#141 What is a Small Group
The difference between a clique and a small group.
Small groups and cliques have numerous differences. It can be described that community “is and must be inclusive” while groups based on excluding others are cliques. In both cases the group helps to give the individual an identity. They both may be groups of 3-20 people. They both may have regular meeting times and locations. Yet the differences are numerous. Within a clique the group decides who is in or out of the group. There may be a fear that you could be kicked out of the group. Whereas in a small group the goal is for more people to join the group which leads to radical acceptance of people even those with major differences from the group. The social pressure is also different. In a clique the social pressure may dictate your preferences, the way you dress, and your interests. This may also be true in a small group but there is less fear of rejection from the group. The structure also tends to be different, in a small group there is usually a leader who is leading with a purpose. While in a clique there is more generally mob rule or a central person that dictates the plans of the group. The most important difference though is the purpose of the groups. Cliques exist for friendship, they are generally negative, and are characterised by pressure and fear. But small groups exist for a purpose, there is very little pressure, and they ought to be characterized by love for one another.
What does G.R.O.U.P. stand for, and why is each important?
G.R.O.U.P. is an acronym from the book Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying, Small Groups by Rod Dempsey and Dave Earley. The acronym is meant to describe what good small groups should look like. G stands for guided by a leader. R stands for regular meeting times because consistency is important for groups. O stands for open Bible, the group uses the Bible or other approved curriculum. U means the group is united in service, everyone in the group is involved in service inside or outside the group. While P stands for prayer. There is time for prayer and group members are praying for one another. Each of these things are important to organize a healthy small group. Simply put, small groups need leaders, “If you don’t got a leader, it ain’t gonna happen.”
4 questions related to groups and your church found
Arnold in chapter one of The Big Book on Small Groups discussed four questions that are foundational to the current status of a Church’s small group ministry. Over the next few pages I will answer these questions in context to First Street Church (FSC) in Fresno California where I currently attend and am a missionary of. Small groups are meant to be small groups of believers like what is described in Acts 5:42 (NASB) “And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” These are small groups when the church spreads out and Jesus is proclaimed in many ways.
Are we introducing Christian disciplines into our small groupings
The first question is “Are we introducing Christian disciplines into our small groupings?” I am involved in several of the church groups but not all of them. So I do not know if all the groups are developing disciplines or not. The disciplines that we should practice are related to the disciples we should be, “disciples obey everything Jesus commanded.” This means our disciplines are tied to our being disciples of Christ. The men’s groups, and marriage groups which I am a part of, are developing spiritual disciplines. The men’s groups specifically have been focusing on spiritual disciplines for the past year. One of the men’s groups Forged has focused on disciplines such as prayer, daily devotional time, church attendance, tithing, small group participation, and discipleship. Another men’s ministry SoulCon operates specifically for building spiritual and personal discipline. With practices like daily exercise, fasting, moderation, daily communication with other men, Bible study, and prayer. A third men’s ministry reads through books on Sunday mornings with a focus on how to apply the Bible to your daily life. Right now they are working through A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. The marriage ministry in a similar way has classes and small groups. Right now we are leading a group through the book The Smart Stepfamily. Which is about improving your marriage and other relationships based on godly principles and how to put them into practice.
Are our small groupings building the kingdom or hindering the kingdom?
The second question is “Are our small groupings building the kingdom or hindering the kingdom?” I believe they are mostly helping to build the Kingdom. The church has many groups which exist in many forms and for many purposes. But in general they are helping to build the Kingdom up. The church supports many AA groups, FA (fentanyl anonymous) groups, and Celebrate Recovery. As well as the Fresno Mission, among others. Through these outreach ministries many many people become curious about Christianity and start to attend the Sunday services or some of the small groups. Through this process they often come to Christ and continue to attend and seek to become more involved in the church. The church is seeing about one person give their life to Christ every week. And about 5-10 people are baptised every quarter. So I would say the groups are helping to build the Kingdom. The results though are mostly from the men’s ministries and not the women’s ministries. It seems the women’s ministries are somewhat less effective at our church at building the Kingdom.
