so why do we do that? small groups

Last week I began a series on why we do what we do at GFMC.  I talked about our values and vision and that we all (even as individuals) operate out of them.  As a church, we have simply decided to be intentional about it, to name them and make our decisions based on them.  Those values, again, are worship, service connection, and our vision is "Becoming followers of Jesus who get it: it's about him, not me; it's about them, not me; it's about us, no me."

Over the past three years, we have been transitioning from a church of medium-sized groups (15-30), to a church with medium and small groups, to a church of small groups.  Basically, smaller groups (8-12 people) now define who we are; they are now how we help people take their next step in their relationships with Jesus.  We believe that we have returned to the primary means of becoming strong followers of Jesus as expressed in the New Testament: People build their relationship with Jesus best when they are in deeply-connected relationships with other followers of Jesus.

The point of a group isn't that they just get together, nor that they just talk.  It's about getting together frequently to build relationships naturally by sharing life experiences, discussing and studying relevant Bible topics and caring for one another.  Once groups reach a certain size (evidence suggests that this is more than 12 people), the opportunities for this to happen begin to decrease, thus the emphasis on keeping our groups small.

Another great aspect to smaller groups is that they are easily reproducible.  And reproducible means more people involved and cared for!  There will never be a way for the staff or leaders of GFMC to personally minister to everyone who attends GFMC. That's why we place such emphasis on every adult being in a group. It's how we minister effectively.

We realize that small groups are not the only way to be structured.  There are plenty of churches who pursue other means of helping people take their next steps.  We find smaller groups to be the best strategy for what we are striving to do, which is help people continually take their next step with Jesus.

More information about groups can be found on our website.

That's a look at small groups, the "why" behind them.  Next on our "Why?" list: children's ministry.