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If you’re a Bible-believing Christian who’s worth his or her salt, you likely have a hunger to surround yourself with like-minded believers who hold fast to the truth and the freedom of the gospel.
In fact, In Hebrews 10:24-25, the Bible says, “And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
It is good and healthy to spend time with other Christians – to build each other up, share in each other’s lives, support each other through hard times, and pray for each other through good and bad.
In the church, there are five very simple and easy ways to cultivate a sense of deep community among Christian believers through small groups, life groups, and Sunday schools.
Whether you’re a Sunday school leader or the facilitator of a homeschooling group, these five important bullet points will nurture the intimacy of your connection with believers around you!
1. First, you need to invite people. Your small group or Sunday school is not meant to be an exclusive club where only your closest friends are welcome to participate. If you’re uncomfortable inviting outsiders into your inner circle, examine your heart and ask yourself why that is. To grow your group, you need to actively invite people and welcome them into your fellowship with open arms. God made us for fellowship – embrace your brothers and sisters in love!
2. Connect with new attenders. Commit yourself to knowing everyone’s name. Gather their contact information and make sure they are included in everything – never exclude new attenders or make them feel as if they must “earn” their way into anything. I’ve been at the receiving end of this incredibly hurtful attitude for most of my life, and it has never inspired me to return to any of those settings. I mean, would you? Remember that your words and more importantly, your omissions, can hurt people, so be inclusive, interactive, and observant!
3. Keep attendance. This is very important, and this is where many groups fail. Every time you meet with your group, take note of who is there (this ties back into making sure you know everyone attending personally), and take note of who is not. When someone is not present, touch base with them. Check in. Make sure they’re okay – make sure they know that they are missed, loved, and wanted! There is nothing worse than allowing someone to feel as if their absence isn’t noticed.
4. Meet regularly but not excessively outside of church. To foster real-life relationships and connections, you need to spend time together in the real world. Crazy, right? Meeting regularly should be simple and convenient. Consider doing something low-key: meet once a month for a potluck, for example. Get the families together, let the kids play, and just discuss your lives. This is a great way to spend time together in a casual environment and get to know each other better.
5. Have a teaching plan. Structure is essential, even in the most basic small group. Without structure and a plan, any learning experience you’re hoping to have is doomed to fail. Decide on a teaching plan and efficiently embark upon it. There is no such thing as a “perfect” Bible study or curriculum, but the point is this: make a decision, stick to your structure, and sally forth!
These general points were inspired by my husband, who had the most incredible experience at a wonderful program in Fresno, California called “Men in Action.” This program was spearheaded by Dr. James Cecy, the Senior Pastor of Campus Bible Church.
“Men in Action” focuses on molding strong men of God by teaching them essential, Biblically-grounded leadership skills. Strong, masculine leaders are sorely absent in our modern church landscapes, and that vacuum echoes loudly across all church ministries, from women’s Bible studies to Sunday school groups.
To foster rich, diverse Sunday school groups and real, meaningful relationships, there must be a functional and efficient body of leadership providing the structure for the church flock to follow. Some churches are excellent at growing fellowship within the church body, but terrible with providing good theological teaching. Other churches are great with theology, but woefully underperforming when it comes to bringing people together in real fellowship.
The truth is, you need both. I’ve seen very few churches in my day that does it right (Campus Bible Church of Fresno is one of them), and I’ve spent far too much time and energy in my life pouring into small groups and ministries, only to be forgotten and left out. It has been, unfortunately, one of the most disappointing things in my life.
I cannot contribute this disappointment to any one person – rather, it’s been due to a lack of accountability and oversight from church leadership over their parishioners. It’s also due to the lack of equipping the men of American churches to be strong, godly leaders. I say this not to rag on men (men are wonderful and boy, do we need them!), but to make a defining point: women are far more involved in church ministries than men, and men do not generally feel confident enough to insert themselves appropriately into spiritual leadership positions in the church.
We must ask ourselves, seriously, why this is. Could it be that our men do not feel confident because they are not spiritually and morally mature enough to lead? The church of America must recognize this problem and take it very seriously.
Several years ago, when my husband discussed the possibility of launching a young/married Sunday school with a senior church staffer at our local church, the response was, “We don’t see a need for that here.”
This has been our unfortunate story for years. Since moving to the Central Valley, I have attended six different Sunday schools, and the only ones that have grown are those that have managed to foster relationships by bringing forth an action plan.
However, I see a pattern of failure among the majority of Bible studies and small groups. To me, I see these failures as a warning sign for where the church is headed in these troubled days. At times, the lack of true Christian fellowship and leadership is extremely troubling, and has left me inarguably disillusioned about the role of Christians in U.S. culture.
Where are our strong men and women? Our organizers? Our movers and shakers?
1 Corinthians 13:11 astutely reminds us, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”
If we want to cultivate real relationships with the people around us, then childish ways must be put aside, and bold, effective agendas must be embraced.
I share these bullet points today because in order to succeed, you need an action plan. No troops go into battle without a strategy with which to achieve victory. Likewise, no church small group will achieve true community unless they have clearly laid out a blueprint that will chart their path to success.
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There are many other aspects of leadership and organization that could be discussed, but for the purposes of this article, I’ve shortened the list to five to keep it short and sweet. I may expand this article later.
Feel free to comment or reach out to me on social media @SummerEllenLane if you’d like to contribute your thoughts and ideas.
Next week, I will publish my first installment of a three-part series that I’m planning in my review of The Biden Laptop Report from the non-profit research initiative, Marco Polo. You’re not going to want to miss it – tons of information. I am floored by the obscene evidence of jaw-dropping corruption.
I knew the contents of the laptop were bad, but YIKES. This review will not be for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, the truth matters, so I’m looking forward to sharing it.