Are we training leaders who bring Christian disciplines into small groupings?
The third question, “Are we training leaders who bring Christian disciplines into small groupings?” To this I would say yes but no. Since the church is a combination of many churches over time there are a lot of leaders. The church has around 500-700 members and about seventeen pastors on staff. There are also about twenty more effective leaders. This eliminates the need for more leaders. There are around twenty small groups at the church. Small groups and cells have the tendency to “become commodities in today’s church.” This is something to be avoided and instead the goal should be more discipleship rather than a focus on numbers. Each group has three to five leaders leading or attending. There are discipleship development programs in place at the church but the process is not very clear. As Comiskey writes about leadership in the early church, “Hospitality to those first missionaries and the reception of their message was very closely connected.” In essence this means that when our groups come together we should seek to have a strong hospitality base.
Is our entire congregation working to develop a disciplined small group mentality?
The fourth question is, “Is our entire congregation working to develop a disciplined small group mentality?” The short answer is no. The long answer is that the church has undergone many recent changes. Another church named Rock Harbor recently shut down. The senior pastor, woman’s pastor, and the congregation have joined FSC. This has necessitated many changes and compromises in the church. The preaching style changed, and many small groups were added. And within the groups there are different methodologies being employed and slightly different theological beliefs between members and leaders. These differences make it somewhat of a challenge for everyone to be on the same page. Churches sometimes cast “a vision that is out of reach for the average member” FSC is trying to clarify its vision without making it unreachable. The pastors are getting ready to announce the mission of the church for the next couple years. The plan called the five loaves are five things that you can do to improve your relationship with God. The five loaves are, attend a small group at least twice a month, personal devotional at least three times a week, attend church weekly, tithe regularly, and pray daily. This means that the church will be giving a greater focus to the disciplines and to small groups. This plan is being announced the week after Easter. So while the church is not currently on the same page with small groups the church is moving in that direction.
Explain inward, outward, and upward, and apply the concepts to your context.
Inward, outward, and upward are three different ways of relating to each other and God as a group. Each of these ways can be included in a group to make it more holistic. For example a group can start with coffee and conversations which would be inward. In that case the focus is on each other. Then upwards through communal worship, and study time. Ending with outward, with time for praying about outreach, and planning for outreach. I am a part of several different small groups. But the main group that I am involved with is called Holy Smoke. Holy Smoke is a group of believers that meet weekly for cigars and Bible study. There are three people who take turns leading the group. The group meets weekly on Thursdays from 3pm to 6pm. The first hour is fellowship, food, and cigars, this would be the inward time. Then the group officially starts at 4pm with the group rules and prayer requests. This goes on for about fifteen minutes and it can be considered outward as the group prayers for people present, and not present, as well as family members and others who need God. The remainder of the time is usually upward in that it is verse by verse Bible study. With the group leader asking questions and the group responding to each other.
Bibliography
Arnold, Jeffrey. The Big Book on Small Groups. Revised Edition. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2017.
Comiskey, Joel. Biblical Foundations for the Cell-Based Church: New Testament Insights for the 21st Century Church. Moreno Valley, CA: CCS Publishing, 2012.
Joel Comiskey Group. "What Is a Cell Group?" Small Group Basics. Accessed April 4, 2025. https://jcgresources.com/en/resources/small_group_basics/en_whatisacellgroup/.
Dempsey, Rod. “Beginning on a Sure Foundation.” In Disciple Making Is . . .: How to Live the Great Commission with Passion and Confidence, edited by Dave Earley and Rod Dempsey, 51–61. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2013.
Dempsey, Rod, and Dave Earley. Leading Healthy, Growing, Multiplying, Small Groups. Bellingham, WA: Wordsearch, 2018.
House, Brad. Community: Taking Your Small Group off Life Support. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011.
