LIBERTY UNIVERSITY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
Analysis Paper #4
Submitted to Dr. Rick Garner,
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
DSMN 630 – B02
Small Group Ministries
by
Justin Bickmore
February 25, 2017
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................1
Importance of a Growing Small Group.......................................................................................1
How to Grow Your Group.............................................................................................................2
Challenges to Growth....................................................................................................................3
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................4
Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................5
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Introduction
Now that you have formed your small group it is imperative to keep the pulse
beating within it. The best way to accomplish this is to be focused on the growth of the group
both inwardly and outwardly. As the group grows closer together and closer to God there must
then come a time when it is expected that certain members will then venture out on their own and
form new groups. This process of identifying and training up new leaders is vital to discipleship
within the church setting. As the church grows and more and more people begin to plug in and
seek out areas of ministry it is the small group that allows for deep growth and specific ministry
experience for the individual. It is the role of the church and its leadership to seek out and help
sort these people into roles that will allow them to flourish within the body of Christ. “Jesus
Christ is our first and greatest model for how small groups can stimulate faith and growth in
others.”1 If emphasis is placed properly where it needs to be at the construction of these groups
then multiplication and growth will not be an issue at any time. Following the model that Christ
has placed before His church is imperative at every level. In the coming pages the student will
take a look at what it is to be a growing group and how to safeguard form losing sight of the
goals that are set.
Importance of a Growing Small Group
When thinking about growth there is one stance that stands out. If you aren’t growing,
you are dying. A stagnate group is doing a disservice to itself and to the church with which it
belongs by not engaging in the practice of growth and multiplication. Dempsey said it plainly
1 Jeffrey Arnold, The Big Book on Small Groups (Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004), 19.
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and precisely, “If you invite them, they will come.”2 This is the simplest way to begin growth is
to open your group up and to actually make efforts to invite people. Targeting people who you
know or have relationships with already is a great place to start. This will give your group
legitimacy when you seek to invite people you may not know, as well, by demonstrating that the
group is formed and functioning. A growing group is a sign of a healthy group and will speak
volumes about group life as a whole. Growing groups provide blueprints that can be mimicked
and duplicated for success in the future. If the overall goal of the group program is discipleship
and spiritual growth of the congregation then continual expansion should be a good problem to
have.
How to Grow Your Group
The first thing that should be taken into consideration whenever growth is the plan is
what type of group are you. Brad House mentioned both affinity and geographic type of groups.
Regardless of what type you are it is important to know your target. House said, “While affinity-
based groups are often very attractive, I have found it to be presumptuous to assume everyone
has a people with whom they identify.”3 This can, if you’re not careful isolate specific people
and cause them to feel as if they are an outcast. Once your target demographic, whatever that
ends up being, is identified, your next task is to pray for God to send opportunities to make
contact with the people that He desires to be in your group. As people are recruited it is
important again to be upfront as to the direction of the group and what is expected from the
membership. When people are presented the expectations ahead of time it allow for them to
2 Rod Dempsey, Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups (Lynchburg: Liberty Press, 2015), 36. MBS
Direct.
3 Brad House, Community: Taking your Small Group Off Life Support (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011), 124.
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make a more concrete commitment. A group with a definitive direction and purpose will likely
see the most successful growth and duplication.
Above all the single most important thing you can do for your group in terms of growth
or anything is to pray. Bathing the idea and the people in prayer is essential to remain in the will
of God and in order to continue to be purposeful for Him. This is not something that is limited to
the pastor or the group leader but should be carried out by the entirety of the group. Prayer is the
key to understanding and remaining in the mind of God. You cannot know the direction that God
seeks for the group to go if you are not actively seeking His counsel and direction. Spending
time in prayer with God will only open doors and eyes to that direction and the group will benefit
tremendously from it.
Challenges to Growth
Challenges to growth are something that a group should be prepared to deal with head on.
Upon initially starting a group the student had to learn to deal with people not buying in to the
vision of the group and how to keep people motivated and invested in the group. As the group
progressed, things had to be tweaked here and there and eventually a model was created that has
been duplicated successfully several times.
Specific challenges that one can expect to deal with are complacency, laziness, and poor
planning. If a group leader is complacent and does not enter into his or her commitment with a
sense of vigilance to protect and to foster an environment conducive to growth then it the group
will likely not grow. So much of the success depends on the quality of leadership that their role
is of the utmost importance. Comiskey said, “Moving from a life of individualism toward one of
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community requires a powerful inner transformation.”4 It is the task of the leader to help to
create the environment that will best facilitate this from the beginning.
Laziness, or lack of priority, is a killer in the group setting. If leadership or membership
becomes lackadaisical in their studies or in their interaction of the group then likely the group
will fall apart. It takes dedication to the group and prioritization to develop the relationships
necessary to help it to succeed. Along those lines comes poor planning. If the leader does not
buy in and take a genuine interest in the group then there will be a higher propensity for failure.
Facilitating and creating an atmosphere that will allow for relationships to grow is a task that
does require a little bit of time and effort. Putting in that time is essential for success within the
group.
Conclusion
In order to create an atmosphere of growth within a context of a small group ministry
there are many aspects that have to be taken seriously. Leadership is key and the rest of the
program will take its cues from there. As it is begins to take shape the group should begin to
identify those who will likely begin a mentoring plan an eventually be sent out to begin their
own groups. The model that Christ displayed through His disciples is one that is amazing to step
back and see. The fact that Jesus deliberately and intentionally called out men to train and
prepare them to lead in His absence is one that the church today has to seek to emulate and
duplicate. This is a task that God has placed on the church and one that cannot be taken lightly.
There is an expectation to strive to accomplish it and to successfully train up those within our
sphere of influence.
4 Joel Comiskey, Biblical Foundations for the Cell-Based Church (Moreno Valley, CA: CSS Publishing,
2012), 47.
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Bibliography
Arnold, Jeffrey. The Big Book on Small Groups. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity Press, 2004.
Comiskey, Joel. Biblical Foundations for the Cell-Based Church. Moreno Valley, CA: CCS
Publishing, 2012.
Dempsey, Rod. Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying Small Groups. Lynchburg: Liberty
University Press, 2015. MBS Direct.
House, Brad. Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support. Wheaton. IL: Crossway,
2011.
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