

Several years and much experience later, I said, "The evangelistic results of home Bible studies are indirect, for the groups draw from the congregation rather than the neighborhood. Home ministries conserve the results of other evangelistic methods."

Most churches that start new programs have outreach in mind, but they soon become disappointed with the evangelistic results. Churches that are successful with home ministries, I concluded, must do so for their developmental and conservational value, not solely for evangelism.

Then finally it dawned on me: Home Bible studies are a withdrawal from the community into an intimate Christian circle for fellowship and nurture. They are for inreach, not outreach!

(People that are brought to Christ through the home meetings usually are drawn to the groups at some moment of personal crisis, where they then experience an answer to prayer. Still, they often come to the church before attending the home group that prayed for them.)