On Thursday, April 8 our church started to move in a new direction. New is not necessarily…new…to us, as we’ve embraced quite a few “new” things over the last years. Some of them are almost so much a part of us that they hardly seem new any longer. Examples? Projection screens. Youth Director. Full-time Administrative Assistant. New building. Bethel Art Camp. Young at Heart. Just for You. Overcomers. That’s a lot of change for one decade!

And tonight, we began to dream of something new – something that could very well become a central part of how we do ministry. What is this something new? Something that really isn’t new to us at all. We currently call them, “Small Groups.”

Why isn’t this new? Because we’ve been doing small groups since we began this ministry. Coffee Break ministry is the most visible example. Since it’s inception, Bethel has been operating a very successful small group ministry for women. Through this ministry, we have done reached into the community, taught the Bible, nurtured faith in women and children and ministered to women in various stages of life.

Why do I call it new? Because we’d like to see small groups begin to take on a new form and a more central place in the ministry of our church.

Tonight, a group of dreamers who are passionate about small groups met together over a light meal to discuss the potential that small groups have for ministry. What follows is a brief summary of what we learned.

In talking about what we had experienced in small groups that showed us the power that they have to minister to us and through us to others, we mentioned:

• they allow us to support each other in times of need;
• they allow us to share in struggles that we experience together;
• they allow our failures to become items that bind us together;
• they allow us to watch more closely as God works His miracles of healing and growth in the lives of group members;
• they make it easier for us to invite others into a life of following Jesus Christ;
• they allow us to develop relationships that extend beyond the group; and
• they provide continuity of care for members.

We then identified many characteristics of disciples at Bethel Church, including that they are:

• people with servant hearts;
• committed to fellowship;
• followers of Christ;
• leaders of others;
• passionate;
• self-motivated;
• have a heart for others;
• loving;
• students of the Bible;
• unique;
• Spirit-led;
• humble;
• prayerful;
• sacrificial givers; and
• live the fruit of the Spirit.

In summary, we said that disciples of Jesus Christ at Bethel Church are people who are BECOMING LIKE CHRIST. While that seems like a very simplistic statement, when you consider the statements above about what that means, this “simple statement” becomes quite a mouthful!

What is necessary to create successful small groups?

• well-trained and gifted leaders are the biggest key to a group’s success;
• extended time together (either that the group stays together for an extended time or that the leader is committed to the group for an extended time);
• multiple, clear entry points for people to enter small groups;
• each group must have a mission, or way that they together serve those outside the group;
• a clear focus on building relations that center around trust and growth;
• provide accountability to faithfulness and growth among members;
• fit within a clear congregation-wide process for “growing” Christians to maturity;
• focused on prayer; and
• focused on Scripture.

Wow! What a great start! Can you imagine having a ministry functioning well at Bethel that is used by God to accomplish the powerful life change that we all need? That is able to facilitate the growth of disciples like we described above? We can too! And we’re going to start imagining that very thing on Tuesday betwen 5:30 – 7:30 pm as we gather for a dinner of salads and discussion on some of the more practical aspects of putting together a high-quality small group ministry at Bethel Church. Keep praying!